How to Play CityQ
A daily 3×3 geography grid. Every city has to fit its row and its column — and the rarer your answer, the lower (better) your score.
Play today's grid →The rules
CityQ lays out a 3×3 grid. The three rows and three columns are each a category — things like "Coastal city", "Capital city", or "Has hosted the Olympics". Each of the nine cells sits where one row meets one column, and the city you put there has to satisfy both at once.
- Read both labels. A cell in the "Coastal" row and "Capital" column needs a coastal capital.
- Place a valid city. The validator accepts any real city that genuinely fits both categories.
- Think obscure. Rare valid answers score lower than the obvious famous ones.
- Fill all nine. Complete the grid; your score is the sum of every cell's rarity.
Scoring
Lower is better. Each correct cell scores how famous the city is, and your nine cells are added together. The skill is finding the least-known city that still satisfies both categories, so a perfect run is a grid of deep cuts nobody else would have reached for.
Strategy tips
- Solve the hardest intersection first. A cell with two narrow categories has the fewest valid cities, so lock it before you spend your obvious picks elsewhere.
- Resist the famous answer. If the obvious capital works, a smaller capital that also works will score far lower.
- Use one category as the anchor and brainstorm cities that satisfy it, then test each against the second category.
- There is no timer — skip a stubborn cell, fill the easy ones, and come back with fresh ideas.
FAQ
What is CityQ?
CityQ is a daily geography puzzle built on a 3×3 grid. Each of the three rows and three columns is a category, and every cell you fill must name a city that satisfies both the category of its row and the category of its column at once.
Why is a lower CityQ score better?
Each cell scores the fame of the city you place. A famous answer scores high, an obscure-but-valid answer scores low, and your total is the sum across all nine cells. The goal is to find correct cities almost nobody else would think of, so the lowest total wins.
How many cities do I place in CityQ?
Nine — one per cell. There is no timer, you can skip a cell and return to it, and the puzzle ends when every cell is filled or you tap done.
Which cities are allowed in CityQ?
Any real major or second-tier city worldwide. A validator checks each entry against the row and column categories, so a deep-cut answer counts as long as it genuinely fits both.
Is CityQ free to play?
Yes. Every daily grid is free and needs no account. Premium is optional and only removes ads.