The New York Times’ Strands puzzle for October 15th, #591, challenges players to uncover a theme hidden within a grid of letters. The central concept revolves around vertical movement or “going up,” with solutions including words related to levels and climbing.
How the Puzzle Works: The game requires players to identify chains of linked letters forming words of at least four characters. Finding three qualifying words triggers the reveal of a theme-related term.
Hints and Starting Words: If you’re stuck, begin with words like ROTATE, LOBE, NOPE, RATS, STAR, SAME, LOSE, VOTE, BUTTE, SAMS, BAMS to unlock in-game hints.
Complete Solutions: The answers for today’s puzzle are as follows:
- Nonspangram Answers: ALARM, OPEN, CLOSE, LOBBY, GROUND, BASEMENT
- Spangram: (The longest word, spanning the entire grid) – ELEVATOR
The spangram completes the puzzle by utilizing every letter on the board, confirming all words have been found. Strands’ difficulty lies in deciphering the underlying theme; once grasped, the word connections become more apparent.
