Spelling Bee hints for today

How to play Spelling Bee

You are given seven letters arranged in a honeycomb grid. One letter sits in the center and is required in every word you form. The six outer letters are optional but can each be used as many times as you like.

Find as many valid words as possible using only these seven letters. Every word must be at least four letters long and must include the center letter. Proper nouns, obscure words, and hyphenated words are not accepted.

Each word earns points based on its length. Four-letter words score 1 point. Longer words score one point per letter. A pangram, which uses all seven letters at least once, earns an extra 7 bonus points.

Your total score determines your rank for the day. Ranks progress from Beginner through Good, Moving Up, Solid, Nice, Great, Amazing, and finally Genius. Reaching Genius typically requires finding about 70% of the available points.

The puzzle resets daily at 3:00 AM ET with a new set of letters.

Play at nytimes.com/puzzles/spelling-bee. A new puzzle every day at 03:00 ET.

Tips

• ›Start by finding the pangram. It uses all seven letters and is worth the most points. Rearranging the outer letters using the shuffle button can help you spot it.
• ›Work through common prefixes and suffixes systematically. If the letters allow UN-, RE-, -ING, or -TION, test those combinations against the center letter first.
• ›Do not forget about less obvious four-letter words. They only score 1 point each, but they add up quickly and are easy to overlook.
• ›If you are stuck, try saying letter combinations out loud. Your ear often catches valid words that your eyes miss when scanning the grid.