Shelf Life

About Shelf Life

Shelf Life sums itself up as a product a day, guess the year it came out. Each daily set is numbered and holds five rounds. A round shows the product's photo and name, for example Magic: The Gathering, and asks what year it came out.

You set your answer with a slider that runs from 1800 to the present, or nudge it a year at a time with the plus and minus buttons, then press Lock it in. Five dots at the top track your progress through the day's rounds.

Everyone gets the same five products each day. When you are done, the game gives you a receipt-style summary to share that does not spoil the answers for anyone else.

It suits players who like dating things by eye, from packaging and design, and anyone who enjoyed guess-the-year games like Chronophoto but wants everyday products instead of photographs.

How to play Shelf Life

1. Open Shelf Life and press Play Today's Five.
2. Look at the product's photo and name.
3. Drag the slider, or use plus and minus, to the year you think it first came out.
4. Press Lock it in and move on to the next of the day's five rounds.
5. Share your spoiler-free receipt at the end.

Screenshots

Tips

• Use the packaging and design style as a clue: fonts, colours and materials date a product.
• Think about when the technology inside it became common.
• Use the plus and minus buttons to fine-tune once the slider is close.

Questions