The New York Times rolled out Strands game game 869 with tips and solutions available for July 20, 2026. Tips for the puzzle surfaced through publications like Mashable, Tom's Guide and PC Guide. The usual breakdown delivered the theme, hints and the game's theme phrase. Saturday's scheduled Strands Sidekick shifts to game #870. Players should look at the extra hint before chasing the day's full grid on mobile. Spangrams stay the wide horizontal answer that crosses two opposite of the board, and this spangram falls in that same usual slot. Theme hunters who open with the quick hits to get going typically clear the smaller non-spangram hits before mining the tip-driven words. PC Guide also supplied a small match available just when solvers hit a wall after the main solve attempt has been used.