On December 30, 2025, word game enthusiasts around the world woke up to a fresh challenge from the New York Times: Strands puzzle #667, themed "2025 Top Twenty." For fans of the NYT’s growing suite of daily games—including Wordle, Connections, and Spelling Bee—Strands has quickly become an essential part of the morning ritual. But this particular puzzle, with its music-centered theme, proved to be both a nostalgic trip and a tough nut to crack for many.
According to Lifehacker, the day’s Strands puzzle invited players to dive into the world of popular music, hinting at the Billboard charts and the year’s most-streamed songs. The objective? To identify a set of hit song titles that had defined 2025, all cleverly hidden within a grid of seemingly random letters. The spangram—a word or phrase that stretches from one side of the board to the other, encapsulating the puzzle’s theme—was revealed to be "HITSONGS." Accompanying it were the theme words "ABRACADABRA," "DAISIES," "GOLDEN," "MANCHILD," and "ORDINARY."
For those unfamiliar, Strands is the latest addition to the NYT Games app and website, offering a unique twist on the classic word search. As explained by Parade, players are presented with a game board and a cryptic theme phrase. Their task is to find words that fit the theme, with each correct answer lighting up in blue. The elusive spangram, highlighted in yellow when discovered, not only spans the board but also succinctly describes the theme. It’s a daily test of vocabulary, lateral thinking, and, on days like this, pop culture knowledge.
The rules are simple yet engaging: drag or tap letters to form words, double-tap the last letter to submit, and fill the board entirely with theme words—none of which overlap. If you’re stuck, you can submit any non-theme word of four or more letters to earn hints. Every three valid non-theme words unlocks a hint, which will highlight the letters of a theme word. As CNET points out, this mechanic encourages creative exploration, even if you’re not immediately clued in to the day’s theme.
But back to the puzzle at hand. The “2025 Top Twenty” theme sent many players scrambling to recall this year’s chart-toppers. The hints provided by various outlets were designed to nudge solvers in the right direction. Parade teased, “Tunes to define an era,” while CNET offered the more direct, “Turn on the radio.” For those still stumped, the first two letters of each theme word were revealed: DA (DAISIES), AB (ABRACADABRA), OR (ORDINARY), GO (GOLDEN), MA (MANCHILD), and HI (HITSONGS, the spangram).
Strands puzzles are released at midnight in each player’s time zone, making the challenge a global, rolling event. As Strands Sidekick (published by the New York Times) notes, the December 30 puzzle was rated as "challenging" by paid testers, adding an extra layer of excitement and, for some, frustration. Players were encouraged to share their experiences and feedback in the comments section, turning the daily puzzle into a communal event.
For those who eventually cracked the code, the answers offered a snapshot of 2025’s musical landscape. “GOLDEN” was noted by Lifehacker as a popular song from K-Pop Demon Hunters, while “ABRACADABRA” was attributed to Lady Gaga—a nod to her enduring influence in pop music. “DAISIES” (Justin Bieber), “MANCHILD” (Sabrina Carpenter), and “ORDINARY” (Alex Warren) rounded out the list, reflecting a diverse mix of genres and artists that captured the zeitgeist of the year.
The mechanics of Strands set it apart from its NYT siblings. Unlike Wordle or Connections, there’s no failing in Strands—no limit on guesses, no timer ticking down. As Lifehacker explains, “When you submit guesses, you will either correctly identify an answer, receive credit toward a hint, or the text will shake back and forth, indicating that the word you submitted is too short or not valid.” The game ends only when every letter on the board has been used to form the correct theme words and the spangram.
Hints for the day included a variety of words—STAY, BRAISE, SCORN, BLOG, RAID, DIED, and more—as reported by TechRadar. These could be played to trigger the in-game hint system, a lifeline for those struggling to make headway. The spangram, "HITSONGS," stretched from the top left to the bottom right of the board, a satisfying discovery for anyone who managed to spot it early.
For some, the puzzle was a breeze. As one reviewer on TechRadar put it, “My rating: Easy – My score: Perfect.” Others found themselves tripped up, spending several minutes trying to connect the letters for “ABRACADABRA” or second-guessing their knowledge of current music trends. The puzzle sparked debate over which version of "GOLDEN" was superior—K-Pop Demon Hunters’ or Harry Styles’—and prompted playful grumbling about the generational gap in music knowledge.
Despite the challenge, the communal aspect of Strands shone through. Players swapped stories, shared creative writing, and offered encouragement in the comments sections of NYT’s official hints pages. The game’s daily release schedule, coupled with its ever-changing themes, ensures that no two days are alike. As Strands Sidekick reminds readers, “Strands is released at midnight in your time zone. To accommodate players around the world, we publish two Strands Sidekicks each day, based on Eastern Standard Time.”
For those who missed out, past hints and answers are readily available. As Lifehacker suggests, “Bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.” This archival approach means that newcomers and veterans alike can track their progress, revisit old puzzles, and marvel at the ever-evolving wordplay that Strands delivers.
As the NYT continues to expand its stable of word games, Strands has quickly found its place as a daily habit for puzzle lovers and pop culture aficionados alike. The December 30 puzzle, with its mix of nostalgia, challenge, and community, was a fitting capstone to a year in music—and a reminder that, sometimes, the most satisfying victories come one letter at a time.
