the clues
Two, or three, or one
Rounds one to three are two-word bridges. Round four adds a third clue, so one word has to carry three meanings at once. Round five gives you a single clue and asks for its nearest neighbour in meaning.
Puzzle #16 · Friday, 13 November 2026
Chainle,
the word
in the middle.
One word between two clues, five times. Scored on meaning, not on being right — how it works.
No accountNo timerA new board at 00:00 UTC
A round, playing itself
—
pizza+pasta
tomato
One word, in the gap
Round 1 of 5
Two-word bridge
0 / 5000
01
What makes a round
Every round is the same three pieces: the clues, the hole between them, and the chains that measure what you put in it.
the hole
One word, one guess
The gap in the sentence is where your word goes, and it takes one attempt. A word the round does not score is refused rather than counted, and the board says so.
the chains
Eight links per side
Each clue grows a chain toward your word. A full chain means your word is as close to that clue as the strongest link is. The weaker side sets the score, so a brilliant half-answer is still a half-answer.
02
The words you missed
After a round you see the other words that would have crossed it, and how close they came.
a round, finished
pizza+pasta→sauce
6/8 links · 8/8 links
words that cross here
- tomato1000
- sauce950
- cheese950
- mozzarella950
Four words close enough to be the answer. The game still chooses one strongest link — and then shows you the rest, so tomorrow you know what a balanced bridge feels like.
03
Today’s rounds
The clues, without the answers.
- Two-word bridgetool + lunch
- Two-word bridgesand + gem
- Two-word bridgeair + car
- Three-word bridgeladder + rung + climb
- Closest connectionhospital
04
Recently
Every puzzle stays playable, with the same five rounds and the same scoring.
05
The arcade
Four more games, built here. One puzzle a day each, and a number to argue about.
Five
wordsA hidden five-letter word and six tries. Green means the right letter in the right place.
2–4 minCompare
Fours
wordsSort sixteen words into four groups of four, with four mistakes to spend.
4–7 minCompare
Nearest
meaningGuess a word; the game tells you how close it is in meaning to the one it is hiding.
3–8 minCompare
Ladder
wordsTurn the first word into the last, changing one letter per rung.
3–6 minCompare