The estimated reading time for this post is 7 minutes
If you’re a fan of puzzles, words, and/or word puzzles, you should check out pangram puzzles. And, like many things, tech makes pangram puzzles even more fun!
About Pangram Puzzles
The rules of pangram puzzles are easy to learn. Pangrams puzzles have letter tiles you use to make words. Each puzzle has at least one required letter and multiple optional letters to make words, You earn points by making words using the required letter and the optional letters surrounding it.
Pangram puzzles also have a minimum number of letters for words. You can use letter tiles more than once in a word, and you must use the required letter at least once.
A pangram is a word that uses all of the letter tiles in the puzzle. A perfect pangram uses all the letter tiles just once.
Most pangram puzzles require words to be at least four letters long, though some puzzles have three- or five-letter requirements. You earn more points for longer words and bonus points for a pangram that uses all the letters in the puzzle.
As you play pangram puzzles, you’ll become more familiar with words that are used often. You’ll soon learn words that appear frequently in pangram puzzles (such as noon, loll, and naan) and be able to enter them quickly, giving you more time to ponder the more challenging words.
The more words you make and the longer words you make, the higher your score. The higher your score, the higher the level you can achieve.
Playing Pangram Puzzles with Tech
Sure, you can play pangram puzzles with pen and paper, but you can gain new perspectives, play against opponents, get better scores, and play more games by using tech. Just as tech makes scoring easier with games such as Boggle and finding opponents easier with Scrabble, tech brings pangrams to a new level.
One of the main advantages of using tech to play pangram puzzles is the ability to shuffle the letters. By seeing the letters in a different order, you can often see new words you hadn’t discovered before. And isn’t that lot like life? A new perspective can sometimes make issues seem so much clearer!
But I digress…Back to pangrams.
You can play pangrams using apps that are available for mobile devices. Some are free to try and offer in-app purchases for more features and games.
You can also check out Spelling Bee, which is the daily pangram puzzle from The New York Times. Once you’re hooked, you too may become passionate about pangrams.
Check out => 5 Fun and Addictive Game Apps to Keep You Sharp!
Pangram Apps
Pangram apps are available for both iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android. If you’re not sure whether you’ll be passionate about pangrams, or a particular pangram app, you can try a free version to see whether you like it.
If you enjoy pangrams and the app, then you can purchase the upgrade or try a paid app.
Pangram App for iPhone/iPad
I have been testing the Pangram app (to research this article showing once again how dedicated I am to enlightening Wonder of Tech readers about fun tech!). This app has a free version as well as an in-app purchase available. The free version lets you play one pangram puzzle a day. The paid upgrade unlocks unlimited puzzles.
Playing
Pangram offers games with and without time limits. Find words at your leisure, taking as much time as you want with games free of time limits. Or compete against the clock with timed games as short as one minute or as long as several hours. If you’re using the free version, be sure to play a game with no time limit to make the most of your one daily puzzle.
Some pangrams are traditional puzzles with a minimum of four letters for a word and one required letter surrounded by six optional letters. Other puzzles have two or three required letters and a minimum of five letters in a word.
You can create your own pangrams in the app to share with friends and family. Or you can share them with the public to let others enjoy your creation.
This app also offers plenty of public games each day with a wide variety of puzzles. Compete against other players around the world and see where you rank for each puzzle.
Choose short three-minute games when you have only a few minutes to spare. Longer games are fun when you have more time to play. And games without a time limit are helpful for practicing your pangram skills.
After you’ve finished a puzzle, tap the i in a circle ⌽ at the top right corner of the screen to see where you rank against other players and how many points are required for each level. You can also reveal the answers to the puzzle, but if you see the answers, you can’t play that puzzle again.
Availability
Pangram app is available in the App Store free.
New York Times Spelling Bee Daily Puzzle
The New York Times has a daily pangram puzzle called Spelling Bee that has quickly caught on in popularity. The puzzle first appeared in print in 2014, then in 2018 began to be offered digitally on the Times website and app.
Each day, Spelling Bee offers a new pangram with one center mandatory letter surrounded by six optional letters. Words must be at least four letters long and each puzzle includes at least one pangram.
Playing
Tap letters to form words, then tap Enter. Tap Delete to delete letters and tap the button with circular arrows to shuffle the letters.
Spelling Bee puzzles don’t have time limits, other than expiring at 3:00 am Eastern Time when the new daily puzzle appears. Take your time, rearrange the letters, and find as many words as you can throughout the day.
=> Am I passionate about Pangrams? Siri seems to think so, suggesting I open Spelling Bee first in the morning.
Scoring
Points are awarded for each word you find, with bonus points awarded for a pangram. Players try to earn enough points to rise through the levels, from Beginner through Genius. Tap your score at the top to see how many points you need to achieve each level.
Get to the Genius level and your bee, named Beeatrice, will be awarded a graduation cap!
Although Spelling Bee claims that Genius is the highest level, that’s not actually true. There’s a secret level above Genius that’s called Queen Bee. Get all the available words in the pangram to earn the Queen Bee crown.
Availability
You can check out Spelling Bee for free at The New York Times without subscribing. After you enter a few words, you’ll be blocked from continuing the puzzle until you subscribe.
The full Spelling Bee puzzle is available for paid subscribers to The New York Times. Don’t want to subscribe to The New York Times? No worries, Spelling Bee is also available to subscribers to the Games section of The New York Times. With the Games subscription, you also get access to The New York Times crossword puzzle, as well as other daily puzzle games, at a price less than the full New York Times subscription.
A Little Help, Please?
If you’re stuck on Spelling Bee, shuffle the letters to get a new perspective. Walk away and come back to it later with fresh eyes. Review the words you’ve found already for inspiration about new words.
If you need more help, check out @kevinedavis on Twitter who tweets daily hints to help solve Spelling Bee puzzles. He also tweets how many words and how many pangrams are in each days’ puzzle. Or check out #spellingbee and #hivemind on Twitter for a discussion of the daily puzzle or to share your successes.
Any time I make Genius (much less #QueenBee!) with tiles that include a Y and H, I feel like I just deadlifted 200 lbs. #hivemind pic.twitter.com/FFIzOdmH37
— Pat Haire (@PatHaireSRQ) May 30, 2021
Another site for Spelling Bee fans to check out is nytbee.com that does a statistical analysis of each day’s puzzles, comparing them to previous puzzles. This site also offers answers to the puzzles, along with a list of words that are in the dictionary but not accepted by Spelling Bee. The author of the site, William Shunn, offers hints on Twitter from his account @beesolved. He also runs the website NYTimes Spelling Bee Solver with additional help when you’re stuck.
Spelling Bee Times includes articles with more information about Spelling Bee as well as the daily answers. But seeing the daily answers when you’re still trying to play the puzzle diminishes the joy. Better to have more joy, not less.
For more insights into Spelling Bee, check out The New York Times The Genius of Spelling Bee.
Your Thoughts
Do you enjoy playing pangram puzzles? Have you tried doing pangram puzzles using tech? Do you always try to get to the highest level in pangrams?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
…
well, I love puzzle games. I will definitely give this one a try.
Hi Ahmad, Yes, pangrams are fun for fans of puzzle games, fans of word games, and fans of puzzle word games. Warning: it’s easy to become passionate about pangrams!