You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the “theme words” hidden in the grid of letters. For every three non-theme words you find that are at least four letters long, you’ll get a hint — the letters of one of the theme words will be revealed and you’ll just have to unscramble it. Each puzzle contains one “spangram,” a special theme word (or words) that describes the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board.