I play the Letter Boxed game from The New York Times every single day, and if you’re new to it—or just curious about how it works—let me walk you through how to play it step by step.
It might look simple at first glance, but once you understand how the game works, you’ll see why so many people (myself included) get hooked.
The Goal
Your goal is to use all 12 letters on the square at least once by connecting words together. The twist? You must follow a few specific rules that make the game far more strategic than it first appears.
The Setup
You’ll see a square with letters arranged along its four edges—three letters per side. Something like this:
- Top: A B C
- Right: D E F
- Bottom: G H I
- Left: J K L
That’s your playing board.
The Rules (These Matter!)
This is where Letter Boxed becomes interesting. Here’s what you need to follow:
- Words must be at least three letters long.
- You can’t use two letters from the same side in a row. So if you use A (from the top), the next letter must come from the right, bottom, or left—not another letter from the top.
- Each new word must begin with the last letter of the previous word.
- You must use every letter on the board at least once to complete the puzzle.
That’s it—but trust me, those few rules add a ton of challenge.
How You Play
Here’s how I approach it:
- Start by spotting tough letters. If you see something like Q, Z, or X, you’ll want to use those early. They’re harder to fit in later.
- Look for long or flexible words. Try to find a first word that uses 5–7 letters across multiple sides of the square. That clears space and reduces clutter.
- Always plan the next word. The last letter of your first word must start the second. So don’t just find one good word—make sure you know where to go next.
- Watch your sides. You can’t use letters from the same edge back-to-back, so plan your moves to rotate around the square smoothly.
- Keep going until you use all 12 letters. The best solves use just two words, but three or even four is still a win as long as you cover every letter.
Example Walkthrough
Let’s say the board looks like this:
- Top: R T A
- Right: E C D
- Bottom: M O N
- Left: S H I
You might find the word Radiomen, which covers R, A, D, I, O, M, E, N.
Great start—but it ends with N, so your next word must start with N and use the remaining letters: T, C, S, H.
If you find Notch, you’ve got a clean two-word solution: Radiomen → Notch. Every letter is used, and the game is won.
Why It’s Addictive
Once you learn the rules and start solving puzzles, you realize it’s not just a word game—it’s a pattern game, a logic puzzle, and a vocabulary builder all at once.
And when you finally land that clean two-word solve? It feels like you just cracked a secret code.
Final Tips from Me
If you’re just starting, don’t worry about solving every puzzle in two words. Focus on learning how the letters interact and how to build solid word chains. With practice, your mind will naturally start spotting better paths.
Letter Boxed is one of those games where every new board is a small challenge—and every win feels earned.
So give it a shot. You’ll be surprised how quickly your brain adapts.