Unlocking the NYT Strands Puzzle: Hints and Answers for Monday, October 28th (#239)
NYT Strands Puzzle: A Word Search with a Twist!
The New York Times' Strands puzzle is a fun twist on the classic word search. If you've never played before, here's how it works:
You get a six by eight grid of letters. Your goal is to find words connected thematically. You get a clue to the theme (Fall fun for today's puzzle!), and each themed word is highlighted blue when found. Plus, there's a special word to find – a spangram—a word highlighting at least two edges that connects the words by a unifying element and appears in yellow after being discovered.
The words run in all directions. And sometimes you've gotta figure out the missing part of a phrase or use synonyms/homophones! It gets tricky and the game keeps changing!
Need help? Find three valid words (four letters minimum, not themed words), unlock the Hint button, get a letter-highlight of one theme word, and proceed to beat this amazingly fun puzzle. The creators want you to really focus on those little moments. These kinds of seemingly hard-to-understand game mechanisms really highlight just why so many enjoy these types of games: The surprise value and ability to adapt, creating various moments that make playing a word search so enjoyable. So, go ahead, start guessing!
Today's Strands Puzzle: Hints for Fall Fun
The official theme clue? Fall fun. Sounds lovely!
Need more help? This puzzle revolves around typical Fall activities which many would find fun.
There are seven themed words; including the spangram!
Need a Head Start? Here Are the First Two Letters of Each Theme Word!
(Arranged from left to right and then top to bottom):
Major Spoilers Incoming: The Spangram and Theme Word Solutions!
Last chance to try on your own! Prepare for a huge spoiler and a completely comprehensive solution! That spangram unlocks this thing. That special solution shows exactly why we need the spangram!
Today's spangram is ORCHARDS!
Here’s the solution and how the completed grid looks:
The complete list of themed words: PUMPKINS, HAY RIDES, MAZE, ORCHARDS, DOUGHNUTS, CIDER, APPLES
Conclusion: Time for Another Day of Strands
That NYT Strands puzzle? A real brain teaser that challenges those puzzle fanatics and those word enthusiasts to stretch their own cognitive muscles; yet remain exceptionally enjoyable and something well worth tackling each day! That theme – Fall fun— brought in several highly popular aspects and ideas found within typical Fall events, creating a wonderfully cohesive puzzle and extremely enjoyable moments!
