How to Play WhatCameFirst?

Overview

WhatCameFirst? is a chronological quiz that tests your sense of history. Each round presents two real events from different domains. The gap between them might be decades — or just a few months. Both are genuine, and both are memorable, which is what makes the game deceptively hard.

Some rounds are straightforward; others will genuinely surprise you. Did Facebook launch before or after YouTube? Was Ronaldo's first Ballon d'Or before or after Messi's? The answer is rarely as obvious as it seems.

What topics are covered?

Step-by-step guide

1. 1
   Choose solo or multiplayer

   Tap Solo to play alone, or Multiplayer to face a real opponent in real time. Both players see the same 10 event pairs generated from a shared seed. If no opponent is found within 30 seconds, a bot steps in.
2. 2
   Read both events carefully

   Two events appear on screen — each with its name, category (Sports, Technology, History or Pop Culture) and a brief description. Both are real historical events. Your task is to determine which one happened first.
3. 3
   Click the earlier event

   Tap or click the event you believe occurred first in real history. Your selection is locked in immediately.
4. 4
   See the result and the dates

   Both events are revealed with their exact year or date. The earlier event is highlighted and a brief context note explains the significance. Even if you were correct, the actual gap between the two events is often surprising.
5. 5
   Repeat for 10 rounds

   Each round brings a new pair from one of four domains: Sports records and milestones, Technology inventions and product launches, History treaties and discoveries, and Pop Culture albums, films and moments.

Scoring

Tips to score higher

• When both events feel like they happened "around the same time", think in decades first — one usually belongs to a clearly different era.
• Technology events accelerate toward the present — things that feel recent (social media, smartphones) happened in a surprisingly narrow window.
• Sports records often cluster around the 1990s–2010s golden generation — use your knowledge of player careers as a reference.
• When genuinely uncertain, the category label is your best friend — Historical events tend to predate Technology launches by decades.