Gaming

Today’s NYT Connections and Strands Celebrate Star Wars Day with Style

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As for the two games, Strands and Connections, which can be played here, itโ€™s Strands that is more direct. The word-search game, which has players find words from a letter grid, has themes that hint to the main idea, in this case the iconic series and a famous asset it has. Add to that Connectionsโ€™ wise words, it is a bit of a challenge for those if they arenโ€™t one with the force. All of the Easter Eggs reference the original trilogy, consisting of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, so if youโ€™ve watched some, it should be quite noticeable. Still, for longtime fans, youโ€™ll definitely enjoy todayโ€™s puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections and Strands Are Filled with Star Wars References for May 4th

Today’s Strands theme is “Star Wars: A New Hope”.

In the case of Strands, itโ€™s a very deep cut theme, which is โ€œStar Wars: A New Hopeโ€. However, instead of cut-and-dry words like Jedi or Droid, they actually reference the opening crawl, a staple of Star Wars projects. If you want to know the words for May 4thโ€™s Strands, they are Opening Crawl, Planet, Empire, Rebel, Long, Time, Galaxy, and Space. If youโ€™ve studied Star Wars from Andor to Yoda, youโ€™ll get it quicker than the Kessel Run. For Connections, the words Darth, Chewy, Solo, and Boba show up in the 16-word lineup. However, in true Connections fashion, they are actually all trick words, not being in a specific Star Wars category, but others like drinks. 

No matter if you watched the original A New Hope in theaters in 1977 or are currently watching Andor on Disney+ now, thereโ€™s a lot to celebrate this May 4th, which is a reference to the classic line “May the Force be with you”. Even without a new theatrical film since 2019โ€™s Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, it remains a staple of entertainment, especially with the Disney+ shows like The Mandalorian, Star Wars: Andor, and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew doing great with fans and critics. Plus, with the incredible box office gain from the re-release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu and the Ryan Gosling-starring Star Wars: Starfighter, the force is strong for the future of the galaxy, even if theyโ€™re far, far away. 

Did you play todayโ€™s Strands and Connections? Were you able to spot all the Star Wars references? How will you be celebrating Star Wars Day? Watching Star Wars: Andor? Rewatching the original trilogy? Let us know in the comments below! You can play todayโ€™s Strands and Connections here on The New York Times Games website. For everything Strands, Connections, and all things Star Wars, keep it here at ComicBook.