How to Play Letter Boxed and Win Every Time

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The ultimate guide to beating the New York Times word game

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: December 31, 2025 Fact Checked

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• How to Play
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• Winning Tips
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• Where to Play
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• FAQ
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• Video

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While it hasn't had a viral moment like Wordle or Connections, Letter Boxed is another fun (and addicting!) word puzzle game brought to you by the New York Times. To play Letter Boxed, you'll need to connect the letters that surround the box to create words until all letters are used. The catch is that no consecutive letters can come from the same side of the box. If that sounds tricky, don't worry–this beginner's guide will teach you how to play Letter Boxed and provide helpful tips for solving puzzles like a pro!

How do you play the game Letter Boxed?

To solve a Letter Boxed puzzle, create words using each of the 12 letters that surround the box within the listed number of guesses. Consecutive letters cannot be on the same side of the box. Words must be 3 letters or longer, and the last letter of each word must start the next word.

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

How to Play Letter Boxed

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1. 
   1
   Connect the letters surrounding the box to create words. The goal of the game is to make sure every letter on each side of the box is used in at least one word. You must use all the letters in the number of words (or fewer) listed at the top of the box.

   • For example, if you see "Try to solve in 6 words" at the top of the box, you must use all the letters in 6 words or fewer.
   • Words can be 3 letters or longer, but cannot be proper nouns or hyphenated words.
2. 
   2
   To form your first word, drag a line from the first letter to the next. When choosing the second letter, choose one from a different side of the box than the first letter. Consecutive letters cannot be on the same side of the box. For example, if the first letter in your word is on the top of the box, the following letter must come from the bottom or one of the sides of the box.

   • Select Enter to finalize your selection. Once accepted, the active letter becomes the final letter of the word.
   • Made a mistake? Tap Delete to start over from the first letter.
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3. 
   3
   Create your next word starting with the final letter of the previous word. The final letter of each word must be the first letter of the following word until the puzzle is solved.

   • For example, if your first word is solve, your next word must begin with e.
   • Another example: solve > elicit > touch.
4. 
   4
   Continue connecting words until all letters are used. If you can use up all the letters in fewer guesses than the number listed at the top of the puzzle, you win. The fewer guesses needed to use all the letters, the higher the points you'll earn.

   • Try beating your score by playing the round again, using even fewer words!
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Section 2 of 4:

Letter Boxed Tips & Strategies

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1. 
   1
   Start your first word with a less-common letter. Letters like J, X, and K aren't in as many words as letters like S, T, and R, so try to use them early. Once you use a letter, you can use it again, but you don't have to.
2. 
   2
   End words with letters that are easy to build from. When creating a word, you should always be thinking about the last letter of the word. Remember, the last letter of a word must be the first letter of the next word! Ending on letters like E and K can be tricky, as you may not be able to make many words that start with those letters.
3. 
   3
   Look for word roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Find 2 or 3 letters that often occur together in words on different sides of the board–like st, qu, ck, ing, etc., and keep them in mind when starting or ending words. Combinations of letters like ou and ea often appear together in words as well.

   • If you have suffixes like ly, es, and er in playable positions, you can often append those to the ends of words that end with less-common letters.
4. 
   4
   Try solving in 2 words. Every Letter Boxed game can be solved in 2 long words. While you don't have to aim to solve the puzzle with only 2 guesses, it is always possible to do so if you can think of the right words. Click or tap Yesterday at the top of the puzzle to see yesterday's 2-word answer for inspiration.
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Section 3 of 4:

Where to Play Letter Boxed

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1. 
   You can play Letter Boxed in the New York Times Games app, and on the web at nytimes.com/puzzles/letter-boxed. New Letter Boxed puzzles are released daily at 3 AM EST.

Section 4 of 4:

FAQ

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1. 1
   Can you play Letter Boxed for free? Like many other NYT Games, including the crossword, the mini crossword, and Strands, Letter Boxed requires a NYT Games subscription or NYT all-access subscription to play. Some games you can still play for free are Wordle and Connections.
2. 2
   Can there be more than one solution to Letter Boxed? Yes, there can be multiple solutions. While every puzzle can be solved in just 2 words, there are multiple other word combos you can use to solve the puzzle under the allowed number of guesses.
3. 3
   Can all Letter Boxed puzzles be solved in 2? Yes, they all can. You can always see yesterday's 2-word solution by clicking Yesterday at the top of the current puzzle.
4. 4
   Can you reuse the letters in Letter Boxed? Yes, all letters can be reused.
5. 5
   What other games are similar to Letter Boxed? Similar New York Times games include Wordle, Strands, and Spelling Bee.
6. 6
   What is the hardest NYT game? This is a highly subjective question, but many believe Connections is one of the hardest NYT puzzle games to solve. Crossword lovers may argue that the Saturday NYT crossword is the hardest, but again, it's subjective!
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