Travel Through Time & Space
Four unique ways to explore images & maps: Compare past and present with interactive sliders, scratch away historical layers to reveal modern views, study images to find their location and navigate satellite maps to discover where you are in the world.
Active Games
Pick up where you left off in your active games
How to Play
Choose your game mode and master the mechanics!
Time Slider
Available NowCompare historical and modern views with an interactive slider - drag to see how places have changed over time
Drag the slider to compare old and current views. Keep it low for max bonus points!
Click on the world map to place your location guess
Guess the year the historical photo was taken
Use Golden Tickets for hints (max 5 per round, login required)
Complete 5 rounds to finish the game
Scratch Quest
Available NowScratch away the historical image to reveal modern views - the less you reveal, the higher the score!
Click and drag to scratch away the historical image
Choose brush size: Small, Medium, or Large
Guess the location on the map
Guess the year the photo was taken
Golden Tickets available for logged in users only
Spot On
Available NowMatch historical photographs with today's Street View to find the exact location - test your precision!
View historical & modern photos - no Street View, just the image
Click exact location on the world map
Golden Tickets available for hints
Complete 5 rounds to finish the game
Mapster
Available NowMaster satellite imagery! Study an aerial photo from above (no labels, no zoom), then pinpoint the exact location on a world map. Pure geography challenge!
View satellite imagery - static aerial photo with no labels or street names
Study the aerial view - identify geographic features, terrain, and patterns
Guess on world map - click the exact location based on what you see
No zoom, no hints - rely purely on your geography knowledge
Time Slider / Scratch Quest Scoring
Earn up to 10,000 points per round! Your score is calculated from:
Distance Scoring: Perfect within 25m • Exponential curve rewards precision • ~5000pts at 1km • ~3500pts at 50km • 0pts at 1,000km
Year Bonus: Street View: ±9 years = 0 pts (555 pts/year) • Flickr: ±60 years = 0 pts (83 pts/year)
Time Penalty: Timed rounds only. The first 30 seconds are free, then up to -2,000pts by the time the clock runs out. Unlimited rounds are not ranked on the leaderboard.
Spot On Scoring
Earn up to 10,000 points per round! Your score is calculated from:
Distance Scoring: Perfect within 25m • Exponential curve rewards precision • ~9,930pts at 1km • ~7,050pts at 50km • ~0pts at 1,000km
Time Penalty: Timed rounds only. The first 30 seconds are free, then up to -2,000pts by the time the clock runs out. The deduction runs across the image and the map as one clock. Unlimited rounds are not ranked on the leaderboard.
Mapster Scoring
Earn up to 10,000 points per round! Your score is calculated from:
Distance Scoring: Full 10,000pts anywhere inside the acceptance area • then 1,000pts less for every 200km out from its edge • 0pts beyond 2,000km
Time Penalty: Timed rounds only. The first 30 seconds are free, then up to -2,000pts by the time the clock runs out. The deduction runs across the image and the map as one clock. Unlimited rounds are not ranked on the leaderboard.
Challenge yourself: No zoom, no labels - pure geography instinct from satellite view!
Time Penalty — all modes
Play on a clock and the answer time costs you points — but never more than -1,000 points per round. Play on Unlimited and there is no time penalty at all.
A fixed 30-second head start on every round, so the longer the clock the gentler the ramp: a 3 min round only starts costing points at 2:30 left, a 1 min round at 0:30 left. Short rounds get the same deal in miniature — never more than the opening 50% of the round is free, so no time limit is a free ride.
Answer early and a perfect round is still worth the full 10,000 points.
Built by the Community
TimeShift Explorer thrives thanks to its dedicated members. Our growing collection of historical locations is built by players like you — and we want to reward your contributions!
Create Locations
Gold and Platinum members can create new locations for all four games — Time Slider, Scratch Quest, Spot On and Mapster. Pick a historical photo and match it with Street View, or frame a satellite view for Mapster, then share it with the world.
Earn Golden Tickets
Golden Tickets buy hints in any game — and hints cost you no points. There are plenty of ways to collect them:
- Sign up: 10 tickets to get you started.
- Every month: 3 as a Free member, 10 with Gold, 20 with Platinum.
- Join Gold or Platinum: a further 10 or 20 on top.
- Daily Trip streak: play 5 days in a week for 2, 6 days for 3, all 7 for 5 — per mode.
- Weekly top 3: 10, 5 and 2 tickets for first, second and third place — in modes where at least 3 players finished a session that week.
- Create a location: +1 for every location you contribute.
- Top up any time: packs from 5 tickets up to 1,000.
Together we're building the world's most complete historical location database. Every new location makes the game better for everyone.
Game Access Tiers
Choose the tier that fits your playing style
Guest
- 1 play/day Time Slider
- Login required for all other modes
- ✗No Golden Tickets
- ✗No Multiplayer access
Basic
- ✓3 plays/day shared between Time Slider & Scratch Quest
- ✓3 plays/day Spot On
- ✓Unlimited Daily Trip challenges
- ✗Cannot create multiplayer sessions (can join)
- ✓5 Golden Tickets monthly
Gold
- ✓10 plays/day shared between Time Slider & Scratch Quest
- ✓10 plays/day Spot On
- ✓Unlimited Daily Trip challenges
- Create 10 multiplayer sessions/day
- 10 Golden Tickets (10 upon signup + 10/month)
- ✓Create unlimited custom locations
Platinum
- ✓20 plays/day per mode (Time Slider, Scratch Quest, Spot On, Mapster)
- ✓Unlimited Daily Trip challenges
- Unlimited multiplayer session creation
- 20 Golden Tickets (20 upon signup + 20/month)
- ✓Create unlimited custom locations
- Platinum badge and profile glow