Horizontal lists display are table-cell. These has transparent background-color, and box-shadow : inset.
.wrap { margin: 3em auto; width: 30em; font-size: 1.5em; } ul { margin: 1em 0 1em -0.5em; padding: 0; } li { display: table-cell; height: 5em; width: 5em; padding-left: 1em; text-align: center; line-height: 1; vertical-align: middle; background: transparent; box-shadow: -5em 0 0 rgba(17,63,17,0.8) inset; } li:nth-child(even) { box-shadow: -5em 0 0 rgba(0,33,0,0.8) inset; }