In case you are perusing this, you are in search of help with Strands, the New York Times‘ refined word-search game.

Strands invites players to reimagine the classic word search. Words can be constructed from adjacent letters — upwards, downwards, sideways, or diagonally, and may shift direction, forming distinct shapes and designs. Each letter within the grid is integral to a solution. There exists a theme connecting all solutions, along with the “spangram,” a unique word or phrase that embodies the day’s theme and stretches across the entire grid either horizontally or vertically.

With its ambiguous hint and absence of a word list, Strands offers a challenging game that typically requires more time to complete than other games such as Wordle and Connections.

If you’re feeling lost or don’t have 10 minutes to tackle today’s puzzle, we have all the NYT Strands hints you require to proceed at your own pace.

NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Monster quest

The words pertain to creatures.

Today’s NYT Strands theme simply described

These words reference notorious monsters.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

This day’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today’s spangram is Cryptids

NYT Strands word list for June 4

• Mothman

• Jackalope

• Yeti

• Cryptids

• Kraken

• Bigfoot

• Crawler

Interested in other daily online games? Check out Mashable’s Games page for additional hints, and if you seek more puzzles, Mashable has games for you now!

Explore our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword puzzles, and much more.

Not the date you’re looking for? Here’s the answer to yesterday’s Strands.