Looking for a different day?
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing ‘today’s game’ while others are playing ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for Friday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, December 5 (game #642).
Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #643) – hint #1 – today’s theme
What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?
• Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Tolkien’s world
NYT Strands today (game #643) – hint #2 – clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
- FARE
- WORST
- BLEED
- FRIEND
- WORDS
- FRESH
NYT Strands today (game #643) – hint #3 – spangram letters
How many letters are in today’s spangram?
• Spangram has 11 letters
NYT Strands today (game #643) – hint #4 – spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today’s spangram touches?
First side: left, 4th row
Last side: left, 5th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #643) – the answers
The answers to today’s Strands, game #643, are…
- WIZARD
- HOBBIT
- FOREST
- QUEST
- SHIRE
- RING
- DWARF
- SPANGRAM: MIDDLEEARTH
- My rating: Hard
- My score: Perfect
I’m really pleased that I managed to complete today’s search without resorting to a hint, because I know absolutely nothing about “Tolkein’s world”, having never seen/read any of the Lord of the Rings or Hobbit films/books.
That said, I must know something – as I found the very middling MIDDLEEARTH spangram almost immediately, quickly followed by the top half of the grid.
Thankfully, SHIRE and RING apart, all of the words felt pretty common to the fantasy genre.
Yesterday’s NYT Strands answers (Friday, December 5, game #642)
- CAFE
- BUFFET
- STEAKHOUSE
- BAKERY
- BISTRO
- BREWERY
- SPANGRAM: DININGOUT
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT’s not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It’s now a fully fledged member of the NYT’s games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I’ve got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you’re struggling to beat it each day.
