How to play

How to play Magnitudle

Magnitudle is a game about the real size of things. You play in levels, and each level has 5 rounds. In every round you judge sizes: resize a silhouette to its true scale, rank things by size or pick the biggest. Each round is worth up to 100 points, so a level is worth 500. Score 200 to earn one star, 300 for two stars and 400 for all three. One star is enough to unlock the next level.

The five kinds of rounds

Levels use resize, rank and pick the biggest. The daily challenge has all five, one of each. Multiplayer matches use resize, rank, pick the biggest and estimate.

A person and a much larger tree standing on a ground line over a square grid, a dashed line at the person's height and a swipe up-and-down hint above them

Resize to real scale

You see a reference at its true size and one to three silhouettes beside it. Drag each silhouette until it is as big, compared with the reference, as it really is.

Example: Something is really 3 times as tall as the reference. You make it 4 times as tall, which is 1.33 times too big, and score 67 points.

Scoring: Within about 2 % of the true size scores the full 100. The further off, the fewer points, down to 0 at about 3.2 times too big or too small. With several silhouettes, the round score is their average.

Four silhouettes in cards of the same size, three of them already numbered 1 to 3 from biggest down

Rank by size

You get three or four things. Put them in order from biggest to smallest.

Example: With four things there are six pairs. If you swap two neighbours, one pair out of six is in the wrong order, and you score 83 points.

Scoring: Every pair you put in the right order counts. All in order scores 100; the exact reverse scores 0.

A person, a bus and a dog in cards of the same size, the bus card outlined in green and marked with a tick

Pick the biggest

You see two to four things, each shown in a card of the same size, so the picture gives nothing away. Tap the one that is really the biggest.

Example: Out of three things, you tap the one that is really the biggest: 100 points. Tap either of the others: 0.

Scoring: All or nothing: 100 for the right answer, 0 for any other.

A question card, a number field with 350 typed in and a unit label, and a number keypad below

Estimate the number

You get a question whose answer is a number, such as a count or an amount, and type your best guess in the unit shown.

Example: The answer is 400 and you type 200. That is 2 times too small, and scores 59 points.

Scoring: As with sizes, what counts is how many times off you are, but numbers are more forgiving: an answer 10 times off scores 0.

How many fit?

You see two things and guess how many of the smaller one, lined up end to end, would match the bigger one.

Example: The answer is 40 and you guess 50. That is 1.25 times too many, and scores 87 points.

Scoring: The same as estimates: the closer, the more points, down to 0 at 10 times off.

How scoring works

Every round is worth up to 100 points. For sizes and numbers, accuracy is measured by how many times off you are, not by how many metres or feet. A guess twice too big and a guess half the true size score the same.

Points for a guess that is off by a given factor, in either direction
How far off	Resize rounds	Estimate and how-many-fit rounds
1.1×	91	95
1.25×	75	87
1.5×	54	76
2×	26	59
3×	1	38
5×	0	17
10×	0	0

Rank rounds count the pairs you put in the right order, and pick the biggest is all or nothing.

A level has 5 rounds, so the most you can score is 500. 200 points (40 %) earns one star, 300 (60 %) two stars and 400 (80 %) three stars.

Multiplayer adds a speed bonus: on any round you score 50 or more, you get up to 20 extra points, more the faster you answer.

Levels, stars and XP

Levels are grouped by topic. The first level of each topic is open, and each next level unlocks as soon as you earn at least one star on the one before. Levels are not timed, and you can replay any level to raise your best score and stars.

Everything you finish earns XP: 1 XP for every 10 points you score, plus 20 XP the first time you clear a level and 25 XP for finishing the daily challenge. A multiplayer match gives 30 XP for a win, 15 for a draw and 10 for a loss.

XP raises your player level. Level 2 takes 100 XP in total, level 3 takes 400 and level 4 takes 900; each level needs more than the one before.

Metric or imperial

Magnitudle shows every size in metric or imperial units. On first launch it follows your iPhone's measurement settings, which means imperial in the United States and metric almost everywhere else. You can switch at any time in Settings.

Test your sense of scale

Tap the biggest one

Want to get better at it? Read our estimation tips.

Or try five practice rounds in your browser.

Download Magnitudle, free on iPhone and Android.

Scan with your iPhone camera to get the app

Scan with your Android phone to get the app