What is Strands?
Strands Unlimited is a free fan archive of past NYT Strands puzzles. NYT Strands is a word-search game played on a real 6×8 grid: you connect adjacent letters to spell theme words and one special spanagram that spans the board and names the puzzle's theme. The daily NYT Strands is free on nytimes.com, but its back-catalog of past puzzles sits behind a paid NYT Games subscription. We host that archive side — every date, with the real grid, real spangram, and real theme words — so you can replay any past puzzle for free.
Our Puzzles
The archive holds 550+ past puzzles, browsable across 13 themed categories. Every puzzle is a real NYT Strands puzzle with verified answers — the exact spangram and theme words from that date — so the hints and solutions on each page are accurate, not approximations.
Features
- Full back-catalog replay — no NYT Games subscription needed
- Spangram plus a progressive hint system to nudge you along
- Per-date answers kept behind a spoiler toggle
- Browse puzzles by category or by monthly archive
- Works on any device and is installable as a PWA