Lexical Atlas: Quickfire, a Museum Lift Clue Race

About Lexical Atlas: Quickfire

The museum has closed and you are the night guard with one last ride in the lift. Three floors, the Maritime Wing, the Clock Hall and the Observatory, each with a short clock and one chain of five clues. The first clue stands alone. After that, the answer you just gave is carried into the next clue: SHELL + ___, a word read backwards, one letter changed. Solve the chain and the floor's exhibit wakes, a ship's lantern, a clock striking three, a dome opening on a shooting star.

Type the answer or press the brass keycaps. A right answer scores a hundred, with up to sixty more for speed, and a link bonus that grows with every right answer in a row inside the chain. A slip costs three seconds, and a second slip gives the word away, restarts the bonus and still carries it on, so the chain can always go on. Seven in a row surge the whole building with light.

A practice switch turns the clock off at no cost, with hints, scored apart. Tonight's round is the same for everyone in the daily game. A round takes about four minutes. Your records stay on this device only.

How to play

Press Take the lift to open the first floor. The clock starts with the first clue.
Read the clue, then type the answer or press the brass keys. Tap a box or press Backspace to take letters back.
The answer is checked when every box is full. A slip costs three seconds; a second slip shows the answer and carries it on.
Each answer appears in front of the next clue: SHELL + ___ means a word that follows SHELL. Quick answers in a row score the most.
Finish all five links to wake the floor’s exhibit and ride up. Skip with 2 or Ⓨ.
Practice turns the clock off and allows hints (1 or Ⓧ). Press Escape or Start to pause; the clock stops too.

Controls

Type the answer, or tap the brass keys
Backspace, Ⓑ or tap a box — take a letter back
Arrow keys or D-pad, Space or Ⓐ — move over the keys and press one
1 or Ⓧ — hint (practice); 2 or Ⓨ — skip
Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

Does the clock run while I pause?

No. The clock is game time: it stops when you pause, open the settings or leave the tab.

How do the points work?

A hundred for each right answer times the link bonus (a quarter more for each link held, up to 2.5 times), plus up to sixty for speed, which is full inside two seconds. A floor cleared early adds five points for each second left, and a floor with no slip, hint or skip adds a clean-chain bonus.

What does a slip cost?

Three seconds on the clock and your count of answers in a row; that answer is then worth three quarters. A second slip on the same clue shows the answer, which is carried into the next clue, so a chain can always go on.

Is it a general-knowledge quiz?

No. Every clue is about words: meanings, joins, backwards words and changed letters, written for this museum.