NYT Spelling Bee (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/spelling-bee)
What Are the Different Ranks in the NYT Spelling Bee?
Unlike most of the other games in the New York Times (NYT) library, the Spelling Bee comes with an inbuilt ranking system that shows players just how good they are on that particular day. The scores are based on the four-letter and above words that players find in the daily puzzle, with the “pangram” offering the most points. The points for each rank vary depending on the puzzle’s difficulty level as does the points score per word, with Genius being the penultimate level for players to hit.
Beginner: The starting rank for every player regardless of their skill level and from here, players start guessing to progress further through the ranks.
Good Start: The second step in the ranking’s ladder, Good Start is usually achieved after a player finds between one to three words depending on the points score per word and the puzzle’s total points.
Moving Up: The third step, players hit this rank after two to four words but once again, that does depend on the points score per word and the puzzle’s total points.
Good: Level four on the rankings ladder, research has shown that it’s amongst the most common levels for newcomers to hit and can be reached after finding three to five words.
Solid: The fifth level and the last one for non-subscribers, most players should have gotten the hang of the game by now as it requires them to find five plus words to reach this point.
Nice: The sixth level and where things start becoming even tougher as the number of common words in the database has reduced to around half, forcing players to think outside the box.
Great: The most common level for the more experienced players to reach. Players need to find at least half the database of the daily puzzle to reach this point.
Amazing: The eighth step on the ranking’s ladder, it’s also one of the toughest hurdles to climb as it requires players to discover at least 60% of the daily puzzle’s word list.
Genius: The highest officially displayed rank and the toughest to hit regularly, players need to find between 70% to 80% of the daily puzzle’s word list to reach here. Research has shown that only 45% of players manage to do this daily.
Queen Bee: The ultimate but hidden rank in the game, Queen Bee is achieved when players find every single word on the word list. Research has shown that over the course of their time playing NYT’s Spelling Bee, players will hit this level at least once.
How to Achieve the Highest Rank (Queen Bee)
The highest officially displayed ranking is Genius, but it’s considered to be too tough to reach that for most players with research showing that only 45% of daily players hit it. That number reduces even more when it comes to the highest rank in the game, Queen Bee. That’s because while Genius asks players to discover at least 70% to 80% of the words, Queen Bee asks solvers to find every single word.
Thus to hit this mark, players need to be at their very best going into the puzzle and need to remember that they’re unlikely to get it on their first try unless it’s an easier puzzle. From there, players simply need to keep improving their vocabulary which is easier said than done. The best way to do is to familiarize oneself with common words, compound words, common prefixes and more.
From there, players need to start practicing and stick to the grind as that’s the only chance and method they’ll get to improve consistently. That does mean playing the daily puzzle at least five to six times a week, with the focus being on solving every possible four-letter word before moving to five, six, and seven-letter words. This makes it easier to cut through the word list and it’s also where the Hivemind, the Spelling Bee’s community, can come into play.
The community often posts clues, hints, and more to help out other players with these lists often created by experienced solvers who have no issues hitting Genius or higher on a regular basis. Don’t think of this as cheating but more as players getting help learning to improve on their way to become better.
How the Scoring System Works in the NYT Spelling Bee
Much like its rules and the game itself, the NYT Spelling Bee’s scoring system is rather straightforward and based on the word length as well as the letters used. The basic rules task players to find a minimum of a four-letter word and the points start from there. Four-letter words earn one point per word as they are the easiest to find.
From there, things become much more rewarding as five-letter words earn one point per letter i.e. five points, six-letter words earn six points, and so on. The game also gives out bonus points for finding the pangram, which is a seven-letter word that uses all seven available letters. Thus it gives players seven points, for length, plus an added bonus of seven points for a total of 14.
This remains the same for every daily puzzle but the highest possible score for each puzzle differs on a day-to-day basis based on the number of words and the length. The ultimate goal, as mentioned above, is to hit Queen Bee which is when players find every single word in the daily puzzle’s word list.
