Updates
What's new in CHAINED
New features, improvements and new categories, newest first.
- FIXEDGAMEPLAYMOBILE
Hint and Undo stay put on phones
On phones, Hint and Undo now stay at the bottom of the screen while you scroll through five or six cards.
Take a look →What's new
- Hint and Undo no longer drift up over the cards when a step shows more than four choices
- Every card, and the page footer, can be scrolled fully above the buttons
IMPROVEDGAMEPLAYMULTIPLAYERReady, set, CHAINED
Today's Daily now starts with a quick 3, 2, 1, GO, and the game has light sounds you can switch off.
Take a look →What's new
- Starting today's Daily counts down 3, 2, 1, GO, and your timer starts at GO
- Game sounds: the countdown, picking a card, hints, undo and finishing a chain now have light sound feedback
- Live Duel countdowns tick down to GO, in time with everyone in the duel
- You're in control: switch Sounds off in Settings on the Account page, and this device remembers your choice
- Play shows clearly what you've done today, with one “Next Daily” and “Next Live Duel” countdown
- The leaderboard tab is now This Week's Dailies, and the LIVE badge has a subtle pulse
- IMPROVEDGAMEPLAYLEARNING
See why every connection is real
Before you pick a card you can now see how it connects to your current card, and every move confirms the connection with its source.
What's new
- Tap ⓘ on a card to see why it connects: free, and it never tells you whether it's the best move
- After each move, the connection and where the fact comes from
- Clearer first-chain tips: every card is a real connection, pick the one you think gets you closest
IMPROVEDLEADERBOARDMULTIPLAYERYour rank on every leaderboard
Daily, This Week and Live Duel now all show where you stand, and the Play cards are easier to tell apart.
Take a look →What's new
- The leaderboard tabs are now Daily, This Week and Live Duel
- Live Duel shows your rank, wins, win rate and points, even when you're in the top rows
- No result yet? Each board says so and offers a quick way to play, no sign-in needed
- Daily and Live Duel cards on Play, and the Live Duel row on the homepage, use their own colours
- Daily result stats and your Live Duel record share one tidy row that fits on every phone
NEWSHARINGSharing now builds your chain
Sharing CHAINED can now unlock trophies when other players start playing from your links.
What's new
- Earn First Link when you share or copy your first CHAINED link
- Unlock new sharing trophies as more players start from your links
- Friend Challenges and shared Daily results can both count
- Your progress stays private: there is no referral leaderboard
- You can share and earn progress without creating an account
IMPROVEDSHARINGShares in your language
Results, friend challenges and Live Duel invites you share now speak your language: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, French or Spanish, with English for everyone else.
What's new
- The share message and the link preview card your friend sees use the same language
- The language follows your browser settings, with your country as a fallback
- Player and chain names are never translated, and English shares look exactly as before
- The game itself stays in English for now
IMPROVEDDESIGNCleaner, easier-to-read text
Text and labels across CHAINED now follow one consistent style, and small print is easier to read.
What's new
- Section labels look the same on every page
- Fewer shades of grey: main text, supporting text and small print each have one clear colour
- Footer links and small print are easier to read
IMPROVEDSHARINGONBOARDINGStraight from a shared link into the game
Open a friend's result and PLAY TODAY'S DAILY takes you straight to your first chain, with no menus in between.
What's new
- A result from an earlier day says so plainly, then starts today's five in one tap
- A challenge whose Daily has ended now starts today's Daily in one tap
- The homepage shows a real example chain: Nikola Tesla to Ford v Ferrari in three links
- Clearer first-chain tips: every card is a real connection, and the shortest route is par
- On your very first chain, a gentle note tells you when a move took the longer way round
IMPROVEDSHARINGCleaner share cards
Shared results now put the connection front and center, with less repeated text and a cleaner mobile preview.
What's new
- Result shares now keep the message simple: “Can you beat me?”
