Rules
How to play Originle
Guess the country today's guest is representing. One person, three guesses, and a new guest every day at midnight Eastern.
The aim
Each day a real person talks about the country in their roots and culture. That country is the answer. Where they live now, and how their accent sounds, can point somewhere else. Many guests are part of a diaspora.
A round
You begin with the first video. Eight clues are there if you want them, and they get easier. You may guess after the first clip. You do not have to open the rest.
You have three guesses. The round ends on a correct country, on the third miss, or when you give up. On the official game, the controls step back while a clip plays. Tap the picture to bring them back.
Scoring
From puzzle 3 onward, a perfect solve is 10,000. Opening another clue spends more than the clue before it. A wrong guess keeps 70% of the points still on the table, rounded to the nearest 10.
| Clues open | If you are right | Cost of this clue |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10,000 | — |
| 2 | 9,750 | 250 |
| 3 | 9,250 | 500 |
| 4 | 8,500 | 750 |
| 5 | 7,500 | 1,000 |
| 6 | 6,250 | 1,250 |
| 7 | 4,750 | 1,500 |
| 8 | 3,000 | 1,750 |
A miss on the first clue turns 10,000 into 7,000. Those 3,000 points are more than the next four clues combined. Two misses on the last clue still leave 1,470, and that is the lowest score for a solve.
Three misses, or giving up, score closeness instead. The nearest country you named is worth up to 1,000, from the formula 1,000 × e^(−kilometers / 1,500), rounded to the nearest 10. The kilometers are border to border. Giving up before any guess scores 0. A solve is always worth more than a miss.
Puzzles 1 and 2
No. 001, Aya, and No. 002, Emiliia, keep the rules from the days they were played. Each clue costs about 1,000 points, the outline leaves 2,500, and a wrong guess costs a flat 500.
| Clues open | If you are right, before misses |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10,000 |
| 2 | 9,000 |
| 3 | 8,000 |
| 4 | 7,000 |
| 5 | 6,000 |
| 6 | 5,000 |
| 7 | 4,000 |
| 8 | 2,500 |
The globe
The globe on Originle is a scratchpad for notes and a shortlist. A flag pinned there is a hunch. The guess that counts is the country you submit beside the video.
Tips
- 1
Watch the first clip twice before you spend a clue. An early solve keeps the most points.
- 2
Listen for food, holidays, and another language. An accent is a weak clue.
- 3
Read the distance after a miss. A short one means a neighbor. A long one means another region.
- 4
Save a guess for the last clip on a hard day. That clip is the country's outline.
Calculator
Current rules, from puzzle 3. Pick the clue you are on and how many misses you already have.
Questions
Are the guests real people?
Yes. Originle films real people talking about the country they represent.
When does a new guest arrive?
At midnight in America/New_York. That is 04:00 UTC during Eastern Daylight Time and 05:00 UTC during Eastern Standard Time.
What if I miss all three?
You still score closeness, up to 1,000, from the nearest country you tried.
What if I give up?
The same closeness score, using the guesses you already made. With no guesses, the score is 0.
Where do I play?
On originle.io. This site keeps the rules, the hints, and the archive. It does not host the videos.