Top 100 Hardest NYT Spelling Bee Puzzles
Which daily NYT Spelling Bee puzzles are the most challenging? Based on our custom difficulty score algorithm (analyzing word count, average word length, center letter rarity, and vowel ratios), here are the top 100 hardest puzzles on record.
This page ranks brutal past grids; for the reasons those grids hurt—center letters, skinny word lists, and pangram traps—see why Spelling Bee difficulty swings from day to day.
| Rank | Date | Center Letter | Difficulty Score | Total Words | Total Points | Pangrams | Solutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | September 27, 2026 | F | 315 (Medium) | 78 | 431 | 4 | View Answers → |
| #2 | June 28, 2026 | V | 305 (Medium) | 67 | 397 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #3 | October 16, 2026 | G | 296 (Medium) | 56 | 339 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #4 | July 18, 2026 | C | 293 (Medium) | 73 | 389 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #5 | August 2, 2026 | N | 289 (Medium) | 74 | 406 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #6 | May 10, 2026 | L | 288 (Medium) | 63 | 340 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #7 | September 20, 2026 | H | 287 (Medium) | 79 | 353 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #8 | August 14, 2026 | M | 286 (Medium) | 62 | 363 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #9 | August 9, 2026 | H | 286 (Medium) | 77 | 346 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #10 | October 4, 2026 | G | 282 (Medium) | 51 | 304 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #11 | May 3, 2026 | C | 279 (Medium) | 69 | 383 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #12 | May 30, 2026 | O | 277 (Medium) | 63 | 350 | 4 | View Answers → |
| #13 | October 30, 2026 | C | 275 (Medium) | 66 | 333 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #14 | September 19, 2026 | B | 272 (Medium) | 58 | 309 | 4 | View Answers → |
| #15 | October 22, 2026 | H | 271 (Medium) | 65 | 310 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #16 | September 6, 2026 | B | 271 (Medium) | 68 | 320 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #17 | October 15, 2026 | N | 270 (Medium) | 60 | 348 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #18 | May 2, 2026 | G | 270 (Medium) | 66 | 326 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #19 | October 6, 2026 | C | 268 (Medium) | 62 | 340 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #20 | September 30, 2026 | P | 268 (Medium) | 62 | 305 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #21 | August 11, 2026 | N | 268 (Medium) | 70 | 350 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #22 | October 25, 2026 | M | 267 (Medium) | 66 | 282 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #23 | July 4, 2026 | B | 267 (Medium) | 64 | 303 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #24 | July 23, 2026 | F | 266 (Medium) | 40 | 239 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #25 | October 26, 2026 | L | 264 (Medium) | 43 | 245 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #26 | July 19, 2026 | V | 264 (Medium) | 29 | 206 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #27 | May 19, 2026 | U | 264 (Medium) | 62 | 299 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #28 | August 7, 2026 | G | 263 (Medium) | 50 | 314 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #29 | June 15, 2026 | H | 263 (Medium) | 63 | 288 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #30 | September 8, 2026 | I | 261 (Medium) | 66 | 309 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #31 | June 20, 2026 | R | 261 (Medium) | 55 | 297 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #32 | November 3, 2026 | C | 259 (Medium) | 49 | 273 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #33 | September 25, 2026 | C | 259 (Medium) | 59 | 319 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #34 | May 15, 2026 | M | 259 (Medium) | 50 | 280 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #35 | August 31, 2026 | L | 258 (Medium) | 60 | 276 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #36 | September 10, 2026 | U | 257 (Medium) | 53 | 258 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #37 | September 3, 2026 | T | 257 (Medium) | 60 | 291 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #38 | July 25, 2026 | I | 257 (Medium) | 47 | 279 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #39 | August 16, 2026 | C | 255 (Medium) | 52 | 257 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #40 | October 28, 2026 | I | 254 (Medium) | 71 | 355 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #41 | September 4, 2026 | D | 254 (Medium) | 66 | 297 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #42 | May 8, 2026 | C | 253 (Medium) | 48 | 248 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #43 | June 24, 2026 | T | 252 (Medium) | 64 | 292 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #44 | November 7, 2026 | I | 251 (Medium) | 77 | 306 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #45 | October 21, 2026 | L | 251 (Medium) | 56 | 244 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #46 | July 28, 2026 | M | 251 (Medium) | 44 | 244 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #47 | July 2, 2026 | M | 251 (Medium) | 53 | 258 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #48 | May 22, 2026 | O | 251 (Medium) | 55 | 262 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #49 | November 5, 2026 | P | 250 (Medium) | 42 | 249 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #50 | October 8, 2026 | N | 250 (Medium) | 60 | 289 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #51 | August 24, 2026 | N | 250 (Medium) | 57 | 274 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #52 | August 22, 2026 | I | 250 (Medium) | 56 | 304 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #53 | July 11, 2026 | T | 250 (Medium) | 62 | 271 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #54 | October 10, 2026 | C | 249 (Medium) | 63 | 297 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #55 | August 18, 2026 | B | 249 (Medium) | 42 | 228 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #56 | October 9, 2026 | Y | 248 (Medium) | 37 | 224 | 4 | View Answers → |
| #57 | September 12, 2026 | I | 248 (Medium) | 70 | 284 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #58 | June 9, 2026 | O | 247 (Medium) | 65 | 282 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #59 | May 16, 2026 | A | 247 (Medium) | 64 | 286 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #60 | August 20, 2026 | T | 246 (Medium) | 47 | 262 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #61 | June 4, 2026 | M | 245 (Medium) | 56 | 256 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #62 | June 2, 2026 | L | 245 (Medium) | 58 | 258 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #63 | September 23, 2026 | I | 244 (Medium) | 41 | 224 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #64 | November 4, 2026 | O | 243 (Medium) | 68 | 286 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #65 | August 25, 2026 | B | 243 (Medium) | 40 | 218 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #66 | May 17, 2026 | L | 243 (Medium) | 54 | 212 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #67 | July 12, 2026 | K | 242 (Medium) | 33 | 163 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #68 | June 12, 2026 | N | 242 (Medium) | 60 | 306 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #69 | October 18, 2026 | I | 241 (Medium) | 59 | 300 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #70 | September 29, 2026 | V | 241 (Medium) | 32 | 180 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #71 | June 5, 2026 | F | 241 (Medium) | 27 | 157 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #72 | September 5, 2026 | M | 240 (Medium) | 47 | 253 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #73 | October 31, 2026 | A | 239 (Medium) | 59 | 303 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #74 | October 13, 2026 | D | 239 (Medium) | 51 | 227 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #75 | September 13, 2026 | N | 238 (Medium) | 40 | 222 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #76 | October 2, 2026 | T | 237 (Medium) | 56 | 257 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #77 | October 24, 2026 | P | 236 (Medium) | 50 | 210 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #78 | October 3, 2026 | I | 236 (Medium) | 46 | 233 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #79 | September 16, 2026 | P | 236 (Medium) | 55 | 248 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #80 | October 29, 2026 | R | 235 (Medium) | 53 | 227 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #81 | August 19, 2026 | V | 235 (Medium) | 41 | 211 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #82 | May 12, 2026 | C | 234 (Medium) | 38 | 201 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #83 | November 6, 2026 | L | 233 (Medium) | 47 | 178 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #84 | May 23, 2026 | A | 233 (Medium) | 61 | 307 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #85 | July 26, 2026 | O | 232 (Medium) | 63 | 244 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #86 | July 3, 2026 | A | 231 (Medium) | 63 | 235 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #87 | June 16, 2026 | Y | 231 (Medium) | 31 | 158 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #88 | June 22, 2026 | C | 230 (Medium) | 55 | 229 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #89 | September 28, 2026 | T | 229 (Medium) | 45 | 198 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #90 | August 26, 2026 | K | 228 (Medium) | 34 | 150 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #91 | July 29, 2026 | B | 228 (Medium) | 48 | 187 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #92 | July 13, 2026 | M | 226 (Medium) | 53 | 194 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #93 | September 24, 2026 | P | 224 (Medium) | 54 | 201 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #94 | September 2, 2026 | F | 224 (Medium) | 31 | 138 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #95 | June 14, 2026 | H | 224 (Medium) | 26 | 158 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #96 | May 20, 2026 | A | 224 (Medium) | 51 | 229 | 3 | View Answers → |
| #97 | August 1, 2026 | R | 222 (Medium) | 48 | 237 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #98 | August 27, 2026 | T | 221 (Medium) | 51 | 216 | 1 | View Answers → |
| #99 | July 1, 2026 | E | 221 (Medium) | 51 | 224 | 2 | View Answers → |
| #100 | June 19, 2026 | A | 221 (Medium) | 57 | 254 | 1 | View Answers → |