NYT Spelling Bee - Queen Bee - any interest?

[Amethyst]

Yesterday, scrinch posted their Queen Bee achievement in the Connections thread, because there wasn't a NYT Spelling Bee thread.

I play the Spelling Bee most days, but rarely achieve Queen Bee, partly because it's HARD to do, and partly because it usually takes hours...including looking up words that I a) just made up b) the puzzle actually accepted and c) I wanted to see what it meant

Anyway, inspired by scrinch, I went after QB myself and posted in the Waffle thread, because there wasn't any other place.

Today, like lightning striking twice, I got QB again.

So...could there be any interest for a SB/QB thread?

 

[tutan]

My wife plays the game. It always ends after she gets just around 10 - 20 words and gives her a “solid” badge. I don’t see how or why the game decides it’s over.

 

[Gumby]

I will not stop until I get to "Genius" level, and if I have time I will toil away until I hit Queen Bee. I am currently on a two day streak as a Queen Bee.

 

[MichaelB]

It’s a fun challenge but I have to set a time limit. Like other puzzles, when I’m relaxed I do much better.

 

[braumeister]

I do the Spelling Bee nearly every morning, and usually quit after reaching genius level (which I believe is 70% of the possible point value). Occasionally I'll go back to it later in the day to get some more words, but I've only pursued it to QB level a few times.

I also do Wordle, Worldle, Connections, and Waffle, but can't see the point of posting here about any of them.

 

[Amethyst]

Does she have a NYT subscription? Without it, you only get a limited game.

My wife plays the game. It always ends after she gets just around 10 - 20 words and gives her a “solid” badge. I don’t see how or why the game decides it’s over.

 

[Amethyst]

It's just for company, I think. Any pertinent same-day discussion risks spoilage.

I also do Wordle, Worldle, Connections, and Waffle, but can't see the point of posting here about any of them.

 

[Amethyst]

I set a time limit, too. It keeps expanding, ha.

It’s a fun challenge but I have to set a time limit. Like other puzzles, when I’m relaxed I do much better.

 

[Amethyst]

I have to reach Genius in 20 minutes or less, or else I'll drop the game. My limit for squareword, waffle, and Connections is 10 minutes apiece (usually can do all 3 in 20 minutes). Still, it really does mount up. Lately I've been questioning how much time I'm spending on these puzzles. I do enjoy word games, though!

I will not stop until I get to "Genius" level, and if I have time I will toil away until I hit Queen Bee. I am currently on a two day streak as a Queen Bee.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

The Spelling Bee Buddy, linked from the hints page, is a great help. I make it a point to at least get to amazing before opening it, then I try to get as far as I can using only the grid and two-letter word list. Once that’s taken me as far as I can go, I’ll then use the customized hints at the top of the page. Only after that is exhausted will I consult the user hints. That gets me to QB about half the time.

 

[tutan]

Does she have a NYT subscription? Without it, you only get a limited game.

That must be the reason. Thank you. No, she just plays Connections, Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Letter Boxed without subscription. That’s enough for the day.

 

[More Cowbell]

I haven’t tried Spelling Bee yet. Maybe the next time I’m in serious procrastination mode!

 

[scrinch]

I play Spelling Bee (and Wordle, Connections, Mini Xword, and Letter Boxed) every day, but usually quit after I reach Genius plus a couple of more words. I only proceed toward Queen Bee if the words keep coming quickly. Twenty minutes is about the most time I'll spend on Spelling Bee. That's the only puzzle that takes any time, though. Each of the others usually takes only a few minutes.

 

[stepford]

I missed this thread until now, but I'm probably more Spelling Bee obsessed than most so here's my story.

I'm a bit of an insomniac and wake up most nights around 2-3 AM, play the spelling bee and do some reading then usually fall back to sleep around 5-6. This "second sleep" gives me just enough to total a reasonable 6-7 hours, and I like to think the NYT Spelling Bee is at least partly responsible.

Anyway I've been doing the Spelling Bee since late 2020 and always play until I get at least to Genius. For the first month or so I used the Hints page (Grid + 2 Letter List) to help me along, but now my official self-challenge is to get to Genius with no hints. I've managed that every day for around the last 3 years. Getting to Queen Bee is less certain and most weeks I only get there 4-6 days out of 7 - and that's with the Grid + 2 Letter List Hints. Queen Bee without hints (QBABM in the lingo of the Spelling Bee 'hive') is a far rarer event for me. I usually only manage that once every month or two.

But my proudest Spelling Bee achievement was to get one of my bee pictures used on the daily hints page (this was after trying for almost a year and a half).

 

[Amethyst]

Awesome about your bee photo! I love those. And yes, during the first period of extra-hard grieving after my husband's death, I continually woke in the wee hours. To cope, I would do the Spelling Bee and then head out to the beach for a long walk, while teaching myself the names of the stars I could see.

I use the 2-letter grid, whenever needed, to reach Genius, which usually takes around 15 minutes. The 2-letter hints provide just enough confidence that "there's still more there."

Personally, I'm not much for trying to make puzzles harder than they already are. I'm more about increasing my speed. In SB, this means to find the pangram(s) as fast as I can. Sometimes I'll check the hints just to see if there are more pangrams that day. Today, the pangram simply jumped off the beehive at first glance.

I missed this thread until now, but I'm probably more Spelling Bee obsessed than most so here's my story.

I'm a bit of an insomniac and wake up most nights around 2-3 AM, play the spelling bee and do some reading then usually fall back to sleep around 5-6. This "second sleep" gives me just enough to total a reasonable 6-7 hours, and I like to think the NYT Spelling Bee is at least partly responsible.

Anyway I've been doing the Spelling Bee since late 2020 and always play until I get at least to Genius. For the first month or so I used the Hints page (Grid + 2 Letter List) to help me along, but now my official self-challenge is to get to Genius with no hints. I've managed that every day for around the last 3 years. Getting to Queen Bee is less certain and most weeks I only get there 4-6 days out of 7 - and that's with the Grid + 2 Letter List Hints. Queen Bee without hints (QBABM in the lingo of the Spelling Bee 'hive') is a far rarer event for me. I usually only manage that once every month or two.

But my proudest Spelling Bee achievement was to get one of my bee pictures used on the daily hints page (this was after trying for almost a year and a half).

 

[Gumby]

I'm currently on a 7 game Queen Bee streak.

 

[scrinch]

Wow, that's impressive!

I used the grid + 2-letter hints a couple days ago for the first time after getting to Genius, and it made it a LOT easier to get to Queen Bee. There are a lot fewer letter permutations remaining when you have the first 2 letters already and know how many more to look for. I might start using those regularly if I get to Genius quickly enough on my own.

 

[Amethyst]

Only needed one hint.