NYT Bonus Puzzles: Hints, Answers & Solvers
The New York Times drops a set of Bonus Puzzles every Wednesday, twists on the daily games rather than more of the same. Here are hints, answers and solvers for all six: Wordle in 1, Connections 3x3, Colorful Strands, the Mystery Mini, the Easy Mode Crossword, and the monthly Special Crossword.
By Praveen L
Wordle in 1
Guess the only word.
Connections 3x3
Find 3 groups.
Colorful Strands
Light up the board.
Mystery Mini
Expect the unexpected.
Easy Mode Crossword
Savor simpler clues.
Special Crossword
A themed grid, first week of each month.
Your Hub for NYT Bonus Puzzle Answers
The New York Times drops a set of Bonus Puzzles every Wednesday, twists on the daily games rather than more of the same. We cover all six with the same reveal-at-your-own-pace solvers we build for the dailies: a hint first, then a nudge, then the answer only when you ask for it. Every past week stays in the archive.
The Games
Wordle in 1
Five rounds, each showing one starting word already coloured against a hidden answer. Exactly one word fits the clues, and you have unlimited guesses to find it. Our Wordle in 1 solver shows the colouring for every round, reveals the answer one letter at a time, and explains what each colour rules in or out.
Connections 3x3
Nine words in three groups of three. It is a tighter Connections board where a single misread word can sink a whole group. Our Connections 3x3 hints start with a nudge toward each category, then the category name, then the three words, so you can take exactly as much help as you need.
Colorful Strands
A Strands board where the theme words light up in colour. Same rules as the daily puzzle: find every theme word plus the spangram that spans the grid. Our Colorful Strands hints give you the theme clue first, then reveal words one at a time with their path traced on the board.
Mystery Mini
A 5×5 NYT Mini with a twist in the cluing, so expect the unexpected. Answers and clue-by-clue hints live with the rest of our crosswords on the Mystery Mini answers page.
Easy Mode Crossword
A full 15×15 grid with gentler clues: the daily crossword without the Friday-and-Saturday teeth. See the Easy Mode Crossword answers page for the grid, every clue, and hints.
Special Crossword
A themed 15×15 that runs in the first week of each month, usually with a guest constructor. Answers and hints are on the Special Crossword answers page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bonus Puzzles are a weekly set of twists on the New York Times daily games, launched in August 2026. Each drop includes Wordle in 1, Connections 3x3, Colorful Strands, the Mystery Mini and an Easy Mode Crossword, plus a Special Crossword in the first week of each month. They are separate from the daily games and do not replace them.
A new set drops every Wednesday. The same set stays up for the whole week, so Wednesday's puzzles are still "this week's" when you play them on Sunday. Our hints and answers go up the same day each drop lands.
Most drops are for New York Times Games subscribers. The launch week of August 26, 2026 was published as a free starter set. Our hints, answers and solvers are free either way.
No. Bonus Puzzles are scored separately from the daily games, so playing (or skipping) them does not affect your Wordle, Connections or Strands streak.
Yes. Use the week picker on any of our solver pages to jump to a previous Wednesday. Every week we have covered stays in the archive, so you can catch up on a drop you missed.
Wordle in 1 gives you five rounds, and in each one a single starting word already coloured against a hidden answer. Exactly one word in the dictionary fits those clues, and your job is to find it in one guess. Green means the right letter in the right spot, yellow means the letter is in the answer somewhere else, and grey means it is not in the answer at all.
Connections 3x3 is a smaller Connections board: nine words that split into three groups of three instead of the daily sixteen into four. The groups are not colour-ranked by difficulty the way the daily puzzle's are, so there is no yellow-to-purple ladder to work up.
Colorful Strands is a Strands board with a presentational twist: the theme words light up in colour as you find them. The puzzle plays exactly like the daily Strands: find every theme word plus the spangram, which stretches all the way across the board.
NYT Bonus Puzzle Solvers, Hints and Answers
Every puzzle in this week's Wednesday drop