Strands is a challenging game, and The New York Times knows it needs to reward your efforts and time with outstanding badges. These NYT Strands badges celebrate your milestones in the game, be it how quickly you solve the puzzle, how long you’ve been playing, or how many words you find. The game even has badges to reward those who find the Spangram before theme words.
If you’re new and still getting familiar with the game, knowing how to play Strands helps put these achievements into context. So, let’s take a look at all Strands badges and how you can earn them.
List of NYT Strands Badges
| Badge | How to Earn | Milestones |
|---|---|---|
 Solved Without Hints | Complete Strands without using a hint | 1, 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 350, 500 |
 Spangram First | Find the Spangram before finding any other theme word | 1, 5, 10, 15, 25, 35, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200 |
 Streak Badges | Complete consecutive daily Strands puzzles | 7, 14, 30, 60, 100, 150, 250, 365, 500, 750, 1000 |
 Found Theme Words | Find theme words across Strands puzzles | 25, 50, 75, 100, 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1250, 1500, 2000, 2500, 5000 |
Now that you have seen the complete list of NYT Strands badges, let’s take a look at what each badge means and its milestones.
Solved Without Hints
You earn the Solved Without Hints badge when you complete a Strands puzzle entirely on your own without using any hints.
The Solved Without Hints badge includes the following milestones: 1, 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 350, 500, and more as you progress. So, every time you complete a puzzle without using a hint, that solve contributes towards this badge.
Since the first milestone is just one puzzle away, this looks like the easiest badge to start working towards. However, after that, the numbers begin to climb. So, if you have already earned the 50th milestone badge, your next target is 75 hint-free solves.
Spangram First
The Spangram First badge rewards players who can guess the theme based on the hint and find the Spangram as the first word. This makes it one of the most interesting Strands badges.
A Spangram in Strands is a special word or phrase that helps describe the overall theme and connects two opposite edges of the grid. So, to get the Spangram First badge, you have to find this hidden word or phrase before a regular theme word.
This badge works in milestones of 1, 5, 10, 15, 25, 35, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, and so on, as you progress.
Note that the NYT Games app shows only your most recent achievement. But don’t worry, you can view your earlier milestones by tapping on the badge and scrolling through the carousel.
Streak Badges
Streak Badges are earned by completing Strands puzzles on consecutive days. This badge works in milestones of 7, 14, 30, 60, 100, 150, 250, 365, 500, 750, 1000, and so on.
The early milestones are a good way to get started and build a rhythm. However, once you reach a 100- or 150-day streak, you no longer play the game casually; you are committed to the game.
If you love to maintain streaks, this badge will give you even more reason to keep that daily routine going. That being said, keep these common challenges in NYT Strands in mind and avoid making the same mistakes to stay on track.
Found Theme Words
As the name indicates, this badge rewards you based on the theme words you’ve found in the puzzle. It is important to note that this Strands badge is awarded for finding theme words, including Spangrams, across all Strands puzzles. It works in cumulative milestones of 25, 50, 75, 100, 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1250, 1500, 2000, 2500, 5000, and so on.
So, you don’t have to find hundreds of theme words in a single puzzle, which is impossible anyway. Just keep solving Strands, and the total count keeps adding up.
In fact, getting familiar with common NYT Strands themes can make it easier to recognize the kinds of connections the game tends to use.
How to Check Your NYT Strands Badges
Now that you know about all the NYT Strands badges and how to earn them, it’s time to learn how you can find your badges.
You can only see your most recently earned badges on The New York Times website. On the other hand, the NYT Games app shows the complete set of Strands badges you have earned so far.
Once you’ve downloaded and logged into the NYT Games app, tap the ‘Me’ profile icon at the bottom of your screen. Then, select View all badges and find the Strands section. There, you can find all your ‘Earned badges’ as well as ‘Unearned badges.’
Go through the Earned badges section to see all the achievements you have unlocked. You can also scroll through the Unearned badges section to see what achievements you need to work towards.
Tips to Earn NYT Strands Badges Faster
Here are a few strategies that can help you unlock NYT Strands badges a little faster:
Hold Off on Using Hints
When you get stuck, your first instinct usually is to reach for a hint. We suggest you give yourself a little more time. Look at the remaining letters, rearrange them in your head, and try to approach them from another angle.
Avoiding hints will not only help with the ‘Solved without hints’ badge, but it will also give you more opportunities to find theme words on your own.
Hunt for the Spangram First
Since a Spangram gives away the central idea of the puzzle, finding it early is useful for more than just adding to a badge milestone. It helps in making the theme much clearer and helps you connect the remaining letters to the right theme words. So, before you go grab the first obvious word you see, it is worth scanning the board for the Spangram.
Play Strands Every day
This might sound obvious, but consistency helps in this game. Playing Strands every day keeps your streak moving and also naturally adds to your theme word count as well.
In addition, the longer you play, the more familiar you become with the way NYT Strands is curated, which makes those tough puzzles feel a little less intimidating.
Learn to Navigate the Grid
NYT Strands isn’t a regular word search game. It isn’t merely about spotting words; you also need to get comfortable with how to move across the 6×8 grid.
Start looking diagonally, around corners, and try to make unusual patterns instead of just moving in straight lines. And, if you’re genuinely stuck, checking today’s Strands hints and answer after giving the puzzle a fair shot can also help you understand how the answer was hidden.
Think Beyond Obvious Words
NYT Strands is great at making you think that you have figured out the theme before throwing in an unexpected interpretation. If a word seems related but does not fit, do not dismiss it immediately. I would suggest you try its synonyms, alternate meanings, phrases, and related concepts.
This can help you uncover more theme words and make those milestones easier to reach.
Use Hints Strategically
There’s nothing wrong with using a hint when a puzzle gets difficult. But remember that randomly finding non-theme words just to get a hint is not a workaround. In fact, doing that will eventually leave you with an error reading: Word limit reached in Strands.
So, use hints when you genuinely need them rather than collecting them through random guesses. This way, you can still keep your solves clean when possible without making the game frustrating.
That’s everything you need to know about NYT Strands badges, what each one means, and how you can earn them. Now that you know what to chase, all that is left is to start playing and see how many milestones you can unlock!
If you are already working towards collecting every Strands badge, you might as well see what other NYT Games have in store for you. Check out our guides on Wordle badges, Connections badges, and Spelling Bee badges to see which milestones you can start chasing next.
NYT Strands currently has four badge types: Solved Without Hints, Spangram First, Streak Badges, and Found Theme Words. Each of these has multiple milestones that you can keep unlocking. However, this isn’t necessarily the final list, as NYT keeps introducing new badges.
You can earn the Solved Without Hints badge in Strands by completing a puzzle without using any hints. Every hint-free solve adds to your total and helps you reach the next milestone, starting with one solve and going up from there.
To earn the Spangram First badge, you need to find the Spangram before finding any other theme word in a puzzle. Every time you manage this, it counts toward your next milestone.
You can earn Strands badges without an NYT Games subscription. You only need to have an NYT Games account and must be logged in while playing Strands to save your badges.
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