The New York Times has boosted its selection of puzzles with the addition of a new title — Strands, which joins crossword, Wordle, Connections and Spelling Bee. Available online, it’s a word game that will keep you busy for 30-odd minutes.

What is Strands?

Players are greeted with a matrix of alphabets and on top the “day’s theme” is mentioned. It begins with a six by eight array of letters and a clue. For example, a recent Strands had the theme “better with age” and one had to look for answers.

How to play Strands?

Begin with finding words. Look for words that fit into the day’s theme, like for “better with age” there were plenty of four-/five-letter words and uncovering them gets the hint counter ticking. The theme is itself one of the words hidden in the grid. To find words, click and drag the letters in order to spell out said word. When you find a word that fits the theme, the correctly guessed word will light up in blue. Players also need to find a special word called a “spangram”. It highlights the theme and will light up in yellow when found. The spangram can be two words and will always touch two opposite sides of the board.

Finding hints

At its heart, it’s a word game and Strands rewards you for spotting them. In fact, if you spot three words, you will be given a hint, clicking which a few letters will get highlighted on the board. These are the letters of one of the game’s theme words, but you have to decode it.

Show the world

There are many people who still keep posting their Wordle score on X. So why not do the same for Strands?! Half the fun in winning a word puzzle is telling your friends and family members. There is a share option to let the world know online or through personal messages.