Chainle Rule Versions: What Changed on October 2, 2026
The daily season that began on October 3, 2026 plays by new scoring rules — older dates keep the old book.
On this page
Two rule books, one date line
Chainle’s scoring comes in a current version and an earlier one, and the boundary is the start of the daily season on October 3, 2026. The October 2, 2026 edition was the last daily table published under the earlier rules; everything from October 3 onward runs on the current rule book.
What the current version looks like
Under the current rules, each answer is scored from 0 to 1,000 using an 80/20 blend: 80% of the geometric mean of the per-clue connection strengths plus 20% of the weakest-clue strength, multiplied by ten. Recognized answers — the featured word plus selected alternatives — always earn the full 1,000, and estimates for unlisted words can reach it too. In bridge rounds, the specificity adjustment multiplies the estimated strengths of indefinite words like “something” and broad evaluations like “good” by 0.6.
What changed: the estimate ceiling
The headline change is the removal of the 970-point ceiling on estimates. Under the earlier rules, only recognized answers could reach 1,000 — an unlisted word topped out at 970 no matter how well it connected. In the current version, estimates can reach the full 1,000, so a strong unconventional answer can match the featured word without being on any list.
Where the earlier rules still apply
Three places keep the old book:
- The October 2, 2026 edition — the final daily scored under the earlier rules.
- Older archive dates — each archive date keeps its original collection and its original scoring version.
- Older practice links — old practice links also keep the earlier rules, including the 970-point ceiling.
The archive is a replay of history, not a re-scored copy: a date behaves today exactly as it behaved when it was published.
How to tell which rule book you are under
- Today’s daily: current rules — no 970 ceiling.
- An archive date: that date’s original version; anything before the October 3, 2026 season plays by the earlier rules.
- The result screen: it tells you when the specificity adjustment was applied — a behaviour worth watching for as a marker of the current system.
Why the version matters for your scores
A 970 and a 1,000 on similar answers are not a difference in skill — they are a difference in rule books. Comparing an archive table from before the season change with today’s daily mixes ceilings, so treat the two series separately.
The ceiling change matters most for alternative answers, which is why the alternative-answers page references it directly. The specificity adjustment that coexists with it has its own glossary page, and the modes page explains where each version is actually encountered in play.