#349Saturday, February 15, 2025
Strands answers for February 15, 2025 — “Ice packs” (#349)
Spoilers below — this page is the full record for this puzzle
The NYT Strands spangram for February 15, 2025 (puzzle #349) is HOCKEYTEAM, a 10-letter answer to the theme "Ice packs". The 6 theme words are AVALANCHE, DEVILS, JETS, LIGHTNING, SHARKS and WILD.
Where is each answer on the February 15 Strands board?
Strands #349 resolves to these 6 theme words plus the spangram HOCKEYTEAM.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVALANCHE | 9 | row 8, column 6 | row 7, column 6 | diagonally across the grid |
| DEVILS | 6 | row 3, column 2 | row 4, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| JETS | 4 | row 1, column 2 | row 1, column 1 | diagonally across the grid |
| LIGHTNING | 9 | row 1, column 6 | row 6, column 6 | top to bottom |
| SHARKS | 6 | row 7, column 2 | row 8, column 2 | diagonally across the grid |
| WILD | 4 | row 1, column 4 | row 4, column 5 | top to bottom |
| HOCKEYTEAM | 10 | row 8, column 5 | row 1, column 3 | diagonally across the grid |
What did the February 15 Strands grid look like?
Puzzle #349 is played on 48 letters arranged in eight rows of six.
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 S-J-M-W-I-L, row 2 reads T-E-A-I-H-G, row 3 reads E-D-E-L-N-T, row 4 reads V-S-T-N-D-I, row 5 reads I-L-Y-A-C-N, row 6 reads A-H-E-L-H-G, row 7 reads R-S-K-A-V-E, and row 8 reads K-S-C-O-H-A.
How hard was the February 15 Strands puzzle?
The difficulty index rates puzzle #349 as easy: it sits at the 19th 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 February 15 Strands puzzle?
Strands puzzle #349 was edited by Tracy Bennett and constructed by Christina Iverson. Output across the whole run is broken down on who makes NYT Strands.
Common questions about the February 15 Strands puzzle
What was the clue for Strands on February 15, 2025?
The Strands clue for February 15, 2025 is “Ice packs”, on puzzle #349. It is answered by the spangram HOCKEYTEAM, and all 6 theme words that day belong to that idea.
What were the Strands words on February 15, 2025?
The 6 Strands theme words for February 15, 2025 are AVALANCHE, DEVILS, JETS, LIGHTNING, SHARKS and WILD, plus the spangram HOCKEYTEAM.
What was the big word in the February 15, 2025 Strands?
The big word — the spangram — for February 15, 2025 is HOCKEYTEAM, 10 letters long, running from row 8, column 5 to row 1, column 3. It is the one word that touches two opposite sides of the board and states the theme outright.
What did the Strands theme “Ice packs” mean?
The Strands theme “Ice packs” for February 15, 2025 means HOCKEYTEAM — 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 February 15, 2025?
Strands puzzle #349 has 6 theme words plus one spangram, and together they use all 48 letters on the board exactly once.
How difficult was the February 15, 2025 Strands puzzle?
Strands #349 rates easy on a computed index, harder than 19% of every Strands puzzle published since March 2024.
What number was the Strands puzzle on February 15, 2025?
The Strands puzzle published on Saturday, February 15, 2025 is #349, 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 February 2025, part of the full Strands archive.