LetterLock

Letter Boxed Solver

Enter the three letters on each side of the box. You'll get chains of words that use all twelve letters — each word starting where the last one ended, and never two letters from the same side in a row.

Setup

0 of 12 letters entered. Side order doesn't matter, but which letters share a side does.

Our dictionary is far bigger than the list the New York Times accepts, so some chains will use words the puzzle rejects. Shorter chains are more likely to be words you recognise.
Guide

About Letter Boxed Solver

Letter Boxed is the New York Times puzzle that gives you twelve letters arranged three to a side of a square. You spell words by hopping from letter to letter, and the one rule that makes it hard is that consecutive letters may never come from the same side. Each word after the first has to begin with the letter the previous word ended on, and between them your words must use all twelve letters.

That combination — a path constraint inside each word, and a chain constraint between words — is why the puzzle resists guessing. Finding a long word is easy. Finding two words that together cover all twelve letters and hand off correctly is the actual puzzle, and it is what this solver searches for.

One consequence of the same-side rule that catches people out: no answer can contain a doubled letter. A letter lives on exactly one side, so LL, EE or TT would mean two consecutive letters from the same side. BRILLIANT and DAZZLE are unplayable no matter how good they look.

How to use it

  1. 1

    Enter the letters side by side

    Type the three letters on the top, right, bottom and left of your box. Which side a letter sits on matters more than the order within a side — put a letter on the wrong side and the answers will be wrong.

  2. 2

    Check the box preview

    The square above the inputs redraws as you type. Compare it to the puzzle before solving; a misplaced letter is obvious there and invisible in a list.

  3. 3

    Pick a chain length

    The daily puzzle sets a target number of words. Set the maximum to match and you will only be shown chains that would beat it.

  4. 4

    Solve

    Chains come back shortest first, with the full list of legal words underneath if you would rather find your own path.

Tips

Shorter chains, more familiar words

Two-word solutions tend to lean on long, unusual vocabulary, because two words have to cover all twelve letters between them. Three- and four-word chains are usually made of words you would actually think of.

Cover the awkward letters early

If the box holds a J, Q, V or Z, build your first word around it. Rare letters have very few legal neighbours, and a chain that saves one for last usually dead-ends.

Frequently asked questions

What are the rules of Letter Boxed?
Words must be at least three letters, use only the letters on the box, and never use two consecutive letters from the same side. Each new word starts with the previous word's last letter, and your words together must use all twelve letters.
Can you reuse a letter in Letter Boxed?
Yes. Letters can be used as many times as you like, in the same word or across words, as long as you never move between two letters on the same side.
Can Letter Boxed always be solved in two words?
In practice, yes — the New York Times reveals a two-word solution for the previous day's puzzle, so one generally exists even when the day's target is four or five words. This solver searches shortest-first, so if a two-word chain exists in our dictionary you will see it at the top. It may not be the same pair the Times had in mind.
What is the daily target and do I have to beat it?
Each puzzle sets a target number of words, commonly somewhere between four and six, and it changes day to day. It is a goal rather than the best possible answer — a shorter solution usually exists.
Can a Letter Boxed word have a double letter?
No. Each letter sits on exactly one side, so a doubled letter would mean two consecutive letters from the same side. Words like BRILLIANT, DAZZLE and FORMATTED can never be played.
Why are some suggested words ones the puzzle rejects?
Every solver here reads the same 228,320-word English word list, built from the English Speller Database and ENABLE. It is broader than the list any individual puzzle accepts, so it will surface valid-but-obscure words your game may reject — and it is not any game's official dictionary, so occasionally the reverse happens too. The Times also excludes proper nouns and offensive terms. Shorter chains are more likely to use words you recognise.
What if a letter is on the wrong side?
The results will be wrong in a way that is hard to spot, because they will still look like real words. Use the box preview to check placement before solving.