Strands is a word puzzle game that is often overshadowed by its New York Times game siblings Wordle and Connections, but it offers just as much challenge and entertainment. Recently moving out of beta, Strands is now featured in the New York Times’ official Games app, potentially increasing its popularity among players. The rules of Strands involve finding hidden words related to the puzzle’s theme, with the goal of revealing all theme words, including a special spangram word that spans the entire puzzle. Players must find three words of four letters or more to unlock hints, leading them closer to solving the puzzle.
In today’s Strands puzzle, the theme revolves around the concept of “Here, there and everywhere,” with a focus on prepositions. Players are tasked with finding specific words that tie into the theme, such as THROUGH, ABOVE, AMONG, BESIDE, BETWEEN, and UNDERNEATH. The spangram word for this puzzle is LOCATION, which must be identified by starting with the letter L and winding over to complete the word. To play Strands, participants must utilize the theme to identify relevant words, clicking or dragging the letters in order to submit their guesses. Once a theme word is correctly identified, it will light up in blue, marking it as solved.
To assist players in solving the Strands puzzle, hint words are provided as clues to the theme words. Finding three hint words, each consisting of at least four letters, will trigger the game to reveal a theme word. If players struggle to decipher the theme word, locating three additional hint words will result in the highlighting of the theme word’s letters in order. Additionally, gamers are encouraged to discover the spangram, a special word that encapsulates the puzzle’s theme and spans the entire board. By completing the puzzle, players ensure that every letter on the board is utilized in either a theme word or the spangram, without any overlapping words.
The New York Times Strands game offers a unique and engaging experience for puzzle enthusiasts, requiring strategic thinking and word recognition skills to uncover the hidden words within each puzzle. By following the specific rules and guidelines provided, players can successfully navigate through the challenges presented in the game and work towards completing the puzzle. With the inclusion of themes, hint words, and the spangram element, Strands provides a comprehensive and interactive gameplay experience that is both entertaining and intellectually stimulating for players of all skill levels. As Strands gains more attention within the gaming community, its popularity and player base are expected to grow, further solidifying its position as a captivating word puzzle game in the digital realm.
