Tap the game to open it fullscreen. On a computer, Esc exits; on a phone, use the ✕ button.

How to play

You dig a plot in Jórvík, in York. Tap a square to dig. The number tells how many fragile layers lie in the neighbouring squares. Breaking a fragile layer costs one damage, and the third damage halts the dig. Dig all 50 safe squares. The button below switches between digging and marking.

The story behind it

At Coppergate, in York, the 1976–81 excavations revealed houses and workshops of Viking Jórvík. The fragile layers in the game are made up. Read the story in Jórvík: Viking York and the Coppergate excavation that found houses, crafts and even what the residents ate.