What is EraPin?
EraPin is a dual-answer history game that combines geography and chronology. Each round presents an archive photograph from Wikipedia alongside a written clue that describes the event without naming the city or year. You must place both a pin on the world map to identify the location and adjust a year slider to fix the era. The daily dossier contains five photographs, and scoring awards up to 2,500 points for place accuracy and 2,500 for year accuracy per round, for a maximum of 25,000 points across all five rounds.
How to play EraPin
- Read the clue beneath the photograph. It describes the technology, culture, or context without naming the city or date.
- Set the year by dragging the slider or entering it in the year field.
- Place the pin by searching for a city or clicking on the map. You cannot confirm until you select a location.
- Buy a hint if you need one. The street-view hint costs 500 points, and the parallel-event hint costs 750.
- Confirm your answer. The game shows both scores, reveals the correct location and year, and links to the relevant Wikipedia article.
- Move on to the next round and repeat the process for all five photographs in the dossier.
The year and the place reinforce each other. A coastline, car model, or hairstyle narrows the decade. The decade tells you what kind of city to expect. Finding one without the other leaves half the puzzle unsolved. This interdependence changes how you read the photo and interpret the clue.
Hints and their cost
The street-view hint reveals what the location looks like today and costs 500 points. The parallel-event hint names a different event from the same year and costs 750 points. Both deductions come from the current round, which is worth up to 5,000 points. The parallel-event hint is the most expensive in the game. Reserve it for rounds where you have no starting point.
Modes available
Daily Dossier publishes five photographs under a single title and date. Complete all five rounds to finish the day.
Archive keeps previous dossiers playable. Access past days through the archive link at the top of the page.
Teacher Pro offers curriculum-aligned packs for APUSH, AP World, UK KS3, and NY Regents. It includes team mode and does not require student accounts.
Strategy for higher scores
The year slider responds before you place a pin. Use it to lock in your reading of the photo while you search for the city.
The written clue focuses on technology and culture, which point to the decade. Treat the clue as the answer to when and let the visual details of the photograph answer where.
The street-view hint costs one-tenth of a perfect round. The parallel-event hint costs 15 percent. Do not spend 750 points on a hint unless the round is otherwise unsolvable.
Account and progress
No registration is required. The site stores progress locally in the same browser. A restore-streak link is provided for players who clear browser data or switch devices.