HIVE FIVE RULES

How to play Hive Five

Guess a five-letter word in six tries. Play unlimited solo rounds, or challenge another account owner to solve the same fresh word together.

Read the letter clues

Repeated letters count only as many times as they appear in the answer. Against APPLE, the guess ALLEY marks A green, the first L gold, the second L gray, E gold, and Y gray. Correct positions are checked first.

Type or tap the keyboard, then press Enter. A guess must be a valid five-letter word. An incomplete or unrecognized word does not use a guess.

Play unlimited solo rounds

Use Next Word after a result. There is no daily play limit, though words eventually repeat. Guest practice includes a free clue. In account play, the Hint Bee offers one clue for 15 Honey, with a purchase confirmation; reopening it is free. Either clue makes the round assisted. Assisted rounds cannot become a challenge score.

Refreshing resumes your current round instead of choosing an easier word. Guest practice does not award Honey or affect rankings. Account play uses your shared Honey Jar and keeps its streak separate from Daily Hive.

Score points and build a solve streak

Your score starts at zero for each word. The first green or yellow tile in each column earns 2 or 1 points. Solving adds a bonus: 100, 70, 50, 35, 25, or 18 points for guesses one through six.

Each solo solve extends your solve streak, including rounds with a hint. A failed round resets it. Guest streaks stay on this device. Account streaks are saved across devices and start with verified account rounds; earlier guest results are not imported. Friend challenges show round points too, but the winner is still decided by guess count; challenges do not change your solo streak.

Earn Honey and join the Hive of Fame

While signed in, earn 5 Honey for each of your first five solves without a hint completed each day, up to 25 Honey. Failed and assisted rounds earn no Honey. Keep playing after the limit. Daily limits reset at midnight in Toronto.

Clean solves this month counts only the first five account rounds you start each day. Failed and hinted rounds use a slot, and a round belongs to the month when you started it. Best clean streak counts consecutive account solves without hints across all rounds; a hint or loss resets the current clean streak. Your personal solve streak still includes assisted wins.

Opt into public rankings in Account Settings. Tied results share a rank. Honey purchases never lower your overall lifetime-Honey rank. Guest practice and friend challenges do not count toward Hive Five rankings.

Find a friend and play together

1. Choose Challenge a player and sign in. Turn on Hive Five requests so friends can find you.
2. Search your friend’s exact display name and send a request. They must allow Hive Five requests too.
3. Your friend accepts in their notifications or Your matches. Both players receive the same fresh word and can guess at the same time.
4. Watch their guess count update live. Their letters stay private. Six guesses, no hints; fewer guesses wins, solving beats failing, and equal results draw.
5. After both finish, Rematch sends a new request for a fresh word.

Requests expire after seven days. Accepted rounds have seven days to finish. Submitted guesses are saved to your account, so you can refresh or resume on another signed-in device from Your matches. Decline incoming requests or cancel a pending request you sent. Turning off requests does not remove existing matches.

Share a solo score

1. Finish a solo round without a hint, then choose Share this score as a challenge.
2. Share the link. Your friend sees your result, never your answer or guesses before finishing.
3. Your friend accepts and plays the same word with six guesses and no hints.
4. Compare results and start a rematch. You do not need to be online together.

A solved word beats an unsolved word. If both solve it, fewer guesses wins. The same guess count is a draw, and two unsolved results draw too. Speed is not a tie-breaker.

The first shared link can reach more than one friend. Each gets their own attempt; recipients cannot see the other recipients’ results. A rematch is reserved for its two original participants. Send its new link or ask your friend to refresh the earlier result.

Guest progress and score links

Guest practice progress and a private guest key are saved in this browser. Account solo rounds require a connection and resume across signed-in devices. Challenges require a connection and are saved on the server. Return using Your recent challenges or the invitation link, then choose Refresh results.

Challenge links and unfinished attempts expire after seven days. Completed results may remain available for up to 30 days. Clearing browser storage, switching browsers, or losing a private-browsing session can lose your access. No signup is needed, but guest progress does not sync between devices.

These are friendly comparisons, not verified rankings. Outside help is still possible. Challenges do not award Honey or ranked prizes.