Six Degrees — Daily Football Teammate-Chain Game
How Six Degrees works
Six Degrees is a daily puzzle: connect two footballers through a chain of shared teammates. Each link must be two players who actually played together at a club. The fewer links you use, the higher you score.
Links are computed from a teammate graph over our 773-player database — two players connect when they shared a club with overlapping spells. Daily pairs are drawn from 703 recognisable players and BFS-verified to have a two-to-four-link chain before they ship.
Maintained by the PlayFutbol Data Team · First puzzle published June 2026 · Last audited June 9, 2026.
How to play in 3 steps
- 1
Read the two players
Two footballers are shown; they did not play together directly.
- 2
Add a shared teammate
Search and add a teammate of the last player in your chain.
- 3
Reach the target
Keep linking until you reach a teammate of the second player — fewer links scores higher.
How to connect in fewer links
- 1. Think hubs, not stars. Well-travelled players who passed through many big clubs connect almost anyone — they are your shortcuts.
- 2. Aim at a shared league. If both endpoints played in the same league, a single mutual teammate often bridges them in two links.
- 3. Work from both ends. Picture who each endpoint played with, then look for an overlap in the middle.
- 4. Use era overlap. Two players only link if their spells overlapped in time, so match the periods, not just the clubs.
- 5. Don't wander. Every extra link costs points; add a player only when you are sure they connect forward toward the target.
A worked example
To connect a Brazilian centre-back to a young German defender, you don't need a direct overlap. Add a well-travelled stopper who played alongside the Brazilian at one club and later joined the German's club — one hub player bridges them in two links. Spotting that one shared club at the right time is the whole game.
About the authors
Six Degrees is maintained by the PlayFutbol Data Team. The teammate graph is computed from players' recorded club spells (with start and end years), cross-referenced against Transfermarkt and Wikipedia. Links are validated strictly against the in-database graph.
Spot a wrong link? Email data@playfutbol.app
Frequently asked questions
What is Six Degrees?
Six Degrees is a daily football puzzle: you connect two players by building a chain of shared teammates — each consecutive pair must have played together at a club.
How do I build the chain?
Start from the first player and add someone who was their teammate, then a teammate of that player, and so on until you reach a teammate of the second player. The chain completes automatically when you link to the target.
What counts as a teammate?
Two players are teammates if our database records them at the same club with overlapping spells. Because the database holds a subset of every career, links are validated strictly against the in-database graph.
How is it scored?
You score for connecting the pair, with a bonus for matching the optimal (shortest) number of links. Extra hops reduce the score; a chain at the optimal length is a perfect link.
How is it different from Teammate Bridge?
Teammate Bridge asks for one player who was a teammate of both shown players (a single hop). Six Degrees asks you to build the whole multi-hop chain between two players who are not directly linked.
Can I undo a link?
Yes. Use Undo to remove the last player you added, or Give up to reveal one shortest chain.
Are the pairs always solvable?
Yes. Every daily pair is verified to have a chain of two to four links before it ships, drawn from a pool of 703 recognisable players.
Is everyone shown the same pair daily?
Yes. A seeded generator gives every player the same two endpoints on a given date.
Is there an archive?
Yes. Past daily pairs are replayable from the archive and don’t affect your streak.
Can I play Six Degrees on mobile?
Yes. It is a responsive web game — no download — that works on phones, tablets and desktops.
Is Six Degrees free?
Yes. No signup, no paywall, no ads inside the game flow.
Related daily football games
- Teammate Bridge — the single-hop version: name one shared teammate of two players.
- Career Path — guess a player from their club history.
- Guess the Club — name a mystery club from its players.
Six Degrees is maintained by the PlayFutbol Data Team · 703-player pool · Last audited June 9, 2026 · Report corrections at support@playfutbol.app.