The newest simple brain game from The New York Times is Strands, which feels like a mix of a traditional word search and a topic-focused puzzle like Connections. If you're having trouble getting used to the new game or want some extra hints to help you solve the March 27 puzzle, we're here to offer as much or as little help as needed.
How to Play Strands
You're dealing with a 6 x 8 grid of letters and need to find words, but unlike a traditional word search, the flow of each word can travel in different directions and pivot. In other words, the "strands" of letters pivot all over the place. You can tap or trace your finger on your mobile device to submit a word.
Each day's puzzle has a somewhat obtuse theme that reads like a crossword clue. Official puzzle words are all related to that theme, but there's also a way to receive further hints: if you submit three words unrelated to the theme, you'll receive a hint in the form of all the letters needed for a word related to the theme. These always need to be four letters or longer.
It'll then be up to you to guess the flow of that particular strand. As you unlock official guesses, they'll be highlighted in blue. Eventually, you'll uncover the theme's name in gold — called a Spangram! — as it bisects the rest of the puzzle and touches two opposite sides of the board.
In the above example, the theme was "What's the issue?" Some of the words were "TIME," "HIGHLIGHTS," and "PEOPLE." But these are also the names of magazines!
March 27 Puzzle Hints
Today's theme is "This is where I draw the line." Without giving too much away, we'll point out that the actual clue involves drawing lines quite a bit. More broadly think about art and design as you're trying to figure out the words.
Today's Non-Theme Words for Strands
There are plenty of non-theme words you can submit. In no particular order, here are some non-theme words to look for:
- DISK
- GOOD
- TOON
- CROON
- DIRT
- HIRE
- HOOT
- CHORE
- PORT
- CHOP
- ROOT
- TRAP
- TART
- CANT
- COOT
- HART
- GRAPHIC
- TRAIT
Remember that for every three you find, Strands will show you all of the letters used in an on-theme word. Then it's up to you to figure out how to use it to spell out a word.
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Today's On-Theme Words for Strands
Here are some of the on-theme words on the board:
- COMIC
- SKETCH
- DOODLE
- DESIGN
- CARTOON
- PORTRAIT
- GRAPHIC ART (Spangram)
All of the words involve Graphic Art. Both SKETCH and DESIGN are the easiest to spot since their respective strands are more or less straightforward. PORTRAIT is a bit tricky since its vertical with an opening twist. The Spangram GRAPHIC ART is also pretty tricky since that's technically two words, but hey, we don't make the rules.
