The New York Times released Strands puzzle #945 on Sunday, October 4, 2026, under the theme “Grab your tokens.” The puzzle’s spangram—a word that spans the entire board—was ARCADEGAMES, and the five theme words were the classic arcade titles ASTEROIDS, FROGGER, CENTIPEDE, SCRAMBLE and PONG.
How the puzzle was framed
Each day’s Strands game presents a board of letters accompanied by a clue that hints at the overall theme. For this edition, the clue read “Iconic retro titles.” A secondary hint for the spangram suggested that “you need tokens to play this kind of thing, perhaps at a mall or a Dave & Buster’s,” pointing directly to an arcade setting.
The spangram, ARCADEGAMES, runs across the board either horizontally or vertically, highlighted in yellow once found. All other hidden words can travel in any direction—up, down, left, right, or diagonal—and each letter may be used only once, ensuring a single correct solution.
Solution walk‑through
The solver noted that the letters “ARCADE” appeared in the bottom‑left corner of the board, suggesting a link to the spangram. By extending the letters, the full spangram ARCADEGAMES was identified and highlighted in yellow.
From there, the classic game titles emerged:
- ASTEROIDS was located in the upper‑left quadrant.
- FROGGER sat directly to the right of ASTEROIDS.
- PONG occupied the bottom‑right area.
- CENTIPEDE stretched along the bottom edge of the spangram.
- SCRAMBLE completed the set, positioned elsewhere on the board.
Each of these words turned blue when correctly entered, confirming the solver’s progress.
Playing and winning Strands
Strands is available through the New York Times website and the NYT Games app. Players begin by scanning the board for words that match the theme clue. The primary objective is to locate the spangram; once it is found, the remaining theme words become easier to spot.
If a player struggles, they can submit any non‑theme words that are four letters or longer. After three such submissions, the “Hint” button becomes active, revealing the letters of one theme word. The revealed letters must still be linked in the correct order to form the word.
Unlike the NYT’s Wordle or Connections, Strands imposes no time limit and does not penalize incorrect guesses beyond a brief shake animation for words that are too short or invalid. The game ends only when every letter on the board has been used to form the spangram and all theme words.
Upon completion, a shareable card displays the player’s performance: blue dots indicate theme words found, a yellow dot marks the spangram, and a light‑bulb icon shows any words that required a hint.
For enthusiasts who missed the live challenge, the full solution—including the spangram ARCADEGAMES and the five retro titles—has been posted online, allowing anyone to review the puzzle’s construction and answer key.
Steve Lopez is a Senior Editorial Columnist and Health & Public Policy reporter for News Raise. Steve focuses on healthcare advancements, medical technologies, and public health policies.
