The six rarity tiers
Every accepted answer is sorted into a tier when the sheet is written, and each tier pays a fixed number of points: krillion 100 (1,000 m), deep cut 85 (850 m), rare 60 (600 m), schooler 30 (300 m), too clever 15 (150 m), plankton 10 (100 m). One point is ten metres of depth, so a perfect seven-answer sheet reaches 7,000 m. Across the 6 tiers we have archived 5,045 answers in total; the counts below cover every day we have archived.
| Tier | Points | Depth | Answers archived | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KrillionOne in a krillion: the rarest tier. | 100 | 1,000 m | 12 | 0.2% |
| Deep cutMost of the sheet lands here. | 85 | 850 m | 4,310 | 85.4% |
| RareUncommon answers. | 60 | 600 m | 557 | 11% |
| SchoolerAnswers plenty of players give. | 30 | 300 m | 120 | 2.4% |
| Too cleverClever, but too many players said it. | 15 | 150 m | 2 | <0.1% |
| PlanktonThe obvious answer, down at the seabed. | 10 | 100 m | 44 | 0.9% |
A tier describes the answer, not how well you did: the tier is written into the answer set before anyone plays, so the same answer pays the same points at 09:00 and at 23:00. Being a showcase gem is separate from landing in the top tier, and a gem can sit a tier or two lower when that prompt has nothing rarer.