StrandsNew York TimesLooking for Tuesdays Strands hints, spangram and answers? You can find them here:Have you ever completed a puzzle and still not really had any idea what was going on by the end of it? Thats how I feel about todays very strange Strands.How To Play StrandsThe New York Times Strands puzzle is a play on the classic word search. Its in beta for now, which means itll only stick around if enough people play it every day.Theres a new game of Strands to play every day. The game will present you with a six by eight grid of letters. The aim is to find a group of words that have something in common, and youll get a clue as to what that theme is. When you find a theme word, it will remain highlighted in blue.Youll also need to find a special word called a spangram. This tells you what the words have in common. The spangram links two opposite sides of the board. While the theme words will not be a proper name, the spangram can be a proper name. When you find the spangram, it will remain highlighted in yellow.Every letter is used once in one of the theme words and spangram. You can connect letters vertically, horizontally and diagonally, and its possible to switch directions in the middle of a word. If youre playing on a touchscreen, double tap the last letter to submit your guess.If you find three valid words of at least four letters that are not part of the theme, youll unlock the Hint button. Clicking this will highlight the letters that make up one of the theme words.Be warned: Youll need to be on your toes. Sometimes youll need to fill the missing word(s) in a phrase. On other days, the game may revolve around synonyms or homophones. The difficulty will vary from day to day, and the puzzle creators will try to surprise you sometimes.What Is Todays Strands Hint?NYT hint first and then I will give one of my own to help further. The official hint is:Show of HandsAnd my hint is:Punch and JudyWhat Are Todays Strands Answers?Spangram first and then I will post a full list of answers underneath that. The spangram is:PUPPETMASTERAnd here is where you find that on the board:Strands NYTAnd the answers:STICKSOCKMARIONETTEGLOVESFINGERSHADOWStrands NYTOkay I...what? I have figured out the basics of whats going on here, as these are the ingredients to some sort of puppet show. But multiple types it seems? Like doing shadow figures isnt the same as controlling a full marionette. Where does a stick come into play, the thing at the top of that? Do people wear gloves for puppet shows? Im so confused about all of this, but I still got it done through many, many, many hints.Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.