Reading Height and Age Arrows
Updated Oct 28, 2026
Height and age are the two numeric columns in Guess the Player, and they are where most rounds are won or lost. Each shows a value, a colour and, unless the cell is green, an arrow. Once you know exactly what the arrow and the colour mean together, you can narrow the answer much faster than by guessing from memory.
What the arrow means
The arrow points toward the answer. An up arrow means the mystery player has a higher value than your guess, so they are taller or older. A down arrow means a lower value: shorter or younger. When a cell is green the value matches exactly and there is no arrow at all.
A frequent mix-up is to read the arrow as describing your guess, as in the guess is tall. It is the other way round. The arrow is a direction to travel from your guess to reach the answer.
What the colours add
The colour tells you how far to travel. Height is yellow when your guess is within 5 cm of the answer. Age is yellow when your guess is within 2 years. Anything farther is red, and green means exact.
Put the colour and the arrow together. A red up arrow on height means the answer is taller by more than 5 cm, so jump a long way. A yellow up arrow means the answer is taller but by 5 cm or less, so take a small step.
A worked example
Suppose you guess a player who is 188 cm tall and get a red up arrow. The answer is at least 6 cm taller, so 194 cm or more. You then guess a 201 cm player and get a yellow down arrow. The answer is shorter than 201 cm but within 5 cm of it, which gives a window from 196 to 200 cm. Combine the two results and the height is pinned to between 196 and 200 cm in two guesses.
Age works the same way with a smaller window. A yellow up arrow on age means the answer is 1 or 2 years older than your guess, since an exact match would have been green.
Reading both columns together
Height and age are independent, so every guess is a chance to improve both. Look for a player whose height falls inside your current window and whose age falls inside your age window. A guess that fits both brackets can either win or cut each range in half.
When the two columns disagree about how close you are, say a yellow height and a red age, spend the next guess on the column that is still wide. Do not keep polishing the one you already have almost pinned.
When you have to choose, spend the next guess on whichever column still has the wider window, and use the remaining guesses to close the other one.
Common mistakes
The biggest mistake is ignoring old information. Keep the tightest lower and upper bound you have seen for each column and make sure every new guess fits inside them. The second is chasing a single arrow. A guess that fits only the height bracket might waste a row if it falls outside the age window.
Practice mode is a good place to rehearse this. The grading is identical to the daily puzzle, and no streak is at risk.
A third mistake is rounding. Heights are shown in centimetres and ages in whole years, so use the exact numbers instead of thinking taller than six feet. The windows of 5 cm and 2 years are fixed, which makes the arithmetic reliable once you stop estimating.
FAQ
- Does an up arrow mean my guess was too tall?
- No. An up arrow means the answer is taller or older than your guess.
- How close is yellow?
- Within 5 cm for height and within 2 years for age.
- Why is there no arrow on a green cell?
- Green means an exact match, so there is nowhere left to travel.