The New York Times Games Strands is back once again to challenge your brain and pattern-recognition skills. If you already know how to play Strands, you're probably already aware that this is much harder than your average word search puzzle. To reach the solution, you have to uncover the answers and find them in the letter grid.

For those puzzle fans who are stuck on this difficult puzzle, it isn't just you; today's puzzle is very challenging. If you want some help, you can find a ton of different hints and spoilers below.

Playing a match in Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon and Might & Magic Clash of Heroes
6 Best RPG Puzzle Games

RPG elements have grown in popularity over the years, having even found their way into these great puzzle games.

By 

The NYT Games Strands In It To Win It #398 April 5, 2025

NYT-New-York-Times-Games-Strands-April-05-2025

The Strands puzzle for today has the clue In it to Win It. It has seven things to find: the Spangram and six themed words.

NYT Strands Spangram Tips and Theme Hints

If you are looking for some helpful hints that don't spoil any of the answers to this popular puzzle game, you can find three below. These clues are great for those who want a little help but find that the in-game hints give too much away.

General Spangram Hint 1

General Spangram Hint 2

General Spangram Hint 3

Spoilers for Today's New York Times Strands

If a spoiler or two would help you, but you don't feel like saving up for an in-game hint, you can find help in the two sections below. Each one contains just one answer from this minimalist puzzle game as well as a screenshot of where the answer belongs.

Spoiler 1

Spoiler 2

The Answer to the NYT In It To Win It Strands

The full answer to this mind-boggling puzzle game can be found in the section below. If you open it, you'll see all the words, the Spangram, and the positions of each of the words in the puzzle's letter grid.

Today's Strands Explained

If today's puzzle still doesn't make sense to you, you can find an explanation of it in the section below. Look inside to see how the Spangram, the clue, and the themed words all work together perfectly.

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

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
strands game

Strands
Display card tags widget
Puzzle
Display card system widget
Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget Display card main info widget
Released
March 4, 2024
Developer(s)
The New York Times Company
Publisher(s)
The New York Times Company
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Genre(s)
Puzzle