How to Play: Entering Words in the Puzzle
The goal of the Spelling Bee puzzle is to find words that have been selected by the puzzle editor from among all possible words that can be derived from the given letter set. Here’s a guide to entering words into the puzzle.
The Spelling Bee puzzle page (shown at right and described HERE) features a honeycomb with seven different letters; six of these are arranged around the seventh letter in the center. (This honeycomb is sometimes called “the hive.”)
Try to form words using these seven letters, and enter them as you find them into the space provided, labeled “Type or Click.”
Using a keyboard on a laptop or PC, you can select and enter letters and use the backspace key to delete the letter(s) you most recently typed. The “Enter” key on your keyboard will function as the “Enter” button, and the spacebar will shuffle the letters. You can also use the mouse or keypad to click on “Delete,” “Shuffle,” or “Enter” as needed.
When playing in a browser on a mobile device, just tap the letters to enter and tap the “Delete,” “Shuffle,” or “Enter” buttons to take action.
Try to form words using these seven letters, and enter them as you find them into the space provided, labeled “Type or Click.”
Using a keyboard on a laptop or PC, you can select and enter letters and use the backspace key to delete the letter(s) you most recently typed. The “Enter” key on your keyboard will function as the “Enter” button, and the spacebar will shuffle the letters. You can also use the mouse or keypad to click on “Delete,” “Shuffle,” or “Enter” as needed.
When playing in a browser on a mobile device, just tap the letters to enter and tap the “Delete,” “Shuffle,” or “Enter” buttons to take action.
.png)
Look for Words That Meet the Rules
As you look for words in the honeycomb, keep the New York Times’ Spelling Bee rules in mind:
Create words using letters from the hive. Words must contain at least 4 letters. Words must include the center letter. Our word list does not include words that are obscure, hyphenated, or proper nouns. No cussing either, sorry. Letters can be used more than once.
Score points to increase your rating. 4-letter words are worth 1 point each. Longer words earn 1 point per letter. Each puzzle includes at least one “pangram” which uses every letter. These are worth 7 extra points!
As you look for words in the honeycomb, keep the New York Times’ Spelling Bee rules in mind:
Create words using letters from the hive. Words must contain at least 4 letters. Words must include the center letter. Our word list does not include words that are obscure, hyphenated, or proper nouns. No cussing either, sorry. Letters can be used more than once.
Score points to increase your rating. 4-letter words are worth 1 point each. Longer words earn 1 point per letter. Each puzzle includes at least one “pangram” which uses every letter. These are worth 7 extra points!
An important note about the puzzle rules: While most of these rules have to do with the unalterable mechanics of the puzzle (i.e., word length, mandated center letter, existence of at least one pangram), the others, while essentially true, may seem less objective.
Variations exist. A word that may be hyphenated in Merriam-Webster may appear as an unhyphenated word in the New Oxford American Dictionary; a word that NOAD considers to be vulgar (a “cuss” word) may not be designated as such in Merriam-Webster. What’s obscure to one player might be familiar to another.
Further, this list does not include the very basic Spelling Bee rule that capitalized words are not accepted; that rule is complicated by the fact that some words that exist as proper nouns (e.g., the city of Mecca) also exist as common nouns (e.g., a favorite shopping mecca).
A further note about the puzzle goal: Though the puzzle invitation asks “How many words can you make with 7 letters?” the goal is not to find all the words that you know, but to find only the words that the editor has selected for the day’s puzzle. The Spelling Bee will never include all the words that can be made from the seven letters, and often it will not include all the wonderful words that you know.
The best approach to dealing with these factors is as follows:1) try all the words you can think of2) when in doubt, check any or all of the dictionaries used by the Bee editor to verify spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, etc.3) when a word you enter meets the mechanical criteria, is spelled correctly, and exists in a dictionary or other valid resource and is still not accepted, accept that it was not selected for the Bee and move on to the next word.
Know What to Expect
After you find and type a word, press, tap, or click on "Enter." Any of several things will happen next:
If the word you entered is 1) in the list of words selected for the day’s puzzle, AND 2) spelled correctly according to the version in the selected list, AND 3) not already entered
then you’ll see a brief floating pop-up message to confirm that the word was accepted (praising you as Good! Nice!) and briefly showing the number of points you earned (+1, +4, etc.). (Read more about ranks and scoring HERE.) Yay you! Keep looking for more words.
