Strands - Online Word Games

About Strands - Online Word Games

Strands is a breath of fresh air in the fast-paced world of mobile gaming, which is dominated by eye-catching graphics and action-packed gameplay. This engrossing word game, accessible via the New York Times Games platform, ...

A World of Words, a Grid of Letters

In Strands, participants are presented with an 8x6 grid that looks harmless enough. It has 48 letters. But beneath this uncomplicated exterior comes a wealth of obscure terminology. Players set out on a word-finding quest accompanied by a daily theme, sometimes referred to as the spangram (a word made up of all the letters in the alphabet). They try to connect letters to create words that are appropriate and relate to the theme by tapping or swiping over the grid.

Beyond the Observable: Revealing the Secret Treasures

The intricacy of Strands' layers is what makes it so beautiful. Although the first few words may be easy to find, the real difficulty is in finding the less obvious ones. By rewarding players for finding larger terms, particularly the coveted spangram that makes use of every letter in the alphabet, the game encourages players to explore their vocabulary and think strategically.

How to play the Strands

Getting Started

Access the Game: Strands is a web-based game, so you can access it through your favorite web browser on a computer, phone, or tablet. You can find it on website https://strandspuzzle.com/

Welcome Screen: You'll be greeted with the daily puzzle grid, which consists of 48 letters arranged in an 8x6 format. There will also be a blank space where the daily theme, or spangram, will be revealed once you find enough words.

Gameplay

Finding Words:

Look for words within the grid that connect horizontally, vertically, diagonally, or even backwards! Simply swipe or tap and drag across connected letters to form a valid word. Releasing your finger or lifting your tap will submit the word.

Theme and Spangram:

The daily theme will typically be a single word that relates to all the words you can find in the grid. As you find valid words, the letters you used will disappear, potentially revealing letters that form part of the theme (spangram). Keep searching for words until the entire grid is cleared, revealing the hidden theme.

Scoring and Hints:

There's no point system in Strands, but the focus is on finding all the words and uncovering the theme. However, you can get hints if you're stuck. For every three non-themed words you find, you'll earn a hint that will reveal the location of a single letter belonging to a themed word.

Challenge and Replay:

While there's just one puzzle per day, the challenge lies in finding all the words and uncovering the theme within a reasonable time. You can always revisit previous day's puzzles to test yourself again or see if you can improve your finding speed.