What is the best Krillion strategy?

Skip your first idea, then name something specific. In the official answer lists most accepted answers are Deep Cuts worth 85 points, and on a typical prompt only around 20 answers are Plankton or Schooler, so avoiding the obvious matters more than finding the single perfect answer.

How do you get 100 points in Krillion?

Only the hand-picked One in a Krillion answer is worth 100 points, and each prompt usually has just one or two of them. You cannot plan for it; a Deep Cut at 85 points is the realistic target.

Are longer answers better in Krillion?

Usually, yes. In most recent prompts we checked, the typical Deep Cut had more letters than the typical Plankton answer, because full names, sub-types and multi-word answers turn up less often in everyday reading and writing, which is how Krillion judges rarity.

What should I do if I cannot think of an answer?

Type something that fits before the timer runs out. If an answer is refused you can keep guessing while the clock runs; the first accepted answer locks in, and even the most obvious one scores 10 points.

Krillion Tips: How to Find Rare Answers, Backed by Real Data

By the Krillion Daily team · October 7, 2026

The best Krillion tips are simple: skip the obvious, get specific, and never leave a prompt blank. Instead of repeating generic trivia advice, we went through the official answer lists from recent Daily Dives and counted where every accepted answer lands. The numbers explain why some players sink to 5,000 m while others stall near the surface — and they point to six habits you can use in tomorrow’s dive. If you are new to the game, start with how to play Krillion for the rules and tier table.

What the Krillion answer data shows

We looked at the last 7 completed Daily Dives, #77 to #83: 49 prompts and 92,211 accepted answers. (Today’s dive is left out, so nothing here spoils it.) Three findings stand out:

92% of all accepted answers are Deep Cuts, worth 85 points each. The middle prompt accepted 336 answers.
The crowded zone is small. On the median prompt only 71 answers scored below Deep Cut (Plankton, Schooler, Too Clever and Rare combined). Everything else on the list was worth 85 or 100.
Deep Cuts are longer. On 42 of 49 prompts, the typical Deep Cut had more letters than the typical Plankton answer, and 80% of Deep Cuts were multi-word answers versus 25% of Plankton answers.

In other words, Krillion is less about finding the one perfect answer and more about stepping out of a small crowd of common ones. That is good news: you do not need encyclopaedic knowledge, just discipline.

1. Your first idea is everyone’s first idea

Plankton (10 points) is the answer almost everyone types, and it is usually the first one that pops into your head — because it popped into everyone else’s head too. For “Name a form of pay a worker can receive” in Dive #83, the Plankton answers were Bonus, Commission, Overtime, Salary, Tips, Wage. Deep Cuts on the same prompt included Prevailing wage, Neighboring rights royalties, EMI options, Supplemental unemployment benefits, Clinical excellence award. Treat your first thought as a signpost, not an answer: notice it, then deliberately move away from it.

A quick routine that works: think of the obvious answer, then ask “what is next to it that people forget?” — the sequel instead of the original, the neighbour instead of the famous country, the B-side instead of the hit.

2. Go specific: full names and sub-types sink deeper

The length gap in the data has a simple explanation: the obvious answers are short, generic words, while the deep end of every list is full of full names, sub-types and multi-word titles. When a prompt allows it, name a particular variety, model, edition or full title rather than the umbrella term. Specific answers are also less familiar overall, and Krillion scores rarity by how familiar an answer is, not by how fast you type it.

One caution: specific still has to be on the official list. The lists are built from reference sources, so real, checkable names work better than invented combinations. If an answer is refused, the game lets you try again while the clock runs.

3. Read the size of the list before you aim

Not every prompt is an open ocean. Some are closed lists — “name a country whose name ends in N” — where there simply are not many valid answers. In our sample, 7 of 49 prompts accepted fewer than 100 answers, and the smallest, “Name a country whose name ends in an "ee" sound (like Italy)”, accepted just 18, including 2 Deep Cuts and 8 Rare.

On closed lists, chasing a Deep Cut can cost you the whole prompt. A safe Rare (60 points) that you are sure is valid often beats a guess that gets refused until time runs out. On open lists — animals, bands, brands, foods — the opposite is true: almost anything unusual is a Deep Cut, so be bold. For category-specific advice, see our guides to Krillion geography, Krillion sports and movie prompts.

4. Don’t fear the Too Clever trap — but know it exists

Too Clever (15 points) is the answer that feels obscure but is everyone’s go-to “obscure” pick. It is famous, but it is rare in the data: across these 49 prompts, only 1 answer was marked Too Clever. So don’t let it scare you away from unusual answers. Just be wary of the textbook trivia example — the one a quiz show or a viral post has already made famous. Our Too Clever page shows recent real examples.

5. Use all 25 seconds — and never time out

Each prompt gives you 25 seconds, and a refused answer is not a penalty: you can keep typing until the timer ends. The first accepted answer locks in, though, so do your thinking before you hit enter. Use the first few seconds to discard the obvious, the next few to find something specific, and keep a fallback ready. Even the most obvious accepted answer scores 10 points, which is always better than nothing. If the clock is nearly out, type the safest valid answer you have.

6. Train between dives

The official Daily Dive is once a day, so the fastest way to improve is to practise the same skill elsewhere and learn which answers the crowd reaches for.

Play Krillion Unlimited, our free unofficial practice mode with original prompts and no daily limit.
Before you dive, glance at spoiler-free hints — answer counts and letter patterns tell you whether a prompt is open or closed.
After you dive, read yesterday’s Krillion answers. Seeing the Plankton and Deep Cut lists side by side is the quickest way to calibrate what “obvious” means.

A 25-second checklist

Read the prompt and its qualifiers (“ends in N”, “in the comics”, “present-day”).
Name the obvious answer in your head — and skip it.
Ask whether the list is open or closed; on closed lists, settle for a sure Rare.
Go specific: a full name, a sub-type, a lesser-known member of the set.
If refused, try again; with five seconds left, type your safest answer.

The statistics above are recalculated from the official answer lists as new dives are published. Krillion Daily is an unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with Krillion.