Number Order looks simple when the values are already in a row. The game removes that convenience: every board makes you search several locations, hold the lowest remaining candidate in mind and compare it against signed or closely spaced alternatives before acting.
How to play Number Order
Select every tile from the numerically lowest value to the highest. A correct choice joins your ordered line and leaves the board. A wrong choice stays in place, records an error and costs 1.5 score points, up to a maximum 15-point error penalty.
Each board has its own timer. You keep credit for a correct ascending prefix if time expires, but every unselected value counts as missed. That makes the complete board—not a quick handful of easy values—the real unit of play.
Locate the smallest and second-smallest values together. That reduces the restart cost of scanning after your first selection.
A worked ordering example
Suppose a Hard board contains 2.5, −4, 0.8, 2.05 and −4.2. The correct opening is −4.2 → −4: among negative numbers, the value farther below zero is lower. Next comes 0.8.
For the final pair, write the shorter decimal mentally with a trailing zero: 2.5 becomes 2.50. That makes 2.05 → 2.5 easier to verify. The complete line is therefore −4.2 → −4 → 0.8 → 2.05 → 2.5.
Difficulty changes the comparison, not just the clock
| Level | Boards | Values | Number formats | Time each |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 4 | 6 | Positive integers | 15 seconds |
| Standard | 5 | 9 | Signed integers, then tenths | 14 seconds |
| Hard | 5 | 12 | Signed tenths and hundredths | 16 seconds |
Every board deliberately includes at least one close pair. Standard and Hard boards also cross zero, while decimal boards must contain a substantial mix of non-integer values. Hard requires close hundredths, so the demand is exact numeric comparison rather than simply finding familiar counting numbers.
How the Number Order score works
The score is built around finished work. A completion term contributes 82 parts and an error-control term contributes 18 parts to the quality score; that quality score supplies 90% of the result. Pace supplies the remaining 10% and is multiplied by completion twice as well as by error control. Selecting only a fast, easy prefix therefore produces very little pace credit.
Each wrong tap then removes 1.5 points, capped at 15. Easy applies a 0.98 adjustment, Standard 1.00 and Hard 1.02 before the final result is rounded between 0 and 100. Results also retain boards cleared, values ordered, missed values, wrong taps and response times so the displayed score does not hide what happened.
How boards are generated and checked
A supplied seed controls every value, visual cell, small position offset and board progression. The same seed and difficulty reproduce the same game. Standalone replays receive a fresh private seed, so a reload does not merely repeat today’s board.
The validator independently sorts each board’s exact integer representation in hundredths. It checks that values, labels and cell positions are unique; that offsets stay inside safe non-overlapping grid cells; that signs and decimal precision match the level; and that every declared solution is the exact ascending order. Decimal comparison never relies on floating-point equality.
Keyboard, touch and visual access
Every value is a native button at least 44 CSS pixels in both dimensions. Use Tab or the arrow keys to move through visual positions and Enter or Space to select. Positions one through nine also expose direct number-key shortcuts; these small corner labels identify board positions, not the values themselves.
Correct tiles receive an order number and join a written route, while errors use text announcements and shape or border changes as well as colour. The game pauses when the page is hidden and requires an explicit resume. Screen readers receive each numeric label and board position, although serial exploration of a scattered timed board remains harder than visual scanning.
Why Number Order is standalone first
Number Order is not currently in the Daily Brain Workout. Standard is designed for a roughly one-minute station, but its challenge and duration still need real-player and complete-controller verification before it can enter a versioned Daily pool. Standalone results and personal bests work now without changing any published Daily manifest.
Number Order questions
Does ascending order include negative numbers?
Yes on Standard and Hard. A more negative value is lower, so −8 comes before −3. Easy uses positive whole numbers while you learn the interaction.
How are close decimal values compared?
Compare equal place values. For example, 2.05 is lower than 2.5 because 2.5 is the same as 2.50. Hard boards can include values separated by only a few hundredths.
Can I play Number Order with a keyboard?
Yes. Use Tab or the arrow keys to move among tiles and Enter or Space to select one. The first nine visual positions also have the displayed 1–9 shortcuts.
Is Number Order in the Daily Brain Workout?
Not yet. Number Order is currently a standalone Speed game while its Standard duration and challenge level are evaluated in the complete five-station controller.