Do you have to play Far Cry games in order?

All Far Cry games are stand-alone titles, which means you don’t need to play through the whole series to understand the plot of the latest title. The only thing that is shared by all Far Cry games is a common DNA, which is a fancy way of saying gameplay.

Is Far Cry 6 and 3 connected?

Far Cry 6 is also not a prequel to Far Cry 3 in any fashion, as newspapers and current events place the game in 2020. Similarly, Far Cry 3 features newspapers and radio shows that place it during 2012.