Strands #673Slapped together
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Spangram
Theme Words
Click on a word to reveal its position on the board.
Hint Words:
Daily Game Solvers, Hints and Answers
We help you solve your favourite daily game
Stuck on today's NYT Strands game for Jan 5, 2026? Our solver is here to help, providing hints that help you solve today's game while minimising spoilers! Toggle "Reveal"/"Hide" to reveal the letters that make up each spangram or theme word. You can also click on a word to reveal its position on the board, without spoiling the word itself, or use one of today's 386 hint words.
Want to play? Play NYT Strands here.
About New York Times Strands
NYT Strands is one of the latest additions to The New York Times’ lineup of popular word games, joining the ranks of Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Connections. Launched in early 2024, Strands was developed in response to the growing demand for innovative and challenging word puzzles. The game quickly gained traction among puzzle enthusiasts for its unique blend of theme-based word searching and spatial reasoning.
A fun fact about Strands is that it was designed to encourage lateral thinking—players must not only find words but also interpret the daily theme creatively, often leading to surprising “aha!” moments. Each puzzle includes a special “spangram,” a word or phrase that uses every letter in the grid, adding an extra layer of challenge and satisfaction when discovered. The game’s themes are curated by a team of puzzle experts at The New York Times, ensuring a fresh and engaging experience every day.
Strands has also fostered a vibrant online community, with players sharing hints, strategies, and solutions across social media platforms. Its rapid rise in popularity highlights the enduring appeal of word games and the Times’ commitment to delivering daily brain-teasers that both entertain and educate.
Example of a NYT Strands puzzle with the spangram highlighted
Comparing NYT Strands to Other Word Games
NYT Strands stands out among The New York Times’ suite of word games, yet it shares certain qualities with favorites like Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Connections. Like Wordle, Strands offers a daily puzzle that challenges players’ vocabulary and deductive skills, but instead of guessing a single word, players must uncover multiple themed words hidden within a letter grid. Unlike Spelling Bee, which encourages players to create as many words as possible from a set of letters, Strands focuses on finding specific answers that fit a central theme, adding a layer of thematic reasoning to the gameplay. Connections, on the other hand, asks players to group words based on shared characteristics, while Strands requires players to interpret a clue and search for related words spatially within the grid. Despite these differences, all these games share a commitment to stimulating the mind, fostering a sense of discovery, and providing a satisfying daily challenge. Strands’ unique blend of word search mechanics and thematic puzzles makes it a fresh and engaging addition to the NYT’s word game collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Strands is an online word search game created by The New York Times. Each puzzle is themed, with words bending in any direction on a six-by-eight grid. Find all the theme words on the board by dragging or tapping letters, and double-tap the last letter to submit a word. Theme words stay highlighted in blue when found, and the spangram—which describes the puzzle’s theme—is highlighted in yellow.
Strands puzzles are created by The New York Times Games team. The original pitch was developed by Juliette Seive, and puzzles are edited by Tracy Bennett. Each puzzle is carefully designed with a theme, a set of words, and a spangram.
Theme words are words related to the puzzle’s theme. They do not overlap, and each letter on the board belongs to exactly one word. The spangram is a word or phrase that describes the puzzle’s theme and spans two opposite edges of the board. Both are highlighted on the board when found, with theme words in blue and the spangram in yellow.
For every three non-theme words you find, you earn a hint. Hints reveal letters of a theme word without showing the full solution, helping you solve the puzzle while minimizing spoilers.
The solver provides hints for today’s puzzle, allowing you to reveal letters of theme words or the spangram without spoiling the full solution. You can click on a word to highlight its position on the board and toggle reveal or hide for letters.
Strands can be played online through the New York Times Games website. A new puzzle is released daily, similar to other NYT daily games like Wordle and Spelling Bee.
You can find additional solvers for NYT games like Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Strands on our NYT Games Hub. Each solver provides hints while minimizing spoilers to help you enjoy the games more efficiently.