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NYT Strands is a daily word puzzle on a 6-by-8 board of 48 letters. You trace adjacent letters—including diagonal neighbors—to find every theme word and the puzzle’s one spangram. Three valid, new non-theme words of at least four letters earn one in-game hint. Using that hint does not erase your streak or puzzle count, but it does remove that day’s “solved without hints” mark.
What is NYT Strands?
Strands presents a 6-by-8 grid containing 48 letters. Your job is to trace words through neighboring tiles horizontally, vertically or diagonally. A path can turn as often as necessary, provided each next letter is adjacent to the previous one.
Every tile belongs to the final solution. The board contains several theme words and exactly one spangram. You must find the spangram and all of the theme words before the puzzle is complete. Regular theme words appear in blue after you solve them; the spangram appears in yellow.
The theme words fit a shared category suggested by the daily clue. The spangram is the entry that describes that category and stretches from one side of the board to the opposite side. It may be a single word or a short phrase. Because it identifies the category, discovering it often makes the remaining words much easier to spot.
How do you earn and use a hint?
Hints are earned through play rather than by spending a separate currency. Find three valid, new non-theme words, each at least four letters long, and the game unlocks one hint. These words do not belong to the puzzle’s theme. They are sometimes called “bonus” or “non-theme” words in player discussions.
Step-by-step hint process
- Trace a word of four or more letters through adjacent tiles.
- Submit it. If it is valid and is not one of the puzzle’s theme entries, it counts toward your hint.
- Repeat until three qualifying non-theme words have been found.
- Activate the available hint from the hint control.
- The board progressively highlights letters belonging to one unsolved theme word.
- Trace the highlighted word yourself and submit it to complete the discovery.
A hint gives you directional help, not an automatic answer. You still have to follow the highlighted letters, identify the word and submit it. In-game hints do not reveal the spangram.
Wrong guesses cost nothing under the described rules. There is also no stated cap on hints: after using one, another set of three qualifying non-theme words can earn another. The practical limit is how many unused, valid words you can find on that day’s board.
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Finding the three non-theme words is only the earning step. It does not count as using a hint. Your “solved without hints” status changes only when you activate the in-game hint and receive its letter reveal.
What is a spangram in Strands?
A spangram is the puzzle’s single category-defining word or short phrase. It reaches two opposite sides of the grid, which distinguishes it from ordinary theme entries. The game highlights it in yellow once solved, while theme words turn blue.
The spangram is usually one of the longest entries, but length alone is not a rule. A shorter-looking candidate can still be the spangram if its path crosses the board from one side to the opposite side. Conversely, a long theme word is not automatically the spangram.
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Why solve the spangram early?
The spangram gives you the category in concrete language. Once you know whether the puzzle concerns, for example, a type of object, title, activity or vocabulary set, you can brainstorm words that fit the category and search for their letter paths. It is therefore the strongest early target for most solving approaches.
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- Start at tiles along one edge and look for a plausible category word that could continue toward the opposite edge.
- Check diagonal routes as well as straight-looking paths; the route may change direction.
- Test a candidate by tracing every letter in order. A valid spangram must use adjacent tiles throughout and connect opposite sides.
- Use the revealed category to search for the remaining theme words rather than guessing unrelated long words.
The spangram is not revealed by an in-game hint. If you need help identifying it, you must infer it from the clue, the edge-to-edge path and the theme words you have already found.
Does using a hint break your Strands streak?
No. Activating a hint does not break your consecutive-day streak and does not remove the puzzle from your solved count. It does, however, remove that day’s “solved without hints” mark.
That distinction matters because Strands tracks more than one accomplishment. You can preserve your run of completed daily puzzles while honestly recording that a hint was used on a particular day.
What resets a streak?
Missing a daily puzzle resets the consecutive-day streak. Taking longer to solve, making wrong guesses and using a hint do not reset it under the described scoring rules.
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How does Strands scoring work?
Strands’ described statistics emphasize completion and consistency rather than a conventional points total. The scoreboard focuses on:
- the number of puzzles you have solved;
- your current consecutive-day streak; and
- whether each puzzle was solved without activating an in-game hint.
There is no conventional points total or timer in the described scoreboard. A fast solve is not assigned a published time bonus, and a slow solve does not by itself damage your streak. The meaningful choices are whether you finish the puzzle and whether you use the official hint mechanic.
What does “solved without hints” mean?
It means you completed that day’s board without activating an in-game hint. You may still submit wrong guesses, and you may find non-theme words while working toward a possible hint; neither action removes the mark. The mark disappears when you actually use the hint’s letter reveal.
