What Is Stattogories? The Stats-Based Guessing Game Explained

Stattogories is a free collection of stats-based guessing games created by Gareth Evans, built on the classic "higher or lower" formula. Split into categories like IMDb (which movie has the higher score), Spotify (which song has been played more) and Google (what do people search more), it turns real-world data into addictive trivia showdowns. It is listed on Product Hunt as "fun web games for stats nerds."

Do not confuse it with Scattergories, the Hasbro party game about categories and letters — despite the similar name, they are completely unrelated. Stattogories is about numbers: every round asks you to compare two things and decide which one scores higher. This trivia game guide explains how it works, the categories on offer, and where to play it.

What Is Stattogories?

Stattogories is a group of browser games built around a single mechanic: you are shown two items and must guess which one has the higher number attached to it (Product Hunt). It is made by Gareth Evans, a developer who describes his work simply as "I make games using data" (Product Hunt).

The concept descends directly from the viral "Higher or Lower" game, but Stattogories organises the comparisons into themed categories, each drawing on a different real dataset:

• IMDb — which movie has the higher score?
• Spotify — which song has been played more?
• Google — what do people Google more?

The official site, stattogories.com, hosts the collection, and an Android version — listed on app stores under the package name com.stattogories as "The Higher or Lower Game" — brings the same trivia to mobile with leaderboards (apkpure.net, en.softonic.com).

According to the app's store description, the game now spans over 100 modes across subjects including movies, music, Google trends, geography, football and the NBA, with streak scoring and competitive play against friends and family.

How Stattogories Works

The rules could hardly be simpler, which is exactly why the format works:

1. Pick a category. Choose IMDb, Spotify, Google, or one of the many themed modes.
2. See two items. The game shows you two movies, two songs, two search terms — each with a hidden stat.
3. Guess higher or lower. Decide which of the two has the bigger number: the higher IMDb rating, the most Spotify streams, the most Google searches.
4. Build a streak. Get it right and your streak grows; get it wrong and the run ends. Keeping a high-score streak demands trivia knowledge, sound logic and a dash of luck.

There is no timer forcing instant answers in most modes, so you can reason your way through — comparing release years, cultural footprints and gut instinct. The tension comes from how often intuition is wrong: most players consistently overestimate recent hits and underestimate enduring classics.

The Categories in Detail

IMDb: Which Movie Has the Higher Score?

The flagship category for film fans. Two movies appear side by side — say, a beloved 90s classic versus a recent blockbuster — and you guess which carries the higher IMDb user rating. It is harder than it sounds: IMDb's top-rated lists are famously dominated by older films with passionate fanbases, so recency is a poor guide.

Spotify: Which Song Has Been Played More?

Music-streaming data powers this mode. You compare two tracks and guess which has more Spotify plays. Viral novelty songs, evergreen wedding-dance staples and genuine classics all collide here, and the results regularly surprise players who confuse "culturally important" with "most streamed".

Google: What Do People Google More?

This mode turns search trends into a game: which of two terms gets searched more on Google? It rewards awareness of the news cycle and pop culture rather than deep knowledge — during a major sporting event, for instance, the athlete's name will crush almost any rival.

Sports and Geography Modes

Beyond the big three, the Android app offers football, NBA and geography modes — which country has more people, which club has more trophies — plus a Metallica mode launched to celebrate the band's M72 world tour, letting fans test their knowledge of the band's discography and legacy (bravewords.com).

Mirror Versions

A mirror of the game also appears on portal sites such as foodlewordle.io/stattogories (foodlewordle.io). As with most Wordle-adjacent portals, these are unofficial listings — the canonical home is stattogories.com.

Stattogories vs Similar Games

Stattogories' edge is variety: instead of one dataset, it bundles dozens of "which is bigger" games under one roof, with streaks and leaderboards to keep score.

7 Tips for Winning at Stattogories

1. Think in eras, not favourites. Your personal taste is irrelevant — ask which item the wider public engages with more.
2. In IMDb mode, favour older acclaimed films. IMDb's highest-rated films skew heavily toward pre-2000 classics with devoted followings.
3. In Spotify mode, think weddings and playlists. Songs that live on permanent playlists (party anthems, first-dance staples) rack up enormous stream counts.
4. In Google mode, ride the news cycle. Whatever is dominating headlines this week is almost certainly out-searching everything else.
5. Beware the recency trap. A song or film that feels huge right now may have a fraction of the lifetime numbers of a quiet evergreen.
6. Use the streak as calibration. Early wrong answers reveal your biases — adjust for them in later rounds rather than repeating the same mistake.
7. Play the categories you know. A football fan will crush the NBA mode's rival about as well as a film buff handles Spotify — stick to your strong subjects for high scores.