Questions and answers

Every day at 00:00, midnight New York time. That's 04:00 UTC while the US is on daylight saving time and 05:00 UTC the rest of the year. There is one puzzle for the whole world, so everyone plays the same seven prompts on the same day. The home screen shows a countdown once you've played.

A rejected answer never uses up your round: you can try another while the clock runs. The message under the input says which of these happened:

• It isn't on our list yet. Every round only accepts things we have a verified value for. We note unrecognised answers (anonymously) so we can add the missing ones.
• It's outside the category. Some rounds are limited, for example “2020–2029 only” or “Starbucks menu only”, as the chip next to the prompt shows. A 1997 film doesn't count in a 2020s round, even though we know it.
• It's only part of a name. “Korea” could be North or South Korea, so add a bit more.
• Too many tries. Answers sent less than a moment apart are ignored, and after a dozen misses in one round we ask you to lock in one you know.

No. Matching ignores capitals, accents and punctuation, knows common alternative names (“Deutschland” for Germany) and abbreviations (“Mt” for Mount), and forgives small typos. If a typo is too far off to be sure, we ask you to check the spelling rather than guess. The suggestions under the input are the quickest way to get a name exactly right.

The best answer is the entry in that category's list whose real value is closest to the target on the same ratio scale used for scoring. Answers that are equally close score exactly the same, and if yours is as close as the best one, it counts as the best possible answer. When two are tied, the game shows the better-known one.

No. You can play straight away as a guest: your games, streak and progress are kept with a cookie on this device. An account keeps them safe if you change phones or clear your browser. You can create one with a username and password (no email address needed) or by continuing with Google. You must be 13 or older to create an account.

Yes, if your browser supports notifications. After your first games you can pick a time of day (morning, lunch, commute or evening). You'll get one reminder that day only if you haven't played yet, and a short “streak at risk” note in the last three hours only when it's true. Nothing is sent between 22:00 and 08:00 your time. Turn reminders off anytime in Profile.

Not if you hold a streak freeze. You earn one every 7 days of streak (up to 2), and it's used automatically on a missed day. Without one, your streak starts again with your next game. Your best streak is always kept.

You can see them. Once a day is over, its prompts, targets and best answers appear in the archive. Past puzzles can't be replayed for a score, so every day's results stay comparable.

Please tell us. Email the address on the contact page with the category, the answer, the value you saw and a link to a better source. We check every report and fix confirmed errors in the lists. The prompts and targets of a day already played stay as they were; the corrected value applies from then on.

Yes, completely. There is nothing to buy: streak freezes are earned, never sold. Plain is supported by ads, which only appear away from the game itself (never during a round). See the privacy policy for how ads use cookies.

Yes. Plain works as an app from your browser: use “Add to Home Screen” on iPhone (Share menu in Safari) or “Install app” in Chrome. It opens full screen and keeps your progress.