NYT Bonus Puzzles Answers: This Week's Drop, Hints First
NYT Bonus Puzzles
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Wordle in 1 5 rounds
- BREAK
- DOZEN
- ALOFT
- TREND
- SMART
Reveal the Wordle in 1 answers
- BREAK → BRAKE
- DOZEN → DIZZY
- ALOFT → FLOAT
- TREND → TRAIN
- SMART → SWARM
Connections 3x3 3 groups of 3
Reveal the Connections 3x3 groups
Colorful Strands Light up the board.
ThemeIn living color
Hint 1 · How many words
6 theme words plus one spangram — every letter is used exactly once.
Hint 2 · The spangram
12 letters, running left to right.
Hint 3 · First letters
The theme words start with C, F, F, I, S, W.
Reveal the Colorful Strands answers
Spangram: PARTYANIMALS
CRAB FINCH FLAMINGO IGUANA STARFISH WHALE
Mystery Mini 5×5 · by Joel Fagliano
This week's Mystery Mini has a title, “Breaking Bread” — it is the hint to the gimmick.
Across answers
- 1The "R" of the Bay Area's BARTRAPID
- 6"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" musicalEVITA
- 7"That question doesn't apply to me," on a formNA
- 8English articleAN
- 9Mr. or Dr.TITLE
- 11Flawlessly pulls off an outfit, in slangSLAYS
Down answers
- 1Rising costs of gentrificationRENTS
- 2To no ___ (fruitlessly)AVAIL
- 3It has been recited all the way to 70,000 digits, per a Guiness World RecordPI
- 4Boot-shaped countryITALY
- 5Neighbors of Swedes and GermansDANES
- 10College prof's helperTA
Reveal the solved grid
What Are the NYT Bonus Puzzles?
The NYT Bonus Puzzles are a weekly set of extra games from NYT Games, released every Wednesday since August 26, 2026. Each drop so far has included Wordle in 1, Connections 3x3, a Strands variant and a Mystery Mini, with a Special Crossword or Easy Mode Crossword in some weeks.
They are twists on games you already know rather than new games. Wordle in 1 gives you the clues before your only guess. Connections 3x3 shrinks the grid to nine words. The Strands variant and the Mystery Mini each add a gimmick to a familiar format.
This page covers the whole drop in one place, hints first. The two most-played games have their own pages with more hints: Wordle in 1 answers and Connections 3x3 answers.
What's in Each NYT Bonus Drop
Here is the lineup from the first twelve drops (August 26 to November 11, 2026), taken from NYT's own puzzle data.
| Puzzle | How it plays | Credits so far | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wordle in 1 | Five rounds; each start word's colors are shown, and you get one guess | Edited by Tracy Bennett | 12 of 12 |
| Connections 3x3 | Nine words, three groups of three | Edited by Wyna Liu | 12 of 12 |
| Strands variant | Theme words plus a spangram in a 6×8 letter grid; Colorful Strands every week so far | Edited by Tracy Bennett; 8 of 12 built by Christina Iverson | 12 of 12 |
| Mystery Mini | A mini crossword with a hidden twist | Joel Fagliano (5), Sam Ezersky (4), Christina Iverson (2), Adam Aaronson (1) | 12 of 12 |
| Special Crossword | A themed full-size crossword, sometimes with a guest co-constructor | Guests have included Rachel Dratch and Rian Johnson | 5 of 12 |
| Easy Mode Crossword | A 15×15 crossword with simpler clues | A different constructor each week | Drops 1–5 only |
On this page we publish full hints and answers for the first four NYT Bonus Puzzles. The two full-size crosswords are listed in each week's drop, but we don't reproduce their grids.
When Do the NYT Bonus Puzzles Come Out?
A new NYT Bonus drop is released every Wednesday, and it stays live until the following Wednesday. NYT labels each drop by month and week, such as "November Week 2", and that label appears on the ticket at the top of this page with the date of the next drop.
We update this page as soon as the new drop goes live on Wednesday, US Eastern time. NYT sometimes loads the next drop into its system early, but we wait until it is officially out, so this page never spoils a set before you can play it.
Drops are numbered from #1 on August 26, 2026, going up by one every week. That is the number other answer sites use, such as "Wordle in 1 #11" for the November 4 drop.
