Rare Letters in Letter Box

Where rare letters live

Puzzle 1 has J and Y. Puzzle 3 has J and Y. Puzzle 7 has V and Y. No live board currently contains Q, X or Z. That is a fact about these seven boards, not a rule of the game — a custom board in the solver can contain any letters, and the solver will only suggest words that are actually in the word list.

J: pair it early

J usually needs a following vowel. In ENJOYS, J sits between N and O, on the Top side, with neighbours from the Left and Right sides. If J is still unused late in a solve, look for a word that ends in a letter that can start a J word — ENJOYS starts with E, so a first word ending in E unlocks it.

V: look for -VE and -V words

OVERLAP → PUNCHY is Puzzle 7, and V sits in OVERLAP between O and E. Words with V often end in -VE or start with V, so a chain that ends in a letter V can start, or a word containing V can bridge two common sections.

Y: a bridge, not a dead end

Y starts YACHTS and PUNCHY ends in Y. Treat Y as both a starter and a finisher: a first word ending in Y opens Y words, and a word ending in Y is a clean finish. When Y is your last unused letter, search for words ending in Y first.

If a board does contain Q, X or Z, do not guess: check the solver for which words in this word list actually contain that letter on that board. A word you cannot verify is not a plan.