- The connection itself is the link title
- Score and five-chain performance stay on the result card
- Share previews now keep important content safely inside mobile preview boundaries
IMPROVEDMULTIPLAYERIdle Live Duel lobbies now close on their own
A Live Duel lobby that sits for 30 minutes with nobody joining, leaving or getting ready now closes, so old invite links no longer lead to empty rooms.
What's new
- Joining, leaving and READY keep a lobby open; just having the page open doesn't
- An old invite to a closed lobby says "This Live Duel has expired." with one tap to create a new duel
- Duels that have already started are never affected
IMPROVEDDESIGNGAMEPLAYA calmer, more focused CHAINED
The Daily now puts START → GOAL and your cards front and centre, with fewer boxes and quieter extras.
What's new
- START → GOAL is the headline of every chain, and the cards come up sooner on phones
- Each card keeps a short line that says what it is
- Your route appears once you've made your first move
- Results read as one story: your score, your five chains, then sharing
- Live Duel and the homepage follow the same cleaner look
- IMPROVEDSHARING
Share cards that show your result
Share cards now show your actual CHAINED result instead of a generic preview: your score, the Daily number and the day's standout connection. Challenge and Live Duel links get their own cards too.
What's new
- Your score and Daily number, front and centre
- The day's standout START → GOAL pair, without giving the route away
- Five markers for your five chains: green for the shortest route, yellow for extra links
- Friend challenge links show your score and “Can you beat …?”
- Live Duel invites show who challenged you and how many are in the lobby; finished duels show the winner
- A shorter message to go with it
IMPROVEDGAMEPLAYLIVE DUELClearer play and more to learn
Every board now tells you exactly what to do, Live Duel cards look as good as the Daily's, and every game ends with what you learned.
What's new
- The board says it plainly: all these cards connect to where you are, so pick the one that gets you closer to the Goal
- New players get a short two-step tip on their very first chain, and never again
- Live Duel cards now show pictures, short descriptions and info sheets like the Daily, plus a quick “Did you know?” between chains
- Live Duel and friend challenges now end with What you learned
- Clearer card labels, like “NBA basketball team” and “Historical figure”
- Simpler score screens: your score and how well you did come first, and the full scoring rules are one tap away
- Friend challenges now have How to play right under START CHALLENGE, so a first game from a friend's link starts with the rules one tap away
- If today's Daily was already played on your device without an account, we now say so plainly instead of asking you to sign in again
- FIXED
Smoother sign-out, results and navigation
Signing out updates everything at once, your Daily score counts up the moment you open your results, and moving around CHAINED feels cleaner on phones and computers.
What's new
- After signing out, the Account tab switches straight back to the signed-out icon
- If today's Daily was already played on this device, you'll see that clearly instead of a Play button that can't start
- Your final score counts up as soon as you tap See results, and the stat for all-5-Perfect runs is now called Perfect Dailies
- Improved mobile spacing around the bottom navigation
- Cleaner mobile navigation: the footer no longer repeats the bottom bar
- A clearer Play screen with Daily and Live Duel side by side
- Smoother switching between Live Duel and the leaderboards
- On computers: How to play in the top bar (Learn stays in the footer) and a more compact homepage with today's Daily right under the intro
IMPROVEDA clearer way around CHAINED
A new Play page for every game mode, one consistent leaderboard, and a bottom bar on phones that always shows where you are.
Take a look →What's new
- Play brings the Daily and Live Duel together in one place
- Today, This Week and Live Duel leaderboards share one layout, with Trophies always one tap away
- On phones, Home, Play, Leaderboard and Account sit in a bar at the bottom of the screen
- The page you're on is always highlighted
PERFORMANCEGAMEPLAYFaster, smoother play
The Daily and your results load much faster, every tap answers at once, and CHAINED feels steadier on your phone.
