Strands is the NYT's latest attempt to recreate the success of Wordle and Connections. It's still in beta right now, which means it's on trial; whether it sticks around will depend on how many play it. I hope it does, because it's good fun and often a real challenge. Read on for some hints and to see how I did today.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief and has been obsessed with Wordle and its ilk for more than two years. He's authored dozens of articles on the game for TechRadar, including a daily today's Wordle answer column and a detailed analysis of the most common letters in Wordle in every position. He's also played every Wordle ever and only lost once and yes, he takes it all too seriously.
NYT Strands today (game #87) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… A good workout
NYT Strands today (game #87) - hint #2 - clue words
What are some good clue words today?
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
• SCALE
• BALE
• PILL
• LIGHT
• SLIGHT
• WHITE
NYT Strands today (game #87) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• Let's get physical
NYT Strands today (game #87) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
• First: right, 3rd row
• Last: left, 3rd row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #87) - the answers
The answers to today's Strands, game #87, are…
- WEIGHTS
- ROWER
- BIKE
- TREADMILL
- CABLES
- ELLIPTICAL
- SPANGRAM: FITNESS
- My rating: Easy
- My score: Perfect
This one wasn't too bad, with the word WEIGHTS standing out to me very early on. Combined with the not-so-cryptic theme clue of 'A good workout', it was clear that what I needed here was gym equipment. Now, the fact that I haven't been to a gym in more than 20 years might have hurt me here, but thankfully it didn't prevent me from coming up with the rather obvious ROWER, BIKE and TREADMILL, and getting my game underway.
Things got easier still after that. The spangram of FITNESS stood out fairly readily – although I always find them more difficult when they run right to left – and though I have no idea what an ELLIPTICAL is, or why you'd have CABLES in a gym, I was able to uncover them based purely on the fact that the options were so limited by that late stage.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday 28 May, game #86)
- CLUCK
- TWEET
- CHIRP
- WARBLE
- TRILL
- SCREECH
- WHISTLE
- SPANGRAM: BIRDSONG
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's currently in Beta and 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.
