#411Friday, April 18, 2025
Strands answers for April 18, 2025 — “On the board” (#411)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for April 18, 2025 (puzzle #411) is GAMEPIECES, a 10-letter answer to the theme "On the board". The 6 theme words are BATTLESHIP, CHECKER, DOMINO, KNIGHT, TILE and TOKEN.
Where is each answer on the April 18 Strands board?
Strands #411 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram GAMEPIECES.
The table gives the start square, end square and travel direction of all 7 answers. Every position comes from solving the grid outright — the answers have to tile all 48 letters with no overlap and no remainder, which is what makes a single arrangement provable.
| Answer | Letters | Starts | Ends | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BATTLESHIP | 10 | row 4, column 5 | row 1, column 5 | bottom to top |
| CHECKER | 7 | row 8, column 3 | row 6, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| DOMINO | 6 | row 1, column 1 | row 1, column 4 | left to right |
| KNIGHT | 6 | row 6, column 5 | row 6, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| TILE | 4 | row 4, column 2 | row 3, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| TOKEN | 5 | row 6, column 4 | row 8, column 4 | diagonally across the grid |
| GAMEPIECES | 10 | row 3, column 4 | row 5, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the April 18 Strands grid look like?
The grid below is six letters wide and eight rows deep, with every answer traced through the letters it uses.
Spangram — 10 letters6 theme words
Each line traces one answer through the letters it uses; the heavier yellow line is the spangram.
Read across the grid, row 1 reads D-I-N-O-P-I, row 2 reads O-M-L-E-S-H, row 3 reads L-E-T-G-A-M, row 4 reads I-T-T-A-B-E, row 5 reads S-E-C-E-I-P, row 6 reads E-R-K-T-K-T, row 7 reads K-E-E-O-N-H, and row 8 reads C-H-C-N-I-G.
How hard was the April 18 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #411 as easy: it sits at the 24th percentile of every Strands grid to date.
Easiest puzzle ever published on the left, hardest on the right. The formula behind the score, and the ranked list of every puzzle, are on the Strands difficulty index.
Who made the April 18 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #411 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Joel Fagliano. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the April 18 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on April 18, 2025?
The Strands clue for April 18, 2025 is “On the board”, on puzzle #411. It is answered by the spangram GAMEPIECES, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on April 18, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for April 18, 2025 are BATTLESHIP, CHECKER, DOMINO, KNIGHT, TILE and TOKEN, plus the spangram GAMEPIECES.
What was the big word in the April 18, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for April 18, 2025 is GAMEPIECES, 10 letters long, running from row 3, column 4 to row 5, column 1. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “On the board” mean?
The Strands theme “On the board” for April 18, 2025 means GAMEPIECES — that is what the spangram spells, and every one of the 6 theme words is an example of it.
How many theme words are in Strands April 18, 2025?
Strands puzzle #411 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the April 18, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #411 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 24% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on April 18, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Friday, April 18, 2025 is #411, counting from the game's launch on March 4, 2024.
Today’s puzzle and its hint ladder are on the front page. This puzzle sits in April 2025, part of the full Strands archive.