Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #388 on July 3, which functionally has the same difficulty level as yesterday's answer, the Connections Companion has a difficulty level of 28 out of 5 for this puzzle Yesterday's difficulty was 27

We update our Connections clues and hints daily And if the hints aren't enough, see the four answers below, along with the category name and related words In addition, for those of you reading this in a different time zone, I have included a reflection on yesterday's puzzle (#387)

There are spoilers for Connections #388 Only those who want to know the answer to today's Connections should read on

Alternatively, see our NYT Connections How to Play Guide for tips on how to solve the puzzle without our help

While today's wordle solution guide recommends the best wordle starting words as a strategy, the Connections solution depends on identifying the categories that are connected from the 16 words The difficulty of each category is represented by a color, with yellow being the easiest grouping and purple the most difficult Hints are helpful as the answer is displayed after four wrong guesses

If you need a hint to help you solve the groupings, here are each theme in order of difficulty:

If you read these hints, you should at least find the answer to today's connection If not, please continue reading for larger hints Also, if you only want the answer, scroll down further

Here's a bigger clue: Today's puzzle is trying to trick you with baseball and maybe a toddlerish meltdown Don't let them You may be tempted by mind games and sweet desserts

Now for the answer to today's game #388 Connection

Drum roll please

I shouldn't have fallen for the two traps in today's puzzle, but I did

Maybe baseball was on my mind as I watched the Arizona Diamondbacks just continue to exist in the NL West But I quickly caught on to curveballs and spitballs Like Arizona's season this year, it led nowhere (no way they're making it to the World Series again, right?)

Anyway, once I got past that, I saw Brainstorm, Idiate, and Spitball It took me a little while to see the workshops, but that was the end of the yellow category

To me, Connections is like a magic eye 3D puzzle Perhaps I should look at every word, but I like to see what pops into my brain and how I can connect the connections

I was still playing baseball, so I got the purple category next to curves Also, I may have just watched "Dodgeball" the other night So throwing a spanner in the works was on my mind Then I learned that I could party and throw tantrums Sure, you can do those things in a figurative sense, but I think you can also do it in a literal sense

After entering the blue category, I wanted to eat cake The choices were Birthday, Crumb, Marble, and Pound, but I could have chosen Black Forest Cake They are all great cakes

The green category was solid, concrete, material, and, shall we say, authentic

I'm reading this late in the day According to Connections Companion, the difficulty level was 27 out of 5

There are several traps in today's puzzle

Last week, a puzzle featured the same two letter combination of words that make up Connections Squirrel, Liquid, Quid, and Squid, so today's puzzle seemed to play with that idea, but it was a trap Fortunately, I avoided it

Unfortunately, that was my only brainy move today Today's puzzle was a struggle for me, even though it should have been easier than yesterday's grid

I got the yellow category first, with stash, store, and stow grabbing quickly For some reason, I couldn't see the word squirrel For some reason I was immersed in the liquid all the time until I saw the squirrel

Then I started with the fixed ones and froze in my mind trying to force the connection that things never change Embarrassingly, I chose the blue category next because I thought the four words caveat, ergo, quid, and vox didn't fit into anything else Latin did not enter my brain

The purple category then suddenly became very easy Arcade games, blame games, number games, and certainly squid games

You were right that fixed and frozen go together, but I wonder if you can find a combination of liquid and toxic

More caffeine or more sleep tomorrow to keep my brain active With a baby on the way, sleep is not an option Caffeine