Colorful Strands: Every Theme So Far
The Strands variant in the NYT Bonus Puzzles has been Colorful Strands every week so far. It plays like daily Strands: find the theme words and a spangram that crosses the board, using every letter once. The difference is the theme, which has always been about color.
| Drop | Theme clue | Spangram |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 26 | Shade-y lady | WHOISSHE (color names that are also names, like HAZEL and RUBY) |
| Sep 9 | Colorful nutrients | TASTETHERAINBOW |
| Sep 16 | Rhymes with "golly, dramatic!" | POLYCHROMATIC |
| Sep 23 | A tinge of sadness | FEELINGBLUE |
| Oct 14 | Autumnal shade | ORANGE |
| Oct 21 | Glam rock | GEMSTONE |
| Nov 4 | Colorful idioms | LITERALLY (gray AREA, red HERRING, green THUMB…) |
Across the twelve drops, the spangram ran left to right eight times and top to bottom four times, and each board held five to eight theme words. Since October 7, NYT's data has also given every theme word its own color, which is how our solved boards are shaded.
NYT names the Strands variant in each drop, so if a new variant appears, the block at the top of this page follows it automatically.
Mystery Mini: What the "Mystery" Has Been
NYT's tagline for the Mystery Mini is "Expect the unexpected". Each one is a small crossword, but most hide a gimmick that a normal Mini never would.
- A rebus square (September 23). One square held a whole word, HEART, so the across answer read I♥NY.
- A linked set (October 7). The puzzle's note said its four two-letter answers were all related.
- Hidden anagrams (October 21). Seven clues ended with an anagram of their own answer.
- Odd shapes. Sizes have ranged from 5×5 (six times) through 6×6 and 7×7 to an 8×6 grid on September 9.
When a Mystery Mini has a title or a note, we show it above the grid as the first hint. The across and down answers and the solved grid each sit behind their own button.
How to Use This NYT Bonus Puzzles Page
The panel at the top holds the whole drop, one game after another, and nothing is spoiled until you ask for it.
- Wordle in 1: the five start words are shown with their colors. One button reveals all five answers; the Wordle in 1 page has three hints per round.
- Connections 3x3: the nine words in NYT's starting order, then the three groups behind a button. The Connections 3x3 page adds two hints per group.
- Strands variant: the starting board and theme clue, three hints (word count, spangram length and direction, first letters), then the solved board shaded word by word.
- Mystery Mini: the empty grid and any title or note, then the across answers, the down answers and the solved grid, each behind its own button.
Below the hints, the archive keeps every earlier NYT Bonus Puzzles drop, so you can look up a week you missed.
NYT Bonus Puzzles vs the Daily NYT Games
The daily games reset every night and share one format each: one Wordle, one 16-word Connections grid, one Strands board. The NYT Bonus Puzzles arrive once a week and bend those formats instead.
| Daily game | Its NYT Bonus twist |
|---|---|
| Wordle | Wordle in 1: the clues come first and you get a single guess |
| Connections | Connections 3x3: nine words, three groups, more decoys per word |
| Strands | Colorful Strands: every theme is about color |
| The Mini | Mystery Mini: rebus squares, hidden anagrams and titled twists |
If you only have time for one, Wordle in 1 is the quickest: five rounds, usually under a minute each once you know the method.
Are the NYT Bonus Puzzles Free?
The launch drop on August 26, 2026 was free to everyone. Every drop since then has been marked as a subscriber puzzle in NYT's data, so you need an NYT Games or All Access subscription to play them on NYT.
Reading the answers costs nothing. Everything on this page, including the archive, is free, and the hints are written so you can still enjoy solving if you have access.
How We Check Every NYT Bonus Answer
Every NYT Bonus Puzzles answer here comes from NYT's own puzzle data, not from another answer site. Before a drop is published, each game passes automatic checks.
- Strands: every theme word and the spangram are traced letter by letter across the grid, and together they must use every letter exactly once.
- Wordle in 1: a solver confirms each answer against the original 2,315-word Wordle answer list and finds the decoys it beats.
- Connections 3x3: exactly three groups of three, with nine different words.
- Mystery Mini: every clue's answer must fill its squares with no gaps.
If a check fails, we leave that game out of the drop instead of guessing. Its own page keeps last week's verified answers, with a note saying which drop they belong to. We never publish an answer we couldn't verify.
Past NYT Bonus Puzzles Answers
Every earlier NYT Bonus drop, newest first. Open a week to see all of its answers: the Wordle in 1 rounds, the Connections 3x3 groups, the Strands words and the Mystery Mini across entries.
