Puzzle number 1,202 of The New York Times' Connections game challenged solvers Friday with a grid blending words for luxury, mechanical clock parts, a lineup of famous men named Dan, and a wordplay category built around altered scientific terms.

Connections presents players with 16 words that must be sorted into four hidden groups of four, with each group sharing a common category. The puzzle rates each group's difficulty using a color system: yellow for the most straightforward connection, green for slightly trickier, blue for more difficult, and purple, typically the most wordplay-heavy or misleading group, as the hardest.

For those still working through Friday's puzzle, here are hints for each category, organized loosely from easiest to hardest, without giving away the specific words involved.

One category groups together words that all describe something upscale, stylish or expensive, the kind of vocabulary someone might use to describe a lavish hotel or an extravagant outfit. A second category brings together technical components found inside a traditional mechanical clock, the kind of vocabulary a clockmaker or watch enthusiast would recognize immediately, even if it is less familiar to everyday puzzle solvers. A third category groups........

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