Spelling Bee — rules, word list, and how to run one
Spelling Bee is a pass-and-play word game in which one player reads a word aloud from the phone — with its definition and an example sentence available on request — and another player spells it out loud, with a wrong spelling costing them either the round or their place in the game.
- Players
- 2–20 players
- Length
- ~15 minutes
- Type
- Brain game
- Type
- Team-based
Runs in your browser · no download · no account
A spelling bee is the rare party game where the tension comes from silence. Someone says a word, someone else says seven letters very slowly, and eleven people hold their breath at letter four. Nobody needs to explain the rules and nobody has ever had to be talked into playing.
The awkward part has always been logistics: somebody has to be the word list, which means somebody has to sit out and read from a book with the answers on display. This version fixes that by rotating the job. The player before you in the running order reads your word, so the reader changes every single turn and nobody is stuck being the adjudicator all night.
Every one of the 700+ words carries a real definition and an example sentence, which are the two things a speller is traditionally allowed to ask for. They sit behind buttons on the reader's screen, so the reader is never improvising a sentence on the spot and the speller gets the same information they would get at a real bee.
Spelling Bee is part of
What you need
- One phone that gets passed to the reader each turn
- 2 to 20 players who can hear each other clearly
- A quiet-ish room — this one lives on being heard
- About 15 minutes
How to play Spelling Bee
Pick your spellers and an order. The person before you in that order is the one who reads your word out, so nobody ever reads for themselves.
Choose Elimination, where a missed word knocks you out, or Points, where everyone spells the same number of words and difficulty decides the score.
The phone goes to the reader. Only they see the word — everyone else looks away and listens.
The speller can ask for the definition, for the word in a sentence, or to hear it again. The reader has all three on screen.
The reader starts the clock, listens to the letters, then taps Correct or Missed. A miss shows the real spelling letter by letter for the whole room.
Called it wrong? One tap undoes the last call and reads the same word again — nothing is final until the phone moves on.
Elimination ends with the last speller standing. Points ends when everyone has had their words, and a tie goes to a spell-off between the leaders.
Scoring and winning
- Elimination format: a wrong spelling knocks you out, and the last speller standing wins. With the second-chance rule on, your first miss is only a warning.
- Points format: everyone gets the same number of words, and a correct spelling scores 1, 2 or 3 points by difficulty.
- The reader makes the call. Time running out is a prompt, not an automatic verdict — if the speller landed the last letter on the buzzer, the reader can still give it.
- Asking for the definition, for a sentence, or to hear the word again is always free. It has never cost anything at a real bee and it does not here.
- Called it wrong? One tap undoes the last call completely, including an elimination, and reads the same word again.
- A tie in points format goes to a spell-off: the tied players only, one word at a time, first miss goes home.
Spelling Bee strategy and tips
- Ask for the sentence even when you think you know the word. It is free, and it is the fastest way to catch a homophone before you have committed to the wrong one.
- Say the word back to the reader before you start spelling. It costs nothing and it catches the case where you heard something completely different.
- Spell slowly and in groups of three or four letters. Rushing is how a speller who knew the word loses it — the reader can only judge what they actually hear.
- As the reader, read the word twice by default and never react to the first three letters. Your face is doing more adjudicating than you think.
- In elimination, the ramp-up difficulty setting is the one to use with a mixed group. Nobody goes out in round one on a word they should have had.
- If your group has one obvious champion, run points format instead. Elimination puts them on stage for twenty minutes; points at least keeps everyone spelling.
Variants and house rules
Second chance
Built in as a toggle. Your first miss is a warning rather than an exit, which keeps a nervous starter in the game long enough to enjoy it.
Spell-off
The tie-breaker in points format, and a good standalone finish: only the tied players spell, and the first miss ends it.
Team bee
Pair up and alternate letters within a pair — one player says the odd letters, the other the evens. Chaotic, and much harder than it sounds.
Definition first
The reader gives the definition before the word. Turns it into a vocabulary game as much as a spelling one.
Backwards bee
Spell the word backwards. Use easy difficulty for this one — anything above four syllables becomes cruelty.
Spelling Bee FAQ
How do you run a spelling bee with a group?
Put everyone in an order. Each turn, the player before the speller takes the phone, reads the word aloud, and taps Correct or Missed. The reader changes every turn, so nobody has to sit out as the permanent adjudicator.
What can a speller ask for?
The definition, the word used in a sentence, and to hear it repeated. All three are on the reader's screen, all three are free, and none of them affect the score.
What happens when someone spells a word wrong?
The correct spelling is shown letter by letter for the whole room, along with the definition. In elimination format the speller is out, unless the second-chance rule is on and this was their first miss.
How many players do you need for a spelling bee?
Two works, because the other player reads. It scales to twenty, though elimination format with twenty players takes a while — points format is the better pick for a big group.
Is there a timer?
Yes, and the reader starts it once they have read the word. Twenty, thirty or forty-five seconds. Running out prompts the reader to make a call rather than deciding it for them.
Can we undo a wrong call?
Yes. One tap on the result screen unwinds the last call entirely — points, warnings and eliminations included — and reads the same word again.