When does the daily puzzle reset?
A new Strands puzzle appears at midnight in your local time zone. The reset is therefore based on the clock setting associated with your location or device, not one universal worldwide release time.
The current daily puzzle is free on the New York Times Games website or app. Access to the official archive of past Strands puzzles requires an NYT Games subscription. That subscription requirement applies to replaying archived puzzles, not to opening the current daily board.
What happens if you open the puzzle near midnight?
Because the changeover follows local midnight, a board opened shortly before midnight belongs to the outgoing day, while a board opened after the rollover is the new daily puzzle. If maintaining a streak matters, make sure the puzzle is completed before your local day changes.
Official hints versus other ways to get help
Different forms of assistance reveal different amounts of information. Before using one, decide whether you want a small nudge, a letter-level reveal or the complete answer.
| Help method | Typical spoiler level | Official or community-provided | Affects “solved without hints”? | Identifies the spangram? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-game hint | Progressive letters for one unsolved theme word | Official game feature | Yes, activating it removes that day’s mark | No |
| Finding non-theme words | No direct theme reveal | Official game mechanic | No | No |
| Community or third-party staged hints | Can range from a category nudge to progressively stronger clues | Community-provided | The game’s in-app statistic is not changed unless you also activate its hint | May, depending on what the provider reveals |
| Full solution | Complete spoiler | Usually community-provided | Does not itself activate the in-game hint | Yes, if the solution includes it |
Only the in-game hint has a defined effect on the “solved without hints” statistic. External help can still spoil the puzzle, so staged clues are preferable when you want to preserve some solving challenge.
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A reliable strategy for solving without a hint
1. Read the clue as a category, not as an answer
Translate the daily clue into a broad set of possible words. Avoid committing to the first interpretation that comes to mind; the clue may point to a class of things, a naming pattern or a shared phrase.
2. Search the edges for the spangram
Because the spangram must connect opposite sides, edge tiles provide a useful starting point. Trace plausible category words and allow the path to bend. Once one candidate works from side to side, record the category it expresses.
3. Use the category to generate candidates
Brainstorm several words that belong to the newly identified category. Then look for their letters on the board in adjacent sequences. A candidate that fits the meaning but cannot be traced continuously is not a solution.
4. Mark solved regions mentally
Every final entry uses its tiles, and the complete board accounts for all 48 letters. After finding a word, inspect the remaining open-looking clusters. This reduces the number of possible paths and can expose a missing short entry.
5. Deliberately hunt for non-theme words only when useful
If you are stuck, search for ordinary four-letter-or-longer words that are clearly outside the category. Three valid discoveries will unlock a hint, but activating it changes your “solved without hints” status. If preserving that mark is more important than speed, continue category-based solving instead.
6. Validate the final gaps
Before assuming the board is finished, check that the spangram and every theme word have been submitted. The puzzle cannot be completed while any required entry remains unsolved, even if most of the letters appear covered.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common questions and troubleshooting
“I found three words, but no hint appeared.”
Confirm that each word had at least four letters, was accepted as valid and was not a theme word. The words must be new qualifying non-theme entries. A word that belongs to the theme does not count toward the hint.
“The hint did not show the whole answer.”
That is expected. The hint progressively highlights letters from one unsolved theme word; it does not submit the word for you. Trace the highlighted path and enter the answer yourself.
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Hints affect the daily “solved without hints” record, not the consecutive-day streak. Only failing to complete a daily puzzle breaks the streak.
“I cannot finish even though I have several blue words.”
Look specifically for the yellow spangram and any remaining theme entry. All theme words and the single spangram are required, and every tile must be accounted for before completion.
“The puzzle changed while I was playing.”
Check your local time. The daily board changes at midnight in the player’s local time zone, so a session that crosses midnight can move from one daily puzzle to the next.
Quick Recap
Key takeaways for daily players
- The board is 6 by 8, with 48 letters and paths that may run horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
- There is exactly one spangram, highlighted yellow, and it reaches opposite sides of the board.
- Three valid new non-theme words of four or more letters earn one hint.
- Using a hint reveals letters for an unsolved theme word but never reveals the spangram.
- Wrong guesses, extra solving time and earning a hint do not break a streak.
- Activating a hint removes that day’s “solved without hints” mark.
- Missing the daily puzzle resets the consecutive-day streak.
- The daily board resets at local midnight; the current puzzle is free, while the official archive requires an NYT Games subscription.
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