Letter Boxed August 10, 2026: Hints & Answers

edited by Sam Ezersky.

Recap

This puzzle required finding a delicate balance between word choices to use all twelve letters efficiently. Solvers had to navigate the board's constraints to discover a viable chain.

The board that was printed

Twelve letters, three to a side. A word could hop from any side to any other but never twice in a row from the same side, and each word had to start on the letter the last one ended on.

  • TopLRG
  • RightPET
  • BottomOIW
  • LeftSHK

Par is 4 words. This board accepts 1707 words in total.

Letter Boxed hints, one rung at a time

Six rungs, softest first. The recap above already named the chain, so this ladder is here for anyone replaying the board fresh rather than as a spoiler shield.

  1. Hint 1: How the board wanted to be attacked

    Method only — no word from the chain.

    The board has a good mix of common and uncommon letters. The goal is to find a starting word that uses a versatile letter, setting up for a chain that can efficiently use all twelve letters. Look for a word that ends with a letter appearing on multiple sides, like E, T, or K.

  2. Hint 2: Board facts: letters, par and how many words fitted

    Read off the board.

    Top side
    L · R · G
    Right side
    P · E · T
    Bottom side
    O · I · W
    Left side
    S · H · K
    Par
    4 words
    Official chain
    2 words
    Words this board accepted
    1707
  3. Hint 3: The opening word, without naming it

    The first word has 5 letters and starts with a commonly used letter in many words, often found in everyday vocabulary.

  4. Hint 4: How long the opening word was, and where it started
    Opening word
    9 letters, starts with S
    Word 2
    5 letters
  5. Hint 5: The opening word itself

    The recap above already named it; this rung is for a replay.

    Word 1
    SPOTLIGHT
  6. Hint 6: What each remaining word had to do

    Last rung before the full chain.

    Each word after the first began on the letter the previous one ended on, and between them they covered all 12 letters.

    Word 2
    5 letters, starts with T

Every word of that day's chain

All the words, folded. Each one stays hidden until you open it.

  • Word 1 · 9 letters

    SPOTLIGHT

    A bright light, often used figuratively to mean fame or attention. It uses S from SHK, P from PET, O from OIW, T from PET, L from LRG, I from OIW, G from LRG, H from SHK, and T from PET.

  • Word 2 · 5 letters

    TWERK

    A style of dance. It starts with T from SPOTLIGHT, uses W not on the board but leads to no further words, E from PET, R from LRG, and K from SHK.

Other chains that solved that board

Any chain using all twelve letters, each word starting where the last ended, was a win. These came out of that board's own word list, so every one of them was playable.

  • Alternate chain 1 · 2 words

    KREWESSPOTLIGHT

  • Alternate chain 2 · 2 words

    LIGHTWEIGHTSSPORK

  • Alternate chain 3 · 2 words

    PHILOLOGISTTWERK

This board by the numbers

Date
Monday, August 10, 2026
Board
4 sides of 3 letters
Par
4 words
Official chain
2 words
Words accepted
1707 on this board
Other chains we verified
3

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