How to play Name Chain
2 to 10 players · online or one phone · about 5 minutes
Name Chain is a word chain game with a bomb. A character's name is on the table and the bomb is in your hands: name another character from the same anime whose name starts with the last letter of that one, and the bomb moves on. Freeze, and it goes off.
The rules
- Pick the anime. Any character from its cast counts. All Anime means the full cast of every anime in the game.
- A round starts from one character's name. The first holder names a character whose name starts with its last letter.
- Each holder gets a fresh 30 seconds. Answer and the bomb passes to the next player.
- Names can't repeat within a round.
- When the bomb goes off, whoever is holding it takes the boom and everyone else gets a point. Three rounds, most points wins.
- If no character left in the cast starts with the letter, the game draws a new starting name and the clock starts again.
Online or one phone
Online, only the holder types, on their own phone, and the server runs the fuse. On one phone, pass the device to the next player after each answer. The phone checks the letter and the cast for you.
A chain, step by step
The anime is Naruto and the round starts from Naruto Uzumaki, which ends in I.
Aya says Itachi Uchiha (ends in A). Ben says Asuma Sarutobi (I). Cal can't use Itachi again, so he says Iruka Umino (O).
Aya needs an O. She thinks of Orochimaru with two seconds left. Ben now needs a U, and the bomb goes off in his hands.
Tips that actually help
- Full names count, so the last letter is usually the family name's.
- Save the easy letters. If you know two answers, give the one that ends on a hard letter.
- Learn the cast. Every character in the game is on the anime's tier list.
More guides
- How to play Role Draft
- How to play Mystery Auction
- How to play Build a Character
- How to play Perfect Anime Draft
- How to play Who Am I?
- How to play Anime Guess Who
- How to play Anime Imposter
- Every mode on one page
- Best anime party games to play online
- How we rank characters
- Anime tier lists
Strongest anime characters · Popular tier lists: JJK tier list · MHA tier list · Naruto tier list · One Piece tier list · Solo Leveling tier list · Edgerunners tier list
Updated 2026-11-09. Fan-made and unofficial. Not affiliated with any studio or publisher. Privacy · Terms · Accessibility