◀ Think earlier
Wonderhop Past Guide: Choose the Oldest Answer
Past asks for an older eligible example. Enter its name, not a year. This independent edition compares the dated answers in its own bank using a fixed minimum-to-maximum scale, with seven 30-second prompts.
Independent edition · Rules reviewed 2026-11-13
On this page
Identify the date before choosing the name
A film has a release date, a company a founding date and a person a birth date. Read the question to identify which event matters. A recent revival does not make an old original new.
A fictional setting is different from a work's real-world appearance. A character described as ancient inside a story is not automatically an ancient publication. Remakes and editions can have different dates when the category distinguishes them.
Search your memory by era
Exact years can help, but rough ordering is often enough to choose between candidates centuries apart.
- Translate the category into a date type: release, founding, invention, birth or another specified event.
- Think of a recent example, then move backward through earlier eras.
- Choose the oldest clear eligible example you can actually name.
- Enter the entity rather than a year or a fictional backstory.
- Read the returned date to learn which reference event the bank uses.
Practice example: an original and its remake
Nosferatu from 1922 precedes the 2024 film of the same name. For an invented practice category about films, the version changes the comparison. This is a chronology lesson, not a current answer or a promise about an ambiguous title.
If the category instead concerns a character's first appearance, the relevant event may be publication or debut. The era where the story is set does not decide it.
How this edition scores chronology
Dates are compared within the current question's curated answer bank. Past awards more points toward its oldest end, using a linear 0–100 scale between the bank's minimum and maximum dates. Tied dates receive the same points.
The score is relative to the supplied bank, not a claim to have found the oldest example in all history. The original Wonderhop has its own dates and rating thresholds; its Perfect rule should not be substituted for this edition's calculation.
Questions, answered
Should I enter a year?
No. Enter the name of the answer. The game uses the date stored for that entity in the question bank.
Is old the same as rare?
No. Past rewards chronology; Abyss rewards the local rarity weight. A very famous ancient example may suit Past well.
What if an older real example is missing?
Unrecognized means it was not matched in the bank. Try a known eligible candidate and retain the exact category and suggested entity for a correction request.
Sources & method
Questions use named, curated answers with linked reference sources. Popularity is an editorial estimate, not a survey. Each game saves a snapshot of its bank and scoring version. Guides distinguish this edition’s rules from the original publisher’s rules and label examples. We do not claim measured search rankings, player testing or official affiliation.