Move over, Wordle—there’s a new word game capturing the attention of puzzle enthusiasts everywhere. On February 3, 2026, The New York Times rolled out its latest Strands puzzle (#702), and the day’s theme, “On key,” quickly had players across the globe hunting for familiar symbols hidden within a twisting, turning letter grid. With its clever design and playful nods to everyday keyboard characters, this Strands edition offered a moderate challenge and a satisfying payoff for those who cracked its code.
For those new to Strands, the game is a daily fixture on The New York Times website and app, joining the likes of Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword. The rules are straightforward but demand a keen eye: players must find all theme words that fill the board, with each word highlighted in blue upon discovery. The twist? None of the theme words overlap, and every letter is used exactly once. But the real star is the “spangram,” a word or phrase that encapsulates the day’s theme and stretches from one edge of the grid to the other, highlighted in yellow when found (The New York Times).
This particular puzzle’s theme, “On key,” was paired with the hint “Special characters.” That clue nudged players toward a set of symbols hiding in plain sight—those little marks and punctuation we tap out daily on our keyboards. The challenge lay not just in spotting familiar shapes, but in tracing their often serpentine paths through the 6x8 letter grid. According to CNET, the puzzle’s difficulty was rated as “moderate” by paid testers, with some words bending through tight corners or diagonally across the board. For many, the real trick was recognizing patterns and using short, non-theme words to unlock much-needed hints.
So what exactly did solvers have to find? The day’s answers were a who’s who of keyboard icons: ASTERISK, HASHTAG, TILDE, BRACKET, UNDERSCORE, and CARET. Each was clued with its own unique description—for instance, “A star-shaped symbol used for notes and footnotes” for ASTERISK, and “A symbol often used in social media tags” for HASHTAG (Technobezz). The final piece of the puzzle, the spangram, was SYMBOL—a fitting term that tied all the answers together and, when found, often unlocked the rest of the grid for observant players.
The spangram’s path was a puzzle in itself. As detailed by CNET, it began with the S located five letters down on the far-left row and wound its way down and up, touching opposite edges of the board as required by Strands rules. Spotting this word early could be a game-changer, revealing the theme and making the remaining answers fall into place. As one puzzle guide noted, “Spotting the spangram early helps unlock the rest of the board.”
Hints played a crucial role for those who found themselves stumped. Every time a player discovered three non-theme words of four letters or more, Strands rewarded them with a hint—revealing the letters of a theme word or showing the letter order if a hint was already active. For the February 3 puzzle, some of the non-theme words used to unlock hints included RISE, TEAR, RILE, and RISK, among others (CNET). These hints could be the difference between a satisfying solve and a frustrating dead end, especially with tricky words like CARET, which, as Technobezz pointed out, is often confused with “carrot” or overlooked entirely by casual typists.
Players were also encouraged to share their experiences and feedback. The New York Times’ Strands Sidekick feature invited solvers to leave comments, swap stories, and even share creative writing inspired by the day’s puzzle. The community aspect, with its focus on kindness and civility, helped foster a collaborative spirit among word lovers worldwide. And with Strands puzzles releasing at midnight in each player’s time zone, the challenge felt fresh and accessible to a global audience (The New York Times).
Beyond the fun and frustration of the daily solve, Strands offers a unique opportunity to sharpen pattern recognition and logical thinking. As noted by one puzzle analyst, “NYT Strands Today puzzles help users develop pattern recognition skills while they learn new words through interactive exploration.” The incremental achievements—finding a tricky word, unlocking a hint, or finally tracing the spangram—build a sense of progress that keeps players coming back for more.
The February 3 puzzle was especially praised for its clever theme and playful grid design. The “On key” prompt was a smart play on words, pointing both to the literal keys on a keyboard and the idea of being “on point.” Most of the symbols—ASTERISK, HASHTAG, TILDE, BRACKET, and UNDERSCORE—are familiar to anyone who’s spent time typing, coding, or posting on social media. CARET, with its subtle presence in programming and mathematics, was singled out as the trickiest entry, likely tripping up those less versed in technical lingo. But as the puzzle’s hints and escalating clues revealed, even the most obscure symbols could be unearthed with a bit of persistence and pattern-spotting.
For those who struggled, help was never far away. Online guides and hint pages provided progressive assistance, starting with gentle nudges (“A general term for any mark or character that represents something else”) and moving toward direct solutions. Some solvers even turned to the comments sections of Strands Sidekick or puzzle forums, where a lively community traded tips and celebrated victories together.
In the broader context of the New York Times’ growing stable of word games, Strands stands out for its blend of challenge, creativity, and community engagement. With daily themes that range from the whimsical to the wickedly difficult, and a format that rewards both vocabulary and lateral thinking, it’s little wonder that Strands has quickly become a staple for puzzle fans worldwide.
As the sun set on February 3, 2026, solvers could look back on a puzzle that was as satisfying as it was sneaky—a celebration of the humble keyboard symbol, and a testament to the enduring appeal of a well-crafted word game. For those who missed out, tomorrow’s Strands awaits, ready to challenge, confound, and ultimately reward those who dare to play.