The Forbes article by Erik Kain provides a detailed look at the New York Times’ daily puzzle game called Strands. Launched as the newest addition to the Times’ collection of games, Strands challenges players with a word search puzzle that has a unique thematic twist each day. The task involves uncovering specially themed words in a grid, including a “spangram” that crosses the grid entirely and reveals an overarching clue to the puzzle's theme.

For the Sunday, July 19, 2026 edition, the theme was “Big talk,” focusing on large or grandiose words. The spangram answer for this edition was “SUPER SIZE IT,” while the featured words included “GIANT,” “BEHEMOTH,” “LEVIATHAN,” “MAMMOTH,” and “COLOSSUS.” These words emphasize the concept of enormity and grandeur, evoking images of massive creatures and colossal entities. The spangram cleverly links these words by encouraging players to think about amplifying or increasing size.

Kain shares insights on the appeal of the chosen words, noting that aside from a fairly straightforward “GIANT,” the selection includes some impressively dramatic and evocative terms like “BEHEMOTH” and “COLOSSUS,” which enrich the puzzle’s theme. While the spangram phrase “SUPER SIZE IT” is a bit more playful and less evocative than the other words, it fits well with the theme by suggesting amplification and enlargement.

For fans of word puzzles and the NYT’s gaming offerings, this article also includes a direct link to the Strands game and invites readers to engage with Kain on social media about their puzzle experiences. He also points to his broader work on related word games, TV, movies, and entertainment topics, encouraging puzzle lovers to explore his content for tips, guides, and reviews.