Frequently asked questions
When does a new puzzle come out?
Every day at midnight Eastern Time (New York). Everyone gets the same puzzle, and the home screen counts down to the next one.
Is there only one right answer?
No. Every accepted word scores something, depending on how close it is to the clues. The “strongest link” is the best word we found, and any word just as close also scores the full 1,000. For example, with pizza and pasta, sauce and noodle score 1,000 as well as tomato.
Why wasn’t my word accepted?
A guess has to be a single dictionary word, letters only. It can’t be:
- a clue word or a word built on one, like pizzas for pizza or violinist for violin
- another spelling of a clue, like colour when the clue is color
- in the closest connection round, another form of the clue, like sing or singing for song
- a name, a plural, a filler word like the, or an offensive word
Can I use plurals or other forms of a word?
Plurals aren’t accepted, so type the singular. For other forms, the game also tries close dictionary relatives of your word (like decide and decision) and scores whichever does best. It still shows the word you typed.
Does British or American spelling matter?
No. Colour and color, centre and center, and pairs like them score the same.
How exactly does the scoring work?
- Word meanings as numbers: every word in the game has a list of 300 numbers describing its meaning. Words used in similar ways get similar numbers.
- Each clue on its own: your guess is compared with each clue separately, not with a mix of the clues. That’s why each clue gets its own chain.
- Measured against the best word: each comparison is judged against the round’s strongest link. If your word is as close to a clue as the strongest link is, that clue’s chain fills completely (8 links). Less close fills it partly, and the scale is generous: a word half as close still gets more than half the links.
- Balance matters: the clues are combined in a way that rewards balance (a harmonic mean). In a two-word bridge, a word that misses one clue completely scores 0, however close it is to the other.
- Three-word bridge: the weakest clue gets a head start, so a word that links two of the three clues still earns about 500.
- Closest connection: there’s only one clue, so the score is just how close your word is to it, compared with the strongest link.
- Hand-set credit: some puzzles give extra credit to sensible answers that the numbers underrate.
Example: for pizza + pasta, with tomato as the strongest link:
- cheese scores 993 (both chains full)
- oven scores 873
- delivery scores 356 (6 links to pizza, but only 2 to pasta)
- car scores 170
What do the chains mean?
Each clue grows a chain toward your word, up to 8 links. The closer your word is to that clue, the longer its chain. If your word is as strong as the best link, the chains meet and the middle link turns brass.
What if a clue word, or my word, has more than one meaning?
A word’s numbers blend all its meanings together, and your guess is compared with each clue separately. So your word can connect to each clue through a different meaning, and that’s often the trick. In our tests, bank is the strongest link for river and money, bark for tree and dog, and ring for jewelry and boxing.
It works the other way too: any meaning of a clue counts. For bank + flow + bridge, money gets 7 of 8 links on bank through bank’s money meaning, but only 2 on bridge, so it scores 575. River fits all three and scores 1,000.
Because the meanings are blended, a meaning that’s rarely used, or that the data barely records, can count for less than you’d expect.
Why did my answer score lower than I expected?
The numbers come from how words appear in writing, not from a person’s judgement, so some links people see clearly are weak in the data. For example, gold barely registers against pirate. Hand-set credit covers the cases we know about. If you find one, tell us in the feedback box at the end of the game.
How is the strongest link chosen?
It’s the common, playable word closest to all of a round’s clues at once. Rounds are also picked so that word sits about equally close to every clue. After you guess, the game shows it to you, unless you’ve turned off “Show best link” in Settings.
Can I play past puzzles?
Yes. Open the archive from the home screen to play any daily puzzle back to August 20, 2026. Today’s puzzle appears there once you finish it. Replaying a game you’ve already finished doesn’t change your original result.
Can I play more than one game a day?
Yes. Tap Play unlimited, under the daily game’s button on the home screen or on any results screen, for a game like the daily one, with random clues, as many games as you like. Unlimited games don’t change your daily results, and since everyone gets different words, they don’t show how you compare with other players.
How do I share my result?
Tap Share on the results screen, or on the home screen after finishing today’s puzzle. It copies your result to paste anywhere: the puzzle number, your score, how many players you beat (once enough people have played), one coloured square per round, and a link to the game.
Is my progress saved? Can I play on another device?
Your guesses and results are saved in your browser, so you can leave mid-game and pick up where you left off. There are no accounts, so progress stays in that browser on that device. Clearing your browser’s data for chainle.io resets it.
How can I give feedback?
At the end of each game, rate it from 1 to 5 stars and, if you like, add a comment. You can rate each puzzle once.