Keystone takes one letter on the board, rings it, and makes it compulsory. Every word you lock for the whole game has to contain it. The stone is usually an awkward letter, so the game turns into a ten-round hunt through everything the board can spell around a single V or K.
The rule
Keystone is one of the five Uncharted rules, which change what you may play in an Outlier Live game. Before the first round, one letter on the board becomes the keystone. It's ringed on the board, and the line above your input names it. From round 1 to round 10, a word without it won't be accepted.
What makes it tricky
Difficulty: ◆ Easy, 1st of 6 from easiest to hardest. Same letter all game, at least 80 words through it, and words through the stone score as well as any: 81 points on average against 80 without.
The easiest of the six. The rule never changes, and the stone is the scarcest letter on the board that still makes at least 80 words, so it's usually a V, a K or something like it. Words through a rare letter tend to be rare words, so they score as well as anything else you'd play.
The one catch: every word anyone plays through the stone is gone for the rest of the game, so the easy stone words run out first. Keep a list.
How it compares with the other five: Uncharted, all six.
How the stone is picked
The stone is the scarcest letter on the board that still leaves plenty to play. Letters like Q, Z, X and J come first. If the board's rarest letter makes fewer than 80 words, it's passed over for the next one, so the stone always has at least 80 words behind it.
It's the same stone for everyone in the room and the same for the whole game. Keystone never runs on a Vanishing or Sinkhole board, so the stone can't disappear under you.
Step by step
- Pick itOpen Outlier Live and start a game. Under Uncharted, below the board types, choose Keystone. 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 Keystone chip at the top whenever you want it.
- Find the stoneWhen round 1 opens, one letter is ringed on the board. That's the stone, and the line over your input names it.
- Use it in every wordEvery word you lock has to contain that letter. Any copy on the board counts, and the box you type into reminds you which letter it is.
- If a word is refusedA word without the stone is refused with a message that names the letter, plus a How it works link to the rule card. It costs you a second, never points.
Here's how it looks on a sample board, with the V as the stone.
How to play Keystone well
Where you'll find it
Keystone 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 Keystone, a card explains the rule before round 1. Tap the Keystone 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.
One tap opens a room with Keystone on. Send friends the link to join.
Why we built them: Uncharted, from the founder. The rest of Uncharted: