The puzzle page features a honeycomb with seven different letters; six of these letters are arranged around a seventh letter in the center.  (This image shows the puzzle page for August 12, 2024.)

Above the honeycomb, the space labeled “Type or Click” is where you will enter words as you find them. To the right of the honeycomb is a large blank space; as the words you enter are accepted, they will appear here and will arrange themselves into an alphabetical list. 

Above the list, a golden thread will emerge to indicate your progress through the ranks from Beginner to Genius. (Read more about ranks and scoring here.)

Below the honeycomb are three buttons. When you have finished typing a word and have checked to be sure the spelling is correct, tap or click on the “Enter” button on the right to enter your word. The “Delete” button on the left works as a backspace key, so that you can delete the last letter(s) you typed to correct typos or make other changes before tapping “Enter.” Between the “Delete” and “Enter” buttons is the “Shuffle” button, which you can tap or click to shuffle the six outer letters into a new arrangement. Shuffling will not affect the center letter, which will always remain in the center.

At the top right of the screen, a horizontal menu offers several resources:
Stats If you’re interested in your game statistics from the most recent two weeks, here they are. (Requires an account with, or a subscription to, The New York Times.)
Play Yesterday’s Puzzle If you didn’t complete the Bee of the previous day, this button will appear, and there’s your chance to get caught up. (Requires a subscription.)
Yesterday’s Answers Those who are still learning to play, or those who ended the game without reaching Queen Bee, may find it useful to review yesterday’s game to see what words were missed.
Hints The little arrow pointing up and to the right indicates that clicking here will open a new page or tab. The “Hints” page contains a standardized set of hints and information. It’s the same format every day, with new information specific to the day’s puzzle and a connection to the daily Spelling Bee forum. Read more about the Official Hints page HERE, and read more about the Spelling Bee forum HERE [coming soon].

More: Next to the word "More," the little downward-pointing carat means that there is a sub-menu here. Click on the carat to open the menu to see links to four more resources

How to Play: Here are the New York Times' official instructions and “rules” for the Spelling Bee puzzle:

Rankings: This table shows the scoring and rankings for the day’s game; while the ranking title are the same each day, the numbers will vary depending on the number and length of words in each puzzle. This information may perhaps be of more interest to newer players, to those who do not play to Queen Bee every day, and to those who enjoy additional layers of gameplay with scores and ranks. (Read more about the Spelling Bee ranks and scoring system here.) (This image shows rankings for the Spelling Bee of August 12, 2024.)

Community: The small arrow pointing up and to the right indicates that clicking here will open a new page. The link here always leads to the Spelling Bee forum for that particular day. The Community, also, called the Forum, is the comments section that is attached to the Hints page described above. For more information about the Spelling Bee forum, click HERE. [coming soon]
Past Puzzles. Clicking here will take you to the Spelling Bee Hub, where you may revisit Bee games from the past two weeks, to complete any you might not have had a chance to finish, or to gaze adoringly at those you did complete (that is, those for which you achieved Queen Bee.).
That’s all there is on the puzzle page!

How to Play: The Spelling Bee Puzzle Page