🇰🇪 Kenya
A coral-stone Swahili civilisation on the coast, a Portuguese fort that changed hands nine times, and a railway that built a capital where there had been a swamp. Kenya's scenes range from Indian Ocean trade towns to the Rift Valley floor.
Kenya's collection needs 3 more rounds before it opens. These are live today.
Kenya splits into a hot coral coast, a high cool central plateau where the colonial farms and the capital are, and the Rift Valley with its soda lakes. Swahili coral architecture and colonial stone-and-iron are the two clearest built traditions.
Architecture
Coral-rag walls with carved wooden doors and inset plaster niches are Swahili, 1200–1900, and Lamu is the type site. Star-shaped stone bastions are Fort Jesus, 1593. Stone-and-timber buildings with deep verandas and iron roofs are settler-era Nairobi and Nakuru, 1900–1950.
Landscape
Flat-topped acacias over open grass with escarpments in the distance is the Rift. Pink flamingo rims on shallow lakes are Nakuru or Bogoria. Tea in bright green terraced blocks is the Kericho highlands; white sand with dhows is the coast north of Mombasa.
Period tells
Dhow rigs on the coast look the same for a thousand years — date the buildings instead. Railway infrastructure begins in 1896. Nairobi's glass towers and the Kenyatta International Conference Centre place a skyline after 1974.
A starting shortlist, oldest first. Every one of these makes a round that Kenyans can nail and everyone else has to work out.
Gedi, near MalindiMedieval
A coral-stone Swahili town with mosques, piped water and Chinese porcelain in its middens, abandoned by 1600 and swallowed by forest.
Mombasa IslandEarly modern
An Italian-designed Portuguese fort guarding the harbour; it changed hands nine times in three centuries.
Nairobi railheadThe long 19th century
A supply depot on swampy ground at mile 327 became the capital — the lion-plagued construction is legendary.
Aberdare forest and NairobiModern era
Eight years of insurgency and mass detention that made continued British rule untenable.
Uhuru Gardens, NairobiModern era
Independence at midnight on 12 December, with the flag raised on the site now marked by the monument.
Kenyan history touches medieval & renaissance, 19th century and the 20th century. Each of those eras has a timed round of its own — the same centuries, but questions drawn from every country in the library, so you find out whether you can date the rest of the period as confidently as you can date Kenya.
Medieval & Renaissance
Kenyan moments here: Gedi at its height (1300), Fort Jesus built (1593).
19th century
Kenyan moment here: The Uganda Railway reaches Nairobi (1899).
20th century
Kenyan moments here: The Mau Mau emergency declared (1952), Uhuru (1963).
Dates, order and places from the moments above. Answers are printed underneath — cover them with a hand if you want to test yourself, or read them out for a quiz round.
1.Gedi at its height — what year?
Answer1300
A coral-stone Swahili town with mosques, piped water and Chinese porcelain in its middens, abandoned by 1600 and swallowed by forest.
2.Fort Jesus built — what year?
Answer1593
An Italian-designed Portuguese fort guarding the harbour; it changed hands nine times in three centuries.
3.The Uganda Railway reaches Nairobi — what year?
Answer1899
A supply depot on swampy ground at mile 327 became the capital — the lion-plagued construction is legendary.
4.The Mau Mau emergency declared — what year?
Answer1952
Eight years of insurgency and mass detention that made continued British rule untenable.
5.Uhuru — what year?
Answer1963
Independence at midnight on 12 December, with the flag raised on the site now marked by the monument.
6.Which came first in Kenya — Gedi at its height or Fort Jesus built?
AnswerGedi at its height, in 1300.
Fort Jesus built follows in 1593, 293 years later.
7.Which came first in Kenya — the Uganda Railway reaches Nairobi or the Mau Mau emergency declared?
AnswerThe Uganda Railway reaches Nairobi, in 1899.
The Mau Mau emergency declared follows in 1952, 53 years later.
8.Where in Kenya would you drop the pin for Gedi at its height?
AnswerGedi, near Malindi
A coral-stone Swahili town with mosques, piped water and Chinese porcelain in its middens, abandoned by 1600 and swallowed by forest.
9.Where in Kenya would you drop the pin for Fort Jesus built?
AnswerMombasa Island
An Italian-designed Portuguese fort guarding the harbour; it changed hands nine times in three centuries.
10.How far apart are the oldest and newest Kenyan moments in this collection?
Answer663 years
From Gedi at its height in 1300 to Uhuru in 1963.
You don't need a photograph or a map reference. Name a moment — "Gedi at its height, Gedi, near Malindi" — and the builder fills in the year, drops the pin, writes the factoid and paints a 360° scene you can stand inside. Publish it and it joins this collection for everyone.
Step 1
One line is enough — an event, a place, a year you half-remember. Or let the AI draft five moments around a theme.
Step 2
The year, the exact coordinates and a one-sentence factoid come back filled in. Everything stays editable.
Step 3
A 4K 360° panorama of that place in that year, ready to spin around inside the game.
🇰🇪 Put your own scene on /play/kenya
Credits cover the AI: 1 to auto-fill a moment, 3 to draft five at once, 25 for each 4K panorama. Your map stays yours — you choose whether it's public, unlisted or private.
Moments Kenyans want to see in the game. Vote them up — the top of this list gets built next.
Each round drops you into a 360° scene from Kenya's past. Look around for clues — architecture, clothing, technology, landscape — then place the scene on the world map and pick the year. You score up to 5,000 points a round: closer in distance and closer in time both pay. Five rounds make a game.
No. You can play Kenyan rounds straight away with no sign-up. Signing in saves your XP, keeps your character progressing through history, and puts you on the leaderboards.
The collection spans 1300 to 1963 — from gedi at its height through to uhuru. New moments are added as the community suggests them.
Yes, completely free. There is no paywall on rounds, the daily challenge, or the leaderboards.
Yes — that's how the collection grows. Suggest any moment Kenyans would recognise instantly, like gedi at its height. Approved suggestions get built into playable 360° rounds and credited on the page.
Daily Challenge
Five fresh rounds every day, same for everyone.
History quizzes
Short quizzes across eras, empires and events.
Community maps
Panorama collections built by other players.
All game modes
Every free history game on the site, in one list.