Span (Mind Loft)

About Span (Mind Loft)

Span is a border puzzle on Mind Loft, a free site of daily browser games. Each day hands every player the same two countries, and the job is to connect them through a chain of countries where each one shares a land border with the one before. On the day we looked, the route ran from Kazakhstan to Oman, and the shortest path was 5 hops.

The map follows strict rules. Only mainland land borders count, so overseas territories, bridges and tunnels do not. That is why Scandinavia's only land route out is through Russia, and why the Sinai is the one land link between Africa and Asia. Contiguous exclaves do count, so Kaliningrad, Nakhchivan and Cabinda are in play.

You type the next stop and press Go; a Hint button is there if you get stuck. The header counts your hops against the perfect figure and runs a clock, and every puzzle ends with your road drawn on a world map.

A new route goes up at midnight US Eastern Time. The Sunday Edition adds a twist: a country your route must pass through, or one whose borders are closed for the day. It plays much like Travle, with the shortest path as the target.

How to play Span (Mind Loft)

1. Open mindloftdaily.com/span and press Start to see the start and target countries.
2. Type a country that shares a land border with the current one and press Go.
3. Keep hopping from neighbour to neighbour toward the target.
4. Reach the target in as few hops as you can; the perfect figure is the shortest possible route.
5. See your road drawn on the world map at the end.

Screenshots

Tips

• Picture the straight line between the two countries and look for the corridor of borders along it.
• Remember the rule on islands and bridges: only mainland land borders count.
• Exclaves such as Kaliningrad and Nakhchivan can open shortcuts.
• On Sundays read the twist first; a closed country can force a long detour.

Questions