What is CHAINED?
CHAINED is a daily connection game. Each puzzle gives a START item and a GOAL item drawn from people, films, places, brands, history or sport. Players build a chain of real-world links between them and aim for the shortest possible route.
How to play CHAINED
- Open the day’s five chains. Every player receives the same set.
- Begin at the START card. Each subsequent card must share a genuine connection with the previous one.
- Tap cards to extend the chain. Use the free info button to read who or what a card represents.
- Reach the GOAL in as few links as possible. The published par (usually 2 or 3) scores full points for that chain.
- Finish all five chains. The maximum daily total is 1,000 points. After each chain the game shows the factual reason for every link.
Scoring and constraints
Each chain awards points according to length relative to par. Matching par earns 100 percent of the chain’s value. One extra link drops the share to 85 percent, two extras to 70 percent, and so on, with a floor of 10 percent. A small number of spare moves above par are allowed; once those are used, only cards that can still reach the goal remain available.
Hints cost an increasing percentage of the chain’s points and reset with each new chain. Manual undos cost 5 percent each. A time penalty begins after 30 seconds and cannot exceed 100 points on any single chain. The clock runs only while the player is working on that chain.
Daily format and other modes
A fresh set of five chains appears every day at midnight UTC. Chains grow longer as the set progresses; the fifth is usually the most surprising. After the final chain the game lists a few “Today you learned” facts and offers a shareable challenge link so a friend can play the same five chains later and compare scores.
Live Duel is a separate real-time mode for two to four players on a different set of chains. It does not affect the Daily score, streak or leaderboard. One Live Duel is allowed per player per UTC day.