TodayHint

Letter Boxed September 12, 2026: Hints & Answers

edited by Sam Ezersky.

Recap

This puzzle required strategic thinking to link words from the given letters, efficiently using all twelve letters. Solvers had to balance word choices to keep options open for subsequent words.

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.

  • TopFET
  • RightLIH
  • BottomORS
  • LeftBWZ

Par is 5 words. This board accepts 834 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. How the board wanted to be attacked

    Method only — no word from the chain.

    The board has a 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. Focus on words that end in high-frequency letters or letters that appear in multiple sides.

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

    Read off the board.

    Top side
    F · E · T
    Right side
    L · I · H
    Bottom side
    O · R · S
    Left side
    B · W · Z
    Par
    5 words
    Official chain
    2 words
    Words this board accepted
    834
    Back to the twelve letters
  3. The opening word, without naming it

    The first word has 5 letters and starts with B, a relatively common starting letter that could lead to various subsequent words.

  4. How long the opening word was, and where it started
    Opening word
    8 letters, starts with B
    Word 2
    5 letters
  5. The opening word itself

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

    Word 1
    BLOWFISH
  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 H
    Open the full chain

Every word of that day's chain

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

  • Word 1 · 8 letters

    BLOWFISH

    A type of large marine fish, using B, L, O, W, F, I, S, H. It clears several letters and ends in H, a common letter.

  • Word 2 · 5 letters

    HERTZ

    A unit of frequency, using H, E, R, T, Z. It starts with H, connecting to BLOWFISH, and clears several more letters.

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

    BLOBFISHHOWITZER

  • Alternate chain 2 · 2 words

    BLOWFISHHOWITZER

  • Alternate chain 3 · 2 words

    BLOWFISHESSELTZER

This board by the numbers

Date
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Board
4 sides of 3 letters
Par
5 words
Official chain
2 words
Words accepted
834 on this board
Other chains we verified
3

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