Historic Firsts

Historic Firsts disguises itself as a daily paper, all the way: a banner reading “ALL THE FIRSTS FIT TO PRINT”, a numbered and dated edition, a colophon at the bottom of the page and the old “-30-” of newsrooms to close each block. The game itself fits on a single timeline: six cards arrive in your draw pile, six slots wait, from the oldest at the OLDEST marker to the most recent toward NEWEST. A card is flipped to deliver its story, and a TRIES counter watches your submissions next to the SUBMIT button.

1. Take a card from the draw pile and place it in a slot on the timeline, with the oldest in 1 and the most recent in 6.
2. Flip a card to learn more before placing it.
3. Adjust: on the keyboard, a placed card moves with the arrow keys or by pressing 1 to 6, and Delete sends it back to the draw pile.
4. Lock in your order with SUBMIT. Three incorrect submissions and the edition closes until the next day.

The styling isn't mere varnish: by calling its rounds editions and its players readers, the game has you arrange the history of inventions as if closing a front page. And the three-submission constraint, applied to a complete order of six cards, turns each submission into a real commitment rather than a flail of trial-and-error.

The board keeps a TRIES counter stuck to the SUBMIT button, and the rule is written black on white: three incorrect submissions close the edition until the next day.

Today's Edition

A numbered, dated edition per day, six cards.

Back editions

Previous editions remain accessible from the footer.

Night Edition

Appearance toggle offered in the footer; the browser remembers the choice, light by default.

• The keyboard is by far the fastest route: a selected card from the draw pile is placed by simply typing its slot number, 1 to 6, without ever dragging with the mouse.
• Flip the cards before you decide. The back tells the find, and it often distinguishes between two “firsts” that the front leaves indistinct.
• Only three submissions, for a full order each time. Don't submit just to test a hunch on a single pair: you pay the same price as for a considered answer.