How to play Strings
Strings is a word search with a twist. Each board hides a set of theme words and one String that ties them together. Here is everything you need to know, in the same words the app uses.
Find the theme words
- Drag or tap letters to create words.
- Double tap the last letter to submit.
- Theme words turn blue when found.
- Theme words will never overlap.
Every board is a grid of letters, and every letter belongs to exactly one answer. Words can bend in any direction: up, down, sideways and diagonally, as long as each letter touches the one before it.
Because no two theme words share a letter, each word you find makes the rest of the board easier to read.
Find the hidden "String"
- The String is the puzzle's theme.
- Touches two opposite sides of the board.
- May be a combination of words.
- Highlights in yellow when found.
The String is a special theme word that describes the puzzle's theme. It always stretches from one edge of the board to the opposite edge. Find it before any other word, without a hint, and the solve counts as Perfect.
Need a hint?
- Earn hints by finding non-theme words.
- 3 non-theme words = 1 hint.
- Hints show theme word letters.
- 2 consecutive hints shows word order.
Any real word that isn't part of the theme still counts: it fills your hint meter. Use a hint and the letters of one theme word light up. Use another one straight away and the order of those letters is shown too.
The Daily
A new Daily puzzle arrives every day at midnight, your time, and it is the same board for every player.
- Daily Challenges are a little harder.
- 5 non-theme words = 1 hint, instead of 3.
- Everything else is the same.
Missed one? Open the calendar in the app to play past Dailies:
- Solve each day’s puzzle to fill the month.
- Missed a day? Catch up anytime: it still counts.
- Solve them all to earn the month’s trophy.
- Gold beads are Perfect: String first, no hints.
Perfect, Great and Good
Every solve counts. Your stats sort them into three kinds:
Perfect solves
Solves where the String word is the first word found and no hints are used.
Great solves
Solves where no hints are used.
Good solves
Solves where hints are used.
Tips from the board
- Read the theme first. The words all fit it, sometimes in a playful way.
- Start from the corners and edges: letters there have fewer neighbours, so fewer words fit.
- Long words use up a lot of the board. Once one is found, the leftover letters often spell the rest.
- Stuck? Hunt for any ordinary word you can see. In a regular level, three of them earn a hint.
Still have questions? Try the FAQ.