New York Times’ new game Strands threads together the two unlikely friends, a word search and a riddle. Currently in Beta testing, the game was released on March 4. The game picks up where Wordle left off, with the same energy and excitement of the unknown. 

Strands provides an ingeniously engineered space. By providing a crossword for an organic plane it allows the avid participants of the NYT game to interact with the witty, riddle-like prompt that starts the game. The prompt hinting at the central word -the answer to your riddle- and the challenge, your goal is to uncover the golden word, and related words sawn from the riddle effectively unraveling the riddle.  

Hints are provided, but they have to be earned when enough 4-letters or above words are provided. Strands provide a tangled mess of letters, and within those letters a word is waiting to be found. 

As with most features of the New York Times games, results are provided at the end, providing you with the challenge of beating your personal best keeps the audience pulled back to the game day after day. The addictive nature and personal competition that Strands sews up day after day, leaving five minutes of your day in a blissful tangle of a riddle and a chase.