NYT Strands Game #681: Hints and Answers for January 13

Discover the hints and answers for today's NYT Strands game, including the spangram and theme details.

Published Jan 12, 2026
NYT Strands Game #681: Hints and Answers for January 13

Each day at midnight, a new NYT Strands puzzle is released, meaning players in different time zones may be tackling yesterday's game while others are on today's. If you're looking for Monday's puzzle, check out the NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, January 12 (game #680).

Strands is the latest word game from the NYT, following popular titles like Wordle and Connections. While it’s entertaining, it can also be quite challenging, so here are some hints to help you out.

For more wordplay, visit my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for additional hints and answers, as well as Marc's Wordle today page for the original game.

SPOILER WARNING: The answers for today's NYT Strands are below, so avoid scrolling further if you wish to keep them a secret.

NYT Strands today (game #681) - hint #1 - today's theme

What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

Today's theme is: You need to chill

NYT Strands today (game #681) - hint #2 - clue words

Use any of these words to unlock in-game hints:

  • FROST
  • GOOF
  • BATE
  • DOPE
  • SNOOP
  • COIL

NYT Strands today (game #681) - hint #3 - spangram letters

How many letters are in today's spangram?

The spangram contains 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #681) - hint #4 - spangram position

What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: right, 5th row
Last side: left, 5th row

Now, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #681) - the answers

The answers for today's Strands, game #681, are:

  • PIZZA
  • SHERBET
  • POPSICLES
  • WAFFLES
  • VEGETABLES
  • SPANGRAM: FROZENFOOD
  • My rating: Hard
  • My score: 1 hint

Initially, I thought we were looking for cold weather words—"frost" was the first word I noticed in the letter soup—but the double-Z in PIZZA led me down a different frozen path.

You can learn a lot about someone from their freezer contents. Mine currently holds plenty of Christmas leftovers and ice packs for my injured knee, but none of today's FROZENFOOD.

Despite my sudden craving for WAFFLES, this was an enjoyable challenge, albeit tricky due to the right-to-left arrangement of the words.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, January 12, game #680)

  • NAME
  • AWARDS
  • SKILLS
  • CONTACT
  • EXPERIENCE
  • EDUCATION
  • SPANGRAM: RESUME

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's word game that has gained popularity alongside Wordle and Connections. It has been part of the NYT games lineup for a year and can be played on the NYT Games site on both desktop and mobile. For tips on how to play, check out my guide to NYT Strands.

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