Strands Game
Strands is a new and engaging puzzle game where players must find 8 words within a grid, all related to the same theme. Words can be discovered by connecting letters in any direction—horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and even backwards. Each puzzle features a unique spangram, a special word that describes the theme and spans two opposite sides of the grid. The challenge is to find all 8 words while identifying the spangram that ties the puzzle together. Can you find all 8 words and solve the puzzle?
How To Play NYT Strands Game?
Start of the Game
When you open the Strands game, you will see a 6×8 grid filled with letters. Your objective is to find words that share a common theme. Additionally, there is a special word called the spangram, which embodies the theme and must connect two opposite sides of the board. Your challenge is to discover all the themed words and identify the spangram to complete the puzzle.
Find the Words
You can form words by connecting letters in any direction—vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Feel free to change direction mid-word. Each letter on the board is part of a word and no letter is used more than once for the same word.
Complete the Puzzle
Keep finding all the words related to the theme. Incorrect guesses are not penalized; instead, they provide helpful clues. The puzzle is solved when all 8 thematic words, including the spangram, are found correctly. Unlike a traditional word search, the challenge in Strands is to find words connected to a specific topic.
What is Strands Game?
Strands is a daily word puzzle game created by The New York Times, designed to challenge and entertain word enthusiasts. It was launched in 2024 and developed by Tracy Bennett, known for her work on other popular word games like Wordle.
NYT Strands Gameplay
- Daily Puzzle: Each day, players are presented with a new puzzle that features a grid of letters and a specific theme. The objective is to find all the words related to the theme hidden within the grid.
- Spangram: A unique feature of Strands is the spangram—a word that spans the entire grid, connecting two opposite sides. Finding the spangram is key to solving the puzzle, as it often reveals other theme-related words.
- No Time Limit: Players can take as much time as needed to complete the puzzle, making it a relaxed and enjoyable experience.
Features
- Themes: Each puzzle has a theme that guides players in finding the related words.
- Hints: Players can use hints to help uncover difficult words or the spangram.
- Accessibility: Strands is designed to be mobile-friendly, allowing players to enjoy the game on both desktop and mobile devices.
NYT Strands combines the challenge of traditional word searches with innovative gameplay elements, offering a fresh and engaging word puzzle experience every day.
Minimum Length: Words must be at least four letters long. Three-letter words are not permitted.
Connecting Letters: You can connect letters in any direction—up, down, left, right, or diagonally, and even change direction within a word.
Letter Arrangement: Words often involve twists and turns and do not form straight lines.
Repeated Letters: It’s acceptable for different words to use the same letter. For example, the word “COMMA” includes two M’s side by side.
The aim of Strands is to identify and connect words that fit a specific theme on a 6×8 letter grid. Additionally, you need to find the spangram, a word that links two opposite sides of the board, to complete the puzzle.
There are no penalties for mistakes in Strands. Misspelling a word or finding a valid but theme-unrelated word simply earns you hints. The final game recap shows only your correct answers and the hints you used.
Yes, Strands is completely free to play on both mobile and PC, offering a cost-free and enjoyable experience.
Each puzzle revolves around a specific theme, indicated by the puzzle’s title. For instance, in puzzle #1, the theme “Mark my words” meant that all words like COMMA, PERIOD, and APOSTROPHE were related to punctuation. The spangram, a word that spans across the grid, also relates to the theme. In this example, the spangram “PUNCTUATION” ran from top to bottom, highlighted in yellow, while other words appeared in blue.
The emojis at the end of the game indicate your progress:
Blue Emoji: Indicates a regular word found.
Yellow Emoji: Signifies finding the spangram.
Lightbulb Emoji: Shows that you used a hint during the game.
Yes, you can enjoy unlimited gameplay of NYT Strands on our site. Unlike the official version, which releases one puzzle per day, our unlimited version allows you to play as many puzzles as you want without waiting.
When your hint button is full, press it to reveal a word’s location on the grid. Dashed lines will encircle the word’s letters, indicating where they are. However, you still need to connect the letters correctly. The hint remains active until the word is solved, and you cannot use additional hints until you solve the highlighted word.
Hints are earned by identifying valid but incorrect words. The more challenging the puzzle, the more hints you can accumulate. Discovering a dictionary word that isn’t part of the solution fills the hint button. For example, in a punctuation-themed puzzle, finding a word like “SOLO” will fill the hint button, and three such words will earn you one hint.