Bridge Words

Bridge Words places ten clues face to face: five in the Bank A column on the left, five in the Bank B column on the right, and a span of empty bridges in the middle. The catch is that the pairs are not opposite each other: you must first slide the clues vertically to align those that belong together, and only then type the word that links them. The initials of the five bridges built form the keystone, shown at the top under the day number.

1. Drag clues up or down until two related clues are opposite each other, one on each side of the span.
2. Type into the field the word that forms the bridge between those two clues, then confirm with Build.
3. Repeat for all five rows. The first letters of the five bridge-words fill the keystone boxes at the top of the grid and give the theme of the day.

Most word-association games give you the pair and ask for the link. Bridge Words asks you to find the pair first, which doubles the work: ten clues shuffled so you don't know which ones pair up, and a word to find only once the correct pairing is arranged. And because the score starts full and only decreases, every hesitation has a visible cost.

The timer runs in the top-left as soon as you open, with a Pause button beside it, and the keystone remains displayed as five point boxes as long as no bridge has been built. The score is not a counter of correct answers but a dwindling pool: the game starts at 1,000 points, minus 20 points per wrong guess, minus 10 points per minute after 2:00 up to a cap of 200 points, and there is a cost for each hint requested. A wrong word builds no bridge: the grid stays intact while the timer keeps running.

Daily Puzzle

One span per day, numbered, with its keystone to reveal.

• The first two minutes are free: the time penalty doesn't start until after 2:00. You might as well read all ten clues in full before touching the first one; reading is free.
• The first hint in the game doesn't give a word; it aligns the pair of clues for you, and it costs 50 points. A wrong guess only costs 20: trying twice before buying a hint remains the cheapest maneuver.