Math practice · reimagined
Comparing Numbers Game
In this game for comparing numbers, two numbers stand side by side and you pick the bigger or the smaller one, from single digits up to 999. Choose right before your rival does, and your fighter lands the blow.
Ages 4–99+ · no download · plays in your browser · 23 languages
What does comparing numbers mean?
Comparing numbers means deciding which of two numbers is bigger and which is smaller. We write it with two signs: > means greater than, and < means less than, so 7 > 3 says seven is bigger than three. Think of two bowls of grapes. The bowl with more grapes holds the bigger number.
Example: which is smaller, 8 or 3?
- Read the question first: this time it asks for the smaller number, not the bigger one.
- Count up from zero, and you reach 3 long before you reach 8.
- So 3 is the smaller number, written 3 < 8 or 8 > 3.
- The answer is 3, so you tap 3.
Learn it step by step
Two numbers stand face to face. Read the question first — does it want the bigger one or the smaller one? Then point at it.
Imagine two plates of cookies — one has 3 cookies, the other has 7. Which plate would you grab? The 7, of course. That plate is bigger, so 7 is the bigger number.
Read the question, then tap the number it asks for. There's no adding here — just trust your eyes.
Tips and common mistakes
- The open side of > and < always faces the bigger number, and the point faces the smaller one. In 9 > 2, the wide side sits by the 9.
- A common mistake is judging by the first digit alone. 99 starts with a bigger digit than 100, but 100 has more digits, so count the digits first.
- At the table, turn dry pasta into a greater than less than game: make two piles, ask which is bigger, then which is smaller, and swap the question often.
How to play
It starts like a bigger number game: two numbers appear between the fighters with a question, bigger or smaller? Tap the right one before your rival and Chilli strikes, and the faster you tap, the harder the hit. One level asks what comes just before or after a number, and there you type it.
— Quick answers —
Compare: the short FAQ
- What does greater than mean?
- Greater than means bigger, and its sign is >. The sentence 8 > 5 is read “eight is greater than five”. Its partner, <, means less than, so 5 < 8 reads “five is less than eight”. Both sentences describe the same two numbers, seen from opposite ends, which is why you can always turn one into the other.
- How do you compare three-digit numbers?
- Compare three-digit numbers one place at a time, starting from the left. First compare the hundreds: 4 hundreds beat 3 hundreds, whatever comes after. If the hundreds match, compare the tens, and if those match too, compare the ones. So 472 is bigger than 468, because 7 tens beat 6 tens.
- At what age do kids learn to compare numbers?
- In many school systems, children start comparing small groups and numbers at about age 4 or 5, and compare numbers up to 1000 by about age 7 or 8. The levels here follow that path, for ages 4 to 7, from single digits to three-digit numbers.
- Why does my child mix up < and >?
- Mixing up < and > is common, because the two signs are mirror images of each other. Reading the whole sentence aloud from left to right helps. Say the first number, then “is less than” or “is greater than”, then the second number. If the sentence sounds false, the sign is pointing the wrong way.
- Is this game for comparing numbers free, and can I use it in class?
- Yes, every level of comparing numbers is free to play in the browser, with no download and no signup. In class it works as quick compare numbers practice: write two numbers on the board, let pupils call out bigger or smaller, then let each pupil play on a tablet. The schools plan adds a teacher dashboard to track who is improving.