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Puzzle insights

Daily hive breakdown

January 17, 2026

Here's a spoiler-free rundown for the January 17, 2026 puzzle. The center letter is V with outer letters D E I N O S. Expect 32 valid answers worth 176 total points, including 1 pangram.

The hive leans 3 / 7 vowels (43%), which means you will often need to recycle consonants creatively. Average answer length is 5.9 letters and the longest entry spans 10 characters, so plan for a mix of quick wins and marathon builds.

Total answers

32

176 pts on the board

Pangram count

1

Each pangram awards a 7-point bonus

Letter mix

3 vowels

Center VOuter D E I N O S

Word length distribution

Use this to pace yourself: short entries build confidence, longer ones push you toward Genius.

4 letters7 - 22%
5 letters8 - 25%
6 letters7 - 22%
7+ letters10 - 31%

Patterns worth watching

  • Opening letters: D (47% of valid words), V (34% of valid words), E (6% of valid words).
  • Letter workload: I appears in 40 total slots across the answer set, while O shows up only 17 times. Save fresh brainpower for that rarer letter.
  • Repeats and ladders: 1 answers include a double letter. Try flexing the center letter in back-to-back positions or pairing it with the busiest consonant for steady progress.

Score milestones

Use these checkpoints to gauge your run. Totals are calculated from today's answer set, so they stay accurate even if you play later from the archive.

  • Beginner1 pts
  • Finder22 pts
  • Builder44 pts
  • Crafter66 pts
  • Solid88 pts
  • Clever110 pts
  • Great130 pts
  • Brilliant152 pts
  • Genius176 pts
Play today's puzzlePlay Unlimited

Daily archive and playbook

Looking for a recent puzzle? Open the Daily Archive from the menu to replay any hive from the last 30 days. For strategy drills and teaching tips, read the Spelling Bee Playbook or browse the blog.