About Per Capita
A daily game about why totals lie.
The biggest country tops almost every ranking by total: the most steel, the most carbon, the most gold medals. Mostly because it has the most people. A total tells you how big something is. It doesn’t tell you how much any one person has, makes or emits.
Per Capita puts you in the gap between the two. Five rounds, about two minutes, a new set every day.
How to play
- Start from the totals. Each round gives you five countries, already in order of a raw total such as steel production. You see the ranking, not the numbers.
- Reframe it. Drag them into the order you think they’d rank per person. You’ll have to guess at two things at once: how much each country produces, and how many people share it.
- Reveal. Now the numbers appear: each country’s total, its population and its per-person figure, plus how far it climbed or fell. A short note explains why.
- Score. Each country earns 2 points for the exact slot and 1 for one slot off. That’s 10 a round, 50 a day.
Leaving it alone is a real answer. If you think the totals already tell the story, tap “Lock it in — no changes”. Sometimes they do.
Four ways to move a country
- Drag the grip on the left of a row.
- Tap ▲ or ▼ on a row to nudge it one place.
- Tap, then tap. Tap a row’s grip to select it, then tap the row it should replace.
- Keyboard. Tab to a row, then use the arrow keys (Home and End jump to the ends). Space selects and places; Escape cancels.
Changed your mind before Reveal? “Back to total order” starts the round over.
A worked example
Say the true per-person order is A, B, C, D, E, and you submit A, C, B, D, E. A, D and E are exactly right (2 points each). B and C are each one slot off (1 point each). That’s 8 out of 10: you swapped one pair, and the score says so.
Why “per capita”?
It’s Latin for “by heads”: a number divided by the number of people. Dividing by population is called normalizing, and it’s how you compare things of different sizes fairly. It’s the same move behind GDP per person, or crime and disease rates “per 100,000”.
Neither number is the truth
Totals and per-person figures answer different questions. Total emissions are what the atmosphere feels. Per-person emissions show how much each resident’s way of life adds. A big total can come from a big population, from heavy industry, or from both.
Per Capita doesn’t tell you which number to trust. It asks you to notice which one you’re looking at.
Where the data comes from
Every round uses one statistic, from one year, from one named source. The reveal prints that source and year, along with the source for population, so you can check our work.
- Per-person figures are calculated from the totals and populations, never typed in by hand.
- Numbers are rounded for display only. The order always uses the full figures.
- Every figure is checked against its source before a round goes live, and we skip any round where two countries are too close to call.
Quick answers
When does a new game appear?
Every day at midnight, your local time.
Can I replay, or play past days?
Once you’ve finished, the day is locked, but you can look back over each round. Past days aren’t available yet.
Do I need an account?
No. There are no accounts and no ads. Your progress is saved in your browser, on your device. See the privacy note.
Can I play without dragging?
Yes. Per Capita is designed so every move works with buttons, taps or a keyboard. Moves are announced for screen readers, and reduced-motion settings are respected.
Can I share my score?
After round 5. The share text is spoiler-free: your scores and the date, never the answers.
Teaching with it?
Per Capita works as a five-minute data-literacy warm-up. See the page for teachers for a classroom routine and discussion prompts.
Who makes it
Per Capita is made by Minor Works. Minor Works is a Boston-based indie studio making small games, quiet tools, and experimental projects.
More games from the studio: