Where in Time  /  FAQ

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A daily history-guessing game with 360° panoramas. Free. No signup required. Five rounds a day, like Wordle.

What is Where in Time?

Where in Time is a free daily history-guessing game. Each day you get five 360° panoramas from across human history — drop a pin on Earth, pick a year, and both get scored on a curve. Like Wordle, but for history.

How is it different from GeoGuessr?

GeoGuessr is the genre-defining "guess where on Earth" game using real Google Street View. Where in Time adds the time dimension: every scene is a moment in history, not a modern street, and you guess both where and when. They're sister games — see the full comparison.

Is it free?

Yes. The Daily Challenge is free forever, no signup required. A Casual mode (five rounds from any era, any time) is coming soon as a paid tier; the free daily is not going away.

Do I need to sign in?

No. The Daily Challenge plays without an account. Sign-in is optional and unlocks leaderboard tracking, streaks, and seasons. Sign-in uses Google OAuth.

Are the scenes real historical events?

Yes. Every scene depicts a real historical event or place at a specific year, anchored to a real coordinate on Earth. Examples: the Magna Carta at Runnymede (1215), D-Day on Omaha Beach (1944), and the Parthenon under construction (~447 BCE).

How are the panoramas made?

Each panorama is an AI-generated cinematic stitched into a 360° sphere. The pipeline is gpt-image-2 for the cinematic still, Topaz Photo AI for the upscale, and a second AI pass to rank historical difficulty. Every scene must occur on Earth (no moon, Mars, or orbit) and must render in full color, even when the source reference is famously monochrome. More on the pipeline →

Can I play on mobile?

Yes. The game is mobile-first. iOS and Android browsers both work; no native app is required.

Why is there a daily challenge AND a casual mode?

Daily Challenge is a shared ritual — every player worldwide gets the same five scenes on the same day, like Wordle. Casual mode is for sharpening: pick an era (Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, or Modern), play unlimited rounds, watch your average score improve over time. They serve different player intents.

What's the scoring math?

Each round scores distance (kilometers off) and year (years off) on a curve. The year score is scaled per era: Modern pool uses a tight sigma (~25 years) because Modern scenes are easier to date; Ancient pool uses a loose sigma (~500 years) because Ancient scenes resolve less precisely. Same 50-year miss = near-max points in Ancient but partial credit in Modern. Worked examples →

Who built it?

Built solo by @handleofiron, a digital collage artist (interview). More on the /about/ page or in the press kit.

How do I report a bug?

Email contact@whereintime.ai with a screenshot and your browser + OS if possible. Bug reports are very welcome — it's a solo project, so direct emails are read.

Will you add multiplayer / friends mode?

Not in v1. Multiplayer ("Versus") and friends mode are on the long-term roadmap but require a different netcode tier than the current daily-leaderboard architecture. They'll likely follow Mastery mode.

Is there an API?

Not yet. The internal /api/* endpoints power the game but aren't documented for third-party use. If you have a research or integration need, email contact@whereintime.ai.

Can I suggest a scene?

Yes. Email contact@whereintime.ai with: the event/place, the rough year, and what's visually identifiable from the panorama (a specific landmark, costume, vehicle, etc.). Good scenes have a recognizable event captured in the frame, not just a recognizable place standalone.