The six answer tiers
After you submit, Krillion shows which tier your answer landed in. These are the tiers and points shown in the game:
| Tier | Points | Depth gained | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plankton | 10 | 100 m | The obvious answer most players give. |
| Too clever | 15 | 150 m | The "obscure" pick that lots of players reach for — see what "too clever" means. |
| Schooler | 30 | 300 m | A valid answer a fair share of players also find. |
| Rare | 60 | 600 m | Genuinely uncommon. |
| Deep cut | 85 | 850 m | Very few players find it. |
| One in a Krillion | 100 | 1,000 m | The featured answer for that prompt. |
Depth is simply your total points × 10 m, so the depth gauge and the score always move together.
What happens when you answer
- 25-second clock per prompt. A short countdown runs before the clock starts.
- Invalid answer: if your answer isn't in the answer set, the game says it found "no echo" and lets you try again — but the clock keeps running.
- Time runs out: the prompt scores 0 ("nothing landed") and you move on.
- Real example (from an Unlimited dive, not a daily): for "Name a noodle dish", khao soi landed as Rare (+60). For "Name a species of great ape", gorilla was Plankton (+10).
How rarity is decided
According to the game's FAQ, each prompt's answer set is built by merging sources such as dictionaries, wiki pages and encyclopedias. Rarity is scored either against a familiarity database of how often a word or name appears in writing, or with AI assistance plus manual review, depending on the prompt. The "One in a Krillion" answer isn't simply the rarest — it is chosen to be satisfying and something at least a few players actually get.
What's a good Krillion score?
At the end of each dive Krillion rates your total. These are the bands the game uses:
| Total points | End-of-dive rating | Depth reached |
|---|---|---|
| 0–150 | Plankton | up to 1,500 m |
| 151–250 | Schooler | 1,510–2,500 m |
| 251–350 | Rare | 2,510–3,500 m |
| 351–449 | Deep cut | 3,510–4,490 m |
| 450+ | One in a Krillion | 4,500 m and deeper |
So a "good" daily dive is anything in the Rare band or above (251+), and 450 points earns the top rating — you don't need a perfect 700. Seven Plankton answers give only 70 points; swapping a few of them for Schooler (30) or Rare (60) answers is the quickest way up.
Rating bands as used by the game at krillion.io, checked on 2026-10-08.