HARDEST PUZZLES
Hardest Spelling Bee Puzzles
Browse the toughest Spelling Bee hives we could find, or check how hard your own hive is. See how many words, points and pangrams a hive has and how it compares with every other hive.
Hive Difficulty Checker
Enter the center letter and the six outer letters to see how hard your hive is.
FOUR SIMPLE STEPS
How to Check a Hive
THE HARD LIST
20 of the Toughest Hives We Found
These hives have the fewest words among all hives in our word list that have at least 20 words and a pangram. They leave very little room for error. Tap Show words on any hive to see its answers, with pangrams highlighted in gold.
HOW WE MEASURE
How We Rate Difficulty
We rate a hive by how many words it has. Fewer words means fewer chances to build momentum, so the hive usually feels harder. The checker compares your hive with every possible hive in our word list that has at least one pangram, and shows how many it beats.
This is a simple measure. Real difficulty also depends on how familiar the words feel, how awkward the letters are and how easy the pangram is to spot. A hive with few vowels or a rare letter such as X, J or K can feel much tougher than its word count suggests.
These are not the NYT’s own puzzles. We built the list from our own word list, so counts can differ from the official puzzle.
LEVEL UP
Tips for Hard Hives
Find the pangram first. In a small hive it is often your best source of points. Look for common endings such as -ING, -LY and -ED.
Work with the awkward letters. Try familiar pairs and endings that use them, since a rare letter often fits only a few patterns.
Write the letters in a circle. Seeing them in a new order helps different words pop out.
Add endings to short words. Try -S, -ED, -ER and -ING on every word you have already found.
Take a break and use hints wisely. Step away for a few minutes, then try our hints page for a gentle nudge before opening any full answers.
QUICK ANSWERS
Hardest Puzzles FAQ
Mostly a low word count, awkward letters such as rare consonants or few vowels, and a pangram that is hard to spot. A hive with only a few dozen words gives you less to build on.
No. The list comes from our own word list, not the NYT archive, so these are the toughest hives we could build, not the official puzzles.
We count the words in your hive and compare that number with every possible hive in our word list that has a pangram. The fewer words yours has, the higher the rating.
Hives with only a handful of words would not be playable. Twenty words is a sensible floor that still leaves a real challenge.
The answers are hidden until you press Show words, so you can try a hive first and check afterward.
No. The check runs entirely in your browser. Your letters are not sent to our server.
Stuck on a Tough Hive?
Take progressive hints for today’s hive, or open the full answers when you are done.
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