NYT ‘Strands’ Hints And Answers For Sunday, October 12

Sunday rainy Sunday. Well, I’m not sure if it will be a very rainy day but it’s been raining for several days and it keeps raining overnight, which makes the world feel cool and clean (well, and muddy) every morning which is really quite lovely. It’s perfect weather for staying inside, watching the many TV shows and movies you can find in my weekend streaming guide — and solving puzzles. Let’s solve today’s Strands!

Looking for Saturday’s Strands? Check out our guide right here.


How To Play Strands

Strands is the newest game in the New York Times’ stable of puzzle games. It’s a fun twist on classic word search games. Every day we’re given a new theme and then tasked with uncovering all the words on the grid that fit that theme, including a spangram that spans two sides of the board. One of these words is the spangram which crosses from one side of the grid to another and reveals even more about the day’s theme.

Spoilers ahead.

Today’s Strands Hints

Read on for today’s theme and some hints to help you uncover today’s words.

Today’s Theme: Follow suit

Today’s Hint: Card games, but not poker-style card games.

Here are the first two letters of each word:

Remember, spoilers ahead!

What Are Today’s Strands Answers?

Today’s spangram is: TRICKTAKING

Here’s the full list of words:

  • SPADES
  • HEARTS
  • BRIDGE
  • PINOCHLE
  • WHIST
  • EUCHRE

Here’s the completed Strands grid:

Today’s Strands Breakdown

I’ve played some of these. HEARTS I’ve played and SPADES, and these are the first two words I found, leading me to look for CLUBS and DIAMONDS (alas, neither were present). I’ve also played PINOCHLE and I’ve heard of BRIDGE but never made the leap. I’d like to someday. I hadn’t even heard of EUCHRE or WHIST, however, which is a reminder that even though I play many games and many types of games, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” I found the spangram last: TRICKTAKING, as these are all card games where you take a trick. No treats, though.


How did you do on your Strands today? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.

Be sure to check out my blog for my daily Wordle guides as well as all my other writing about TV shows, streaming guides, movie reviews, video game coverage and much more. Thanks for stopping by!

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2025/10/11/nyt-strands-hints-and-answers-for-sunday-october-12/