Reference

What number is today’s NYT Strands puzzle?

The numbering system, the conversion, and a discrepancy worth knowing about.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is #883, published August 3, 2026. Strands puzzle numbers count days since the game launched on March 4, 2024, which was puzzle #1 — so the number for any date is simply the number of days from the launch, plus one.

How do you work out the puzzle number for a date?

Count the days from March 4, 2024 to the date you want, then add one. March 4, 2024 is #1, March 5 is #2, and so on with no gaps, because Strands has published every single day since launch.

Why do some sites print a different number?

The puzzle data The New York Times serves carries an internal identifier that is not the published puzzle number, and the gap between them is not constant. For August 3, 2026 the internal identifier and the published number differ by well over a hundred, because the internal one counts puzzles that were built — including those never published — while the printed number counts days since launch.

Any site that reads the internal identifier and prints it as the puzzle number is wrong every day. Every number on this site is derived from the date.

Recent Strands puzzle numbers

The last thirty days are listed below, newest first, each linking to that puzzle’s answers.

Recent NYT Strands puzzle numbers and dates
Puzzle	Date	Theme
#883	August 3, 2026	“There's nothing like it”
#882	August 2, 2026	“Eyes on the prize”
#881	August 1, 2026	“As if!”
#880	July 31, 2026	“Summer sign”
#879	July 30, 2026	“Trade names”
#878	July 29, 2026	“A made man”
#877	July 28, 2026	“Leave nothing out”
#876	July 27, 2026	“Let the journey begin”
#875	July 26, 2026	“All-knowing”
#874	July 25, 2026	“Frocks and smocks”
#873	July 24, 2026	“There's more where that came from”
#872	July 23, 2026	“Hail to the chief petty officer”
#871	July 22, 2026	“What is ...”
#870	July 21, 2026	“Write there”
#869	July 20, 2026	“Small talk”
#868	July 19, 2026	“Big talk”
#867	July 18, 2026	“A healthy breakfast”
#866	July 17, 2026	“Categorically speaking”
#865	July 16, 2026	“Rerouting ...”
#864	July 15, 2026	“Rose-colored glasses”
#863	July 14, 2026	“Make yourself comfortable”
#862	July 13, 2026	“Just what I needed”
#861	July 12, 2026	“In the Big Apple”
#860	July 11, 2026	“Fishy fare”
#859	July 10, 2026	“I think ...”
#858	July 9, 2026	“On the lips”
#857	July 8, 2026	“Here comes trouble”
#856	July 7, 2026	“Hitching a ride”
#855	July 6, 2026	“The growing season”
#854	July 5, 2026	“Barking up the right tree”

Older numbers are reachable through the Strands archive, which lists every puzzle by month.