If you’re eager to access daily hints for Strands, save this page to your bookmarks. Here, previous hints can also be reviewed, allowing you to see any solutions you missed from older puzzles.

The section below presents some indirect clues related to today’s Strands answers. For those who wish to uncover the spangram and final answers, further down the page contains those details. Take your time—scroll slowly, absorbing only the hints you find necessary.

Credit: Strands/NYT

Spangram Hint for Today’s Puzzle

This refers to groups engaged in a particularly tough contest on the ice.

Theme Words Hint for Today’s Puzzle

Consider examples of “ice packs” which might be cheered from the audience, typically wearing their respective jerseys.

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for Today’s Puzzle!

The solutions to today’s Strands puzzle are as follows:

Today’s Spangram

The spangram for today is: HOCKEYTEAM.

Theme Words for Today

The theme words include: JETS, DEVILS, SHARKS, WILD, LIGHTNING, AVALANCHE.

Here’s what the completed board looks like:

Credit: Strands/NYT

Strategy for Solving Today’s Strands

Reflecting on the term “packs,” it may hint at collections of creatures, suggesting that “ice packs” pertains to animals from frigid regions—think of penguins, wolves, etc.

The term LIGHT appears in the top right corner. While it isn’t quite a match, LIGHTNING certainly is. Ah! The term HOCKEY is evident… so the reference to “ice packs” relates to hockey teams, with LIGHTNING denoting the Tampa Bay team. The spangram—HOCKEYTEAM—is identified and silhouetted like a hockey stick!

Next to LIGHTNING is WILD. (Minnesota’s team.)

AVALANCHE fits perfectly in the puzzle’s right section. (Colorado’s team.)

SHARKS occupy the bottom left corner. (San Jose’s team.)

Above SHARKS is DEVILS. (New Jersey’s team.)

Finally, there’s JETS. (The Winnipeg team.)

Strands #349
“Ice packs”

Playing Strands

The Strands game is available on the New York Times website and via the NYT Games app.

Upon starting the game, a board appears filled with various letters alongside a clue that reveals the theme—this presentation features a phrase like “Better with age.” The goal is to uncover the hidden words that align with the theme presented.

A Unique Blend of Crossword and Word Search

Your primary focus should be the “spangram,” a word that closely aligns with the puzzle’s central theme. For instance, the spangram for the theme “Better with age” is FERMENTED, signifying items that indeed improve with time. This word spans the board either horizontally or vertically (hence, “spangram”). Upon finding it, the spangram will illuminate in yellow, greatly simplifying the remaining puzzle.

In Strands, words can move in all directions (vertically, horizontally, and diagonally), utilizing each letter only once. The game offers a single, correct solution. When a word is identified accurately, for example, KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI, it is highlighted in blue.

If someone finds themselves struggling with the puzzle, there’s a mechanism to submit non-theme words (four letters or more) in exchange for a hint. Obtaining three non-theme words grants access to the “Hint” feature; if activated, the letters of a theme word will become highlighted. These letters must then be correctly sequenced to form the full word. Utilizing hints already provided alters the board to better reflect them if attempted again before solving.

Winning Strategies for Strands

Unlike games such as Connections or Wordle, Strands offers an experience where outright failure is not possible. Each submission results in one of three outcomes: a correct guess, earning points toward hints, or a shake of the submission to indicate the word is either too short or invalid. No limitations on guesses or time constraints are present.

A win is declared upon correctly using every letter on the board, thereby identifying the spangram and all themed words. Upon success, a shareable card presents performance details for that day: blue dots signify theme words found, a yellow dot shows the spangram discovered, and a lightbulb illustrates words that were hinted.