#11November 4, 2026November Week 1Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: ABOVE → BRAVE, FLING → FEIGN, SPORT → UPSET, LORIS → SOLID, LEAFY → LOFTY
Connections 3x3: BREATHES HEAVILY (HEAVES, HUFFS, PANTS); DOGS (BOXERS, LABS, POINTERS); BOARD ___ (GAMES, MEETINGS, SHORTS)
Colorful Strands: “Colorful idioms” — spangram LITERALLY; AREA, HERRING, JOURNALISM, MOON, PROSE, SLIP, THUMB
Mystery Mini: 7×7 — 1A IDO, 4A TAD, 7A NOWHERE, 9A CHEERUP, 10A RAGU, 11A TOGOBUT, 14A PHONILY, 15A SHASTA
Also: Special Crossword
#10October 28, 2026October Week 4Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: ALERT → ALTER, CRAVE → CURVY, CASTS → STASH, WITCH → WIDTH, ANNUL → ENNUI
Connections 3x3: SEEN ON A FLIGHT INFO BOARD (AIRLINE, ARRIVAL, GATE); MUSICALS (CAROUSEL, COMPANY, HAIR); EYE ___ (CONTACT, DROPPER, SHADOW)
Colorful Strands: “Let's do the Time Warp” — spangram ROCKYHORROR; CASTLE, CORSET, FISHNETS, LIPS, MONSTER, PLANET
Mystery Mini: 5×5 — 1A BYO, 4A COOK, 5A COOKS, 6A OOZE, 7A SKY
#9October 21, 2026October Week 3Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: BONNY → EBONY, BELOW → ELBOW, REPLY → EARLY, OWNED → ENDOW, BIOME → EMOJI
Connections 3x3: GYMNASTICS APPARATUS (HORSE, RINGS, VAULT); SNAKES (BOA, GARTER, MOCCASIN); THINGS WITH TRUNKS (CAR, ELEPHANT, TREE)
Colorful Strands: “Glam rock” — spangram GEMSTONE; AMETHYST, AQUAMARINE, GARNET, JADE, ONYX, OPAL, RUBY
Mystery Mini: 5×5 — 1A MAC, 4A NEPAL, 6A ODORS, 7A TIRED, 8A EAT
Also: Special Crossword
#8October 14, 2026October Week 2Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: PRONE → SNORE, FORCE → FLOCK, SALVO → LASSO, FLESH → SHELF, BERRY → ZEBRA
Connections 3x3: TOTALS (=, COMES TO, IS); DAVID FINCHER MOVIES (FIGHT CLUB, SEVEN, THE GAME); UNITS OF DISTANCE PLUS STARTING LETTER (AFOOT, FINCH, SMILE)
Colorful Strands: “Autumnal shade” — spangram ORANGE; AMBER, BASKETBALL, CARROT, MARIGOLD, PUMPKIN, SUNSET
Mystery Mini: 5×5 — 1A PDA, 4A PEAR, 5A FLARE, 6A BUCK, 7A IMHO
#7October 7, 2026October Week 1Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: CORGI → GRACE, TIGER → TENOR, ROBIN → BRAWN, HERON → HUMAN, COBRA → BACON
Connections 3x3: WORDS THAT INTRODUCE CLAUSES (FOR, THAT, WHETHER); TENNIS SCORING WORDS (ADVANTAGE, DEUCE, LOVE); HOMOPHONES OF VEGETATION (BREYER, BUSCH, WE'D)
Colorful Strands: “Digital art?” — spangram FINGERPAINTING; EXPRESSIVE, GOOPY, MESSY, SQUISHY, TACTILE
Mystery Mini: 6×6 — 1A BINARY, 7A ACACIA, 8A RIG, 9A DC, 10A CC, 11A HEH, 12A ALBERT, 14A RECESS
Also: Special Crossword
#6September 30, 2026September Week 5Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: THROW → TORCH, BLOCK → BROOK, CHUMP → PLUCK, WHOSE → WORSE, BUNCH → CABIN
Connections 3x3: CIRCULAR STRIP (BAND, LOOP, RING); SALTY SNACK UNITS (COMBO, GOLDFISH, TAKI); FISH MINUS LAST TWO LETTERS (ANCHO, GROUP, SARDI)
Colorful Strands: “About face” — spangram EMOJIKEYBOARD; MELTING, SMILING, WEARY, WINKING, WOOZY, ZANY
Mystery Mini: 6×6 — 1A TIPS, 5A COCOAS, 7A PAELLA, 8A USCITY, 9A STATES, 10A SPED
#5September 23, 2026September Week 4Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: CHILL → LILAC, LYRIC → LOGIC, BLURB → LOBBY, QUARK → GUARD, YODEL → DOWEL
Connections 3x3: BOARD GAMES (GO, LIFE, RISK); CEREAL MASCOTS (CRACKLE, LUCKY, TONY); ONE IN A GROUP OF SEVEN (HAPPY, MONDAY, PRIDE)
Colorful Strands: “A tinge of sadness” — spangram FEELINGBLUE; CYAN, INDIGO, OCEAN, ROYAL, SAPPHIRE, TURQUOISE
