How to use the clues in Lineup
Turn separate clues into one possible order.
Daily Game Train · October 5, 2026 · 3 minute readEvery clue must fit
Lineup gives you five train carts and a set of clues. Your job is to arrange the carts so all the clues are true together. One clue may leave many possible orders. The puzzle becomes interesting when you combine those restrictions and eliminate the orders that cannot work.
Be precise about the words
Before, after and next to describe different relationships. If red must come before blue, there may still be carts between them. If a clue says immediately before, those two carts must stay together in that order. Treating a loose relationship as an exact position can make the rest of the puzzle appear impossible.
Start with the tightest restriction
An exact position or an adjacency condition usually gives you a useful starting point. Place that cart or pair, then check the remaining clues against it. Keep track of which arrangements are impossible instead of repeatedly trying the same order. Marking a clue can help you organize your work, but a mark does not prove that the clue is satisfied.
Use the controls that suit your device
You can move the carts by dragging them, or use the tap controls when that feels more precise. Take a moment to check the highlighted drop position before releasing a cart. If you need a starting point, Lock a cart fixes one correct cart for a 45-second penalty. Everyone playing the same departure receives locks in the same order.
Deduction, rather than a personality test
The game asks you to draw conclusions from explicit constraints. A satisfying finish comes from knowing why an order works, rather than merely stumbling on it. Your time also includes reading and interaction, so it should not be interpreted as a general measure of reasoning ability.
For the limits of claims about brain training, see our research note.