A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, October 27 (game #603).
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #604) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… The write stuff
NYT Strands today (game #604) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- WORSE
- READ
- WOOD
- HIDE
- HEAR
- LIFER
NYT Strands today (game #604) - hint #3 - spangram letters
How many letters are in today's spangram?
• Spangram has 10 letters
NYT Strands today (game #604) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First side: top, 3rd column
Last side: bottom, 4th column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #604) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #604, are…
- ERASER
- REFILL
- GRAPHITE
- CEDARWOOD
- SHARPENER
- SPANGRAM: PENCILMEIN
- My rating: Hard
- My score: 1 hint
I struggled with today’s search, mainly because I got the wrong idea about what “The write stuff” was referring to.
After getting plenty of non-game words I found ERASER and REFILL as I circled around the game, and the penny finally dropped. Seeing the word “pencil” and it not turning pale blue was a puzzler. It took me getting a hint word – GRAPHITE – and then having only the spangram left on the board for me to find it.
Until today I had never thought about the wood pencils are made from, but I have since learned that CEDARWOOD was preferred as it sharpens easily.
However, I have also discovered the raging debate over the future of pencils due to the unsustainability of cedar and the threat of plastic and springs.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, October 27, game #603)
- AMULET
- POTION
- CHARM
- WAND
- INCANTATION
- CAULDRON
- SPANGRAM: WIZARDY
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
