Use rack letters when the letter supply is fixed

A rack search answers a specific question: which words can be built from these available letters? Every letter in a candidate must come from the rack, with a wildcard filling a missing letter only when one is present. This is the right starting point for tile games and anagram-style puzzles.

The rack does not require every entered letter to appear unless the target length uses the whole rack. If seven letters are available and the answer length is five, the finder can build five-letter candidates from part of that pool. Repeated letters remain limited by the number actually available.

Use pattern clues when other letters are still possible

A contains clue says that a letter must appear, but it does not restrict every other letter in the word. A position clue goes further by fixing one letter in one slot. Starts-with and ends-with clues describe the outer shape of the word while leaving the remaining positions open.

These filters suit guessing games, crossword crossings and partial spelling patterns. In those situations, the puzzle usually tells you a few facts about the answer rather than giving you the complete supply of letters from which it must be built.

Do not place every known letter in the rack field when the puzzle may use additional letters. Doing so changes the question from ‘which words match these clues?’ to ‘which words can be made only from this pool?’ and can remove the correct answer.

Combine the two only when both facts are true

Some searches genuinely provide both a rack and a pattern. A board may offer a fixed crossing letter while your playable tiles supply the rest. In that case, enter the usable letters in the rack and place the confirmed crossing letter in its exact position only if the finder should enforce both conditions.

Check whether a fixed board letter belongs in the rack itself. Game rules differ: sometimes the rack represents only tiles in hand, while the completed word also uses a letter already on the board. If the existing letter is not part of the available tile pool, a rack-only search may need a different setup or a broader pattern search.

Choose the field by asking one question

Before searching, ask whether the unknown word is limited to a known pool of letters. If the answer is yes, begin with the rack. If the answer is no and you know only positions, included letters or excluded letters, begin with pattern filters.

This distinction prevents many empty or strangely narrow result lists. The fields may look similar because both accept letters, but they express different rules. Choosing the field that matches the evidence makes every later filter easier to interpret.

  • Known pool of usable tiles: use rack letters.
  • Letter known to appear somewhere: use contains.
  • Letter confirmed in one slot: use a position box.
  • Letter completely ruled out: use excludes.