Two words the same length and a ladder of real words between them, one letter changing each rung. 1 to 8 people in a browser, everybody on the same puzzle at once. About 10 minutes.
Ten minutes, no explanation needed, and it works with one person or with eight — which makes it the thing to put on while the call is still filling up. Everybody climbs the same ladder at the same time, so nobody is waiting for a turn.
It is also the fairest word game here for a mixed table. The rungs are ordinary words in the commonest frequency bands rather than the long ones, so it rewards seeing the route rather than owning a large English vocabulary.
A round
Pick a lengthClimbThe routesNext puzzle
On the sheet
+4Anyone who reaches the target — however long the chain
+3And again — matching our route, or beating it
+2 / +1Or — one over, or two over
+1Whoever gets there first — and there was somebody to beat
+1Anyone who stopped short — within two rungs of home
Also on