How to play HigherQ
HigherQ is an endless higher-or-lower city game with five rotating modes: population, distance from the equator, elevation, age, and today's high temperature.
- Size up the matchup. Two cities appear side by side; one reveals its stat for the active mode, the other is hidden.
- Guess higher or lower.Decide whether the hidden city's stat is higher or lower (or hotter, or older, depending on the mode).
- Chain your streak. Every correct guess rolls straight into the next matchup, and one wrong answer ends the run.
What is HigherQ?
HigherQ belongs in the city games cluster with PassportQ, CityQ, and Chain. For the broader set, visit the geography games hub.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play HigherQ?
Two cities are shown side by side. The first reveals its stat for the active mode; the second is hidden. Guess whether it's higher or lower (more, hotter, older, depending on the mode). Correct guesses chain together. Keep going as long as you can.
What modes can I play?
Five so far. Population (most people), Equator (closer to or farther from the equator), Elevation (higher above sea level), Age (older or newer city), and Today's High (which city is hotter today). Switch with the tabs at the top. Picking a new mode starts a fresh streak.
Where does the temperature data come from?
OpenWeatherMap. A scheduled job pulls each city's high-temperature forecast for the day once every morning, so the comparison is consistent for everyone playing on a given day rather than flickering minute-by-minute.
How does scoring work?
It's an endless streak. Each correct guess extends your streak by one; a single wrong guess ends the run. Your best streak is saved on your device so you can try to beat it.
Where do the cities come from?
A curated set of well-known world cities (~600), so most matchups are between places you can actually reason about rather than obscure towns. City data is from Wikidata + Wikipedia.
Is HigherQ free?
Yes. Free to play, no account required.
New to the game? Read the full HigherQ guide — rules, all five modes, and streak strategy. Prefer a single stat? Try the city temperature game or the city elevation quiz.