How to play
Identify today's historical figure in 8 guesses. Each guess shows how your pick compares with the mystery person on eight clues: Born, Died, Lifespan, Region, Origin, Field, Occupation and Era.
The eight clues
- BornThe year they were born
- DiedThe year they died
- LifespanHow many years they lived
- RegionTheir part of the world
- OriginThe state they were born into
- FieldTheir area of achievement
- OccupationTheir main role
- EraWhen they made their mark
Colours and symbols
RegionWestern Europe
Green ✓: exact match.
FieldLiterature
Amber ≈: close, or a partial match.
EraAncient
Grey ✕: no match.
Years and arrows
Born1879
1879 ↓ means today's figure was born earlier than 1879. ↑ means later.
Died1934
Amber with an arrow means close: born or died within 10 years, or a lifespan within 5 years. The arrow still shows the direction.
Years before the Common Era are shown as BCE (356 BCE). There is no year 0. Lifespans are approximate.
Field and occupation
- Field is green when it's the same, and amber when the two fields are closely related:Science & Mathematics ↔ Invention & Engineering · Science & Mathematics ↔ Philosophy · Philosophy ↔ Religion · Philosophy ↔ Literature · Literature ↔ Visual Arts · Literature ↔ Music · Visual Arts ↔ Music · Politics & Governance ↔ Military · Politics & Governance ↔ Social Reform · Politics & Governance ↔ Business & Economics · Religion ↔ Social Reform · Business & Economics ↔ Invention & Engineering · Exploration ↔ Business & Economics · Film & Performance ↔ Music · Film & Performance ↔ Literature · Film & Performance ↔ Sports
- Occupation shows your guess's main occupation. It's green if the main occupation matches, and amber if the two people share any role (for example, a Painter who was also a Sculptor).
Region, origin and era
- These are exact matches only: green or grey.
- Region is where the person came from, using broad world regions. The UK counts as Northern Europe, France and Germany as Western Europe, and Turkey as the Middle East.
- Origin is the state they were born into, by its historical name. Napoleon is from the Kingdom of France, Einstein from the German Empire and Gandhi from British India.
- Era is when they made their principal mark, not when they were born. The boundaries are approximate:
- Ancient
- before 500 CE
- Medieval
- 500–1400
- Renaissance
- 1400–1600
- Early Modern
- 1600–1789
- Industrial / 19th Century
- 1789–1900
- Modern / 20th Century
- 1900–1945
- Contemporary
- 1945–present
Good to know
- Tap any square on the board for a plain-language explanation.
- Everyone gets the same figure each day. A new one arrives at midnight UTC.
- Win or lose, you'll learn who they were and why they mattered.