Spelling Bee

What is Spelling Bee?

Spelling Bee is a daily word spelling game from The New York Times. Players must create as many words as possible using 7 given letters, with the center letter required in every word.

This is an untimed word game that encourages players to explore vocabulary depth.

Spelling Bee Game Rules

1. 7 Letters: The game provides 7 letters arranged in a honeycomb pattern
2. Center Letter: The yellow center letter must appear in every word
3. Minimum 4 Letters: Words must be at least 4 letters long
4. Letter Reuse: You can reuse any letter multiple times
5. Not All Required: You don't need to use all 7 letters in every word
6. Pangram: A word using all 7 letters is called a "Pangram" and scores extra points
7. Rating System: Earn ranks based on the number of words found and total score

How To Play Spelling Bee

Let's walk through an example (assuming letters are Center: A, Outer: B, C, E, L, N, T):

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Example Letters

    B   C
  E   A   L
    N   T

Center Letter: A (must be used)

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Valid Word Examples

✅ ABLE — 4 letters, contains A ✅ TABLE — 5 letters, contains A ✅ BALANCE — 7 letters, contains A, uses all letters (Pangram!) ✅ CANAL — 5 letters, contains A, letters can be reused

Invalid Word Examples

❌ BELT — Doesn't contain center letter A ❌ CAT — Only 3 letters (needs at least 4) ❌ ABLE — If it uses letters not in the list

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Scoring System

Base Points

• 4-letter words: 1 point
• 5+ letter words: 1 point per letter
• Pangram: Extra 7 points

Rank Levels

Earn different ranks based on total score:

• 🐝 Beginner
• 🐝 Good Start
• 🐝 Moving Up
• 🐝 Good
• 🐝 Solid
• 🐝 Nice
• 🐝 Great
• 🐝 Amazing
• 🐝 Genius (found all words)
• 👑 Queen Bee (perfect score)

Spelling Bee Strategy Tips

1. Common Affixes: Try -ING, -ED, -ER, UN-, RE-, etc.
2. Letter Combinations: Look for common combinations (TH, CH, SH)
3. Systematic Exploration: Try words systematically by letter count
4. Word Root Variations: Derive other forms from one word
5. No Time Limit: Take your time to think
6. Pangram Priority: Try to find words using all letters
7. Two-Letter Combos: Try all possible two-letter starts

Common Techniques

Finding Pangrams

• Systematically try different letter arrangements
• Start thinking from longer words
• Notice common 7-8 letter word patterns

Expanding Vocabulary

• Learn uncommon 4-letter words
• Know technical terms and loanwords
• Notice plural forms and verb conjugations

Where To Play Spelling Bee?

Official game website:

👉 https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spelling-bee

New puzzle updates daily at midnight. Free for New York Times subscribers, with limited free play available.