The rules
Draw one loop to enclose the day’s target number of people.
Headcount gives you one population target per day — say, 10,000,000 people — and one drawing. Trace a loop anywhere on a glowing world population map, lock it in, and the game counts the real number of people living inside your shape. Score 0–100 on how close you got.
- One target a day. Targets rotate from city-sized numbers (500k) to whole-continent numbers (250M+), always clean, memorable figures.
- Draw one loop. Any shape, any size, anywhere — ring a metro, hug a coastline, lasso an island chain. Drag inside your shape to move it, or redraw as often as you like before committing.
- Commit blind. Your official attempt shows the enclosed area but never the live population — reading the dot map is the skill.
- Then practice as much as you like. After your official lock, unlimited replays deal a fresh population target every round — submit each loop to reveal its population and score.
Scoring
Score = 100 × (1 − |log₁₀(enclosed ÷ target)|), floored at zero and shown to one decimal. What matters is the ratio, not the raw difference: doubling the target costs the same as halving it, and you have to be a full 10× off — in either direction — to score zero.
| Result vs target | Score |
|---|---|
| Exactly on target | 100.0 |
| 2% off (9.8M or 10.2M vs 10M) | 99.1 |
| 10% over (11M vs 10M) | 95.9 |
| 25% over (12.5M vs 10M) | 90.3 |
| Double or half (20M or 5M vs 10M) | 69.9 |
| 4× the target (40M vs 10M) | 39.8 |
| 10× off either way (100M or 1M vs 10M) | 0.0 |
Strategy tips
- Learn a few anchors.Greater Tokyo is ~37M, Cairo's metro ~22M, the Seoul capital region ~26M, greater London ~14M. One anchor city per continent turns guessing into interpolation.
- Brightness beats size. A tight loop around the Nile delta holds more people than a giant lasso across the Sahara. Density is the game.
- Use the area readout.The enclosed km² is always visible. Pair it with a density guess (a dense metro runs 2,000–10,000 people/km²) for a sanity check before you lock.
- Practice after committing.The live counter in practice mode is the fastest population-intuition trainer there is — tomorrow-you will thank today-you.
The data
Population comes from GHS-POP (EC Joint Research Centre, 2025 epoch), a global ~1 km grid modeled from census and satellite data. Counts are estimates by nature; the scoring curve is deliberately forgiving inside a few percent. Official scores are recomputed server-side on a finer grid than the in-browser preview, so everyone is judged by the same numbers.
FAQ
How do you play Headcount?
Each day there is a single population target. You trace one loop anywhere on a world population map, lock it in, and the game counts the real number of people living inside your shape. Your score reflects how close you got.
How is the Headcount score worked out?
Score = 100 × (1 − |log₁₀(enclosed ÷ target)|), floored at zero. Because it is a ratio, doubling the target costs the same as halving it, and you have to be a full 10× off in either direction to score zero.
Where does the population data come from?
GHS-POP from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (2025 epoch), a roughly 1 km global grid built from census and satellite data. Official scores are recomputed server-side on a finer grid than the in-browser preview.
Can I keep playing after my daily attempt?
Yes. Your first locked-in loop is your official score, committed blind with no live counter. After that you get unlimited practice rounds with a live people counter, which is the fastest way to build density intuition.
Is Headcount free?
Yes. Every daily puzzle is free with no account required. Premium adds unlimited practice, advanced stats and global comparisons, the full Travel Passport, beta access, and an ad-free experience.