New York Times Reveals Clues and Answers for Puzzle #643 on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025

Looking for guidance on todays New York Times Strands challenge? Heres a detailed walkthrough for puzzle #643, including hints and the full solution. Consulting a few tips isnt considered cheatingits all part of the fun for puzzle enthusiasts.

Getting Started with NYT Strands

NYT Strands works like an advanced word search. Players are presented with a grid of letters6 across and 8 downwith approximately seven words hidden inside. Words can be formed in any direction: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, often resulting in unusual shapes. Every letter in the grid is used at least once.

The objective is to uncover all hidden words and ultimately the spangram, which represents a theme linking all words together. For example, a previous puzzle had the theme Thats so sweet! with the spangram being sugary, where each word related to a type of sugar.

Hints and Gameplay

If you get stuck, Strands provides in-game hints. Discovering four-letter words not part of the main solution earns progress toward a hint. Every three words located reveal a Hint icon in the bottom-left corner. Clicking it highlights letters for the next word without showing the complete path. Additional hints will guide the player letter by letter, though using them impacts your final score.

Keep in mind, like Wordle and Connections, NYT Strands allows only one puzzle per day, resetting at midnight.

Todays Theme: Tolkiens World

The theme for todays puzzle revolves around Tolkiens universe. Consider iconic characters like Frodo, Gandalf, and Gollum when hunting for words.

Non-Theme Word Suggestions

Additional four-letter words in the grid can also help you unlock hints:

• FEST
• WORD
• RIDDLE
• SING
• RISE
• HEIR
• FARE
• FART
• RAFT

Spangram Details

Knowing the spangrams length can be a useful clue. Todays spangram contains 11 letters.

Todays Answers (Spoilers)

Hidden words in todays Strands puzzle:

• HOBBIT
• WIZARD
• FOREST
• SHIRE
• RING
• DWARF
• QUEST

Todays spangram is MIDDLEEARTH, starting from the fourth row and winding down to the fifth.

Final Thoughts

If youre not familiar with Middle-earth, todays puzzle may have been particularly challenging. How did you fare in finding all the words? Share your experience and compare strategies with fellow solvers.

Author: Connor Blake