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 they’ll fill the entire game board. There’s 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, they’ll 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. Don’t worry though, NME is here to help. Below you’ll find the answers for today’s edition of Strands, alongside some helpful hints to assist you in solving the Spangram.
Yesterday’s Strands theme was “I think we’re covered” and the themed words had to do with equipment for going out when it’s wet, such as ‘hood’, ‘umbrella’ and ‘poncho’.
Because of this, the Spangram was ‘Rain Gear’.
Today’s theme is “One for the ages”.
Your hint for today’s Strands is: equipment for going out when it’s wet
For a clue about today’s Spangram, it begins with a ‘H’, ends with a ‘Y’ and is two words.
Want something to kick off your Strands discovery for the day?
Today’s Spangram is ‘Happy Birthday’ which starts with the ‘H’ in the middle at the top, and ends with the ‘Y’ at the bottom.
As well as ‘Rain Gear’, today’s theme of “One for the ages” gives us the following theme words:
‘Cake’ – starting with the ‘C’ near the bottom right
‘Celebrate’ – starting with the ‘C’ at the top left
‘Cards’ – starting with the ‘C’ on the left column in the middle
‘Party’ – starting with the ‘P’ approaching the bottom left
‘Candles’ – starting with the ‘C’ in the middle toward the right
‘Gifts – starting with the ‘G’ in top right
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:
#167 Theme: “I think we’re covered” – Spangram: ‘Rain Gear’
#166 Theme: “Hear me roar!” – Spangram: ‘Big Cat’
#165 Theme: “What do you make of this?” – Spangram: ‘Art Class’
#165 Theme: “Carle classic” – Spangram: ‘Hungry Caterpillar’
#164 Theme: “This or that” – Spangram: ‘Options’
#163 Theme: “Is this some kind of joke?” – Spangram: ‘You’re Kidding’
#162 Theme: “Honey I’m home!” – Spangram: ‘Houses’
#161 Theme: “Look it up!” – Spangram: ‘Reference’
#160 Theme: “Everybody cut footloose!” – Spangram: ‘Dance moves’
#159 Theme: “Home stretch?” – Spangram: ‘Bonus spaces’
#158 Theme: “Not just for poking” – Spangram: ‘Sticks’
#157 Theme: “Back to nature” – Spangram: ‘Outdoorsy’
#157 Theme: “Splashy Event” – Spangram: ‘Pool Party’
#157 Theme: “Oh, oh, oh!” – Spangram: ‘Rhyme Time’
#156 Theme: “Bed, bath and beyond” – Spangram: ‘Linen Closet’
#155 Theme: “Rolling in it” – Spangram: ‘That’s rich’
#154 Theme: “In glove” – Spangram: ‘On hand’
#153 Theme: “A night at the museum” – Spangram: ‘Art History’
#152 Theme: “Here, there and everywhere” – Spangram: ‘Location’
#151 Theme: “Not stirred” – Spangram: ‘Shaken’
#150 Theme: “Staying power” – Spangram: ‘Sticky Stuff’
#149 Theme: “That’s a stretch!” – Spangram: ‘Yoga Poses’
#148 Theme: “Book it!” – Spangram: ‘Public Library’
#147 Theme: “Daily delivery” – Spangram: ‘Newspaper’
#146 Theme: “Bedtime story” – Spangram: ‘Goodnight Moon’
#145 Theme: “Go for the gold” – Spangram: ‘Olympics’
#144 Theme: “All That Jazz” – Spangram: ‘Subgenre’
#143 Theme: “Screen Time” – Spangram: ‘Movie Theater’
#142 Theme: “You’re The Best” – Spangram: ‘Champion’
#141 Theme: “Make Waves” – Spangram: ‘Watercraft’
#140 Theme: “S-words? (A cutting-edge theme!)” – Spangram: ‘Blades’
#139 Theme: “A Seat At The Table” – Spangram: ‘Placesetting’
#138 Theme: “And The Oscar Goes To…” – Spangram: ‘Best Acting’
We’ll update this page each day to ensure it’s 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 don’t be surprised if things change over the coming weeks and months for the game. “During 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,” said the New York Times.
The post Today’s Strands answers and Spangram hints for #171 on August 21 appeared first on NME.