Strands is the latest word game from the New York Times and is rapidly building a player base to rival Wordle.
The free-to-play daily game challenges players to find a series of words from a jumbled up grid of letters. As well as horizontal and vertical chains of letters, though, Strands allows players to link a letter with any of the nine other letters that surround it, giving players plenty to think about.
Strands is currently available to play via the New York Times app, as well as on mobile and PC. Check it out here.
There are a number of different themed words to be found per daily game, linked together by a cryptic clue. None of these words will overlap and theyâll fill the entire game board. Thereâs also something known as a Spangram, one or two words that describes the puzzle’s theme and touches at least two different sides of the board.
For every three non-themed words a player finds, theyâll be rewarded with a hint to help them complete the board. This hint will highlight which letters make up one of the words, while using a second hint will tell players the order of the letters. Hints can be stacked, but words must be longer than three letters.
The different themes mean that, on some days, Strands will be playing to your strengths while at other times you’ll undoubtedly be left scratching your head. Donât worry though, NME is here to help. Below youâll find the answers for todayâs edition of Strands, alongside some helpful hints to assist you in solving the Spangram.
Strands hint and clues for today (#201, September 20)
Yesterdayâs Strands theme was âWork out the bugsâ and the themed words had to do with minibeasts, such as âbeetleâ, âspiderâ and âtermiteâ.
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Because of this, the Spangram was âCreepy crawliesâ.
Todayâs theme is âA way with wordsâ.
Your hint for todayâs Strands is: minibeast
For a clue about todayâs Spangram, it begins with a âPâ, ends with a âYâ and is one word.
Todayâs Spangram (September 20)
Want something to kick off your Strands discovery for the day?
Todayâs Spangram is âPoetryâ which starts with the âPâ in the leftmost column, and ends with the âYâ in the rightmost column.
Todayâs Strands answers (September 20)
As well as âPoetryâ, todayâs theme of âA way with wordsâ gives us the following theme words:
âMeterâ – starting with the âMâ in the bottom right
âVerseâ – starting with the âVâ in the bottom left
âRhymeâ – starting with the âRâ near the bottom left
âStanzaâ – starting with the âSâ near the top right
âSyntaxâ – starting with the âSâ in the middle of the second column from the right
âDictionâ – starting with the âDâ in the middle
âScansionâ – starting with the âSâ in the third row
Past Strands Spangram answers
To help you get in the correct mindset to solve Strands, it might be useful to look back and see how the different themes have lined up with the Spangram. Here are some recent examples:
#200 Theme: âWork out the bugsâ – Spangram: âCreepy crawliesâ
#199 Theme: âHandy helpersâ – Spangram: âTool chestâ
#198 Theme: âOn the reboundâ – Spangram: âLetâs bounceâ
#197 Theme: âWhat a stud!â – Spangram: âPiercingâ
#196 Theme: âOn the rocksâ – Spangram: âOld fashionedâ
#195 Theme: âElements of styleâ – Spangram: âAccessorizingâ
#194 Theme: âBoots and saddlesâ – Spangram: âWesternsâ
#193 Theme: âThis should be right up your alleyâ – Spangram: âThorough fareâ
#192 Theme: âPlay-with wordsâ – Spangram: âToy storeâ
#191 Theme: âGive it a whirl!â – Spangram: âBallroom danceâ
#190 Theme: âGo play outside!â – Spangram: âLawn gamesâ
#189 Theme: âA royal shadeâ – Spangram: âPurplesâ
#188 Theme: âKnow your materialâ – Spangram: âFabricâ
#187 Theme: âJust rightâ – Spangram: âThree bearsâ
#186 Theme: âGoing undergroundâ – Spangram: âRoot vegetablesâ
#185 Theme: âAmerican beautyâ – Spangram: âNational parksâ
#184 Theme: âStriking soundsâ – Spangram: âBell tonesâ
#183 Theme: âOrder in the court!â – Spangram: âTitlesâ
#182 Theme: âServe ginger-ly?â – Spangram: âCalifornia rollâ
#181 Theme: âMakeshift musicâ – Spangram: âJug bandâ
#180 Theme: âLet’s playâ – Spangram: âVideo gamesâ
#179 Theme: âCoffee orderâ – Spangram: âWake up and …â
#178 Theme: âCommuter benefitsâ – Spangram: âPublic transportâ
#177 Theme: âPixar fareâ – Spangram: âRatatouilleâ
#176 Theme: âSee you on the courtâ – Spangram: âGrand slamâ
#175 Theme: âInto the woodsâ – Spangram: âForestâ
#174 Theme: âCrumby themeâ – Spangram: âCrackersâ
#173 Theme: âThe nose knowsâ – Spangram: âCommon scentsâ
#172 Theme: âSmoothie movesâ – Spangram: âBlender settingâ
#171 Theme: âOne for the agesâ – Spangram: âHappy Birthdayâ
#170 Theme: âI think we’re coveredâ – Spangram: âRain Gearâ
#169 Theme: âHear me roar!â – Spangram: âBig Catâ
#168 Theme: âWhat do you make of this?â – Spangram: âArt Classâ
#167 Theme: âCarle classicâ – Spangram: âHungry Caterpillarâ
#166 Theme: âThis or thatâ – Spangram: âOptionsâ
Weâll update this page each day to ensure itâs got the latest Strands answer, as well as clues to help you figure out the Spangram.
Strands is currently a beta release for the New York Times, so donât be surprised if things change over the coming weeks and months for the game. âDuring this testing period we aim to learn whether our customers are interested in the game and what improvements could be made before it can be released more broadly,â said the New York Times.