A daily history guessing game by MistryMan
Circa is a free daily guessing game inspired by the simplicity of Wordle, built around one of the most fascinating puzzles in history: when was this made?
Every day, a new historical image appears — a painting, photograph, illustration, or print from anywhere between 2,300 BC and the mid-20th century. Players get five attempts to guess the year it depicts, receiving temperature hints after each guess to guide them closer to the answer.
Circa was built from scratch as a solo project by MistryMan. The idea was simple: take the satisfying daily ritual of Wordle and apply it to history and art. The result is a game that's equal parts education and entertainment — you finish each puzzle knowing something new about the world.
Every image in Circa is sourced from public domain collections, primarily the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Europeana. The library spans paintings, photographs, illustrations, and prints from across human history. Images are carefully curated to be visually interesting, historically significant, and genuinely challenging to date.
The library includes iconic works like The Great Wave off Kanagawa, portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, Renaissance masterpieces, and rare historical photographs — alongside lesser-known gems that might surprise even history enthusiasts.
Each day at midnight, a new image unlocks for all players simultaneously. You have five guesses to identify the year the image depicts. After each guess, you receive a temperature hint — Freezing, Cold, Warm, Hot, or Correct — along with an arrow telling you whether to guess earlier or later. Getting within five years of the correct answer counts as a win.
Circa tracks your streak, win rate, and best score locally in your browser. No account required — just show up every day and play.
History is full of extraordinary images that most people never encounter. Circa is our attempt to surface those images daily, create a moment of curiosity and discovery, and make the past feel immediate and alive. Every puzzle is a small window into a moment in time.
Questions, feedback, or image suggestions? Reach us at Mistryism@gmail.com