Strands Hint

#482Saturday, June 28, 2025

Strands answers for June 28, 2025 — “... not included” (#482)

The NYT Strands spangram for June 28, 2025 (puzzle #482) is BATTERIESREQUIRED, a 17-letter answer to the theme "... not included". The 5 theme words are CAMERA, CLOCK, FLASHLIGHT, REMOTE and TOYS.

CAMERACLOCKFLASHLIGHTREMOTETOYSBATTERIESREQUIRED

Where is each answer on the June 28 Strands board?

The full answer set for puzzle #482 is 5 theme words and one spangram.

The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 6 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.

Verified board positions, Strands puzzle #482
AnswerLettersStartsEndsDirection
CAMERA6row 2, column 3row 1, column 4diagonally across the grid
CLOCK5row 3, column 6row 6, column 3diagonally across the grid
FLASHLIGHT10row 7, column 3row 6, column 4diagonally across the grid
REMOTE6row 6, column 6row 8, column 3diagonally across the grid
TOYS4row 2, column 6row 2, column 5diagonally across the grid
BATTERIESREQUIRED17row 8, column 1row 1, column 1bottom to top

What did the June 28 Strands grid look like?

The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.

DERAYOUICRSTQEAELCSRMOILEICHGHERKTSRTTFLAEBAETOM

Spangram — 17 letters5 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 D-E-R-A-Y-O, row 2 reads U-I-C-R-S-T, row 3 reads Q-E-A-E-L-C, row 4 reads S-R-M-O-I-L, row 5 reads E-I-C-H-G-H, row 6 reads E-R-K-T-S-R, row 7 reads T-T-F-L-A-E, and row 8 reads B-A-E-T-O-M.

How hard was the June 28 Strands puzzle?

The difficulty index rates puzzle #482 as hard: it sits at the 90th percentile of every Strands grid to date.

Difficulty
90
percentile, hard
Path turns
28
direction changes
Decoy words
1188
non-theme words accepted
Mean answer
6.2
letters per theme word

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 June 28 Strands puzzle?

Strands puzzle #482 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.

Common questions about the June 28 Strands puzzle

What was the clue for Strands on June 28, 2025?

The Strands clue for June 28, 2025 is “... not included”, on puzzle #482. It is answered by the spangram BATTERIESREQUIRED, and all 5 theme words that day belong to that idea.

What were the Strands words on June 28, 2025?

The 5 Strands theme words for June 28, 2025 are CAMERA, CLOCK, FLASHLIGHT, REMOTE and TOYS, plus the spangram BATTERIESREQUIRED.

What was the big word in the June 28, 2025 Strands?

The big word — the spangram — for June 28, 2025 is BATTERIESREQUIRED, 17 letters long, running from row 8, column 1 to row 1, column 1. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.

What did the Strands theme “... not included” mean?

The Strands theme “... not included” for June 28, 2025 means BATTERIESREQUIRED — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 5 theme words is an example of it.

How many theme words are in Strands June 28, 2025?

Strands puzzle #482 has 5 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.

How difficult was the June 28, 2025 Strands puzzle?

Strands #482 rates hard on a computed index, harder than 90% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.

What number was the Strands puzzle on June 28, 2025?

The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, June 28, 2025 is #482, 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 June 2025, part of the full Strands archive.