Move over, Wordle and Connections—there's a new NYT word game in town! The New York Times' recent game, "Strands," is becoming increasingly popular as another engaging daily activity fans can find on the NYT website and app. With daily themes and "spangrams" to discover, this is the latest addicting game to tackle before the next one appears 24 hours later. Here’s how to play Strands, hints for today's spangram, and all the answers for Strands #308 on Sunday, January 5th.
According to the New York Times, here's exactly how to play Strands: players must find theme words to fill the board. Theme words remain highlighted in blue when found, and players can drag or tap letters to create words. If tapping, double-tap the last letter to submit. Theme words fill the board entirely, and no theme words overlap. Players also need to find the "spangram"—a word or phrase related to the puzzle's theme—which touches two opposite sides of the board and highlights in yellow when found. An example spangram could be words associated with fruits like PEAR, FRUIT, BANANA, and APPLE.
Today's Strands game revolves around weather phenomena experienced during colder months. The spangram for today is vertical (top to bottom) and associated with the theme hint: "Cold Snap." For those needing extra help, non-theme words can lead to hints, with every three non-theme words providing the player with hints showing the letters of theme words.
Warning: Spoilers ahead! Today's puzzle features seven theme words to identify, including the spangram. The first hint indicates the location of the first word on the left side of the board, and here are the first two letters for each word: - DR, FL, FR, BL, SL, SN, WI (SPANGRAM). Today's NYT Strands spangram answer on Sunday, January 5, 2025, is WINTERWEATHER.
The complete list of today's Strands answers is: - DRIZZLE - FLURRY - FROST - BLIZZARD - SLEET - SNOW - WINTERWEATHER (SPANGRAM).
Meanwhile, if you're still seeking clues for today's Connections answers, then puzzle #574 on January 5 offers some encouragement as its difficulty level is rated at 2 out of 5 by the Connections Companion. This makes it much easier than the previous day’s puzzle, which had some players scratching their heads.
For those desiring tips to solve, today’s Connections puzzle involves identifying connecting categories among 16 words. Each category's difficulty level is color-coded, with yellow being the easiest and purple the most challenging. With 16 words today: Stop, Gross, Make, Home, Yield, Volume, Slow, Snare, Quiet, Kettle, Net, Mute, Ear, Sleepy, Oil, Calm. So, what are the hints to help you categorize them?
The themes for each category based on the order of difficulty are as follows: - 🟨 Yellow: Hardly Bustling - 🟩 Green: Earn - 🟦 Blue: Remote Control Functions - 🟪 Purple: Words Before "Drum." With these hints, players are well on their way to finding today's Connections answers.
So, what are today's Connections answers for game #574? Drumroll, please... - 🟨 Hardly Bustling: Calm, Quiet, Sleepy, Slow - 🟩 Earn: Gross, Make, Net, Yield - 🟦 Remote Control Functions: Home, Mute, Stop, Volume - 🟪 Words Before "Drum": Ear, Kettle, Oil, Snare. Given the lower difficulty rating, today’s puzzle has been described as noticeably easier.
For those curious about yesterday's Connections answers: - 🟨 Crush Into A Compact Shape: Ball, Crumple, Scrunch, Wad - 🟩 Fasteners: Buckle, Clip, Hook, Snap - 🟦 Mark as Completed: Check, Cross, Strike, Tick - 🟪 Depicted in Dali's "The Persistence of Memory": Ant, Branch, Clock, Melting. If you've been taking on your New Year resolutions, tackling these word games is not only fun but can offer the perfect mental exercise to kick off the year!
With the introduction of new puzzles like Strands, the New York Times continues to offer fresh ways for word enthusiasts to engage their minds and enjoy their downtime. Keep playing daily to discover new themes and sharpen your problem-solving skills as you navigate these clever word games.