How do you play?
- Tap the letters or type them to spell a word. Press Enter to try it.
- Each word needs at least four letters and must include the yellow middle letter.
- You can use any letter more than once. LEVEL and COFFEE are fine if the letters are in the hive.
- Only letters from the hive count. S never appears, so plurals are out.
There is no guess limit and no timer. Play for two minutes or come back to the same hive all day. Your words save on your device until the next hive goes live at midnight UTC.
How are words scored?
A four letter word is worth one point. Longer words score one point per letter, so a six letter word scores six. A word that uses all seven letters is called a pangram and earns seven bonus points on top of its length.
| Word | Letters | Points |
|---|---|---|
| GEAR | 4 | 1 |
| GRACE | 5 | 5 |
| GARAGE | 6 | 6 |
| COURAGE (pangram) | 7 | 7 + 7 = 14 |
Those four words all come from one of our hives: C, O, U, R, A, G and E, with E in the middle. Notice that GARAGE uses the A and the G twice. Repeats are allowed, and they often lead to the longest words.
What counts as a word?
Our list holds common English words that most adults would know. We leave out names, places, short forms, words with capitals and rude or hurtful words. Rare words are also left out, so you will not lose points to a word nobody uses. If the game says a word is not in the list, it is either rare or it breaks a rule.
How can you find more words?
- Start with endings. Look for ED, ER, ING, ION and LY in the hive. One good ending can turn a single root into three or four words, such as ROCK, ROCKED and ROCKER.
- Build on the middle letter. Say the middle letter out loud with each outer letter in turn. Pairs like TR, CH or EA often start a whole group of words.
- Shuffle the hive. Tap the round arrow button to move the outer letters. A new layout helps your eyes spot words they skipped before.
- Hunt the pangram early. It is worth the most, and it often hides a common ending. Try the rare letters at the start and the easy ones at the end.
- Use the hints last. The hint grid shows how many words are left by first letter and length. It points you to the gap without giving any word away.
What are the hints, and do they spoil the game?
The hints never show a word. They list how many words you still need for each first letter and length, plus two letter starts such as CO×3. You decide how much help you want, and you can hide the grid again at any time.
What is the Unlimited mode?
Unlimited gives you a random hive from our pool. Play as many as you like. Unlimited games do not save, so they are good for practice before the daily hive, or for a long rainy afternoon.
Who is this game good for?
Anyone who likes words. Kids can hunt for four letter words and still score. Strong spellers can chase every word in the hive. Teachers use a hive as a quick spelling bee for the class, since each word must be spelled right to count. It also works well as a short daily habit with a cup of tea.
At a glance
| Letters | 7, with one fixed in the middle |
| Shortest word | 4 letters |
| Words per hive | 35 on average, from 20 to 59 |
| Points per hive | 166 on average |
| Accepted words | 10,366 common English words |
| Hives in our pool | 766, one per day |
| Cost | Free, no account |
What do the numbers say about our hives?
We checked all 766 hives in our pool. Four letter words make up 36% of all answers, so short words are a big part of every game, even though each one scores only a single point. 30% of hives hide more than one pangram, so keep looking after you find the first.
The letters that turn up in the most hives are E (65%), I (64%), N (59%), A (56%), R (53%), T (50%). The most common middle letters are I (11%), L (9%), O (8%), N (7%), C (7%). We never use S, so plurals never pad the list.
How do the ranks work?
Your rank depends on the share of the hive's total points you have scored. The bar above the hive fills as you climb.
| Rank | Share of total points |
|---|---|
| Starter | 0% |
| Warming up | 2% |
| On the move | 5% |
| Good | 8% |
| Solid | 15% |
| Nice | 25% |
| Great | 40% |
| Amazing | 50% |
| Genius | 70% |
| Top Bee | 100% |
What were the answers to hive #213?
Hive #213 used the letters C, A, D, E, H, M, T, with C in the middle. It had 34 words worth 178 points. Open the list below to see them all. The pangram was Matched.
Show all 34 answers to hive #213
Accede, Ache, Acted, Attach, Attached, Cache, Cadet, Came, Catch, Cede, Chat, Chatted, Cheat, Cheated, Cheetah, Decade, Detach, Detached, Detect, Detected, Each, Etch, Etched, Hatch, Hatched, Hatchet, Headache, Mace, Machete, Match, Matched, Tact, Teach, Thatch