NYT Strands Puzzle Challenges Players with Berry Theme

NEW YORK, NY — The New York Times launched its latest word game, Strands, which poses a new challenge for players each day. On February 19, 2025, players tackled the puzzle themed “Pick your own prefix,” requiring both skill and a bit of intuition to navigate a six by eight grid of letters.

The objective of Strands is to identify words connected by a common theme, revealed through themed clues. For this specific puzzle, players had to uncover words related to different varieties of berries, with each found word highlighted in blue when correctly identified. Additionally, players had to locate a special word known as the spangram, which across the board spans both sides of the grid. In today’s game, the spangram was identified as ‘BERRIES,’ giving players insight into the overall theme.

“Some themes are fill-in-the-blank phrases, while others may relate to a category or process,” said Tracy Bennett, the Wordle and Strands editor. “As with the variety of puzzles available in Wordle, Strands will also introduce curveballs to keep players engaged.”

The competition was noted to be particularly challenging, with a mix of familiar and obscure berry prefixes such as ‘RASP,’ ‘HUCKLE,’ and ‘SALMON’ presenting hurdles for solvers. This complexity was heightened by the prospect of unique terms that some players might not have encountered before. One user commented, “I literally had no idea what a SALMON berry was until I completed the puzzle, and even then I was skeptical.”

The Strands puzzle follows in the footsteps of other successful games like Wordle and Connections, combining linguistic skills with an element of daily competition among players. As it is still in its beta phase, player engagement is crucial for the game’s continuation, with daily play being encouraged by the New York Times.

The hint system built into Strands allows participants to gain insights by entering any non-theme word, which can assist them in solving more complex challenges. Players can submit up to three non-theme words to receive credits towards hints, making the game accessible even to those struggling with the daily puzzles.

For avid fans of word games wishing to keep up with daily challenges and themes, visiting the New York Times Games app or website is recommended. As with previous games, feedback from players on puzzle difficulty and user engagement will help shape the future of Strands, ensuring that it evolves alongside its audience.