How to Play Emoji Timeline — Who Came First? 📅🔢🏆

Most people know emojis but very few people know the history of emojis. Emoji Timeline tests exactly that hidden knowledge: when you see five familiar emoji characters displayed out of order, can you arrange them from the one released longest ago to the one released most recently? It is a game about emoji archaeology.

How Unicode Versioning Works

Every emoji is tied to a specific Unicode version — the technical standard maintained by the Unicode Consortium that governs how characters are encoded across all digital systems. Early versions like Unicode 6.0 (released 2010) introduced a relatively small set of 722 emoji. Later versions expanded rapidly:

• Unicode 6.0 (2010) — the founding batch: smileys, basic animals, food, weather
• Unicode 7.0 (2014) — added sports, flags, new symbols
• Unicode 8.0 (2015) — middle finger, taco, unicorn; racially diverse skin tones
• Unicode 9.0 (2016) — selfie, face palm, avocado, bacon
• Unicode 10.0 (2017) — T-Rex, zombie, mind blown, exploding head
• Unicode 11.0 (2018) — lobster, bagel, softball, kangaroo
• Unicode 12.0 (2019) — otter, sloth, waffle, guide dog
• Unicode 13.0 (2020) — bubble tea, smiling face with tear, pinched fingers
• Unicode 14.0 (2021) — coral, biting lip, empty nest, melting face

When emojis from very different eras are grouped together, the ordering is more obvious. When emojis come from adjacent Unicode versions (e.g. 12.0 and 13.0), the challenge becomes genuinely hard.

The Rules

Each round shows 5 emojis displayed in a random order. Your job is to rearrange them into correct chronological order — oldest Unicode version first, newest last. You interact by clicking or dragging the emoji cards into your chosen sequence, then submitting.

There are 5 rounds per session. Each correctly ordered pair scores points; a fully correct sequence scores maximum for that round.

Why Order Matters

Beyond the game, understanding emoji release order reveals fascinating cultural history. The fact that 🍕 pizza (Unicode 8.0, 2015) predates 🥑 avocado (Unicode 9.0, 2016) by just one version mirrors exactly how both foods moved through mainstream internet culture. The 🦖 T-Rex arriving in 2017 tracks with the Jurassic World sequel release window. Emoji history is cultural history.

Knowing even rough era buckets — "early 2010s emojis look simpler and more universal", "late 2010s emojis get more niche and culturally specific" — gives you a strong mental model to work from.

Tips for Getting the Order Right

Use visual complexity as a clue. Older emojis tend to represent universal, simple concepts (heart, sun, smiley face). Newer emojis are often more niche or culturally specific (boba tea, flatbread, anatomical heart).

Food emojis tell a story. Basic foods (apple, burger, pizza) came early. Trendy foods (avocado, taco, dumpling, bubble tea) arrived in waves that mirror food culture trends.

Technology emojis lag. Emojis representing technology (smartphone, computer, headphones) tend to appear in mid-range versions; very niche tech (VR headset, satellite) arrives later.

When in doubt, go common sense. If one emoji represents something that existed and was culturally relevant before the internet existed (e.g. 🌙 moon, 🌊 wave) and another represents a 2010s internet trend (🦋 or 🧋), the former is almost certainly older.

Play and Learn

Emoji Timeline is one of the most educational games on Emojar because every incorrect answer teaches you something real about Unicode history. Head to Emoji Timeline and see how well you know your emoji history. For another knowledge-testing game, try the Older or Newer game guide.