Strands

Strands is the New York Times word search with a hidden theme, published by New York Times Games as one dated puzzle a day under the line Find hidden words and uncover the day's theme. The board is a grid of letters in which every letter belongs to an answer: theme words fill the board entirely and never overlap. You trace a word by dragging across adjacent letters, or by tapping them and double-tapping the last one to submit. A found theme word turns blue and stays lit. Somewhere in the grid runs the spangram, a word or phrase that describes the theme and touches two opposite sides of the board; it turns yellow when found. Because the theme is only hinted at by a short clue, the puzzle is as much about guessing the category as about spotting letters. Valid words that are off-theme are not wasted: every three of them earn a hint that outlines the letters of one theme word.

1. Read the theme clue before touching a letter; it decides what kind of words you are hunting.
2. Drag across adjacent letters to spell a word, or tap them one by one and double-tap the last letter to submit.
3. Keep spelling any real words of four letters or more: every three non-theme words earn a hint.
4. Use a hint when stuck: it marks the letters of one theme word, and if a hint is already active, the next one shows that word's letter order.
5. Find the spangram, the answer that names the theme and touches two opposite sides of the board; it turns yellow, while theme words turn blue.
6. Finish when the whole board is lit, then share your results or open your stats and streak.

Strands is for solvers who like the click of a category falling into place more than the hunt itself: the words are all there, and the real puzzle is working out what the clue means. It rewards lateral readers, since the theme is often a pun. Skip it if you want a scored, competitive word game, because there is no timer and no score beyond the hints you used, and skip the archive unless you subscribe. A board takes five to fifteen minutes, longer on days when the clue is a riddle.

Grading is immediate and colour-coded. A theme word locks in blue; the spangram locks in yellow; a valid word that is not part of the theme floats into the hint meter, where three such words light the hint button. Anything under four letters is refused as Too short, a string the dictionary does not know as Not in word list, and a repeat as Already found, none of them with a penalty. Ask for a hint and the letters of one theme word are outlined; ask again with that hint active and the same word's letter order is shown. The closing message counts the hints you used.

Daily puzzle

One dated Strands a day, the same for everyone. Today's puzzle opens without a subscription, and a free account is only needed to record stats and badges.

Strands Archive

Past puzzles, listed by the site among the features included in the Games subscription. Bonus puzzles that appear alongside the daily one do not count toward your stats.

• Treat the clue as wordplay first: a title that reads literally often hides a pun, and the wrong reading sends you after words that fit the grid but not the idea.
• Because theme words never overlap and fill the board entirely, each word you find shrinks the space; look at the shape of the leftover letters to see where the next one must run.
• Bank hints on purpose: spell easy off-theme words early, while the board is full, so a hint is waiting when the last two theme words hide.
• The spangram has to touch two opposite edges, so scan for a long path from side to side or top to bottom; finding it early confirms the theme and splits the board in two.
• A hint stays on the board until you spell that word, and the game will not give you another until you have used it; clear the hinted word before farming more non-theme words.