The Spelling Bee gives you seven letters and asks for every word you can make from them. The rules are short, but a few habits make a big difference to how far up the ranks you get, and they matter most once the easy words run out.
Every word must be at least four letters long and must use the center letter. Letters can be used more than once, so a puzzle with A, N and B in it can still take BANANA. A four-letter word scores one point, longer words score one point per letter, and a pangram, a word that uses all seven letters, earns seven extra points. Genius is 70% of the puzzle’s total points.
Every puzzle has at least one pangram, and it is worth finding early because it is the biggest single score on the board. Check whether the letters include a common ending: I, N and G for -ING, E and D for -ED, E and R for -ER, or T, I, O and N for -TION. Put the ending aside and try to spend the remaining letters in front of it. Prefixes like RE- and UN- work the same way from the other end.
One word usually leads to several more. From a root like PLAY you can try PLAYED, PLAYER and REPLAY if the letters allow, and a word ending in -ING often has a shorter partner without it. Because letters repeat, try doubling a letter you already have: a word with one L may have a cousin with two.
When you get stuck, a hint grid tells you what is left without giving it away. Rows are first letters and columns are word lengths, so a 2 under B and 6 means two six-letter words start with B. The two-letter list goes one step further: CO-5 means five answers start with CO. Compare those counts with the words you have found and you will know exactly which row to work on.
Our Spelling Bee solver shows the hint grid and two-letter list first and keeps the answers hidden until you ask for them, so you can use it as a nudge rather than a spoiler.
