Read the past. Draw the possibility.
Extraplot: a daily game about the shape of the world
Extraplot turns a real dataset into a question you answer with a line. You see the beginning of a chart, its title, its units and the year where the history stops. Your task is to draw the missing years before looking at what actually happened. A daily set contains five charts, with up to 1,000 points available on each one. The challenge is to read the whole shape: a turning point, a sudden jump or a long decline can matter more than the final value. This A2A version uses the original Extraplot season data and daily schedule, with a drawing interface that works in your browser. It is free to play and does not require an account.
How to play Extraplot
- Read the chart title and units before drawing. The dark line shows recorded values up to the marked cut-off. The shaded section covers the hidden years, and the vertical scale tells you how large a change really is.
- Drag across the shaded area to sketch your estimate. You can draw over a section, undo the last stroke or clear the drawing. Fill every hidden year; the counter below the chart shows how much is left. For a keyboard alternative, open the year controls and set each estimate with the slider.
- Choose Reveal the truth when your line is complete. The actual continuation appears in green, alongside your score, average miss and the original dataset attribution. Open Story & exact values to compare individual years and read the chart context.
- Continue through all five charts and copy your result. The shared text contains your score and coloured result squares without exposing the chart answers. Daily progress is saved in this browser when local storage is available.
What makes the daily Extraplot game different
Original records, original daily order
The local chart collection preserves the original season’s 365 daily sets and 1,825 charts. Each entry includes its measured values, cut-off year, axis range, category and source. Subjects span populations, names, Wikipedia attention, culture, technology, nature and money. The daily page follows the published schedule rather than choosing a different random set for every visitor. This makes it possible to compare scores with another person playing the same date, while keeping the factual basis of each chart visible after the reveal.
A score that measures every hidden year
Scoring uses the average absolute vertical difference between your estimates and the actual hidden values, divided by the chart’s full vertical range. An average miss of 1% or less earns 1,000 points. A miss of 31% or more earns zero, with a linear scale between those thresholds. Every hidden year has equal weight. Getting the endpoint right helps, but a wildly different middle still costs points. Scores therefore reward a plausible complete trajectory, including dips and recoveries, rather than a single lucky finishing guess.
Two simple house lines to beat
After a reveal, compare your score with a flat continuation and a recent-trend continuation. The flat line holds the last visible value. The trend line fits the last ten available historical points, projects that relationship forward and stays inside the chart’s vertical range. These baselines give your intuition something concrete to beat. A score above both means your drawing read the hidden shape better than either simple rule. They are comparisons within this game, not forecasts you should rely on outside it.
Ways to make five charts part of your day
A short daily curiosity break
The game has no countdown on an individual chart. Spend a moment considering whether a change is likely to continue, slow down or reverse, then commit to a line. The reveal gives you a small factual surprise rather than another question to answer from memory. Complete the set in one sitting or leave and return to your saved daily progress in the same browser.
Compare assumptions with friends
Everyone using the same daily date receives the same five charts. Compare total scores after finishing, then discuss the chart where your expectations differed most. A result card avoids giving away the data in advance. Browser storage is local to your device, so another person should play in their own browser if they want a separate saved attempt.
Practise reading charts more carefully
A steep-looking line can represent a tiny numerical change when the vertical range is narrow. Read the units and axis limits, then check your estimates against the revealed values. This is useful practice for noticing scale, distinguishing rates from totals and separating a familiar story from the actual measurements. The source link gives you somewhere to continue reading after the game.
A real example from the Extraplot archive
The original season begins with China’s annual GDP growth. The visible 2019 value is 6.0674%. The hidden continuation moves through 2.3395%, 8.5704%, 3.1338%, 5.416% and 4.9583%. A straight line misses the large dip and rebound. This archived example illustrates why the entire curve counts; it is a season-opening example, not a claim that this chart appears in today’s set. Its source is the World Bank’s World Development Indicators.
Frequently asked questions
What is Extraplot?
Extraplot is a daily chart-drawing game using real historical data. Draw how a line continued after a cut-off year, then reveal the recorded values. There are five charts in the daily set and a maximum total of 5,000 points.
When does the daily Extraplot set change?
The published schedule uses America/New_York time, with the next set starting at midnight there. Daylight saving time can change its offset from your location. If the date changes while you are playing, finish your current set and load the new one when ready.
Can I redraw before submitting?
Yes. Draw over any hidden section, undo a stroke or clear the line. Reveal stays disabled until every hidden year has an estimate. After submission, that chart’s score is fixed for the saved daily run.
Is this the original Extraplot website?
This is an independent A2A implementation using the public chart files and schedule from extraplot.cloud. The drawing interface is built for this site. Data sources and licence labels are preserved on each revealed chart, and the original site is credited.
Can I keep playing after today’s five charts?
Yes. Unlimited mode samples fresh practice sets from the published season. Practice can include charts scheduled for future dates, so use it with that in mind if you want future daily sets to remain unfamiliar. The answer page also provides deliberate reveals for available daily dates.
Find your next little challenge
For another set right away, try Extraplot Unlimited. If a revealed curve leaves you with questions, the Extraplot answer desk keeps the daily values and sources together.
Data and implementation notes
This independent A2A version uses a local snapshot of the season published by Extraplot. The original chart files supply the measured values, cut-off years, axis limits, explanations, schedule and source attribution. Each revealed entry retains its own dataset licence label; the collection does not have one uniform data licence. This version uses its own interface and browser storage. Daily progress belongs to this browser and does not sync with the original site or another device. If you clear browser storage, that saved progress is removed. The season is finite: outside its published dates, the last available dated set remains playable.