puzzlerzone12 puzzles like NYT Strands
Ranked by how close they actually are — same mechanic, same shape, similar length. Where they differ, the difference comes from measurements rather than the games’ own descriptions.
Looking for the original? NYT Strands is a 5 min word puzzle.
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23 Words
Unscramble 23 words, one by one, without running out of time.
vs NYT Strands: Lighter on ads
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 2
Alphalock
Word puzzle game inspired by Wordle and Mastermind.
vs NYT Strands: Lighter on ads
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 3
Antiwordle
Wordle except you're trying to avoid the secret word.
vs NYT Strands: Lighter on ads
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 4
Beat Me At Boggle
Try to beat Ava at Boggle. They played the board yesterday, you play it today.
vs NYT Strands: No ads at all
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 5
Betweenle
Guess the secret word hidden between other words before running out of guesses.
vs NYT Strands: Lighter on ads
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 6
Blockle
Fill a square grid with Tetris pieces to spell out words horizontally.
vs NYT Strands: No ads at all
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 7
Blossom
Create 12 words using the letters on the petals, always including the center letter. You get more points for longer words.
vs NYT Strands: Plays the same way — and on our last check: no signup wall found, fine on a phone, free.
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 8
Blunderwall
Find the secret word on the Blunderwall in 4 tries.
vs NYT Strands: Lighter on ads
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 9
Boggdle
Search for the best 3 words you can find in the Boggle grid.
vs NYT Strands: No ads at all
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 10
Boston Globe - Align
Swap tiles in the grid so that each row and column forms a word.
vs NYT Strands: Lighter on ads
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 11
Breadle
Solve the daily 5-letter word that is related to food.
vs NYT Strands: No ads at all
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026 - 12
Cadgy
Make valid 5-letter words by selecting one letter from each column.
vs NYT Strands: No ads at all
Word5 min✓ 3/5 measured · 12 Aug 2026
How this list is ordered
Not by popularity, and not by anyone paying — nothing on this site can be bought. Each candidate scores on four things: whether it uses the same mechanic, whether it has the same shape (daily, endless, campaign), how close its length is, and whether it costs the same. Entries we have already measured rank above ones still queued, because a recommendation you can check beats one you cannot.
One entry per site, so a publisher with eight games cannot fill the page. How we measure →