Folks who fired up the New York Times' daily puzzle Connectionson Monday were greeted with a major surprise. There were emoji where the words should be. This,ポルノ映画 水を飲ませる of course, is a bit of April Fools' Day fun from the NYT's games editors.

Connections usually has 16 words in little tiles. Players place the words into groups of four, hopefully noticing the common characteristic the words have in common. So it was quite the surprise to see emoji first thing on Monday.

Folks online were quick to complain, mostly joking around in exaggerated fashion. It was good fun to see people react to the little twist.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Other folks online expressed they liked the April Fools puzzle or at least enjoyed the change of pace.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

If the emoji-version of the game is breaking your brain, don't worry, Mashable has hints (and even answers) for you. Not to brag, but I did have a perfect solve myself — just don't ask how long it took.

• NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for April 1
• NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for March 31
• You could win $1 million with this $30 puzzle
• Taylor Swift fans are solving Google's puzzles for hints about her new songs
• Oh boy, 'Joker 2' might be a 'jukebox musical'

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.