Strands doesn’t get as much attention as its New York Times counterparts Wordle and Connections, but it can be just as challenging and entertaining. Strands just came out of beta, so it’s now available on the official New York Times Games app, which could bring it more fans. I detail the rules of Strands in this article.
Need more answers? Here’s the answer for today’s Wordle, and here are the answers for today’s Connections. And are you solving the NYT Mini Crossword? Here’s today’s answer.
Learn more: NYT Connections Turns 1: Here Are the 5 Hardest Riddles to Solve So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: And the Oscar goes to…
If that doesn’t help, here’s a hint: I’d like to thank the academy.
Keywords to unlock clues in the game
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the theme of the puzzle. If you get stuck, find all the words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the words in the theme. Here are the words I used to get these clues, but any four-letter or longer word you find will work:
- TINES, STAT, DECREASE, BEST, WARN, TOTE, CHAIN, TONE, TOTS, RING, SING, SIGN, TIME, NIXES.
Answers to today’s Strands puzzle
Here are the answers that fit the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that spans from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have them all (I originally thought there were always eight, but I learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the answers that are not spangrams:
- FIELD, HUNTING, STONE, BAY, SWANK, PHOENIX, BRIDGES.
Today’s Strands spangram
Today’s Strands spangram is BEST ACTING. To spell it, start with the B three letters down in the first column and work your way up the grid.
NYT Strands puzzle completed by July 19, 2024.
How to play NYT Strands
1. Use Today’s Topic to search for words related to that topic. See one? Drag or click the letters in order. Double-click the last letter to submit your suggestion. If you found a topic word, it will light up blue and stay that way.
2. The other words you find are considered clue words that give you clues to the theme words. Find three clue words (they must have at least four letters each) and the game will reward you by showing you a theme word. But if you fail to decipher it, find three more clue words and the game will highlight the letters of the theme word in order.
3. Hunt it spangrama special thematic word that extends across the entire puzzle, although it may extend from top to bottom or across. It summarizes the theme of the puzzle.
4. When you are done, you will have used every letter in the board, either in a thematic word or in a spangram. Thematic words fill the entire board and do not overlap.