Word Hive
Make words of four letters or more, always with the center letter. They show up here.
About Word Hive
Word Hive is a free honeycomb word game you can play in your browser on phone, tablet or desktop. No download, no install, no sign-up.
Seven letters sit in a honeycomb. Make as many words as you can from them, and use the center letter in every word. Each word you find moves you up the ranks, and every hive has at least one word that uses all seven letters.
There is also a daily Word Hive: one new hive a day, the same for everyone.
How to Play
- Tap the letters, or type them, then press Enter.
- Words have at least four letters and always include the center letter. You can use a letter more than once.
- Longer words score more, and a word that uses all seven letters earns 7 bonus points.
- Reach Brilliant to solve the puzzle, then keep going if you want to find every word.
There are no difficulty levels: the ranks are the challenge. Stop halfway for a quick game, or go for Brilliant and then every last word.
Tips & Tricks
- Start with the center Every answer uses it, so try pairing it with each of the other letters and see which combinations sound like the start of a word.
- Hunt for a word with all seven letters It is worth the most points. Look for common endings like -ING, -ED or -ER among the letters, then build the rest of the word in front of them.
- Reuse letters A letter can appear more than once, so double letters are fair game: think of words like BALLOON or COFFEE.
- Change one thing at a time Once you have a word, try its other forms: add an ending, swap a letter, or read it backward for a new start.
- Shuffle Moving the outer letters around shows them in a new order, and new words often jump out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which words count?
Any real English word of four letters or more that uses the center letter and only the hive’s letters. Ranks are based on the hive’s common words, so you never need rare ones to reach Brilliant, but every rarer word you know scores too. Proper nouns don’t count, and no hive contains the letter S, so plurals can’t pad your score.
How do ranks work?
Ranks are a share of the points the hive’s common words are worth, so a big hive needs more points than a small one. Tap the rank bar to see how many points each rank needs.
What does the hint do?
It shows how a word you have not found yet begins, one more letter each time you use it, and adds half a minute to your time.
Does my progress get saved?
Your current hive and best times are saved locally in your browser. They are tied to that browser profile, so clearing site data or switching devices will not bring them with you.
Is the game free?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser with no sign-up required.
Where the Game Comes From
Making as many words as you can from a handful of letters is a classic pencil-and-paper pastime, and newspapers have long printed word wheels and letter targets built on it. The honeycomb version, with one letter you must always use, became a daily habit for millions of solvers in the 2010s. Word Hive is our take on it, in five languages.