Word Climb level 20 answer and walkthrough

The level 20 ladder

Each rung differs from the one above by exactly one letter. The highlighted tile is the letter that changes as you climb.

Level 20 clues and answers

1. THEME (top rung): A party's central topic
2. THESE: The nearby ones
3. THOSE: The ones over there
4. WHOSE: Belonging to whom?
5. CHOSE: Picked, in the past
6. CHASE: Run after
7. CEASE (bottom rung): Come to a stop

How to solve level 20, step by step

1. Answer the five clued rungs first. On the level 20 ladder they solve to THESE, THOSE, WHOSE, CHOSE and CHASE.
2. Now put those five in the one order where each word differs from its neighbour by a single letter. That forced order (the same puzzle read either way up) links them like this:
3. THESE becomes THOSE by changing the third letter from E to O.
4. THOSE becomes WHOSE by changing the first letter from T to W.
5. WHOSE becomes CHOSE by changing the first letter from W to C.
6. CHOSE becomes CHASE by changing the third letter from O to A.
7. Line the five up that way and the ends unlock. The top answer THEME sits one letter from THESE (the fourth letter, M to S), and the bottom answer CEASE sits one letter from CHASE (the second letter, H to E). Solve those two clues to finish the climb.