Picle

About Picle

Picle is a when-and-where photo game from The Times, launched in beta at the end of March 2026 and now part of its puzzles section alongside the crosswords, sudokus and the Quizle quiz. The pictures come from The Times' own archive of news photography, so a day might bring a royal visit, a strike, a sports crowd or a street scene from decades ago.

There is one photograph a day. You study it, drop a pin on the map where you think it was taken, and set the year. The game then shows the real place and date, how far off you were, and a short account of what the picture shows and why it was taken. Your score is out of 100, and it earns a medal from Bronze up to Diamond for 90 or more.

With a single picture, Picle takes a few minutes. The archive leans towards Britain and the twentieth century, so it rewards a feel for British towns, uniforms, cars and fashions.

It suits players of TimeGuessr and WhenTaken who want one carefully chosen photo with its story, and Times subscribers who already play the paper's other daily puzzles.

How to play Picle

1. Open Picle in the Times puzzles section or the Times Puzzles app.
2. Study the day's photograph for clues to place and period.
3. Drop a pin on the map where you think it was taken.
4. Choose the year you think it was taken.
5. Submit to see the real place and year, your score out of 100 and the story behind the picture.

Tips

• Cars, buses and shop signs date a street scene quickly.
• Uniforms and badges often tell you the place as well as the decade.
• The pictures come from a British paper's archive, so start in the UK unless the scene says otherwise.
• Read the caption story at the end; it teaches you what to look for next time.

Questions