Hooked on the NYT Spelling Bee game

[vafoodie]

It is certainly addictive!

 

[Scubamax]

I play it daily before I make coffee. Very fun and gets the mind going first thing.

 

[ocean view]

Yep, daily player here. My goal is to always get at least to the Amazing level. A couple times a week I can get to Genius level. Queen Bee status is still fairly elusive for me. I think I’ve gotten there twice in 3 years with help from family.

 

[Amethyst]

I did the SB for a year, until the promotional rate of $6.00 (w/tax) a week for Sunday print version + full digital expired. My goal was Genius in 15 minutes (never got interested in "Queen Bee," the point where the game decides you have found all the words).

Then I realized I was basically paying $6.00 a week to play a word game, since I take three other papers already. So I quit.

 

[Gumby]

I play it every morning right after I do the crossword. I do not stop until I have reached Genius level. If I have enough time, I will work toward Queen Bee, which I usually achieve several times a month. Occasionally, I send them emails when I feel they should include a particular word.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

LOVE the spelling bee! DW and I play every morning and compare our answers over lunch.

 

[RunningBum]

It shows up daily on the NYT FB page, and I look at it to see if I can find a word that uses all letters. Haven't gotten hooked enough to pay.

 

[Philliefan33]

Wow, you guys are good. I play every morning and usually stop at “Amazing”. I hit “Genius” once, and didn’t even know there was a level above that.

 

[stepford]

Dang, you folks are impressive. I'd never tried it before and just gave it a shot. Got stuck after 20 or so minutes well short of the Genius level. I'm not bad at the various crosswords and number puzzles, but maybe I should add this as a new challenge to keep the old brain plastic.

 

[vafoodie]

The clues help a lot. I’ve found I’ve gotten much better at it since I started playing a month ago.

 

[Amethyst]

Did you ever get anything but the form letter, which basically says "We're right, you're wrong, so buzz off?" only not so bluntly?

I Occasionally, I send them emails when I feel they should include a particular word.

 

[Amethyst]

Practice makes perfect! After a while, I saw recurring patterns, and could "read" the word combos much better.

Because the puzzle only has 7 letters, most of the Pangrams (which you must get, to achieve Genius) will repeat one or more letters; get used to thinking in terms of "What could I make with an extra E, or L?"

In fact, I formed the habit of going for the Pangram first.

I'd never tried it before and just gave it a shot. Got stuck after 20 or so minutes well short of the Genius level.

 

[Gumby]

Did you ever get anything but the form letter, which basically says "We're right, you're wrong, so buzz off?" only not so bluntly?

I've only ever gotten ones that say the process is a one way communication and that I won't hear back from them regarding my suggestion. My last was on 11/24, when I suggested that they should have included "nonuple" and "nonuplet" (a pangram!)

 

[ocean view]

Because the puzzle only has 7 letters, most of the Pangrams (which you must get, to achieve Genius) will repeat one or more letter

Genius level is roughly 70% of all possible points (Queen Bee level). How you get to that score is up to you, with or without finding a pangram.

 

[Amethyst]

OK...scratch "must get."

It's a big step up though, and saves time.

Genius level is roughly 70% of all possible points (Queen Bee level). How you get to that score is up to you, with or without finding a pangram.

 

[Philliefan33]

The clues help a lot. I’ve found I’ve gotten much better at it since I started playing a month ago.

Doh! I never knew there were clues! I looked for them after reading this, and was able to add enough words to today’s list to get Genius.

 

[savory]

Yep, it is fun. I also did not know about Queen Bee. But then again, I think Moving-Up is pretty cool.

DW is very good at SB reaching Genius most of the time. I feel good that she asks me the sports related questions on the crossword.

 

[TheWizard]

I also like the NYT spelling bee.
But I don't pay for it, so I'd get cut off after a certain point.
So what I do is just try to get (one of) the pangrams and that's it!

 

[Qs Laptop]

What's the difference between the pay version and the free version? Unlimited games vs. one per day? Or what?

I've been playing the free version for several weeks now.

 

[stepford]

Well, maybe I'm finally getting the hang of this game. My first time on Monday I was stuck at the "Amazing" level, yesterday I made Genius but it took me 40 minutes and today I did it in 9. Or maybe the puzzles are just getting easier...

 

[GalaxyBoy]

What's the difference between the pay version and the free version? Unlimited games vs. one per day? Or what?

I've been playing the free version for several weeks now.

There's a free version? Yes there is. D'oh!

Now I need the free version of the crossword.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Well, maybe I'm finally getting the hang of this game. My first time on Monday I was stuck at the "Amazing" level, yesterday I made Genius but it took me 40 minutes and today I did it in 9. Or maybe the puzzles are just getting easier...

I dunno...I usually get to genius level in 5 minutes or so. Today it took almost 15 minutes.

 

[vafoodie]

You will actually improve pretty quickly as you do it more and more.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

You will actually improve pretty quickly as you do it more and more.

Especially when you learn the words DW and I call the "Spelling Bee's Greatest Hits." Let's see, there's loll, noon, toot, rood, nana, naan, radar, ...

 

[lucky penny]

What's the difference between the pay version and the free version? Unlimited games vs. one per day? Or what?

I've been playing the free version for several weeks now.

I have a digital subscription to the Times so I'm logged in every day, but after after playing Spelling Bee for a few weeks, I was cut off & told I needed an annual subscription to SB to continue. It's $20 a year I think -- a small price for a daily pleasure.

If I don't get to Genius in my early morning attempt I keep returning throughout the day till I get there - no time limits for me. Hitting Queen Bee was a nice surprise -- didn't even know that existed! -- & I saved a screen shot of the award that popped up. That's very hard to get though & has only happened a few times since. I always look at the answers the next day; don't really mind if there are some words I don't recognize, but I'm really miffed if I missed some I should have known. Along the way I have definitely picked up a few words I remember for future games. (I've also emailed the editor about words that I think should have been included in the answers but were apparently deemed too obscure -- and once read an article about someone who complained that "obladioblada" was not accepted...oh well, life goes on.)

Another fun online word game I recently discovered is Wordle (sort of a cross between Wheel of Fortune & Scrabble). It's free & challenging & only takes a few minutes. Fortunately the internet only allows you one game per day, or otherwise it would be hard to stop. I currently have an 9-game win streak & a new one is posted at midnight, so gotta go soon...