Analysis
Which NYT Strands puzzles were the hardest?
The hardest NYT Strands puzzle published so far is HOLIDAYFLAVOR from December 23, theme “Pass the eggnog”, which scores at the 100th percentile of the difficulty index. That index is computed from five measurable properties of each puzzle rather than from anyone’s opinion of how it felt.
How is Strands difficulty calculated here?
Five properties are measured for every puzzle, standardised across the whole run, then combined with fixed weights. The weights are published so the result can be argued with.
| Component | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Total path turns | +1.0 | Answers that change direction often are harder to trace |
| Mean theme-word length | +0.8 | Longer answers are harder to spot whole |
| Spangram length | +0.6 | Long spangrams are usually run-together phrases |
| Number of theme words | +0.4 | More answers means more to find |
| Accepted non-theme words | −0.5 | More accepted words means hints unlock faster, so easier |
Path turns come from a full solve of each board, so they are counted rather than estimated. The result is reported as a percentile against every published puzzle: 50 is an ordinary day, 90 is harder than nine puzzles in ten.
What the index does not measure
The index measures the structure of the grid, not the obscurity of the theme. A puzzle with short, straight answers around a clue nobody can parse will score as easy here and feel impossible in practice. Stated plainly because it is the honest limit of the method.
The fifteen hardest Strands puzzles
Ranked by the index above, highest first, with each puzzle’s theme and spangram.
| # | Date | Theme | Spangram | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 295 | December 23 | “Pass the eggnog” | HOLIDAYFLAVOR | 100 |
| 383 | March 21 | “Ode to the aubergine” | EGGPLANTDISH | 100 |
| 534 | August 19 | “Dash it!” | HYPHENATED | 100 |
| 608 | November 1 | “It's not polite to lick your plate” | GOODTASTE | 100 |
| 626 | November 19 | “Divinely inspired” | RELIGIOUSFIGURES | 100 |
| 300 | December 28 | “Just the essentials” | AROMATHERAPY | 99 |
| 327 | January 24 | “Get smart” | THATSGENIUS | 99 |
| 402 | April 9 | “That's quite a (tasty) mouthful” | FOURSYLLABLES | 99 |
| 405 | April 12 | “Get your mind out of the gutter” | DIRTYWORDS | 99 |
| 419 | April 26 | “Face time” | MAKEUPEXAM | 99 |
| 723 | February 24 | “Just for reference” | LOOKITUP | 99 |
| 864 | July 15 | “Rose-colored glasses” | PIEINTHESKY | 99 |
| 222 | October 11 | “Let's experiment” | CHEMISTRYLAB | 98 |
| 228 | October 17 | “Dream teams” | FANTASYLEAGUE | 98 |
| 328 | January 25 | “Seeing double” | LETTERS | 98 |
The fifteen easiest Strands puzzles
The same index, lowest scores first.
| # | Date | Theme | Spangram | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 832 | June 13 | “Track event” | KARAOKE | 0 |
| 661 | December 24 | “Gather around” | SNUGASABUG | 0 |
| 586 | October 10 | “I'm a ladle hungry” | ONEPOT | 0 |
| 65 | May 7 | “Can you dig it?” | HEAVYMETAL | 0 |
| 22 | March 25 | “Sign language” | ASTROLOGY | 0 |
| 873 | July 24 | “There's more where that came from” | ANDTHENSOME | 1 |
| 822 | June 3 | “By any other name ...” | ROSEGARDEN | 1 |
| 810 | May 22 | “Put down your ruler” | ITSBIG | 1 |
| 764 | April 6 | “Fringe group” | OUTERLIMITS | 1 |
| 722 | February 23 | “Strike a chord” | GUITAR | 1 |
| 712 | February 13 | “See what I mean?” | VISUALAIDS | 1 |
| 495 | July 11 | “It could be verse” | POETRY | 1 |
| 492 | July 8 | “So extra” | SPARES | 1 |
| 67 | May 9 | “Tap to play” | MINIGOLF | 1 |
| 870 | July 21 | “Write there” | STATIONERY | 2 |
Weekday averages and the rest of the corpus figures are on Strands by the numbers.
Questions about Strands difficulty
How difficult were today's Strands?
Difficulty here is a computed index, not an opinion. Five measured properties of each solved board are standardised across the whole run and combined with published weights — total path turns, mean theme-word length, spangram length, number of theme words, and accepted non-theme words — and the result is reported as a percentile against every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
Is Strands harder than Wordle?
Strands has no guess limit and no failure state, so it cannot be lost the way Wordle can. Its difficulty sits in finding the theme rather than in surviving six attempts, which is why the index here scores board geometry instead of counting guesses.