What is Letter Boxed?
Letter Boxed is a New York Times word puzzle that arranges letters around a square. The goal is to form words from those letters and complete the puzzle in as few words as possible.
How to play Letter Boxed
- Open Letter Boxed through a New York Times subscription.
- Build words using the letters positioned around the four sides of the square.
- Connect words by starting each new word with the final letter of the previous one.
- Use all letters at least once to solve the puzzle.
- Aim to finish in the fewest words possible, ideally matching or beating the par score.
Chain words through shared letters
Each word you submit must end with a letter that can begin the next word. This chaining rule makes the puzzle a route-finding exercise as well as a vocabulary test. A strong opening word uses letters from multiple sides and ends with a letter that offers many options for the next step.
The par score is a benchmark
The result screen displays a par score representing the editor's target. Any valid solution that uses all the letters counts as a completion. Reaching or beating par is the optimization challenge. Words are curated by the editor, so some dictionary entries may not be accepted.
Tips for shorter solutions
Start with a word that pulls from several sides of the square. This creates more useful handoffs and reduces the total number of words needed.
Treat the final letter of each word as a constraint. It dictates the opening letter of the next word, so planning one step ahead helps avoid dead ends.
Review the par score after solving. A valid chain completes the puzzle; a shorter sequence earns a better result.