What is Immaculate Grid?
Immaculate Grid is a daily sports trivia game from Sports Reference, the statistics website. The board is a three-by-three grid. Each row and each column has a label, usually a team, an award or a career milestone, and for each square you have to name a player who fits both its row and its column, such as someone who played for two particular clubs. You have nine guesses for nine squares, and every player can be used only once. Once you finish, the game shows how rare your answers were compared with everyone else's, so naming an obscure player who fits is a badge of honour. The original grid is about American baseball, and there are now versions for basketball, American football, hockey and football (soccer) as well. It suits sports fans who like testing their memory of careers and teams, and it's a fun one to compare with friends who follow the same sport.
How to play
- Pick a square. Name a player who fits both its row and its column.
- You have nine guesses, and each player can be used once.
- Aim for rare answers that other players didn't think of.
Quick facts
- Typical time
- 3–8 min
- Difficulty
- Medium–hard · you need to follow the sport
- Price
- Free to play.
- Account
- Not needed.
- Past puzzles
- Yes. Previous grids are listed on the game's stats page.
- On a phone
- Works in your phone's browser. Nothing to install.
- Sports
- Baseball is the original. There are also grids for basketball, American football, hockey and football (soccer).
Tips to get better
- Begin with the square you're sure of. Nine guesses for nine squares leaves no room for a miss if you want a full grid.
- Think of the travellers. For a square with two teams, the best answers are players who moved around a lot. A well-travelled veteran fits many squares. A star who stayed at one club fits few.
- Don't waste a versatile player. Each player can be used once. If someone fits three squares, keep them for the square where you have no one else.
- Remember the short stays. A few weeks at a club at the end of a career is easy to forget, and those spells are where the rare answers hide.
- Go obscure only when you're certain. A rarer answer gives a better score, but a wrong one loses the square.
Who it's for
Immaculate Grid is for sports fans with long memories. It turns years of half-remembered transfers and trades into something useful, and the rarity score lets experts show off. If you don't follow the sport in question, it's close to impossible. The original is about American baseball, so choose the version for the sport you actually know.
