How to play Rung
One hidden answer. Five clues that fall from cryptic to nearly obvious. The earlier you guess, the more you score. That is the whole game, and all the drama lives in when you dare.
Play today's Rung →The rules
- 5Clues are worth 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1 points, top to bottom. You always start at the top.
- ✓Guess right: you bank whatever that rung is worth and you're done for the day.
- ✗Guess wrong: the clue burns and you fall two rungs, so you never even see the next clue.
- →Skip: fall one rung. Nothing burns. The safe, cheap option.
- ―Run out of rungs without a correct guess and the day is lost. The answer is still revealed, and so is the fact.
A skip costs one. A wrong guess costs two. Everything you'll ever decide in Rung comes down to that difference.
A worked example
Say the hidden answer is SEATBELT. This is an invented ladder, not a real puzzle, so nothing here is spoiled.
5
“I am useless until the worst possible moment.”Pure riddle. A bold player might already feel it. Right here is worth 5, wrong here drops you to the 3.
4
“A law in most countries made me a habit.”Now you can place it: an object, something regulated. If your hunch survived, this is where nerve pays.
3
“I click, and that sound means you are ready to go.”Most players are sure by now. Three points is the honest middle.
2
“I cross your chest and lock when you brake hard.”Nearly a definition.
1
“Buckle your…”The giveaway. One point, but a point is not a loss.
Reading the share grid
Your result copies out as a spoiler-free ladder. Each row is a rung you visited, and the row is as wide as that clue was worth: five squares at the top, one at the bottom.
Here is someone who guessed wrong at the very top, got carried past the next rung by the burn, played one safe, then finally landed it:
🪜 Rung #49 · 2/5 · 🔥7🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥 ⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩
- 🟥A wrong guess. It burns, and it takes the next rung with it.
- ⬜A rung you skipped, or one the burn cost you.
- 🟩The clue you finally got it on. Its width is what you banked.
- ⭐A perfect game: you took the very first clue and banked all five.
- 🔥Your win streak, shown once you reach three in a row.
Fewer rows means you won earlier and braver. That is the brag.