WordChainGames
Today's chain

Game-show mode

Chain Reaction word game

Seven words, both ends showing. Attack from the top or the bottom, and score a point for every letter you didn't need.
Player 1: 0Player 2: 0
Chain ReactionPlayer 1 to play

Working down from the top word.

Rules in thirty seconds

  1. The first and last words are given. The second and second-to-last words show their first letter.
  2. On your turn, pick the top or the bottom. The highlighted tile is the one you are guessing.
  3. Right answer: you score one point per letter that was still hidden, and the next word on that side shows its first letter.
  4. Wrong answer: one more letter appears. With two players, the turn passes.
  5. When every word is filled in, the higher score wins.

Strategy

Early on, guessing is expensive: a seven-letter word with one letter showing is worth six points, so a wrong answer hands your opponent a better shot. Late in the chain a word is squeezed from both sides, which makes it easier. Strong players switch sides to grab the word they are surest of rather than always working downwards.

Prefer a single puzzle with no opponent? The daily word chain uses the same kind of links, and the generator lets you write a chain for a game night.

FAQ

Questions people ask

How do you play the Chain Reaction word game?

You see the top and bottom words of a seven-word chain, plus the first letter of the words next to them. On your turn pick a side and guess the next word in. Get it right and you score a point for every letter that was still hidden. Get it wrong and a letter is revealed, and in two-player mode your opponent takes over.

Is this the same as the TV show?

It follows the same idea as the Game Show Network's Chain Reaction: a ladder of linked words solved from either end with letters revealed as you go. We are not connected to the show, and our scoring is simpler, made for two people on one screen.

Can I play Chain Reaction alone?

Yes. Choose Solo and you score every word yourself. Try to finish with as many points as possible by guessing words before extra letters appear.

What words count as links?

Compound words and common two-word phrases, like FIRE + PLACE (fireplace) and PLACE + MAT (place mat). Each pair has to be something you would find in a dictionary or hear every day. If your word fits the letters and links both neighbours, it counts even when it was not the one we had in mind.

Keep playing

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