TRANSFER PATH

Transfer Path: Connect Soccer Players Puzzle

Link two soccer players by walking through the clubs they share with other players. Like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but for football transfers.

Two players sit at opposite ends of a chain, and you link them through shared dressing rooms. It is six degrees of separation for football.

The catch: teammates means actual teammates. Two stars who wore the same shirt years apart do not count. Every link needs the same club in the same season.

How to play Transfer Path, a free daily soccer chain puzzle

Reading the start, target and optimal steps

Check the start player, the target, and the optimal step count on the card.

Typing teammates to build the chain

Type a player who was a club teammate of the start player. Real links join the chain with the shared club labeled.

Connecting to your chain's most recent name

Keep connecting to the most recent name in your chain.

Reaching the target and closing the chain

Reach the target to win. If a new player also links to the target, the chain closes automatically.

Taking a hint or giving up

Stuck? Take the hint, or give up to see a full working path.

Picking a special rule for a harder chain

Want it harder? Pick a special rule above the card: Active players only, or Europe only. The optimal on the card changes with the rule.

Transfer Path rules: valid links, scoring and special rules

What counts as a valid club link

A valid link is the same club in the same season, not the same club ever.

Scoring from 1000 down to a floor of zero

Scoring starts at 1000 for the optimal path and drops 100 per extra step, with a floor of 0.

Free retries and the daily versus unlimited puzzle

Invalid names cost nothing. No attempt limit, no timer.

One shared daily puzzle, plus unlimited practice puzzles.

How the special rules change your optimal

Active players only: every name in the chain, the start and the target included, is in our verified 2026 active-player records. Europe only: every club a link goes through is a European club. Each rule has its own optimal, worked out on the players that rule leaves in play.

When the harder rule reaches the daily puzzle

A special rule reaches the daily only when today's pair has a route under it; otherwise the daily plays the everyday rule and the rule waits for you in unlimited. The daily score still counts steps against the everyday optimal, so a rule is a harder road to the same finish line. Unlimited scores against the rule's own optimal.

Transfer Path walkthrough: Gerrard to Messi through Luis Suarez

Gerrard to Messi through Luis Suarez

Say it is Steven Gerrard to Lionel Messi, optimal in 2 steps. Gerrard played with Luis Suarez at Liverpool, and Suarez spent years beside Messi at Barcelona, so you type Suarez and the chain autocompletes for the full 1000.

A longer chain still wins at a lower score

Wander through four or five names instead and you still win, just at 800 or 700. The share line shows your steps against the optimal.

Transfer Path tips for chaining teammates fast

Thinking in well traveled player hubs

Think in well traveled hubs: serial movers like Zlatan Ibrahimovic connect whole leagues by themselves.

Working backwards to meet in the middle

Work backwards from the target too. Meeting in the middle beats a blind march.

Matching eras and testing free hunches

Match eras before clubs. A clever link fails if the careers never overlapped there.

Wrong attempts are free, so test hunches instead of agonizing.

Transfer Path FAQ: rejected links, hints and scoring

Why was my link rejected when both played for the same club?

Timing. Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe both wore Real Madrid white, but six years apart, so they never link.

What happens if I give up?

You see a real shortest path through the player pool, and a surrendered daily still counts as played for the day.

How is it scored?

1000 points for matching the optimal step count shown up front, minus 100 for each extra step your chain took.

Why does a name get refused under a special rule when the two really were teammates?

Because the rule removed it. With Active players on, anyone outside the verified 2026 active-player records is off the board. With Europe only enabled, a season shared at a club outside Europe does not count as a link. The refusal says which rule got in the way.

Is Transfer Path free to play?

Yes. Transfer Path is free to play on DoUKnowBall, right in your browser. No download and no signup needed.

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