How to play NYT Strands

NYT Strands gives you a grid of letters with a group of theme words buried in it, plus one special word called the spangram. You trace a word through letters that touch — diagonals count — and every letter on the board is spoken for by one word, so nothing is left over when you finish.

The spangram is the key to the whole board: it names the theme and stretches from one side of the grid to the opposite side. Each puzzle also comes with a short clue about the theme, which makes Strands a game of guessing a word and then confirming it, rather than a word search.

The rules

1. Every puzzle opens with a short clue that describes the theme.
2. Theme words are traced through touching letters, diagonals included.
3. Every letter on the board belongs to exactly one word.
4. One of the words is the spangram: it names the theme and reaches two opposite sides of the board.
5. Three correct words of four letters or more that are not theme words unlock a hint.

How a game goes, step by step

1. Spend a moment on the clue before you look at the letters. It almost always describes what the spangram is about, so turn it into two or three candidate words first.
2. Scan along the edges rather than the middle. The spangram has to reach two opposite sides, which leaves only the outer letters as candidates for where it starts.
3. Trace the spangram as soon as you can see it. It is long, so confirming it takes a big block of letters out of play in one move.
4. Look at the clusters of letters left over, especially any boxed into a corner by words you have already found, and ask what else the theme would include — usually specific examples of the idea in the clue.
5. When nothing comes, trace any real word you can see, theme-related or not. Three such finds of four letters or more unlock a hint, and the hint points at a theme word you could not see.
6. Check every step of a path before you commit to it. Only genuine chains of touching letters count, and the easiest place to imagine a connection is the middle of a long word.

Three tips for your first games

• The spangram is usually longer than the theme words and rarely coils up in one corner, since it has to get from one side of the grid to the other.
• Don't dismiss a word because it has nothing to do with the clue. Finding it still counts toward your next hint, which is worth more than tidiness.
• Each word you find makes the rest easier rather than harder, since every letter you use is a letter the remaining words can no longer contain.

Ready for more? Read the Strands strategy guide