Timler
Guess when the photo was taken — the year, or even the day.
- Players
- 1–20
- Length
- ~8 min
- Genre
- History quiz
Timler is a quiz played on photographs old and new. Everyone sees the same picture and says when it was taken: the year is a must, the day and month if you know them.
The photos run from the first daguerreotypes of the 1840s to this year’s news: streets, people, machines, events. The closer to the real date, the more points.
There is a paintings mode too: from the Renaissance to the avant-garde, by era — on their own or mixed with photos.
Play alone or with up to twenty people. After each round everyone’s answers land on one timeline, so you see at once who was closest.
How to play
- 1Pick what to date — photos, paintings or both — an era (or all time), a difficulty, the number of rounds and the time per round.
- 2Study the photo: clothes, cars, signs, the look of the print — all of it tells the time.
- 3Pick the year with the slider, the buttons, or type it in. If you are sure, add the day and month.
- 4Press Answer. A round ends when everyone has answered or time is up.
- 5After the round: a timeline of everyone’s answers, the right date and the story of the photo.
- 6After the final round, compare your total with everyone else.
Highlights
- Real historical photographs from open archives
- The year or the exact date — each player decides
- A timeline of every answer after the round
- Solo and multiplayer for up to twenty
- Eras from the 19th century to today and three difficulties
- A paintings mode: canvases from the 14th century to 1945
- An optional 18+ mode in the advanced settings
Tactics and tips
- Look at the machines: car models, phones and planes give the decade most precisely.
- Colour and quality are clues: early photos are brown and soft, colour becomes common after the 1950s.
- Clothes and hair change fast — hats, hemlines, the width of trousers.
- Add the day only if you recognise the event: the date is a bet, and a random one costs points on average.
- In paintings, read the manner: flat gold backgrounds come before the Renaissance, hard light out of darkness is Baroque, dabs of colour are Impressionism.
Common mistakes
- Waiting until the last second — time costs points from the very first.
- Guessing a date at random: a month off is already a minus.
- Forgetting to press Answer — a round without one scores zero.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the photos come from?
From Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata, where museums, libraries and archives have given their pictures — the Library of Congress, the National Archives of the Netherlands, the German Federal Archives and others. They load straight from Wikimedia’s sites; after each round you see the author, the licence and a link to the file.
Can I date paintings?
Yes. Pick Paintings or Both in the settings — by default the game shows photos only. Paintings have their own eras: before 1600, 1600–1799, 1800–1899 and 1900–1945. The pool holds only paintings whose year is known for certain, not "circa" or "between".
How is the score calculated?
The exact year is worth 1,000. The older the photo, the more room: five years off costs next to nothing on a 19th-century photo and nearly all the points on one from the last few years. Add the day and month for up to +300 for the exact date, or down to −100 for a miss. The three most accurate get +100, +60 and +30 for their place, and time costs up to 200 from the first second: whoever answers first loses least.
What is the 18+ mode?
Without it the game has no war, disasters or nudity. The 18+ mode, in the advanced settings, adds such photos and paintings, and "18+ only" keeps nothing else. Even there, no bodies or executions in photos, and no blood or torture.
Is this a Wikimedia game?
No. Timler uses the open photographs and painting images of Wikimedia Commons but is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.