Mystery Mini: 5×5 — 1A IHEARTNY, 5A ONRYE, 6A HIALL, 7A ONTOP, 8A KEN
Also: Easy Mode Crossword, Special Crossword
#4September 16, 2026September Week 3Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: PRISM → CRISP, BRAID → RABID, HOUND → HANDY, BANJO → JUMBO, VITAL → OLIVE
Connections 3x3: CLASSIC DANCE FADS (HUSTLE, ROBOT, TWIST); STREETS IN LOS ANGELES (RODEO, SUNSET, VINE); STARTING WITH FARM ANIMALS (COWBOY, HORSESHOE, PIGTAIL)
Colorful Strands: “Rhymes with "golly, dramatic!"” — spangram POLYCHROMATIC; KALEIDOSCOPE, OPAL, PEACOCK, PRISM, RAINBOW
Mystery Mini: 7×7 — 1A YULE, 5A COPED, 6A HOUSED, 7A NURSERY, 8A ONDUTY, 9A ODORS, 10A NONE
Also: Easy Mode Crossword
#3September 9, 2026September Week 2Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: WHOSE → WORSE, GUILT → GLOAT, CAPER → RECAP, SPARK → PRANK, PHONY → NYMPH
Connections 3x3: ACCESSORIES (BELT, HAT, TIE); SECURE (BAG, LAND, WIN); WHAT ✌️ MIGHT MEAN (PEACE, TWO, VICTORY)
Colorful Strands: “Colorful nutrients” — spangram TASTETHERAINBOW; BLUEBERRY, CHERRY, LEMON, LIME, MANGO, PLUM
Mystery Mini: 8×6 — 1A COS, 4A LOGO, 8A ACE, 9A AVON, 10A BUSINESS, 12A ALACARTE, 13A NAME, 14A DAT, 15A ARES, 16A OGS
Also: Easy Mode Crossword
#2September 2, 2026September Week 1Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: TEACH → CHEAT, STUNT → TRUST, WAFER → FROWN, MANGE → GLEAM, DUSTY → STUDY
Connections 3x3: DAY OF THE WEEK ABBREVIATIONS (SAT, SUN, WED); MULTIPLICATION INDICATORS (BY, TIMES, X); ____ OFFICE (BOX, OVAL, POST)
Colorful Strands: "I'm all ..." — spangram SMILES; ECSTATIC, EXUBERANT, GLAD, HAPPY, JOYOUS, ROSY, UPBEAT
Mystery Mini: 5×5 — 1A NAG, 4A YADA, 5A NAMES, 6A ADEEP, 7A GAS
Also: Easy Mode Crossword, Special Crossword
#1August 26, 2026August Week 1Wordle in 1 · Connections 3x3 · Colorful Strands · Mystery Mini
Wordle in 1: EARTH → HEART, OCEAN → PECAN, STONE → TENSE, CORAL → CURLY, BEACH → BRASH
Connections 3x3: FASTEN (BUTTON, SNAP, ZIP); STRIPED THINGS (BARCODE, CROSSWALK, ZEBRA); WORDS THAT RHYME (BUZZ, DOES, WAS)
Colorful Strands: “Shade-y lady” — spangram WHOISSHE; AMBER, HAZEL, JADE, OLIVE, PEARL, RUBY, SIENNA, VIOLET
Mystery Mini: 7×7 — 1A COCO, 5A MACHU, 6A BALTIC, 7A ARM, 8A ACH, 9A SAMEDAY, 11A OVALS, 12A FALL
Also: Easy Mode Crossword
NYT Bonus Puzzles FAQ
What are the NYT Bonus Puzzles?
A weekly set of extra puzzles from NYT Games, released every Wednesday since August 26, 2026: Wordle in 1, Connections 3x3, a Strands variant and a Mystery Mini, plus an occasional full-size crossword.
When do the NYT Bonus Puzzles come out?
Every Wednesday. Each drop stays live until the next one, and NYT labels it by month and week, such as "November Week 2".
Are the NYT Bonus Puzzles free?
Only the launch drop was. Since then each drop has been marked as a subscriber puzzle, but the hints and answers here are free.
Can I play past NYT Bonus Puzzles?
Subscribers can step back through earlier drops in the NYT Games bonus hub. Every past answer is also in the archive on this page.
Where are the daily NYT puzzles?
See Wordle hints today, Connections hints, Strands hints and Pips answers.
More NYT Puzzle Answers
Unofficial fan guide — not affiliated with or endorsed by The New York Times. The Bonus Puzzles are NYT Games puzzles; crossword clues are quoted for reference, and the hints and analysis here are our own.