Cities · Puzzle #9 · Thursday, October 8
Cities: the board
Eight items, eight categories, one place each. Here is the board with every figure and where it comes from, and the best way to place them. Play today's Cities.
The categories
- Hot spot: 1 pt per 5°F of yearly average over 30°F
- Sprawl: 1 pt per doubling over 2 square miles
- Old town: 1 pt per doubling over 2 years old
- Known worldwide: 1 pt per 30 Wikipedia languages
- Packed in: 1 pt per doubling over 40 people per square mile
- High altitude: 1 pt per 500 ft above sea level
- Rainy: 1 pt per 8 inches of rain a year
- Most looked-up: 1 pt per 150,000 Wikipedia views in 2025
The best board
- Brisbane in Sprawl: covers 6,111 square miles (10.0)
- Chicago in Most looked-up: its Wikipedia article was read 2.29 million times in 2025 (10.0)
- Guangzhou in Rainy: gets 68 inches of rain a year (8.5)
- Seoul in Packed in: packs in 41,373 people per square mile (10.0)
- Vientiane in Hot spot: averages 79°F over the year (9.7)
- Delhi in Old town: was founded in 500 BC, 2,526 years ago (10.0)
- New York City in Known worldwide: Wikipedia has an article on it in 325 languages (10.0)
- Addis Ababa in High altitude: sits 7,726 ft above sea level (10.0)
The most this board could score: 78.2 of 80.
The lineup, figure by figure
Brisbane
Queensland, Australia
Photo: Chris Olszewski, CC BY-SA 4.0 - Hot spot
- averages 70°F over the year (8.0) Source: Wikipedia
- Sprawl
- covers 6,111 square miles (10.0) Source: Wikidata Q34932, P2046
- Old town
- was founded in 1824, 202 years ago (6.7) Source: Wikipedia
- Known worldwide
- Wikipedia has an article on it in 167 languages (5.6) Source: Wikipedia
- Packed in
- packs in 443 people per square mile (3.5) Source: Wikipedia
- High altitude
- sits 0 ft above sea level (0.0) Source: Wikidata Q34932, P2044
- Rainy
- gets 43 inches of rain a year (5.4) Source: Wikipedia
- Most looked-up
- its Wikipedia article was read 748,946 times in 2025 (5.0) Source: Wikimedia page views
Chicago
Illinois, USA
Photo: J. Crocker, Attribution - Hot spot
- averages 50°F over the year (3.9) Source: Wikipedia
- Sprawl
- covers 234 square miles (6.9) Source: Wikidata Q1297, P2046
- Old town
- was founded in 1837, 189 years ago (6.6) Source: Wikipedia
- Known worldwide
- Wikipedia has an article on it in 278 languages (9.3) Source: Wikipedia
- Packed in
- packs in 11,730 people per square mile (8.2) Source: Wikipedia
- High altitude
- sits 587 ft above sea level (1.2) Source: Wikidata Q1297, P2044
- Rainy
- gets 39 inches of rain a year (4.8) Source: Wikipedia
- Most looked-up
- its Wikipedia article was read 2.29 million times in 2025 (10.0) Source: Wikimedia page views
Guangzhou
Guangdong, China
Photo: Tim Wu, CC BY-SA 4.0 - Hot spot
- averages 73°F over the year (8.5) Source: Wikipedia
- Sprawl
- covers 2,799 square miles (10.0) Source: Wikidata Q16572, P2046
- Old town
- was founded in 214 BC, 2,240 years ago (10.0) Source: Wikipedia
- Known worldwide
- Wikipedia has an article on it in 171 languages (5.7) Source: Wikipedia
- Packed in
- packs in 4,674 people per square mile (6.9) Source: Wikipedia
- High altitude
- sits 69 ft above sea level (0.1) Source: Wikidata Q16572, P2044
- Rainy
- gets 68 inches of rain a year (8.5) Source: Wikipedia
- Most looked-up
- its Wikipedia article was read 1.04 million times in 2025 (6.9) Source: Wikimedia page views
Seoul
South Korea
Photo: 라성민, CC BY-SA 3.0 - Hot spot
