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Strands is the New York Times' latest attempt to create a newWordle.
Yes, you play the same game as everyone else.
And yes, it’s possible for you to share your spoiler-free scores with each other afterwards.
What is Strands?
Each word is part of a wider theme, which you’re given a clue for at the start.
It’s played on a board of 48 letters, made up of six columns and eight rows.
The aim is to fill the entire board by finding all of the theme words and the spangram.
Each letter is only used once, and words never overlap.
Each Strands puzzle has its own theme, which is described by way of a clue at the start.
What is the Spangram in Strands?
See that yellow answer above?
That’s the spangram.
In short: while the rest of the answers are specific, the spangram is general.
Oh, and it can also be two words smashed together, rather than just one.
What are hint words in Strands?
There are other words hidden within the Strands grid: hint words.
Find another three and you’ll get another hint, and so on.
How does the scoring work in Strands?
At the end of the game, Strands will tell you how you’ve done.
A ‘Perfect’ score is if you found all theme words and the spangram without using any hints.
Otherwise, it will tell you how many hints you needed.
And that’s all there is to it.
How to solve NYT Strands tips and tricks for a perfect score
1.
Start in the corners
The corners of the Strands board are your friends.
Hang out there often.
Try it out: there’s no word that starts TB, or STB.
It might end BT as in DOUBT but it’s easy enough to rule that out.
Chances are that before long you’ll have worked out that BEST has to be the answer.
It shouldn’t take long from there to find THANKS.
Look for repeated letters
In Wordle, repeated letters make games harder.
Here, the opposite is often true.
That combo helped me find the end of SIGNINGOFF, which was vital to solving this Strands puzzle.
Don’t use your hints unless you have to!
Strands is notthatdifficult, so you might as well shoot for the best result.
Leave that ‘Hint’ button untouched and instead make your brain do the hard work.
You’ll get more of a sense of accomplishment at the end.
