How to play Spelling Bee
Spelling Bee gives you seven letters and one firm rule: every word you make must use the center letter. Words run from four letters up, letters can repeat, and every point moves you up the ranks toward Genius. This page covers the rules, the scoring, the ranks and the pangram bonus in full.
The goal
Make as many words as you can from the seven letters in the hive, and score as many points as you can doing it. Your score moves you up a ladder of ranks that tops out at Genius. Finding every accepted word on the board earns the final honor, Queen Bee. There is always at least one pangram on the board, a word that uses all seven letters.
How a round works
Step 1 - Read the hive. Seven letters sit in a honeycomb: one center letter in the middle and six outer letters around it. The letters change with every puzzle.
Step 2 - Build a word of four or more letters. Every word must include the center letter. That is the one rule with no exceptions, and it is the first thing to check when a word is rejected.
Step 3 - Reuse letters freely. A letter in the hive can be used as many times in a word as you like, even if it appears in the hive only once. Only the seven hive letters can be used; no outside letter can sneak in.
Step 4 - Enter the word and collect the points. Accepted words join your word list and add their points to your score, and your rank climbs as the score grows. Keep going for as long as you like; the board stays open while you hunt.
Step 5 - Find the pangram. A word that uses all seven letters at least once is a pangram. Every board has at least one, and some have two or three, and a pangram is worth a bonus on top of its letters.
Scoring and ranks
A four-letter word scores 1 point. A longer word scores one point per letter, so a six-letter word scores 6 points. A pangram scores its length plus 7 bonus points. Your rank is set by your share of the total points on the board: Beginner at 0 percent, Good Start at 2 percent, Moving Up at 5 percent, Good at 8 percent, Solid at 15 percent, Nice at 25 percent, Great at 40 percent, Amazing at 50 percent, and Genius at 70 percent, rounded down to a whole number of points. Finding every accepted word makes you a Queen Bee.
Good first moves
Start every word with the center letter in mind. A word without the center letter scores nothing, so scan for words built around it first: what can follow it, and what common endings can it anchor.
Work in word families. When a root word lands, try its relatives before moving on: add S, ED and ING where the letters allow, then try the longer forms of the same family. Our daily hint pages lean on the same habit, because one found word often hides three more.
Shuffle the hive when you stall. The outer letters can be shuffled into a new arrangement, and a fresh layout shows letter pairings your eyes skipped. A pangram in particular often appears the moment the letters change seats.
Do not skip the short words. Four-letter words are worth only 1 point each, but there are usually many of them, they add up on the road to Genius, and typing them shakes loose longer words built from the same letters.
Common questions
Can I use the same letter more than once in a word?
Yes. Letters can repeat inside a word even when the hive shows the letter once. A word like PAPAYA can use the center letter several times, as long as every letter in the word comes from the hive.
What is a pangram?
A pangram is a word that uses all seven letters at least once. It scores its length in points plus a 7 point bonus, and every board is built with at least one pangram in it.
What is a Queen Bee?
Queen Bee is the rank above Genius, earned by finding every accepted word on the board. Genius at 70 percent of the total points is the target most players aim at; Queen Bee means nothing was left behind.