Chronophoto is an incredibly simple yet addictive immersive guessing game where players are presented with a series of random images and they have to guess what year a photo was taken. The game tests users knowledge of visual history by examining the details of each image to zero-in on the specific year or decade the photograph was taken.
The amusing photography web game, originally spotted by Amateur Photographer, uses images ranging from the early 20th century (1900) to the present day (2023) with points ranging from 0 to 1,000 per image depending on how close users get to the actual year. The game presents users with a series of five randomly selected images to build their scores and challenge their historical recognition abilities, with a maximum score of 5,000 points possible.
The game provides users with four modes of play, three of which are available on the web version of Chronophoto. These modes include “Classic” where players identify five images to hit the highest score possible, “Daily” where users are challenged with a new set of photos each day, and a “Party” mode that pits users against their friends in a battle for the highest score. On iPhone, the “Survival” mode asks users to guess the year of as many images as possible before they run out of lives.
Playing the game is straightforward whether using the app or web versions. Users simply open Chronophoto and select the game mode to start. Once the images open, users move the slider to the year they believe the photo was captured and click submit to test their skills. For challenging images, users can enlarge and zoom in on the images to try to see if there are any “giveaway” details in the shot to help identify the year the photo is from, and even see potentially telltale signs of film grain and colors, for the true analog experts.
After completing five rounds, users see their final scores which they can share or simply reset to start again with a fresh set of images. According to several posts online ranging from Reddit to random photo blogs, Chronophoto is a very fun, entertaining, and visually challenging game for photographers that could easily occupy a few hours of time when played with friends.
Chronophoto is available to play online through the official website, or to download from the Apple App Store for iPhones and iPad.