NYT Strands Hints and Answers for November 14, 2024 (#256)

For the November 14, 2024, New York Times Strands puzzle (#256), the theme is “Name of the game.” If you want to solve it yourself, start with the hints below and stop before the answer reveal. The spangram and all six theme words appear farther down.

Hints for Strands #256

Start with the theme

“Name of the game” points toward a familiar board game. Think about the colors associated with its pieces.

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1		Puzzle Mania!: Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More! (New York Times Games Books)	$26.60	Buy on Amazon
2		The New York Times Strictly Medium Crossword Puzzles Volume 1: 200 Medium Puzzles	$7.75	Buy on Amazon
3		New York Times Games Monday Through Friday 50 Easy to Tough Crossword Puzzles Volume 10 (New York...	$8.48	Buy on Amazon
4		The New York Times Monday Through Friday Easy to Tough Crossword Puzzles: 50 Puzzles from the Pages...	$13.98	Buy on Amazon
5		The New York Times Mini Crosswords, Volume 1: 150 Easy Fun-Sized Puzzles	$9.15	Buy on Amazon

Stronger hint

The theme answers are colors. One of the game’s distinctive pieces is a magnifying-glass-wielding detective.

What is the spangram?

The spangram is CLUE SUSPECTS. A secondary gameplay guide describes a spangram as a word or phrase that captures the theme and touches opposite sides of the board. It also notes that each grid letter is used once in a completed puzzle and that finding non-theme words can earn hints. See Try Hard Guides’ Strands guide for that gameplay context.

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Full answer reveal

Spoilers: The six regular theme answers are:

• GREEN
• MUSTARD
• ORCHID
• PEACOCK
• PLUM
• SCARLET

Together with CLUE SUSPECTS, those names point to the colored characters in the board game Clue.

Check the puzzle date and number

This answer set is for the November 14, 2024 puzzle, numbered #256. Answer guides from Try Hard Guides, Parade, and Fortnite Insider report the same theme and answers; a November puzzle archive also agrees on the theme and spangram.

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A GeekChamp page with a similar title gives conflicting theme and answer reveals, including unrelated footwear and facial-hair claims. Its content does not match the answer set reported by the guides above, so it should not be relied on for this puzzle.

Quick Recap

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Puzzle Mania!: Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More! (New York Times Games Books)

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SaleBestseller No. 2

The New York Times Strictly Medium Crossword Puzzles Volume 1: 200 Medium Puzzles

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SaleBestseller No. 3

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The New York Times Monday Through Friday Easy to Tough Crossword Puzzles: 50 Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times (New York Times Crossword Puzzles)

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Rank #4

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The New York Times Monday Through Friday Easy to Tough Crossword Puzzles: 50 Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times (New York Times Crossword Puzzles)

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