How to Play

Goal

Name the correct movie before you run out of guesses or production budget. A win unlocks your score, rank, and share card.

Hints

Stuck? Reveal extra clues one at a time. The Bad Plot is shown automatically; additional hints unlock in this order:

1. Critic reviews — two short takes on the film
2. Emoji summary — five emojis capturing the vibe
3. Genre
4. Release year (era)
5. Director

Each hint after the Bad Plot costs budget and lowers your final score. Try at least one guess from the Bad Plot alone before spending on hints.

Production budget

You start with $750 of studio budget. Wrong guesses cost $50 each; extra hints cost $100 each. If budget hits zero, the game ends. Solve quickly and you can earn a speed bonus back onto your budget.

Guesses

You get up to 3 guesses per puzzle. Use the movie search to pick a title — close matches still count as wrong guesses, so choose carefully.

Score & ranks

Winning puzzles earn points from a base of 1,000. Fewer hints, fewer wrong guesses, and faster solves all help. Speed bonuses apply at 15s, 30s, 60s, and 2 minutes.

• S-Rank — 1,200+ points (near-perfect run)
• A-Rank — 900+
• B-Rank — 700+
• C-Rank — 500+
• D-Rank — any win below that

Signed-in players track streaks, history, and leaderboard placement. Share your result card without spoiling the answer for friends.

How a link works

Each step in your chain looks like this:

Movie A → (shared actor or director) → Movie B → … → Target movie

1. From the current film, pick an actor or director who appeared in it.
2. Search for another movie they worked on.
3. Repeat until your chain reaches the target film, then submit.

You can undo steps or jump back to an earlier film in your chain if you take a wrong turn.

Daily Plot first (spoiler lock)

Cinema-Degrees uses the same anchor movie as the daily plot puzzle. To avoid spoilers, finish today's Daily Plot (win or lose) before the full degrees ladder unlocks. Guests can still try a practice puzzle without spoiling today's main game.

Degree ladder

Puzzles are grouped by how many links the optimal path needs — from easier 2-degree chains up to 6-degree marathons:

• 2° Rough Cut — entry tier (guests can play here)
• 3° Studio Cut
• 4° Extended Cut
• 5° Final Cut
• 6° Director's Cut

Signed-in players unlock higher tiers on the daily ladder as they win more degrees puzzles over time. Each day you can advance one tier on the ladder after clearing the previous one.

Ranks & purity

Your rank compares your chain length to the shortest possible path:

• S-Rank — matched or beat the optimal path
• A-Rank — one step over optimal
• B-Rank — two steps over
• Tax Write-Off — more than two steps over (you still finished!)

Purity is a fun label for whether your route leaned on blockbusters, indie films, or a mix — it does not affect scoring.

Scout hints (Popcorn)

Signed-in players can spend Popcorn on optional Scout hints mid-chain — nudges toward a strong next film when you're stuck. Popcorn is earned through play; hints are never required to finish a puzzle.