Look out, Wordle and Connections, here comes Strands. Like those two games, Strands is a New York Times online word game. Right now, Strands is only in beta, so it doesn’t yet show up in The New York Times’ Games app. You need to go directly to the game. And because it’s in beta, meaning it’s still being tested, it might be improved before it’s fully released. I go into depth into the rules for Strands in this story.
Honestly, Strands reminds me of those old-fashioned Word Find books they used to sell in every grocery-store checkout lane. You’ve given a grid of letters, but no list of words. That’s what makes the game fun — and frustrating. And if you’re reading this, you probably need some help with today’s Strands puzzle, so here we go. Warning: Scroll down too far and too fast and you’ll see spoilers.
Need more answers? Here is the answer for today’s Wordle, and here are the answers for today’s Connections.
Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: Good times ahead.
But if that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Party on, Garth.
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Strands will point out the theme words for you, but you gotta earn them. Find three words of four letters or more, and Strands will highlight a theme word. These are the clue words I used to get hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work.
ROPE, ROPER, PAIN, REACH, HEAR, RAFT, PART, PARTY, TRAP, PORT, ROOM, POOR, MOOR, PALE, SHEAR, LAMP
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle
These are the themed answers that tie in to the good times ahead theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find eight, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all eight, every letter on the board will be used.
BOAT, FOUL, FAVOR, HEARTY, ANIMAL, POOPER, CRASHER
Today’s Strands spangram
Today’s Strands spangram is AFTERPARTY. As in, all the answers are words that can be used in a phrase after the word “party.”
Party down, everybody.
How to play NYT Strands
1. Use today’s theme to look for words relating to that topic. See one? Drag or click the letters in order. Click on the last letter twice to submit your guess. If you’ve found a theme word, it’ll light up in blue and stay that way.
2. Other words you find are considered hint words that give you clues to the theme words. Find three hint words (they must have at least four letters each), and the game will reward you by showing you a theme word. But if you can’t unscramble it, find three more hint words, and the game will highlight the theme word’s letters in order.
3. Hunt for the spangram, a special theme word that spans the entire puzzle, though it could flow across, or top to bottom. It summarizes the puzzle theme.
4. When you’re done, you’ll have used every letter on the board in either a theme word or spangram. Theme words fill the entire board and do not overlap.
