The game
How to score higher in Thin AirSeven practical strategies for finding rarer answers inside the 25-second clock, from going one step sideways to using what the category rewards.How a Thin Air prompt gets madeFrom a broad idea to a checked prompt with thousands of rated answers: how Thin Air builds, tests and schedules its questions.Rarity without a crowdHow Thin Air decides how rare an answer is without using other players: obviousness, word frequency, a chosen summit and worked examples.Streaks, the Eastern clock and the archiveWhy Thin Air uses one clock for everyone, how streaks work, and what counts when you replay a past flight.Playing at your own paceMore time, reduced motion, sound and keyboard play: how to set Thin Air up so it works for you.Why “say what nobody else would” worksThe idea behind Thin Air: why games about uncommon answers are fun, what makes a good prompt, and what we are trying to build.
Category guides
Food and drink prompts: how to find rare answersStrategy for food and drink prompts in Thin Air: cuisines, cooking stages, regional dishes and the kitchen-cupboard trick for answers most players miss.Animal prompts: beyond the obvious zooHow to score well on animal prompts in Thin Air: habitats, young and male/female names, extinct and regional species, and thinking in groups instead of single animals.Geography prompts: countries, cities, rivers and landmarksTips for geography prompts in Thin Air: using continents, neighbours and capitals to find uncommon but valid places.Pop culture prompts: films, music, TV and gamesHow to approach pop-culture prompts in Thin Air: decades, genres, side characters and the difference between famous and first-to-mind.Everyday-life prompts: the things you use without noticingHow to answer 'something you would find in...' and similar everyday prompts in Thin Air by imagining a room, a day or a person.Famous people and sport promptsHow to approach famous-person and sport prompts in Thin Air: eras, countries, roles and the difference between a household name and a first answer.
Technique
When your mind goes blank: twelve ways to get unstuckA practical toolkit for the moments in Thin Air when no answer comes: letters, senses, people, places and the 'two-second rule'.Ten-minute word-game warm-upsSimple, screen-free warm-ups that help you think of rarer answers: category sprints, odd-one-out and the notebook habit.
Troubleshooting
Social play
Playing Thin Air with friends and familyIdeas for playing Thin Air together: comparing results, house rules, a group chat routine and a way to play the same prompt around a table.Using Thin Air in the classroomIdeas for teachers and tutors: using Thin Air prompts for vocabulary, categorisation, discussion and warm-ups, without accounts or sign-ups.How to share your flightWhat Thin Air's share text and image contain, why answers are never included, and how assisted runs are marked.
Reference
Thin Air glossaryEvery term used in Thin Air explained in plain English: summit, tarmac, vacuum, grounded, altitude, streak, assisted, archive and more.Data sources and creditsWhere Thin Air's answer lists, word frequencies, fonts and art come from, how we check them and where the limits are.What’s new in Thin AirA dated list of changes to Thin Air: new modes, features, content and fixes, newest first.What our answer lists show about being unusualReal numbers from Thin Air's own rated answer lists: how big the obvious pile is, how much of a list is rare, and what that means for playing.
New here?
Start with how to play, then try today’s flight. Past days are free in the past flights archive.