About the Game
Strands is a daily word puzzle launched by The New York Times in March 2024, designed by games editor Wyna Liu. It's the newest addition to the NYT Games lineup, joining Wordle, Connections, and The Mini Crossword as part of the daily puzzle roster.
Strands draws inspiration from classic word search puzzles but adds theme-based connections and the unique Spangram mechanic, giving the traditional format a fresh, strategic twist. One puzzle per day, moderate difficulty, perfect for building vocabulary and enjoying a satisfying solve.
Complete Rules
Grid Structure
The game uses a 6-column × 8-row letter grid containing 48 letters total. Every single letter is used in a word — there are no filler or decoy letters.
Word-Finding Rules
- Any direction: Words can run horizontally (left-right or right-left), vertically (top-bottom or bottom-top), or diagonally
- Reversed is fine: Words can be spelled backwards
- Adjacent only: Consecutive letters in a word must be adjacent in the grid (including diagonal neighbors)
- No reuse: Each letter belongs to exactly one word
- All used: All 48 letters in the grid are part of words
Theme & Spangram
Every puzzle has a theme (e.g., "Summer Drinks," "Round Things," "Words Starting with 'UN'"). All words you need to find relate to this theme.
The Spangram is a special word unique to each puzzle:
- It directly relates to the theme — often summarizing or embodying it
- It spans the entire grid, touching every row (running top-to-bottom or diagonally across)
- Finding the Spangram is a key breakthrough for solving the puzzle
- There is exactly one Spangram per puzzle
Winning the Puzzle
Find all themed words (typically 6–8) plus the Spangram to complete the daily puzzle. After solving, you'll see your time and number of hints used.
NYT Puzzle Comparison
The New York Times currently offers four main daily word puzzles, each with a distinct format:
| Feature | Strands | Wordle | Connections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Word search | Word guessing | Category sorting |
| Core mechanic | Find hidden words in a grid | Guess a 5-letter word in 6 tries | Group 16 words into 4 categories |
| Daily puzzles | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Typical time | 5–15 minutes | 2–5 minutes | 5–10 minutes |
| Difficulty | Moderate, theme-based | Easy, vocabulary | Hard, lateral thinking |
| Special mechanic | Spangram word | Color feedback hints | Misleading groupings |
| Best for | Word search & theme fans | Quick word guessing fans | Pattern recognition fans |
How to Start Playing
- Subscribe to NYT: Strands requires a New York Times digital subscription (free trials available)
- Visit NYT Games: Find the Games section on the NYT website or app
- Select Strands: Click the Strands icon to start today's puzzle
- Start finding words: Read the theme hint, then swipe to connect letters in the grid
Why Is Strands So Popular?
- Theme variety: Each day brings a different theme covering culture, nature, everyday life, and more — keeping things fresh
- Balanced difficulty: Mix of easy common words and challenging finds suits all skill levels
- Spangram mechanic: The spanning word adds a strategic layer beyond simple word search
- Daily rhythm: One puzzle per day is the perfect pace — not overwhelming, but enough to build a habit
- Social sharing: Share your results with friends, adding a fun competitive element