By Michael Szerencsy

Most rounds of Outlier Live give everyone the whole clock. Lightning doesn't. The moment anyone locks a word, everyone else has ten seconds. It turns every round into a standoff between speed and rarity: lock fast and put the room on the clock, or hold out for something rarer and risk being the one caught with an empty hand.

The rule

Lightning is one of the five Uncharted rules, which change how an Outlier Live game plays without changing the board. Play any word the board allows. What changes is the clock.

A round timeline: the first lock at 0:12 lights a 10-second fuse, a player who locks at 0:19 scores, one still typing at 0:22 scores zero. — One fast lock, and the whole room is on a ten-second clock.

Everything else is the Outlier Live you know: one word a round, ten rounds, burned words, and the rarest locked word takes the round. Being first doesn't win the round. It just starts the countdown.

What makes it tricky

Difficulty: ◆◆◆◆ Tough, 4th of 6 from easiest to hardest. 31% of the words players normally lock land more than 10 seconds after the round's first lock.

You never know how long you have. One fast player can take fifty seconds off everyone's clock, and an empty hand when the fuse runs out scores zero.

So every round is a standoff: lock early and put the room on a ten-second clock, or hold out for a rarer word and risk someone else lighting the fuse first. A quick lock only pays if the word is good enough to win.

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

Step by step

Pick itOpen Outlier Live and start a game. Under Uncharted, below the board types, choose Lightning. 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 Lightning chip at the top whenever you want it.
Watch the line above your inputUntil someone locks, it says the first lock lights a 10-second fuse. The moment anyone does, it says the fuse is lit and the clock drops.
Lock inside the fuseYou have whatever's left of those ten seconds. Any word beats an empty hand: a word locked late still scores, no word scores zero.
Rarest still winsAt the reveal the round goes to the rarest locked word, as always. The player who lit the fuse gets no bonus for it.

Here's a round on a sample board.

A rival locks SOLVENT early and the fuse is lit. — Step 1. The first lock lights the fuse.

RAVINES locked inside the fuse. — Step 2. Lock inside the ten seconds.

DEVOUR found too late scores zero. — Step 3. Miss the fuse and the round scores zero.

How to play Lightning well

Have a word ready earlyFind a decent word in the first few seconds and keep it in your head. If someone lights the fuse, you lock it and still score.

Lock fast only with a good wordA quick weak word puts everyone on the clock, but it still loses to a rare word found under the fuse. Light it when your word can win.

Ten seconds is longer than it feelsWhen the fuse lights, don't panic-type. Ten seconds is enough to check one better word before you lock.

Read the roomSome players lock in the first five seconds every round. Against them, every round is a ten-second round: plan for it from round 1.

Where you'll find it

Lightning 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 Lightning, a card explains the rule before round 1. Tap the Lightning 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 Lightning game →

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

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

Gold RushFirst to lock a word keeps it. Later locks of the same word score zero.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.SinkholeLike Vanishing, but the ground gives way where it hurts.