Strands is a daily word-search puzzle game with a twist: you don't get the hidden words to find in the puzzle because you have to figure them out on your own. The rules of Strands also state that you have to use every single letter, but only once.

If this challenging puzzle game is tripping you up today, you can find a whole bunch of hints in the article below. There are some general hints for the theme, spoilers for a couple of the words, and the full answer if you need it.

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The NYT Games Strands Puzzle #172 August 22, 2024

NYT-New-York-Times-Game-Strands-Puzzle-August-22-2024

The Strands puzzle for today has the clue Smoothie Moves. It has eight items to find: one Spangram and seven themed words.

New York Times Games Strands Clues

Clues for this daily puzzle game can be found in the three sections below. If you open them up, you will see three general, spoiler-free hints to get you closer to the theme that don't ruin any of the puzzle's answers.

General Hint 1

General Hint 2

General Hint 3

Spoilers for Two of the Words in Today's Strands

Each of the two sections below contains one spoiler for this minimalist puzzle game today. Open up each one to see the word and where it goes in the puzzle on a screenshot.

Spoiler 1

Spoiler 2

The Answer to Today's New York Times Games Strands

The answer to the New York Times Games Strands is in the expandable section below. Click the Read More button below to open it up and see the entire spoiler for this challenging puzzle.

Today's Strands Explained

You can find a full explanation for this game in the section below. Peek inside to get an idea of how the Spangram, the themed words, and the clue all go together in today's Strands.

Want to play? Check out the New York Times Games Strands website available on almost any device with a browser.

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strands game

Strands
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Puzzle
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Released
March 4, 2024
Developer(s)
The New York Times Company
Publisher(s)
The New York Times Company
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Platform(s)
Web Browser
Genre(s)
Puzzle