What time is it there?
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How to play
Every day the puzzle names one mystery city and tells you what time it is in New York. Your job is to work out the local time in the mystery city. Type your answer as hours and minutes with AM or PM, for example 3:45 PM, and press Guess.
- Three guesses per day. A guess within 15 minutes of the real time counts as correct.
- Hints as you go. Within an hour, you're told you're close; further out, you're nudged to rethink the time difference.
- One puzzle for everyone. Everyone playing on the same date gets the same city, so you can compare scores. A new puzzle starts at midnight your local time.
How to work out the answer
Every city's clock is set as an offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). New York is UTC−5 in winter and UTC−4 in summer; Tokyo is UTC+9 all year. The gap between two cities is simply the difference between their offsets, so Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of New York in winter and 13 hours ahead in summer. Add the gap to the New York time, and if you pass midnight, the answer is on the next day.
You don't need to memorise every offset. A handful of anchors, measured from New York, covers most puzzles:
| City | Hours from New York |
|---|---|
| Chicago | 1 behind |
| Denver | 2 behind |
| Los Angeles | 3 behind |
| London | 5 ahead (4 for a few weeks in spring and autumn) |
| Paris, Berlin | 6 ahead (5 for a few weeks in spring and autumn) |
| Dubai | 8 or 9 ahead |
| Mumbai | 9½ or 10½ ahead |
| Tokyo | 13 or 14 ahead |
| Sydney | 14 to 16 ahead |
Watch the minutes on cities with half-hour offsets. India runs on UTC+5:30, so when it's 9:00 in New York the Mumbai answer ends in :30, not :00.
Why the answer changes through the year
New York moves its clocks forward in March and back in November. Cities that never change their clocks, such as Tokyo, Dubai, Singapore and Mumbai, therefore sit one hour closer to New York in summer than in winter. Southern-hemisphere cities like Sydney and São Paulo run their seasons the other way round, so a gap you remembered in June can be two hours off by December. The daylight saving time guide has this year's exact change dates.
Streaks and sharing
Solve the puzzle on consecutive days to build a streak. Your streak is stored only in this browser on this device. When you solve a puzzle, the Share button copies your puzzle number, the number of guesses you used and your streak, without giving away the answer. To check a time difference outside the game, use the time zone converter or the world clock.
Frequently asked questions
How does the daily time zone puzzle work?
Each day the puzzle shows the time in New York and names a mystery city. You type what time you think it is in that city, in the form H:MM AM/PM, and get three guesses. A new puzzle appears at midnight, your local time.
What counts as a correct answer?
Any guess within 15 minutes of the real local time counts as correct. If you are within an hour but not within 15 minutes, you get a “close” hint so you can adjust your next guess.
Is it the same puzzle for everyone?
Yes. Everyone who plays on the same calendar date gets the same city and the same New York time, so you can compare results with friends.
How can I work out the time in another city quickly?
Learn how many hours each city is ahead of or behind New York, then add or subtract. For example, London is usually 5 hours ahead and Los Angeles 3 hours behind. Remember that the gap to cities that don’t use daylight saving time changes by an hour in March and November.
Where is my streak saved?
Only in your browser, on the device you play on. Nothing is sent to a server. Clearing your browser’s site data, or playing on a different device, starts a new streak.