How to play NextRound

Every round shows one Israeli venture capital fund name with most of its letters replaced by blank cells. Guessing a letter reveals every position where that letter appears in the name - guess an “A” in a name that contains three of them and all three appear at once.

A run opens with a set number of letters already showing and reveals fewer of them from a fixed round onward, so the run gets harder the further you get. No round ever starts with more than half of a name’s letters visible.

A wrong letter takes a fixed amount of time off the clock and is then disabled for the rest of the round. The clock is authoritative on the server: the countdown you see reflects the server’s deadline, it is never a second opinion about it.

When the clock reaches zero the run ends. NextRound reveals the fund you were on and shows your final score - every point banked earlier is kept.

Current settings. Each round starts at 60 seconds, a wrong letter costs 3 seconds, and every run gets 3 Lifelines. Early rounds open with up to 3 letters showing and later rounds with up to 2. These are set by the operator and can change between runs.

A solved round is worth the number of whole seconds left on that round’s clock at the moment you solve it. Your run total is the sum of every solved round. There are no difficulty multipliers and no bonus rounds - NextRound rewards recall speed and nothing else.

Whatever the clock reads in whole seconds at the moment the fund is solved is that round’s score. Solve fast and the round is worth a lot; grind it out and the same fund is worth very little.

Wrong guesses show up twice: they shorten the clock, and because the clock is the score, every wrong guess costs exactly as many points as it costs seconds. A fund you never solve is worth nothing.

Every run starts with the same number of Lifelines, shown on the game screen. Spending one reveals a single hidden letter in the fund you are currently on. Lifelines cost no points and no time - the clock keeps running while you use one.

Lifelines belong to the whole run rather than to a single round, which makes them a budgeting decision: spend them all breaking one fund you cannot see, or hold them for the later rounds, where fewer letters are revealed to begin with. Starting a new run resets them.

The NextRound leaderboard ranks published results across four periods - Today, This Week, This Month and Overall - at Top 10, Top 50 or Top 100 depth.

Play as often as you like. Only your best game of each day counts: Today shows that day’s best, and the longer periods add up your daily bests across the Israel week, the calendar month and your whole history. Playing more does not, by itself, move you up - a better game does.

Equal totals are separated by more funds solved, then by lower total solving time. Periods follow Israel time: a day resets at 00:00, the week begins Sunday at 00:00, and the month on the 1st.

Playing needs your full name and a personal LinkedIn profile URL - the profile is what keeps one person from holding several positions at once - and a company is optional. Your results stay private until you join the leaderboard; after you join, a better day publishes itself.

What is NextRound?

NextRound is a free browser game, also called the Israeli VC Challenge, in which players identify Israeli venture capital funds from partially revealed names before a round clock runs out. Scores from claimed runs appear on a public leaderboard. NextRound is an independent project and is not affiliated with the funds that appear in the game.

How do you play NextRound?

Enter your full name and personal LinkedIn URL to start playing - a company is optional. Each round of NextRound shows the name of one Israeli venture capital fund with most of its letters hidden. Guess letters one at a time; a correct letter reveals every position where it appears in the name. Solve the fund before the round clock reaches zero to bank points and move to the next fund.

What is the Israeli VC Challenge?

The Israeli VC Challenge is the game mode NextRound launched with. Every round draws from a curated pool of venture capital funds that invest in Israeli startups - firms such as Pitango, Viola Ventures, Aleph, 83North and Team8. It tests recall of the Israeli venture capital ecosystem rather than general trivia.

How long is each round in NextRound?

Every round of NextRound starts with the same fixed countdown, shown on the game screen as the round begins. The clock runs continuously once the round starts, and the server - not the browser - is the authority on the deadline. The exact duration is a setting an operator can change, so the number on screen is always the one in force.

How are points calculated in NextRound?

A solved round in NextRound is worth the number of whole seconds left on that round's clock at the moment the fund is solved - whatever the clock reads when you solve it is that round's score. Your run total is the sum of every solved round. There are no difficulty multipliers and no bonus rounds.

What happens when a wrong letter is guessed?

A wrong letter takes a fixed amount of time off the current round's clock, and that letter is then disabled for the rest of the round. Because the score for a round is the time left when it is solved, every wrong guess also costs exactly that many points.

What happens when the timer runs out in NextRound?

The run ends. NextRound reveals the fund you were on, shows your final score, and offers the option to claim a leaderboard rank or play again. Points already banked from earlier rounds are kept.

What are Lifelines in NextRound?

Spending a Lifeline reveals a single hidden letter in the current fund's name. Lifelines cost no points and no time, and they belong to the whole run rather than to a single round - you can spend them all on one difficult fund or save them for later. Every run starts with the same number of Lifelines, shown on the game screen, and a new run resets them.

How many letters are revealed at the start of a round?

A NextRound run opens with a set number of letters already showing, and reveals fewer of them from a fixed round onward, so the game gets harder as the run goes on. No round ever starts with more than half of a fund name's letters showing.

Can the same VC fund appear twice in one game?

No. A fund appears at most once per run in NextRound. If the eligible pool is exhausted, the run ends cleanly rather than repeating a fund you have already solved.

How does the NextRound leaderboard work?

The NextRound leaderboard ranks claimed runs over three periods - Today, This Week and All Time - at Top 10, Top 50 or Top 100 depth. Each player appears once, at their best qualifying run in that period. Ties are broken by more funds solved, then by lower total solving time. Periods use Israel time: Today resets at 00:00 and This Week starts Sunday at 00:00.

Do you need an account to play NextRound?

No. There is no account, no password and no sign-in. NextRound asks for your full name and a personal LinkedIn profile URL before you play - the profile is the identity that keeps one person from occupying several ranks - and a company is optional. Your results stay private until you choose to join the leaderboard.

Is NextRound affiliated with the funds in the game?

No. NextRound is an independent project. The venture capital funds that appear in the game are featured as publicly known subject matter, and their appearance implies no partnership, sponsorship or endorsement in either direction.