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NYT Strands is the latest feather in the creative cap of the New York Times gaming section. Right from the classic New York Times Crossword to recent Strands, the NYT surely knows how to tickle the brain. With its latest mind-challenging game, NYT Strands, the New York Times has created a lot of enthusiasm. NYT Strands can be described as the ultimate strategic, logical and creative word game there is. Since its inception in March 2024, Strands has quickly become the holy grail of the word-play community.
Also, it is seen to be adored by anyone who loves to solve riddles and puzzles. Since the creation of NYT Strands, the game has been all the rage, especially for lovers of word games.
NYT Strands was introduced as part of the New York Times’ effort to expand its gaming portfolio. The NYT realized this by considering the massive popularity that Wordle had received. After its success, NYT made sure to acknowledge there was now an emerging market for such games. The people in NYT Games wanted to come up with something new but still relevant within the puzzle and word paradigm. Hence, the rise of NYT Strands!
Strands itself is a word association game, at its core. The players are given a set of words or ideas and asked to build that into a strand or connection between them. It’s not just about some direct synonyms but evokes deeper thinking to relate between relations, associations and patterns. For example, one may be required to connect the words “fire,” and “ice.” They almost sound opposite of each other, so a player could use the word 'temperature' to bring them together.
The key to success is understanding the underlying logic behind each word or concept. The game begins easy and becomes progressively more difficult. With only a short session of play time Strands get the players hooked.
Stuck on today's NYT Strands? We've got the answers and hints to help you solve the puzzle.
October 21 Theme: “We're in this Together”
Spangram Hint: Think of a term that represents a collective or team.
Additional Hints:
A herd of large animals living or moving together.
Closely living together belonging to the same species for mutual benefit or survival.
Spangram: GROUPNAME
Answers: PACK, HERD, KNOT, FLOCK, PRIDE, SWARM, SCHOOL, COLONY
How to Play NYT Strands:
Combine Connections, Spelling Bee, and crossword puzzle skills together for this.
Solve the Spangram and theme words using 48 letters in a 6x8 grid.
Connect the letters: Horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
But why have strands gained this popularity? The popularity of NYT Strands can be attributed to a plethora of reasons. These include: the game repeats tricks that made Wordle so popular throughout the internet and it provides an everyday new game to keep up the winning streak. Lastly, it gives a sense of accomplishment to solve a problem and if it is complex, it becomes even more special.
Strands have also included an element of socialisation by whichcane able to upload their status or scores. This means the audience comes for one puzzle and gets to solve more every day which creates more traffic. It puts a competitive spirit of friendly nature to call friends, family or even strangers on an online platform. Users of social networks have been actively discussing how to solve different puzzles and some of the users have created groups where members share hints and answers.
NYT Strands is the newest game to sweep through the land of the enthused word gamers. It is not surprising that it is fast becoming a hit, considering its unique and interesting gameplay. Another attribution for its popularity is how it encourages players to think tactically. Both professional players and occasional solvers will find much joy and challenge in walking through Strands.
