Strands vs Connections: Which Puzzle Is Harder?
There are two interesting games, Strands and Connections, provided by The New York Times and loved by the word-puzzle lovers. The two games are based on finding some relationships and similarities between the words, but they differ greatly in format. As for the question that pops in players’ heads each time they solve the puzzles, it can sound like this: Which one is a harder game?
First, let us note that the answer to this question may depend on several aspects as the two games involve different sets of thinking skills that are developed while playing the game.
What Makes Strands Challenging?
Here is how the gameplay looks like: players are provided with a letter grid (6×8 cells) and have to discover words connected to a common theme. The twist here is that those words do not have straight lines but twist across the grid. What is more, one should connect adjacent letters (vertically, horizontally, or diagonally).
One of the crucial elements of the puzzle is a Spangram – a word which describes the theme and unites two opposite sides of the puzzle.
Thus, in order to solve the puzzle, one needs a well-developed pattern recognition, as well as a wide vocabulary. Sometimes, guessing the theme comes easier compared to guessing the path in the letter grid.
Another challenge in solving the puzzle is related to exploring many paths in the grid. One may discover many words, but only those connected to the theme will help in solving the puzzle.
What Makes Connections Challenging?
In this case, the game does not include a letter grid, but only 16 words that one needs to group into four groups (with four words in each). In fact, one should discover what kind of relationship exists between those words.
At first sight, the puzzle seems rather easy as everything looks so clear and evident. But the thing is that the game designers use misleading patterns in order to trick players. One should identify the hidden relations which may be quite creative, including synonyms, pop-culture references, and so on.
| Puzzle Game | Main Challenge |
|---|---|
| Strands | Finding words in a letter grid |
| Connections | Discovering hidden word relationships |
Comparing the Difficulty
In fact, these are two completely different challenges, and only individual preferences and habits will show whether people prefer the first or the latter puzzle. Those who like solving patterns in letter grids and searching for the words will probably prefer Strands. Connections appeals to those who are keen on finding hidden relations between words.
Moreover, in some cases, Connections seems to be rather complicated for a number of reasons. First, it requires an active imagination. And second, finding the words that may unite many words can be rather challenging. In contrast, when it comes to Strands, its solution may be rather difficult if the theme of the puzzle is unclear.
Conclusion
Thus, it is not easy to compare these games in terms of difficulty because they have little in common. However, Connections usually seems to be more challenging due to the presence of misleading patterns.
Of course, there are some cases when Strands can also be considered rather difficult for the players, for example, when they cannot easily guess the theme or Spangram.