Word chain

Word chain is a word game in which players take turns producing a word that begins with the letter or letters the previous word ended with, building a running chain of linked words. A typical round might run through a category such as food, producing a sequence like soup, peas, sugar and rice, with each new entry required to start where the last one left off. Games are usually played against a time limit, such as five seconds per turn, and a word already used earlier in the same game cannot be repeated, which forces players to keep drawing on a wider vocabulary as the chain grows longer. Players often agree on a restricting category before starting, such as countries, cities, states, rivers, lakes or capitals, a themed version sometimes called Geography, while a looser version built around place names generally is sometimes called Atlas. Beyond casual play, word chain is also used as a teaching tool in English as a second language classrooms, where it encourages quick vocabulary recall, and as an easy verbal game to pass time during car journeys since it needs no equipment or board.