By Michael Szerencsy

In an ordinary Outlier Live game, two players who find the same rare word both get paid for it. Gold Rush ends that. The word belongs to whoever locks it first, and everyone who locks it after them scores nothing for the round. Rarity still wins rounds, but now speed decides who gets to keep it.

The rule

Gold Rush is one of the five Uncharted rules, which change what counts in an Outlier Live game without changing the board. It's the only one that leaves your choice of word alone. Play anything the board allows. What changes is who gets paid.

A Gold Rush reveal: three players locked the same word in one round. The first lock, at seven seconds, is marked Claimed and scores. The two later locks score zero and are marked Claimed by you. — One word, three locks. Only the first one pays.

Everything else is the Outlier Live you know: ten rounds, one word a round, the clock, and burned words. A word anybody played in an earlier round still won't count again, and that includes a word that scored zero because it was already claimed.

What makes it tricky

Difficulty: ◆◆ Moderate, 2nd of 6 from easiest to hardest. It only bites when two players lock the same word in a round, which happens to 0.1% of ordinary locks. Find your own words and it never touches you.

Moderate. In ordinary games two players lock the same word in the same round almost never, so it only bites on the words everyone can see. Gold Rush makes those a race.

Rarity isn't enough on its own any more. On the words everyone can see, you're racing the whole room, and a second late means a real word scores zero. No other rule can do that to a word the game accepts.

So every round starts with a decision: race for the obvious best word, or spend the time hunting one nobody else will find. Guess wrong either way and the round gets away from you.

How it compares with the other five: Uncharted, all six.

How a claim shows up

You can't see anyone else's word while the round is running, so you won't know you've been beaten until the reveal. That's where it lands. The first player to lock the word gets a Claimed! mark beside it and their points. Anyone who locked it later sees it marked Claimed by the player who got there first, with a zero.

There's no partial credit, and no splitting. Whoever pressed lock first owns the word for that round.

Step by step

Pick itOpen Outlier Live and start a game. Under Uncharted, below the board types, choose Gold Rush. Or join a room someone else opened on it.
Read the cardIn the waiting room a card explains the rule. It opens by itself the first time; after that, tap the Gold Rush chip at the top whenever you want it.
Find and lockEach round, find the rarest word you can and lock it. The line above your input reminds you: first to lock a word keeps it.
Watch the revealIf someone else locked the same word, the reveal shows who got there first. Their lock says Claimed! and scores; the later ones score zero.
Ten rounds, one winnerPoints add up as usual. Highest total after round 10 wins the room.

Here's one round on a sample board.

Round 1 on a sample board: HAMLET is lit, the obvious word half the room can see. — Step 1. Everyone sees the obvious word.

Your rival locks HAMLET at 0:09 and scores; your HAMLET at 0:14 scores zero. — Step 2. First lock keeps it.

Round 2: AASVOGEL, a word nobody else saw, scores in full, and so does CORNET, a different word. — Step 3. No race on a word only you can see.

How to win a Gold Rush

Lock early when it's obviousThe best word on the board is the one most of the room will find. If you've spotted it, lock it now. Thinking it over is how you lose it to a faster finger.

Second-best is often bestA slightly less rare word that nobody else plays beats the rarest word you lose on time. Ask which word the room WON'T find.

Read the roomStrong players gravitate to the same rare words. Against a tough field, the third or fourth word on your list may be the one that actually pays.

Late locks are a gambleLocking in the last seconds with the obvious word is close to a guaranteed zero. Late in the round, go for something odd.

Watch what burnsA claimed word is gone for everyone in later rounds too, so a race lost in round 3 can still clear the board for you in round 4.

Where you'll find it

Gold Rush is an Uncharted rule in Outlier Live. It rides on whichever board type the game is dealt, turns up in open Live rooms, and any host can choose it under Uncharted when starting a game. Rematches keep it. It never appears in Outlier Live Daily, and Uncharted games don't move your Live rating. It's completely optional: regular Live games haven't changed.

The first time you meet Gold Rush, a card explains the rule before round 1. Tap the Gold Rush chip at the top of the waiting room to see it again. The FAQ has every Uncharted rule, and the other Uncharted guides are linked from it.

Start a Gold Rush game →

One tap opens a room with Gold Rush on. Send friends the link to join.

Why we built them: Uncharted, from the founder. The rest of Uncharted:

KeystoneEvery word must use the stone.AscentThe climb gets steeper: 4+ letters, then 5+, 6+, 7+, 8+.SwitchbackStart each word with the last letter of your previous one.LightningThe first lock lights a 10-second fuse for everyone else.SinkholeLike Vanishing, but the ground gives way where it hurts.