- averages 52°F over the year (4.5) Source: Wikipedia
- Sprawl
- covers 234 square miles (6.9) Source: Wikidata Q8684, P2046
- Old town
- was founded in 1395, 631 years ago (8.3) Source: Wikipedia
- Known worldwide
- Wikipedia has an article on it in 259 languages (8.6) Source: Wikipedia
- Packed in
- packs in 41,373 people per square mile (10.0) Source: Wikipedia
- High altitude
- sits 125 ft above sea level (0.3) Source: Wikidata Q8684, P2044
- Rainy
- gets 49 inches of rain a year (6.1) Source: Wikipedia
- Most looked-up
- its Wikipedia article was read 1.01 million times in 2025 (6.7) Source: Wikimedia page views
Vientiane
Laos
Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0 - Hot spot
- averages 79°F over the year (9.7) Source: Wikipedia
- Sprawl
- covers 1,514 square miles (9.6) Source: Wikidata Q9326, P2046
- Old town
- was founded in 1560, 466 years ago (7.9) Source: Wikipedia
- Known worldwide
- Wikipedia has an article on it in 175 languages (5.8) Source: Wikipedia
- Packed in
- packs in 627 people per square mile (4.0) Source: Wikipedia
- High altitude
- sits 571 ft above sea level (1.1) Source: Wikidata Q9326, P2044
- Rainy
- gets 48 inches of rain a year (6.0) Source: Wikipedia
- Most looked-up
- its Wikipedia article was read 247,059 times in 2025 (1.6) Source: Wikimedia page views
Delhi
India
Photo: A.Savin, FAL - Hot spot
- averages 78°F over the year (9.6) Source: Wikipedia
- Sprawl
- covers 540 square miles (8.1) Source: Wikidata Q1353, P2046
- Old town
- was founded in 500 BC, 2,526 years ago (10.0) Source: Wikipedia
- Known worldwide
- Wikipedia has an article on it in 204 languages (6.8) Source: Wikipedia
- Packed in
- packs in 31,118 people per square mile (9.6) Source: Wikipedia
- High altitude
- sits 725 ft above sea level (1.4) Source: Wikidata Q1353, P2044
- Rainy
- gets 30 inches of rain a year (3.7) Source: Wikipedia
- Most looked-up
- its Wikipedia article was read 1.28 million times in 2025 (8.5) Source: Wikimedia page views
New York City
New York, USA
Photo: Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 - Hot spot
- averages 54°F over the year (4.8) Source: Wikipedia
- Sprawl
- covers 469 square miles (7.9) Source: Wikidata Q60, P2046
- Old town
- was founded in 1624, 402 years ago (7.7) Source: Wikipedia
- Known worldwide
- Wikipedia has an article on it in 325 languages (10.0) Source: Wikipedia
- Packed in
- packs in 18,793 people per square mile (8.9) Source: Wikipedia
- High altitude
- sits 82 ft above sea level (0.2) Source: Wikidata Q60, P2044
- Rainy
- gets 52 inches of rain a year (6.5) Source: Wikipedia
- Most looked-up
- its Wikipedia article was read 5.53 million times in 2025 (10.0) Source: Wikimedia page views
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Photo: DaneyWiki, CC BY-SA 4.0 - Hot spot
- averages 61°F over the year (6.2) Source: Wikipedia
- Sprawl
- covers 204 square miles (6.7) Source: Wikidata Q3624, P2046
- Old town
- was founded in 1886, 140 years ago (6.1) Source: Wikipedia
- Known worldwide
- Wikipedia has an article on it in 200 languages (6.7) Source: Wikipedia
- Packed in
- packs in 28,033 people per square mile (9.5) Source: Wikipedia
- High altitude
- sits 7,726 ft above sea level (10.0) Source: Wikidata Q3624, P2044
- Rainy
- gets 43 inches of rain a year (5.3) Source: Wikipedia
- Most looked-up
- its Wikipedia article was read 603,742 times in 2025 (4.0) Source: Wikimedia page views
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