By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

To help you avoid getting stuck and having to reveal missing letters, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers for Thursday, October 17 ( spoilers lie ahead, of course ): 4 Across: Word after party or prescription — DRUG

The New York Times purchased Wordle in early 2022 for an undisclosed sum. The publication said that players collectively played Wordle 4.8 billion times in 2023. So, it's little surprise that Wordle is one of the best online games and puzzles you can play daily.