Guess the Top 10

What is a guess the top 10 game?

A guess the top 10 game shows you the title of a real ranked list, such as "the 10 largest US states by total area", and asks you to name what is on it. Every correct guess drops into its numbered spot, so you learn the order as you go. Daily Top 10 is our version: one list a day, the same for everyone, and a practice mode with a random list whenever you want another round.

It is a quick test of general knowledge with a twist. To guess the top 10 you do not need to know the order, only what belongs on the list, but the ranks you uncover often surprise you.

How to play: guess the top 10 before three strikes

1. Read the list title and its source. Each list says where its ranking comes from, for example the US Census Bureau or the CIA World Factbook.
2. Type anything you think is on the list and press Guess or Enter. Small typos are forgiven and common alternative names work, such as "NYC" for New York City or "DRC" for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
3. Watch it land in its ranked spot. A correct guess fills its numbered slot from 1 to 10.
4. Avoid three strikes. A guess that is not on the list is a strike. Three strikes and the round ends. Repeating a guess you already made never costs you anything.
5. Find all 10 for a perfect round, or press Give up to see the full list.

When you finish you can copy a spoiler-free result: ten squares in rank order showing which spots you found.

Every list you can guess: the top 10s we use

Every list in the game is a ranking we checked against a named source, and we only use rankings that are settled, so the answers will not change from one week to the next:

• US geography: the largest and the smallest US states by total area, the most populous states and the most populous cities (2020 Census).
• World geography: the largest countries in the world, in Africa and in South America by total area, the largest islands and the largest lakes.
• Mountains: the ten highest mountains on Earth, all of them over 8,000 metres.
• Space and science: the largest moons in the solar system, the first ten chemical elements and the most common elements in Earth's crust.
• History: the first ten US presidents, the first ten states to join the Union, and the Canadian provinces by population.

Rankings that depend on measuring choices are spelled out in the source line. For example, the largest islands list treats Australia as a continent, and the largest lakes list counts the Caspian Sea as a lake, as most references do.

Guess the top 10 every day, or practise

• Daily: one list per day, the same for every player. Your progress is saved in your browser, so you can reload the page and carry on. A new daily list starts at midnight in your own time zone.
• Practice: a random list each time, as many rounds as you like.

Tips to guess the top 10 faster

• Start with the obvious. The biggest, most famous answers are almost always on the list. Bank them first.
• Think in regions. For world lists, sweep the map continent by continent before you guess something risky.
• Use the source line. "By total area" includes water; "by surface area" for lakes is about the water itself. The wording tells you what counts.
• Save your strikes for the end. When only the hard spots are left, that is the time for a long shot.
• Read the full list when you finish. The answers you missed are exactly the ones you will remember next time.

Why top 10 guessing games are popular

Daily list games took off alongside other daily trivia, from Wordle to Krillion. They are short, everyone gets the same puzzle, and the result is easy to share without spoilers. If you like this kind of game, try our daily guessing games, or Great Minds, where the list is made by the other players instead of a reference book.