Ranked 1v1. A coin toss picks who names players and who names the links connecting them. First to time out or miss loses the match. Climb from Flag Football to Hall of Fame.
You're matched against one opponent near your rating. A coin toss picks who goes first, going first means opening the chain by naming any player, and that makes you the Namer for the entire match, your opponent is the Linker. Unlike Chains Live, these roles don't rotate: you'll only ever be asked for one type of thing the whole game.
Worked example
You're the Namer, your opponent is the Linker.
You: “Aaron Rodgers” (opens the chain, no link to prove)
Opponent: “College” → “Cal” (Rodgers really did go to Cal)
You: “Marshawn Lynch” (also a Cal alum, completes that link)
Opponent: “Team” → “Seahawks” (Lynch really played for Seattle)
You: a Seahawks player who hasn't been used yet…
It keeps alternating like that for as long as you both keep it going, you naming a player, them naming the link, back and forth.
Sudden death
Every move has a 15-second clock. Miss, or run out of time, and the match ends right there, whoever's still standing wins. No best-of, no coming back from a single mistake.
Rating
Everyone starts at Flag Football (rating 0). Winning and losing moves your rating up or down based on how the matchup was rated going in, beating someone much higher-rated gains you more, losing to them costs you less.
Flag Football 0–149
Pop Warner 150–299
Middle School 300–449
JV 450–599
Varsity 600–749
College 750–899
Heisman 900–1049
Pro 1050–1199
All-Pro 1200–1349
Super Bowl 1350–1499
MVP 1500–1649
Hall of Fame 1650+
After the match
There's no rematch button and no challenge flag here, win or lose, queue up again and you'll be matched with a new opponent.