Alveare (Cruciverba Lab)

About Alveare (Cruciverba Lab)

Alveare is one of the daily games on Cruciverba Lab, an Italian site built around a free crossword of the day with a set of smaller word games beside it. It uses the familiar honeycomb format: six letters around a required centre letter.

Each hive is dated and changes at midnight Italian time. The site says the hive is not generated on the fly but taken from a catalogue prepared in advance, so every player gets the same letters and the same list of valid words. The page tells you how many words there are (119 on the day we checked) and how many points you need to reach the goal.

Words of four letters score one point, longer words one point per letter, and a pangram (a word using all seven letters) earns 7 extra points. There is no limit on attempts and you can come back to the hive during the day. A hint gives you the definition of a missing word, with its first letter and length, and does not cost points.

The word list is Italian and chosen by frequency of use, not translated from English. Points from today's hive count towards the site's daily and monthly leaderboards together with the other Cruciverba Lab games. Today's hive is free without an account; a free account reopens the last three days and Premium unlocks the full archive.

It suits Italian speakers and learners who like word hunts they can dip in and out of over a day.

How to play Alveare (Cruciverba Lab)

1. Open the Alveare page; today's hive is shown with the date.
2. Type an Italian word of at least four letters using only the seven letters, always including the centre one. Letters can repeat.
3. Send the word; valid ones are added to your list and scored.
4. Keep going until you reach the day's goal, using a hint if you are stuck.

Tips

• Look for the pangram early: it is worth 7 extra points on top of its length.
• Italian verb forms and plurals often turn one word into several.
• Hints give a definition, the first letter and the length, and cost no points.

Questions