How to play Number Dial
- Read the question. It always asks for one number, such as a distance, an age or a count.
- Type a number and pick a size word like thousand, million or billion.
- After each guess you see higher or lower and how warm you are.
- You have three guesses. Your closest guess sets your score.
Scoring
Your closest guess decides the score out of 100. Within 5% of the answer scores 100. The score falls as you move away, and a guess ten times too big or too small scores 0. Hot means you are within about 25%, warm within 2 times, cold within 10 times.
How to guess huge numbers
Break the question into parts you know. If you know a day has 24 hours and an hour has 3,600 seconds, you can work out the seconds in a day. Read our guide to estimating big numbers for more tricks.
Number Dial questions
Why are answers rounded?
Many facts, like populations, change every year or are measured in different ways. We use a well-known rounded value, and the 5% margin covers small differences.
Can I type numbers with commas?
Yes. You can type 8,849 or 8849. Use the size buttons for thousand, million, billion and trillion.
Is there a new question every day?
Yes, a new question starts at midnight in your time zone.