If you try to enter a word that does not meet the criteria, you will see one of these messages:
Not in Word List: If the character string you entered is not in the day’s list (whether because the word was not chosen, or because you had a typo) then you’ll see a quick floating pop-up message that says “Not in Word List.” Check your spelling and try again; maybe you had a typo the first time. If it still comes up as "Not in Word List," then accept the fact that the word was not selected, and move on to look for other words.
Missing center letter: If you enter a word that does not include the center letter, a brief pop-up will tell you that the word is “Missing center letter.” Remember, each word must include that center letter.
Too short: If you enter a word with fewer than four letters, a brief pop-up will tell you that it is “Too short.” Remember, each acceptable word must have at least four letters.
Bad Letters: If you enter a word that includes any letters other than the seven chosen for the day, a quick pop-up will chide you for using “Bad Letters.” Remember, you can use only the seven letters that appear in the honeycomb.
Just keep playing, finding and entering as many words as you can. Keep in mind that the only words that matter are those that were selected by the puzzle editor for the day’s puzzle. The goal of the puzzle is to find and enter only those words. Let the “bad words” drop away; don’t waste time or energy fretting about them. They will not count toward your score or toward solving the puzzle, and there is no penalty for trying words that are not accepted.
If the word you entered is 1) in the list of words selected for the day’s puzzle, AND 2) spelled correctly according to the version in the selected list, AND 3) not already entered
then you’ll see a brief floating pop-up message to confirm that the word was accepted (praising you as Good! Nice!) and briefly showing the number of points you earned (+1, +4, etc.). (Read more about ranks and scoring HERE.) Yay you! Keep looking for more words.
If you try to enter a word that does not meet the criteria, you will see one of these messages:
Not in Word List: If the character string you entered is not in the day’s list (whether because the word was not chosen, or because you had a typo) then you’ll see a quick floating pop-up message that says “Not in Word List.” Check your spelling and try again; maybe you had a typo the first time. If it still comes up as "Not in Word List," then accept the fact that the word was not selected, and move on to look for other words.
Missing center letter: If you enter a word that does not include the center letter, a brief pop-up will tell you that the word is “Missing center letter.” Remember, each word must include that center letter.
Too short: If you enter a word with fewer than four letters, a brief pop-up will tell you that it is “Too short.” Remember, each acceptable word must have at least four letters.
Bad Letters: If you enter a word that includes any letters other than the seven chosen for the day, a quick pop-up will chide you for using “Bad Letters.” Remember, you can use only the seven letters that appear in the honeycomb.
Just keep playing, finding and entering as many words as you can. Keep in mind that the only words that matter are those that were selected by the puzzle editor for the day’s puzzle. The goal of the puzzle is to find and enter only those words. Let the “bad words” drop away; don’t waste time or energy fretting about them. They will not count toward your score or toward solving the puzzle, and there is no penalty for trying words that are not accepted.
Watch your Progress
As you find words in the solution set, watch your points accumulate in the horizontal yellow scale at the top of the puzzle page, and watch your ranking advance all the way to Genius, at which point a splash screen showing Beeatrice, the Spelling Bee logo, with a little mortarboard will appear and you’ll be told that you reached the puzzle’s highest rank. (Read more about ranks and scoring HERE.) Beeatrice sometimes shows up in holiday garb; see most of the variations HERE.
But wait, there’s more!
Genius is not the highest rank, even though the puzzle message says so. If you make it that far, find and click the button that says "Keep Playing," because there are more words to find. (You may need to scroll up to see that prompt.) Genius level represents only about 70% of the total points for the day’s puzzle. If and when you find all the words, you achieve Queen Bee, and that is the highest level and the actual official end of the puzzle. You don’t need to take any more steps; there’s nothing to submit to get your crown; enjoy the splash screen.
Of course, you can stop playing at any point you choose. Some players have Genius as their goal, others enjoy being Amazing, and others go for Queen Bee every day. There is no rule about that, and no penalty for stopping; feel free to make the puzzle fun for you. The puzzle ends wherever you choose, anywhere between one word entered and Queen Bee.