KRILLION
Guessing games where rare answers score more: the principle
KRILLION ·
In most quizzes, one right answer is as good as another. Some guessing games change the rule: the rarer your correct answer, the more it scores. That principle, simple to state, transforms how you think. Here is how it works and why it makes a game richer.
The idea: not all correct answers are equal
The principle starts from a simple observation: for the same question, some correct answers are given by almost everyone, and others by almost no one.
Ask a hundred people to name a country in the world, and a large majority will name the same fifteen. Those answers are correct, but they are expected. By contrast, a real country that almost no one names is a rare answer. A rarity game rewards the second far more than the first.
The skill being measured is therefore no longer only knowing an answer, but knowing many, including the ones that do not spring to most people’s minds.
How rarity is measured
The rarity of an answer maps to a tier, and the tier decides the points.
Surface answers
These are the most-given answers. They validate the question but score the minimum. They keep the game accessible: you always score something when you know.
Deep answers
These are the correct, rarely-named answers. They score the most, because they show broader knowledge. They are what push a score up.
The too-clever-answer trap
A good rarity game adds a useful trap: the answer that feels smart is often the one many people thought of too.
When you try to be clever, you often land on the false good idea the rest of the players had as well. It feels rare; it is not. Some games, KRILLION among them, keep a tier on purpose for that over-expected answer, which scores little despite its cunning look. The real rare answer is elsewhere, quieter.
The scale, tier by tier
KRILLION sorts each answer into one of 6 tiers, from the most common to the rarest. Here is the exact grid.
| Tier | Points | Depth gained |
|---|---|---|
| Plankton | 10 | 100 m |
| Too Clever | 15 | 150 m |
| Schooler | 30 | 300 m |
| Rare | 60 | 600 m |
| Deep Cut | 85 | 850 m |
| Krillion | 100 | 1000 m |
Why this principle makes a game richer
Rewarding rarity widens the game instead of hardening it. Everyone can play at their level, and there is always something better to find.
A beginner scores by giving surface answers, which keeps them in the game. An experienced player aims for deep answers and stretches the gap. Two people of different levels can play the same game without one of them getting bored. That is what sets a rarity game apart from a quiz where it is all or nothing.
The KRILLION example
KRILLION applies this principle over 7 questions per game, with 25 seconds to answer each.
Points translate into depth, and the goal becomes to sink as low as possible by finding the answers others forget. If the principle appeals to you, the best way to feel it is to play a game: it clicks the moment you dare to try your first rare answer.