Hints and Solutions for Strands: February 2, 2025 Edition
Looking for solutions and hints for Strands on February 2, 2025? You’re in the right place! This edition features a puzzle themed around the “Album of the Year.”
Easily revisit our Strands hints daily by bookmarking this link. You’ll also find hints from previous puzzles here, perfect for catching up on what you may have missed.
This post includes subtle hints for today’s Strands answers. If you’re eager for the full solution—including a spangram and all answers—keep scrolling at a leisurely pace and take only the hints you wish!
Clue for Today’s Spangram
Those who have achieved the Album of the Year title are described with this two-word phrase.
Clue for Today’s Theme Words
These are the last names of individuals honored with the Album of the Year at the industry’s most prestigious ceremony.
CAUTION: Spoilers Ahead!
At this point, the answers to today’s Strands puzzle will be revealed.
What is today’s spangram?
Today’s spangram is GRAMMYWINNERS.
What are the theme words for today’s Strands?
The theme words are: WONDER, JONES, KING, HILL, CROSS, STYLES, SWIFT.
Here’s what the completed board looks like:
Strategies to Solve Today’s Strands
The current puzzle aligns perfectly with the upcoming Grammy Awards, and the term “Grammy” can be found starting in the upper left section of the board.
Here lies the spangram: GRAMMYWINNERS. 🟡
In the bottom right, you’ll find SWIFT. 🔵 This indicates the artists recognized in the Album of the Year category. (Taylor Swift: 2010, 2016, 2021, 2024.)
The word CROSS is positioned at the top of the puzzle. 🔵 (Christopher Cross: 1981.)
STYLES can be seen completing the right segment. 🔵 (Harry Styles: 2023.)
To the bottom left, KING is visible. 🔵 (Carole King: 1972.)
HILL follows KING on its right. 🔵 (Lauryn Hill: 1999.)
WONDER appears in the upper left corner. 🔵 (Stevie Wonder: 1974, 1975, 1977.)
Finally, JONES wraps up the list. 🔵 (Norah Jones: 2003.)
Strands #336 “Album of the Year” 🟡🔵🔵🔵 🔵🔵🔵🔵
How to Participate in Strands
The Strands game is available on the New York Times website and can also be accessed through the NYT Games app.
Upon starting, players will notice a board filled with letters, alongside a clue that suggests the theme of the game—a phrase like “Better with age.” The objective is to uncover hidden words within the board that correspond to the theme.
A Fusion of Crossword Puzzle and Word Search
The spangram, a critical word directly related to the theme, is essential to find. (For instance, in a puzzle themed “Better with age,” the spangram might be FERMENTED, pertinent since these items indeed improve with time.) The spangram stretches across the entire board, either horizontally or vertically. Once identified, it will be marked in yellow, simplifying the task of completing the rest of the puzzle.
In Strands, words can be arranged in any direction (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal), and each letter can only be utilized once. Only one solution is correct. When a word is successfully identified (like KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it is marked in blue.
If assistance is needed, players can submit non-theme words (minimum of four letters) to gain a hint. Submitting three non-theme words will activate the “Hint” button, which when clicked will highlight letters of one of the theme words that must still be arranged correctly to match.
Winning Strands
Unlike other games like Connections or Wordle, Strands does not have a fail condition. When guesses are made, players will either correctly identify a word, earn a hint, or see feedback when the submission is too short or invalid. There’s no limit to the number of guesses, nor is there a time constraint.
A win occurs when all letters on the board have been used correctly, culminating in identifying both the spangram and all theme words. Much like other New York Times games, successful completion results in a shareable card indicating performance for the day: blue dots 🔵 signify found theme words, while a yellow dot 🟡 denotes the found spangram, and a lightbulb 💡 indicates assistive words marked.