What's new
- The Daily loads much faster, especially your first chain of the day
- Your results appear much sooner after the last chain
- Clear loading screens and short, consistent transitions, so pages never jump or look frozen
- Cards react the moment you tap them, and reaching the Goal is confirmed straight away
- A quick double tap can never count as two moves, in the Daily or in Live Duel
- On phones: no more accidental zoom when you double-tap or type, and the game stays steady on screen
- Plenty of smaller polish and speed-ups across CHAINED
IMPROVEDONBOARDINGSee how CHAINED works, plus a fairer Live Duel board
How to play, About and your results now explain CHAINED with clear visuals, and the Live Duel leaderboard now ranks winners only.
Take a look →What's new
- How to play now shows a real example chain from START to GOAL, with simple pictures for scoring, the five Daily chains and Live Duel
- About includes a small map of connections, showing how things that look unrelated link together
- Your results explain scoring in one compact strip: tap it for hints, Undo and the clock
- Live Duel rankings now include only players with at least one win, so players without a win don't get a rank yet
- Until your first win, your own Live Duel stats appear below the leaderboard
- New Privacy Policy and Terms of Use pages, linked at the bottom of every page
- NEW
CHAINED accounts are here
Keep your progress connected as account features begin rolling out. Playing still never needs an account.
Take a look →What's new
- Save your Daily results, streaks, stats and trophies
- Sign in on another device and carry on
- Sign in with Google or with email
IMPROVEDMULTIPLAYERFairer, smoother Live Duel
Every new connection now starts a fresh thinking window, so one slow move no longer costs you the rest of the chain.
Take a look →What's new
- 10 seconds free for every move, not once per chain
- Quick decisions still score more
- More resilient when players move at nearly the same time
IMPROVEDEasier to get around
Navigation now stays where you expect it on every screen.
Take a look →What's new
- Switch between Today, This Week and Live Duel leaderboards in one tap
- The footer links stay available on the Daily, Live Duel and leaderboards
CONTENTMore connections, better routes
The CHAINED knowledge graph has grown significantly, giving future games more varied and surprising routes.
What's new
- More people, places, teams, films and brands to connect
- Every Daily route fact is reviewed and sourced
- Next week's Dailies have already been reviewed
IMPROVEDSOCIALShare the same Daily
Shared results now come with a link to the very same Daily, so friends can play your five chains and try to beat you.
What's new
- Every share includes a tap-to-play link
- Same five chains for everyone, no spoilers
- Friend challenge links always come with the message
- Sharing by email adds a clear subject, your real score, the Daily number and a direct link to play
IMPROVEDCOMPETITIONFaster thinking now matters
Every chain now has its own clock, so quick, confident decisions score more.
Take a look →What's new
- The first 30 seconds of each chain are free
- After that, each second costs 2 points
- Time can cost at most 100 points per chain
- A live timer shows exactly what you're losing
- Efficient connections still matter most
- IMPROVEDGAMEPLAY
Chains are easier to read
Every chain now runs from START to GOAL, with clearer connection labels and full names on every card.
What's new
- “Target” is now “Goal”
- Connection labels are bigger and no longer cut off
- Every card shows the full name
- Easier to read on mobile
IMPROVEDONBOARDINGGetting started is easier
A new How to play guide explains CHAINED in three quick steps, right from the homepage.
Take a look →What's new
- A clear How to play button on the homepage
- A one-time pointer for first-time players
- Connect START to GOAL, use as few links as possible, score up to 1,000 points across 5 chains
PERFORMANCECHAINED is faster
Servers now sit next to the game data and do less unnecessary work, so pages and results load faster.
What's new
- Servers moved to the same region as the game data
- Fewer round trips when starting chains and finishing the Daily
- Quicker leaderboard and challenge pages
- Nothing changes in how you play — it just feels quicker
NEWSOCIALChallenge a friend, head to head
Send a challenge link and take on a friend across the same five Daily chains, chain by chain.
What's new
- Shareable challenge links
- See who won each chain as you go
- Equal chain scores are a tie
- Your friend's routes are never revealed early