The New York Times GamesStrandsis a word-search puzzle ratcheted up to the extreme. You get a random-seeming collection of letters in a grid, and you will need to find a variety of words in it without knowing what the words are or what themes they follow.

This game can sometimes be even more challenging than therules of how to playStrandsmight suggest; if you are stuck on this challenging puzzle, you may find all the help you might need below. This article has puzzle clues, word spoilers, and even an explanation of how the themed words and the clue fit together.

NYT-New-York-Times-Games-Strands-May-18-2024

The NYT Games Strands Puzzle #76 for July 26, 2025

Today’sStrandsclue isPart of the Equation.There are six things to find in this puzzle: one Spangram category and five themed words.

New York Times Games Strands Clues

General hints for thisbrowser-based puzzle gamecan be found in the three sections below. Each one contains a hint, and they get more specific as you scroll further down them.

Hint 1: Equation is usually related to what?

Click to Reveal New York Times Strands Clue

Hint 3: 1 + 1 = 2

Spoilers for Two of the Words in Today’s Strands

If you are looking for spoiler words, but you don’t want to use the in-game hint system, you can find two spoilers below. There is one word in each of the two expandable sections there, and each one contains the word and its position inside the letter grid.

Word 2: Calculate

The Answer to Today’s New York Times Games Strands

The complete answer to today’sNew York Times GamesStrandsis located below. Click on the Read More button to see the answer in full.

The category for today isMathematics. The words are Calculate, Subtract, Divide, Derive, and Multiply.

NYT-New-York-Times-Games-Strands-May-18-2024-Spoiler-1

Today’s Strands Explained

If today’sStrandspuzzle left you puzzled, you can check out the section below. Inside, you will see how the clue, the Spangram, and the themed words all go together in thismobile-friendly word puzzle game.

The Spangram isMathematics, and each one of the themed words is all about important words from math. The clue isPart of the Equationbecause equations are essential to math.

NYT-New-York-Times-Games-Strands-May-18-2024-Spoiler-2

Want to play? Check out theNew York Times Games Strandswebsite available on almost any device with a browser.

NYT-New-York-Times-Games-Strands-May-18-2024-Answer

strands game