Guide

How to play Spelling Bee

Spelling Bee is a word-finding puzzle: seven letters, one required center, and hundreds of valid words waiting. Master a few rules and you'll be chasing Queen Bee in no time.

The rules

Each word must be at least 4 letters.
Every word must use the yellow center letter.
Only the seven letters in the hive may be used. Letters can repeat.
No proper nouns, hyphenated words, or obscure abbreviations.

Step-by-step

Step 1: Read the hive
You will see seven letters arranged as a honeycomb, one of them highlighted yellow in the center. That center letter must appear in every word you make.
Step 2: Type your first word
Find any word of four or more letters using only the seven hive letters. Letters can repeat. Press Enter to submit.
Step 3: Score points
Four-letter words are worth 1 point. Longer words are worth 1 point per letter. A pangram — a word that uses all seven letters — earns a +7 bonus.
Step 4: Climb the ranks
Your total score moves you up the ranks: Beginner, Good Start, Moving Up, Good, Solid, Nice, Great, Amazing, Genius, and finally Queen Bee at 100%.
Step 5: Practice with more modes
Once you finish the daily puzzle, use Unlimited mode for extra hives, the Solver for post-mortems, and Yesterday's Answers to review what you missed.

Scoring

4-letter word → 1 point
5+ letter word → 1 point per letter
Pangram (uses all 7 letters) → +7 bonus points

Ranks

Beginner → Good Start → Moving Up → Good → Solid → Nice → Great → Amazing → Genius → Queen Bee. Genius unlocks at 70% of the maximum score, Queen Bee at 100%.

Pro tips

Hunt for the pangram first — it locks in a big score and keeps momentum.
Try common suffixes: -ing, -ed, -er, -ly, -ness.
Rare letters (J, Q, X, Z) are worth watching — long words with them boost your score fast.
If you're stuck, use the Spelling Bee solver to explore the full word list.

Frequently asked

›How many letters can I use in a Spelling Bee word?

Words must be at least 4 letters long, use only the seven hive letters, and include the required yellow center letter. Letters can repeat within a single word.

›What is a pangram?

A pangram is a word that uses all seven letters at least once. Each pangram earns a +7-point bonus on top of its length score and always helps you reach the higher ranks.

›How is Spelling Bee scored?

4-letter words score 1 point. Longer words score 1 point per letter (5-letter word = 5 points, 6-letter word = 6 points, and so on). Pangrams add a +7 bonus on top.

›What ranks can I reach?

Ranks scale with score: Beginner, Good Start, Moving Up, Good, Solid, Nice, Great, Amazing, Genius, and Queen Bee (100% of possible points).

›Are proper nouns allowed?

No. Proper nouns, hyphenated words, and obscure abbreviations are excluded from the word list.

›Can letters repeat in a word?

Yes. A single hive letter can be reused any number of times inside one word. NOON, GEESE, and NANA are all valid patterns if those letters are in the hive.

›Is there a time limit?

No. Take as long as you like — progress saves in your browser, so you can close the tab and pick up later on the same device.