What is WhenTaken?
WhenTaken shows you a photo and asks two questions at once: where in the world was it taken, and in what year? You drop a pin on a map and choose a year, and you score points for being close on both. A daily game has several photos, and your scores add up to a total you can compare with friends. The joy is in the detective work. Car shapes, clothing, shop signs, the side of the road people drive on and even the colour of the film all give hints about place and time. It comes from Teuteuf Games, the studio behind Worldle and Travle, and a new set appears at midnight in your own time zone. Past games are kept in an archive, so you can catch up on days you missed. It suits history buffs, travellers and anyone who enjoys TimeGuessr or GeoGuessr but wants a quick daily version that also tests their sense of time.
How to play
- Look closely at the photo for clues about place and era.
- Drop a pin on the map where you think it was taken, then choose a year.
- Points depend on how close you get on both. Add them up across the rounds.
Quick facts
- Typical time
- 5–8 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Price
- Free.
- Account
- Not needed. Logging in is optional.
- Past puzzles
- Free. Past daily games are kept, so you can catch up on days you missed.
- On a phone
- Works in your phone's browser. Nothing to install.
Tips to get better
- Look behind the subject. The person or building in the middle is rarely the clue. Check the background: number plates, road markings, power lines, shop signs, the shape of the hills.
- Let nature place it. Palm trees, pine forest, red earth, snow, the quality of the light. Climate rules out most of the world before any sign does.
- Date it by everyday things. Clothes, haircuts, cars and prams all change with the decades. If anyone is holding a smartphone, the photo is from about 2008 or later.
- Get the country right first. Being in the right country matters far more than finding the exact street. Don't agonise over the last few kilometres.
- Split the difference on the year. Not sure whether it's the 1950s or the 1970s? A guess in the middle guarantees a reasonable score.
- Practise in the archive. Past games are free, and your eye for decades improves quickly with a few extra rounds.
Who it's for
WhenTaken rewards people who like to look closely. It's a lighter, quicker cousin of TimeGuessr, with a daily set that takes about five minutes, and the archive is handy when you miss a day. As with all photo games, a lot depends on the pictures: a street full of signs is a gift, and a field is a guess. It's best played together, arguing about the decade.
