How the Daily Strands Puzzle Works
Strands is the New York Times' theme-based word search: a 6x8 board of 48 letters holding a set of theme words that, together, fill the entire grid with no leftover cells and no overlaps between words. Somewhere in that set is the spangram, a single word or short phrase that touches two opposite edges of the board and sums up what the day's theme actually is.
You trace words by connecting adjacent letters, and adjacency includes diagonals, not just up, down, left, and right. That means a legitimate word can zigzag across the board in a shape that looks nothing like a straight word-search line. Unlike Wordle, there's no guess limit and no losing state; you just keep exploring the grid until every theme word is found.
Hint & Spangram Rules
Hints in Strands are earned, not given away. Any real word of 4 or more letters that isn't part of the day's theme still counts as "found" on the board, and three of those non-theme finds fill the hint meter and unlock one hint. The first hint on a given theme word only shows which letters belong to it, scattered with no order implied; a second hint on that same word, earned later, finally reveals the connection path.
The spangram gets special treatment: it is always the last theme word offered a hint, after every other theme word in the puzzle has had its turn. That's a deliberate design choice, since the spangram usually gives away the whole theme once you see it, so NYT Games saves it for last on purpose.
| Board position | Connected neighbors | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Corner tile | 3 | Confirming a word's start or end point |
| Edge tile | 5 | Extending a word you've already started |
| Interior tile | 8 | Scanning for new candidates early on |
Board Strategy: Read Before You Trace
A handful of habits separate a five-minute Strands solve from a twenty-minute one. None of these require memorizing anything about today's specific puzzle:
- Scan the interior first. Interior tiles connect to 8 neighbors versus a corner's 3, so early scanning from the middle of the board turns up more legitimate paths per minute.
- Say any 4+ letter word you spot out loud, even if it feels unrelated to the theme. There's no penalty for a non-theme guess, and it is quietly filling your hint meter while you look for the real theme words.
- Treat the spangram as a last resort, not a first guess. Since it's always the final hint offered, hunting for it early usually wastes time you could spend on easier theme words first.
- When you're down to scattered leftover letters, stop guessing blind. Paste them into the leftover finder above and work from an actual candidate list instead of staring at the grid.
- Longer candidates deserve first attention. A spangram has to physically reach two opposite edges of a 6-wide or 8-tall board, so it is rarely one of the shortest words on your candidate list.
If letter-based puzzles are your thing, the site's Word Solver and Word Unscrambler use the same real dictionary this toolkit runs on, just aimed at different games. And if you would rather work from a rank number than a letter grid, the Contexto hint ladder covers that daily puzzle instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this page show today's actual Strands spangram and theme words?
No, on purpose. The puzzle resets every day, so a fixed list would be stale within hours. Check NYTimes.com/games/strands or a same-day recap like Mashable's for the official answer. This page instead gives you a toolkit: track your own hint progress, verify a word before tracing it, or turn your board's leftover letters into a real candidate list.
How many hints do you get in Strands and how do you earn them?
There is no published daily cap, but every hint has to be earned. Three non-theme words of 4 or more letters fill the meter and unlock one hint. The first hint on a word reveals its letters without the order; a second hint on that word, once earned, shows the connection path.
What is a spangram and why is it always the last hint revealed?
The spangram is the one theme word or phrase that touches two opposite edges of the board and names the day's theme. It is always the last theme word offered a hint, since seeing it usually gives away the whole puzzle.
Can Strands letters connect diagonally?
Yes. Letters connect up, down, left, right, and diagonally, and a single word can bend through several of those directions as it winds across the grid.
How is Strands different from Wordle and Connections?
Wordle is a six-guess deduction game with no grid. Connections sorts 16 words into four hidden groups within four guesses. Strands has neither a guess limit nor a game-over state: it is a 6x8 letter grid where you trace out every theme word tied to the day's topic at your own pace.
Do the non-theme words I find count against me?
No. Any real word of 4 or more letters gets marked found and, if it is not a theme word, it simply feeds your hint meter instead of costing you anything.
What's the fastest way to find the spangram?
Scan from the interior of the board first, since those tiles connect to more neighbors than corners or edges. Once you have a shortlist of leftover letters, treat the longest candidates as your spangram suspects, since it has to physically span the board.