Ballpark is a free daily estimation game. You get five questions that nobody is meant to work out exactly: about how many dots are on the sheet, roughly how much is 38 × 52, how many pens are in 24 boxes of 36. Move the slider to your best guess and lock it in. The closer you are, the more points you get, up to 500 for the day. It trains the skill that tells you in a meeting whether a number can be right.
No sign-up and nothing to install. It runs in your browser on a computer or a phone, and your progress is saved on your device.
- A slider, not a keyboard. Move the slider to your guess and press “Lock in”. The game then shows the answer on the same line.
- Points for being close. Within 5% of the answer is 100 points. Within 20% is still 60.
- No outside facts. Every answer is counted or calculated by the game itself, so it is never out of date.
- Stuck? The lightbulb makes the slider cover a smaller range around the answer.
How to play Ballpark
- Read the question. Do not count and do not do the full sum.
- Move the slider to your best guess.
- Press “Lock in”. You see the answer, how close you were and your points.
- After five questions you see your total and up to five stars.
The six kinds of question
| Kind | Example | A quick way to estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Dots | About how many dots are on the sheet? | Count the dots in one corner and multiply by the number of such patches. |
| Bar | About what percent of the bar is filled? | Find the half and the quarter first, then adjust. |
| Multiplication | About how much is 38 × 52? | Round both numbers: 40 × 50 = 2,000. |
| Sum | About how much do 48, 73, 19, 62 and 87 add up to? | Round to tens and add: 50 + 70 + 20 + 60 + 90 = 290. |
| Time | About how many minutes are in 6 days? | A day has about 1,500 minutes (exactly 1,440). Six days are about 9,000. |
| Rates | A printer makes 28 pages a minute. About how many in 45 minutes? | 30 × 45 is 1,350, so a little less. |
Tips for better estimates
- Round first, then calculate. One number up and the other down keeps the errors small: 38 × 52 is close to 40 × 50.
- Learn three anchors. A day has 1,440 minutes, a week has 168 hours and an hour has 3,600 seconds.
- Count a patch, not the sheet. Count the dots in about a tenth of the sheet and multiply by ten.
- Check the size before the digits. Is the answer in the hundreds or in the thousands? Getting that right is worth more than the second digit.
- Lock in and learn. The answer appears right after your guess. Notice whether you tend to guess too high or too low.
How the week gets harder
| Day | Dots on the sheet | Multiplication | Numbers to add |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 20 to 60 | A number under 20 times a round number, such as 14 × 60 | 4 |
| Tuesday | 40 to 100 | Two-digit numbers, such as 23 × 17 | 5 |
| Wednesday | 60 to 150 | Such as 43 × 26 | 5 |
| Thursday | 100 to 220 | Such as 67 × 48 | 6 |
| Friday | 150 to 320 | Such as 92 × 78 | 7 |
Saturday plays like a Wednesday and Sunday like a Tuesday.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ballpark free?
Yes. There is no account, no download and no paywall.
How are the points given?
By how far your guess is from the answer: within 5% is 100 points, within 10% is 80, within 20% is 60, within 35% is 40 and within 50% is 20. For the percent bar the limits are 3, 6, 10, 16 and 25 percentage points.
Is there a time limit?
No. The clock only shows how long you took. An estimate is meant to take a few seconds.
Where do the answers come from?
The game counts and calculates them itself. It uses no statistics from outside, so no answer can be out of date.
Does everyone get the same questions?
Yes. The five questions are made from the date.
When does the new round appear?
At midnight in your local time.
Can I play earlier rounds?
Yes. Open the calendar button at the top of the game and pick any day from the past eight weeks.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The slider is made for a finger.
More to play on WiseChecker
- Browser Games: every WiseChecker game in one place.
- Clean Desk: remember the desk and find what is gone.
- No Blind Spots: place cameras so that no square is a blind spot.
- Cell Value: find the number behind every letter.
- File Pairs: turn over two cards and find the pairs.