What is a connection game?

The idea is older than any app. Parlour games, quiz rounds and pub trivia have long asked players to spot what connects a list of clues. What has changed is the daily format: one shared puzzle a day, the same for everyone, small enough to finish over a coffee and interesting enough to talk about afterwards.

Grouping games hand you a set of words or names and ask you to sort them into hidden categories. The challenge is spotting the theme behind each group, and the red herrings that fit more than one.

Chain or path games give you a start and an end and ask you to get from one to the other through real links. The question is not only whether a connection exists but how short you can make it. The classic example is linking actors through the films they share.

Association quizzes ask for the single link between a few items — the thing three answers have in common.

Path games reward two skills at once: knowing a lot of small facts, and planning. Each step has to be a real connection, and every step costs you. A good path game also teaches you something on the way, because the shortest route often runs through a fact you did not know.

That is the idea behind CHAINED: every day you get five chains, each a START and a GOAL from the worlds of music, film, sport, brands, history and places. You tap through connected cards to reach the goal in as few links as possible. When you finish a chain, you see why each link holds.

A single shared daily puzzle turns a solo game into a conversation. Everyone faces the same chains, so scores are comparable and spoilers matter. It also keeps the game light: you play once, then come back tomorrow. If you want the details of how CHAINED scores a chain, see how to play.