I like when they switch things up like this! I didn’t even see it as an “April Fool” puzzle, since it was inherently solvable.
Got yellow and purple very quickly, and was 3/4 of the way there on green. It would have been a breeze had I known that X can represent “and” in some mathematical contexts. I’ll admit I went to both the internet and ChatGPT for help with that one.
Probably should have sussed out blue, but that was my leftover category today. 
Not so much mathematical contexts, but pop culture contexts. Such as:
Entirely to brag, but I got them all quickly and without error.
We’re allowed to brag here.
I had an easy ride until purple and I didn’t get it but I didn’t try too hard either
Got blue immediately today as soon as I saw VENUS and TENNESSEE.
Purple was my leftover category, but I actually did figure it out before submitting for a change!
British folks may be confused about purple today.
Blew through today’s in less than a minute which is rare. Got green> blue> yellow> purple. Even when left with the final 4 for purple I figured out what they had in common before hitting submit.
Heh. I got them in the same order, also very quickly. The difference is that I looked at the final four for a little while before deciding I had no clue and hitting submit.
I fell for the red herring today, but no other mistakes.
I fell for something today, but recovered with only one error. Once again, Purple was last for me…guess it was just too obvious.
In other news, I solved Letter Boxed today using just two words. A first for me. VIEWERSHIP & PLUNK.
What was the red herring?
I flew through this one in about a minute, blue/green/purple/yellow. Easiest one for me in a while.
There were four first names of actors who played James Bond.
And yes, I fell for the red herring.
I should have seen that! Lucky for me I didn’t.
It’s a bit of a giveaway when you don’t even get the “one away” message.
Usually with the red herrings, there are three words that seem to match. The weird thing here was that there were four in this case.
I’ve seen red herrings with four words before. The giveaway is if you don’t get the “one away” message, that konda confirms it’s a red herring. Then I start looking for answers where the four red herring clues are in four different categories, like they were today.
I got yellow perry much immediately, then saw Judges and Numbers right next to each other, so blue went fast, too. No red herring for me.
I do that occasionally. Weirdly, it’s almost always the “solve in 6 words” ones that I get in two, like today’s (Friday’s): WHIRLYBIRD - DETOX. I don’t think I’ve ever done a “solve in 4 words” one in two.
Cheeky red herring today, perhaps taking advantage of recent Nintendo Switch 2 hype.
I couldn’t get it, having never played Oregon Trail. I find it very unfair to do that.