HoopRecall is a free NBA player guessing game. You are shown a real player's career stats table — seasons, teams, minutes, field-goal percentage, rebounds, assists, and more — and you have 3 guesses to identify who it is.
If you get stuck, you can reveal optional hints: Draft Year, College, Height, or PPG. Using hints costs you XP but keeps the round alive.
Every player you correctly identify is permanently added to your collection book. Each player has one of five rarity tiers based on how recognizable they are:
| Rarity | Difficulty | Example type |
|---|---|---|
| Common | Rookie | Superstars, instantly recognizable |
| Rare | Pro | All-Stars and near-All-Stars |
| Epic | All-Star | Solid starters and role veterans |
| Legendary | Superstar | Rotation regulars, hardcore fans know |
| Mythic | Hall of Fame | Deep cuts, NBA sicko territory |
Your collection persists using cloud sync (with a free account) or browser storage for anonymous play. Rarer cards contribute more Collection Power (CP).
Collection Power (CP) is a score that reflects the quality and depth of your collection. Each rarity contributes a different CP value:
- Common → 1 CP
- Rare → 3 CP
- Epic → 10 CP
- Legendary → 30 CP
- Mythic → 100 CP
CP is one of the five global leaderboard categories. A player with fewer total cards but more Mythics can outrank a player with a larger Common-heavy collection.
Every day a single player is chosen as the Daily Challenge — the same player for all users worldwide, selected from the Common/Rare/Epic pool (approachable difficulty).
You get 3 guesses and up to 3 hints. The first completion of each day awards a full Daily XP bonus. Replaying the same day awards a small participation token only, so there's no infinite XP farming.
Your Daily Calendar tracks wins and losses for the last 30 days and lets you replay any of them.
Every player has an archetype — a label generated from their career stats that describes their playing style or legacy. Examples: 3&D Wing, Floor General, Cardio King, Vibes Veteran, Corner Specialist.
Archetypes come in four visual tiers shown on the reveal card:
- Common — standard label (white)
- Rare — cult/community archetypes (purple)
- Roast — funny or ironic labels (orange)
- Ultra Rare — the deepest cuts (gold shimmer)
Rarer archetypes show a special callout on the reveal card and may award additional XP.
The global leaderboard ranks all signed-in players across five categories:
- Total XP — overall progression
- Best Unlimited Streak — longest consecutive win streak
- Collection Power — weighted collection depth
- Mythic Count — rarest card tier collected
- Best Daily Streak — longest consecutive daily completion
A free account is required to appear on the leaderboard and sync progress across devices. Anonymous play is fully supported but stays local to your browser.
Badges are achievements unlocked by reaching gameplay milestones — first win, 5-game streak, collecting a Mythic, completing 7 Daily Challenges, and many more. Some badges are hidden and only revealed once you discover them.
Titles are earned by leveling up or unlocking specific badges, and are displayed under your name on the leaderboard. Examples: Rotation Piece (Level 3), Sixth Man (Level 10), NBA Sicko (Level 75).
Borders, banners, and profile icons are cosmetics that style your profile card, also unlocked through XP and badges. Nothing is sold.
In Unlimited Mode you choose a specific difficulty tier:
- Rookie (Common) — superstars, instantly recognizable
- Pro (Rare) — All-Stars and near-All-Stars
- All-Star (Epic) — strong starters
- Superstar (Legendary) — rotation regulars
- Hall of Fame (Mythic) — deep cuts, real NBA sicko knowledge required
- Random — mix of all five tiers
The Daily Challenge always uses Common/Rare/Epic players to stay accessible.
Yes. HoopRecall is completely free with no in-app purchases, no ads, and no subscriptions. A free optional account lets you sync progress across devices and appear on global leaderboards. Anonymous play requires no sign-up at all.
Collection Sets are themed groups of players — such as NBA Nomads (journeymen), Forgotten Stars, NBA Sicko Tier, Y2K Era, or Sixth Man Club. Progress toward each set is tracked automatically as you collect players whose career fits the theme.
Some sets are secret — they're hidden until you make enough progress to reveal them. Completing a set is a significant milestone and counts toward badge unlocks.