The spelling bee game, in your spelling

How to Play the Spelling Bee Game

1. 1

   Every Word Uses the Middle Letter

   The hive holds seven letters and the one in the middle is compulsory. A word built from the outer six alone does not count, however good it is — that single rule is what turns a bag of letters into a spelling bee puzzle.

2. 2

   Four Letters or More

   Three-letter words are not accepted. Letters can be reused as often as you like, so a hive with one L still spells LULL, and there is no limit on how many words you can find.

3. 3

   Longer Words Are Worth More

   A four-letter word scores one point. Everything longer scores a point for each letter, so a seven-letter word is worth seven. Finding one long word beats finding three short ones.

4. 4

   The Pangram Uses All Seven

   Every hive contains at least one word that uses all seven letters. It scores its length plus seven more, and it is usually the single biggest score on the board. Every hive word game has one; ours tells you when you have found it.

   

5. 5

   Your Spelling, Not Ours

   The hive is built from the dictionary you choose. A British player is asked for COLOUR and CENTRE; an American is asked for COLOR and CENTER. Either spelling is always accepted if you type it — the difference is in what the puzzle asks you to find, which is where every other spelling bee game gets it wrong.

More free word games and tools

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Spelling bee questions, answered