The theme for today’s purple category is THINGS FEATURING TAILS and the words are: COIN TOSS, COMETS, DRESS COAT, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. All right, I see some video games on the board: ASTEROIDS ...

Kris Holt is a writer who covers video games and word games ... blue and green fall in the middle, and the purple group is usually the most difficult one. The purple group often involves wordplay.

Oh, you bet I recognized those video games in today's NYT Connections puzzle. But of course, the editors had to throw in a red herring that belonged in the ever-tricky purple category instead.