Tyrion Lannister IQ

Tyrion Lannister's IQ is about 150 (range 140 to 158): the sharpest political and tactical mind on the board for much of the story, but an emotional decision-maker when it counts.

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Key facts

Estimated IQ
IQ 150
Range
140 to 158
Compare with
Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger), Shikamaru Nara, Erwin Smith and Albus Dumbledore
Confidence
Medium. A fair amount of evidence, with some gaps.
Franchise
Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire. A Song of Ice and Fire novels and the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011 to 2019)

Fan analysis by the LifeScore Editorial Team, reviewed September 2026. Contains major spoilers. How we estimate

What is Tyrion Lannister's IQ?

Tyrion is the clever one in a family of powerful people, and the story lets him prove it. He wins a trial by combat without touching a sword, catches a spy on the small council with a trap that costs him nothing, and helps break Stannis's fleet at the Blackwater. What holds the estimate at exceptional is a pattern of choices made from hurt: he is outmanoeuvred by his father and sister, and makes his worst decisions in anger.

Adult.

How they score

Six ratings out of ten, each based on what is shown on the page or screen. They show how the estimate is built; they are not averaged into it.

DeductionSolving new problems from thin information
7/10
StrategyMulti-step plans that account for other minds
8/10
KnowledgeDepth and breadth of what they know
8/10
InventionBuilding or devising something genuinely new
5/10
AdaptabilityRecovering when the plan breaks
8/10
Reading peopleUnderstanding what other people want and will do
9/10

Scene-by-scene evidence

  1. Trial by combat in the Vale

    Moderate evidence

    A Game of Thrones / Game of Thrones season 1

    Falsely accused by Lysa Arryn, Tyrion demands trial by combat, and Bronn fights as his champion and wins. It is a quick use of the law: the demand turns a contest of power into a contest of skill and money, and Tyrion has both a friend and the coin to pay him. He is a dwarf with no sword arm who beats a jury of enemies by changing the rules of the room. He tries the same trick again after the Joffrey trial, and the second time it fails.

  2. Turning the hill clans into an army

    Moderate evidence

    A Game of Thrones / Game of Thrones season 1

    On the way back from the Vale, Tyrion bargains with the hill clansmen, offering weapons and silver in return for fighting for the Lannisters against Robb Stark's army. Getting men who would happily have killed him to become his own force is negotiation built on reading what other people value, and on knowing what he can afford to promise. It sets up the pattern of his career: using other people's needs to steer their instincts.

  3. Governing as Hand

    Moderate evidence

    A Clash of Kings / Game of Thrones season 2

    Sent by Tywin to run King's Landing in Joffrey's name, Tyrion consolidates power, removes supporters of Cersei and tries to rein in the king. He does this in a city where he has few natural allies and a reputation that works against him. It is not the flashiest evidence, but reading a court and rearranging it quickly is a skill he shows more consistently than any other, and few of his rivals manage even that.

  4. Three lies to find the spy

    Strong evidence

    A Clash of Kings / Game of Thrones season 2

    Tyrion tells Pycelle, Varys and Littlefinger three different plans for the royal children, including sending Myrcella to Dorne. When Cersei confronts him with the Dorne plan, which only Pycelle heard, he knows who has been reporting to her, and Pycelle is thrown in the dungeons. It is a clean information trap that costs him nothing, and it is the best single example of his cleverness about people rather than places.

  5. Defending the city at the Blackwater

    Strong evidence

    A Clash of Kings / Game of Thrones season 2

    With Stannis approaching by sea, Tyrion has a great chain stretched across the mouth of the Blackwater Rush and prepares ships loaded with wildfire. Once the enemy is inside the trap, the chain is raised and the wildfire ignites, destroying much of Stannis's fleet, and Tywin's arrival finishes the day. Coordinating a lure, a weapon and the closing of the river at the right moment is difficult, and Tyrion did it with limited resources and a hostile court.

What holds the number down

  1. Killing Shae and Tywin

    A Storm of Swords / Game of Thrones season 4

    After his trial, Tyrion kills Shae in anger and shoots his father with a crossbow, in the books and the series alike. Both acts are the product of anger and grief, not calculation, and they end his life in King's Landing. A planner this good should have found a route out that did not depend on killing.

  2. The second trial by combat

    A Storm of Swords / Game of Thrones season 4

    Accused of murdering Joffrey, Tyrion again demands trial by combat. Oberyn Martell fights for him and dies against Gregor Clegane, and Tyrion is condemned. For a man who normally sees the next move, he was a step behind the people who arranged the case, which is unusual for him.

  3. Advising Daenerys

    Game of Thrones, later seasons

    In the series, Tyrion's strategy as Hand to Daenerys repeatedly falters, and he loses her trust after several misjudgements, including his faith that Cersei would keep her word. Adapters may have flattened him, but on screen it is a real decline in the quality of his plans compared with the early seasons.

Why 150, and not higher or lower

Tyrion has a strong record for planning, since the Blackwater and the three-lies test are properly multi-step, and for insight into what other people want. Knowledge is broad; he reads history and applies it. Invention is modest, because his best ideas reuse available tools. Errors are the swing factor: in the books and the series he kills Shae and Tywin in rage, and in the show he loses standing with Daenerys. The fan claim that he is the smartest in Westeros is arguable. We would put him level with the best of the rest, and not above.

IQ estimates for fictional characters are fan analysis: an argument from what the story shows, not a measurement. Read the full method and the standards we hold every profile to.

The debate

The debate is Tyrion against Littlefinger and Varys, and, in the books, whether he is a genius or just the smartest person in his own family. Petyr Baelish is the better manipulator and Varys the better spy, but Tyrion is more balanced, and his best moments involve using other people's flaws against them. He is also the most self-defeating of the three. The books are more generous than the show, which cut some of his best ideas and gave him worse ones. We rank him above most of the court and slightly below the most patient schemers.

Tyrion Lannister IQ: frequently asked questions

What is Tyrion Lannister's IQ?

Neither the books nor the show give a figure. We estimate about 150, with a range of 140 to 158, based on the Blackwater defence, the three-lies test and his political manoeuvres, minus the rage-driven mistakes.

Is Tyrion smarter than Littlefinger?

It is close. Littlefinger is the more patient manipulator, but Tyrion outmanoeuvres him and Varys in a number of scenes and has better tactical instincts. Tyrion's judgement fails when he is emotional, which Baelish's does not.

Did the show make Tyrion less intelligent?

Many fans say so. The later seasons give him a series of failing plans as Hand to Daenerys, which do not match the earlier record. We use the books and early seasons as the more reliable evidence.

Are you smarter than Tyrion Lannister? Tyrion's IQ is about 150. What's yours?

Tyrion's number is an argument from the story. Yours can come from a real test: 25 visual reasoning questions.

Take the IQ test

25 questions · about 12 minutes

Tyrion Lannister and Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire belong to their respective owners. LifeScore is not affiliated with them. This page is independent commentary and analysis, and estimates are our own opinion.