NYT Strands is a word puzzle game from The New York Times where you find hidden theme words in a 6x8 letter grid. Each letter is used exactly once to form all the theme words and one special spangram.

A spangram is a special word that reveals the theme of the puzzle. It spans from one side of the grid to the opposite side and uses more letters than regular theme words.

Each Strands puzzle typically contains 6-8 theme words plus one spangram. The exact number varies by puzzle, but all 48 letters in the grid are used exactly once.

Yes! You can access previous Strands puzzles through the archive. Use the navigation buttons to browse through past puzzles by date.

If you're stuck, you can use our progressive hint system: start with vague hints, move to medium hints if needed, and finally view specific hints. You can also reveal the full answers if you prefer.

When you trace a valid theme word, it will be highlighted and removed from the available letters. The word must be part of the puzzle's theme and form a connected path through adjacent letters.

No, Strands puzzles vary in difficulty from day to day. The difficulty depends on the theme obscurity, word complexity, and how the letters are arranged in the grid.

Yes! Strands is fully playable on mobile devices through the NYT Games app or website. Our hints and answers are also optimized for mobile viewing.

A new Strands puzzle is released daily at midnight Eastern Time (ET). The puzzle updates at the same time as other NYT daily games like Wordle and Connections.

While playing the official NYT Strands puzzle requires a NYT Games subscription, our hints and answers are completely free to access for all users.