#699Saturday, January 31, 2026
Strands answers for January 31, 2026 — “It's part of the game” (#699)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for January 31, 2026 (puzzle #699) is HAVEABALL, a 9-letter answer to the theme "It's part of the game". The 7 theme words are BASE, BASKET, FOOT, PADDLE, PICKLE, RACQUET and VOLLEY.
Where is each answer on the January 31 Strands board?
Strands #699 resolves to these 7 theme words plus the spangram HAVEABALL.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 8 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BASE | 4 | row 3, column 1 | row 1, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| BASKET | 6 | row 8, column 6 | row 8, column 1 | right to left |
| FOOT | 4 | row 2, column 4 | row 1, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| PADDLE | 6 | row 4, column 2 | row 5, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
| PICKLE | 6 | row 1, column 4 | row 1, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| RACQUET | 7 | row 4, column 5 | row 7, column 6 | top to bottom |
| VOLLEY | 6 | row 7, column 2 | row 6, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| HAVEABALL | 9 | row 5, column 1 | row 6, column 5 | left to right |
What did the January 31 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
Spangram — 9 letters7 theme words
Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.
Read across the grid, row 1 reads S-E-T-P-L-E, row 2 reads A-O-O-F-I-K, row 3 reads B-V-E-A-B-C, row 4 reads A-P-D-D-R-A, row 5 reads H-A-E-L-A-L, row 6 reads Y-L-L-C-L-E, row 7 reads E-V-O-Q-U-T, and row 8 reads T-E-K-S-A-B.
How hard was the January 31 Strands puzzle?
Strands #699 scores average on our difficulty index, harder than 46% of every Strands puzzle published so far.
Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.
Who made the January 31 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #699 was edited by Tracy Bennett, who also constructed it. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the January 31 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on January 31, 2026?
The Strands clue for January 31, 2026 is “It's part of the game”, on puzzle #699. It is answered by the spangram HAVEABALL, and all 7 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on January 31, 2026?
The 7 Strands theme words for January 31, 2026 are BASE, BASKET, FOOT, PADDLE, PICKLE, RACQUET and VOLLEY, plus the spangram HAVEABALL.
What was the big word in the January 31, 2026 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for January 31, 2026 is HAVEABALL, 9 letters long, running from row 5, column 1 to row 6, column 5. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “It's part of the game” mean?
The Strands theme “It's part of the game” for January 31, 2026 means HAVEABALL — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 7 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands January 31, 2026?
Strands puzzle #699 has 7 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the January 31, 2026 Strands puzzle?
Strands #699 rates average on a computed index, harder than 46% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on January 31, 2026?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, January 31, 2026 is #699, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.
Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in January 2026, part of the full Strands archive.