Daily Spelling Bee

Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a pangram?

A word that uses all seven letters at least once. Pangrams earn a big bonus on top of their normal score.

Does every word need the center letter?

Yes. The center letter is required in every valid word, but you can reuse any letter — including the center — more than once.

How is scoring calculated?

Four-letter words are worth 1 point. Longer words are worth one point per letter. Finding a pangram adds a 7-point bonus.

Do I have to find every word to win?

No. Reaching about 40% of the puzzle's maximum possible score counts as a win for the day — you can stop anytime after that.

Is today's puzzle the same for everyone?

Yes, a daily seed picks the same seven-letter puzzle for every player, refreshed at midnight UTC.

Does my progress save if I close the browser?

Yes, your found words and score are saved locally in your browser, so you can pick up where you left off.

Is this the same as the Blossom word game?

It uses the same core mechanic as games like Blossom: a set of letters arranged around one required center letter, and every valid word must use that center letter at least once.

What are the spelling bee ranks or scoring tiers?

This game doesn't use NYT-style rank tiers (Beginner, Good, Great, Amazing, Genius). Scoring is simpler: four-letter words are worth 1 point, longer words earn one point per letter, and finding the pangram adds a 7-point bonus. Reaching about 40% of the day's maximum possible score marks the puzzle as won.

Can I see yesterday's spelling bee answers?

Not yet — the game only shows today's puzzle, refreshed at midnight UTC, and there's currently no archive or history view for previous days' word lists.

Are there hints if I get stuck?

There's no built-in hint button right now. If you're stuck, try combining the center letter with each of the other letters in turn, and remember that letters can repeat within a word — many valid answers use one letter twice or more.

Is there an unlimited mode, and is this the same as the NYT Spelling Bee?

There's one fresh puzzle per player per day rather than an unlimited or practice mode, resetting at midnight UTC. It's an independent game inspired by pangram-style word games like the NYT Spelling Bee — using its own seven-letter combination and word list — and isn't affiliated with or synced to the New York Times puzzle.

What are the hardest words to spell in this game?

Across the 30 puzzles in the current word pool, the longest valid words run eight letters — ATTAINED, MECHANIC, CLIMATIC, and NOBILITY are a few that show up. Each day's word list holds anywhere from 16 to 28 valid words (about 20 on average), and it's usually those longer entries, plus the day's pangram, that take the longest to spot.

Does Spelling Bee work with a real keyboard, not just tapping the hive?

Yes — type any letter that's actually in today's hive and it gets added to the word in progress (a key for a letter that isn't in the hive is silently ignored), Enter submits, and Backspace deletes the last letter. The hex grid is there for touch, but the whole game is fully playable hands-on-keyboard.

What does Play Again actually do in Spelling Bee?

It swaps in a different puzzle from the same 30-puzzle pool, picked with a fresh non-daily seed, held only in memory — your real saved score and streak for today are never touched by it, so replaying is just extra practice, not a redo of the actual daily hive.

Do I have to guess how close I am to winning?

No — the exact point target for today's puzzle (max possible score times 40%, rounded up) is shown live right next to your running score the whole time you're playing, not just revealed at the end, so you always know precisely how many more points you need.

Next on the desk

More daily puzzles to play after Daily Spelling Bee

Or browse all word games on the site and the full daily game list.