How to play
Seven questions a day, each with many right answers. Being right is only the start: the fewer people who think of your answer, the deeper into Paatal you sink.
A dive, step by step
- Tap Begin descent. The first question opens and the clock starts.
- You have 25 seconds per question. Type any answer you think is right and press Dive.
- While your answer is being checked the clock stops, so a slow connection never costs you time.
- Not on the list? No penalty: the clock keeps running and you can try another answer as many times as you like.
- The moment an answer matches, you see how rare it is and sink by that many metres. Tap Descend for the next question.
- If time runs out, the rock held: 0 m for that question, and you move on to the next.
- After all 7, you see your total depth, the realm you reached, and where you stand among today's divers.
Rarity tiers, points and depth
Every right answer falls into one of six tiers, named for those who dwell in Paatal. Each point is 10 metres, so a perfect dive is 700 points, or 7,000 m.
- YakshaCommon answer10 pts · 100 m
- DaityaPopular answer15 pts · 150 m
- DanavaGood answer30 pts · 300 m
- NagaRare answer60 pts · 600 m
- NagarajaVery rare answer85 pts · 850 m
- NagamaniRarest answer100 pts · 1,000 m
Rarity starts as an informed estimate and is then shaped by what players actually answer. A day's tiers are fixed when that day begins, so everyone playing it is scored by the same rules.
The seven realms
You start on Bhuloka, the earth. Each realm below is 1,000 m deep; the further you sink, the deeper the realm you reach.
- अतल Atala0 mBala's realm of ninety-six illusions
- वितल Vitala1,000 mWhere the river Hataki runs gold
- सुतल Sutala2,000 mBali's realm, won by a promise
- तलातल Talatala3,000 mThe forge of Maya, the architect
- महातल Mahatala4,000 mThe nest of the many-hooded
- रसातल Rasatala5,000 mWhere the Daityas and Danavas keep to their holes
- पाताल Patala6,000 mVasuki's court, lit by hood-jewels
- शेष Shesha7,000 mBeneath it all, the thousand-hooded Shesha holds up the worlds
Typing your answer
- English, Hindi in Roman letters (“Mahakal”), or Devanagari (“महाकाल”): all three are understood.
- Small spelling slips, short forms and nicknames are accepted: “Dhoni”, “MSD” and “Mahi” are the same answer.
- Word order does not matter, and for longer names getting most of the words right is enough.
- If what you typed could mean more than one answer (just “Singh”, say), you will be asked to be more specific.
- Honorifics such as Shri, ji or Raja are fine either way.
One dive a day
- Everyone gets the same seven questions each day. A new dive opens at midnight, India time.
- Stopped halfway? Come back in the same browser and the dive picks up where you left it.
- At the end you can send your score card to WhatsApp as an image. It shows tiers, not answers, so nobody's game is spoiled.
A few tips
- The first answer that comes to mind comes to most minds. Pause, and reach for the right answer fewer people will remember.
- But watch the clock: any right answer beats coming back empty-handed.
- Wrong tries cost nothing, so if you are unsure, try it.