Strands Solver

Strand Solver is an application designed to solve the Strands puzzle from The New York Times (w/o using hints). Users have the option to solve the current day's puzzle through online integration or the past puzzles (or puzzles from other sources) by supplying a file path to a text-based puzzle format stored locally.

Dependencies

To install the necessary libraries, run the following command:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Ensure you have Python 3.11 or higher for optimal compatibility.

Using Optional Arguments

The Strand Solver supports several command-line arguments to tailor the solving experience to your preferences:

• -f or --file: Specify the path to a puzzle file in the local system. Using this argument enables offline solving mode.

• -o or --online: Triggers the online solving mode to tackle the current day's puzzle on the NYT website.

• -u or --url: (For online mode only) You may specify a custom URL if the standard puzzle URL changes or if you wish to solve from an alternative online source. (Currently only nyt website available)

• --heuristic: Allows the user to specify a different heuristic approach defined within the code for the solver. Refer to the source code or documentation for available heuristics. (Only null heuristic works)

Solving the Current Day's Puzzle

To automatically connect to the NYT website and solve today's puzzle:

python3 solve.py -o

Note: The online mode requires an active internet connection. If the puzzle contains words not present in the word_bank.json, the solver might not find a complete solution.

Solving Past Puzzles

To solve a puzzle from a specific file:

python3 solve.py -f <path_to_your_puzzle_file.txt>

If no file path is provided, the solver defaults to a pre-stored puzzle, "games/strands_03_04_2024.txt".

python3 solve.py

This allows for the solving of custom or past puzzles not directly from NYT.

Extending the Word Bank

The word bank can be extended by manually editing the word_bank.json file. Add the new words in JSON array format to ensure they are recognized during future puzzle solvings.