Closest Result Game
Three sums, one target. Which one lands closest?
About Closer To
Closer To shows a target number, for example 90, and three calculations such as 29 + 63, 7 × 9 and 73 + 45. Your task is to pick the calculation whose result is nearest to the target. The numbers are not too big, but the point is to be fast: estimate each result roughly and compare their distances to the target.
On the first levels the calculations are additions and multiplications and the target is between 20 and 200. Later, divisions appear and then percentages, and the target can reach 3,000. The gap between the best and the second-best calculation shrinks from 16 percent of the target on level 1 to about 4 percent on level 10, so at the end you cannot get away with rough rounding.
How to play
- Read the target and each of the three calculations.
- Estimate the result of each calculation by rounding. For example 7 × 9 is about 63.
- Compare the distances to the target, not the results. A result that is above the target and one that is below it can be equally far off.
- Tap the closest one, or press 1, 2 or 3.
A target number is shown with three calculations. Without a calculator, pick the one whose result is closest to the target.
How scoring works
A right answer scores 100 and a wrong one 0. The game generates one calculation that lies close to the target and two that are further away, and checks that the best one is clearly closer than the second. The required gap is 16 percent of the target on level 1 and 4 percent on level 10.
Calculations come in four types: additions, multiplications, divisions and percentages of a number, with more types as the levels go up. You have 13 seconds on level 1 and 10 seconds on level 10. After the answer, all three results are shown.
What it trains
The game trains computational estimation: getting close without exact calculation, using rounding and numbers that are easy to work with. This is what you use to check a restaurant bill, compare prices per kilo or see whether a result on a calculator is plausible.
It also trains comparing distances, not values, which is a conceptual step many people find unusual at first.
Tips for a higher score
- Round to numbers that are easy to multiply. 29 × 31 is about 30 × 30 = 900.
- For divisions, turn them into multiplications: 480 ÷ 12 asks for the number that gives 480 when multiplied by 12. That is 40.
- For percentages, begin with 10 percent, and build the rest from it: 15 percent is 10 percent plus half of that.
- Estimate high and low. If one result is above the target and the other below, compare the size of both gaps.
- Do not calculate exactly. If one result is obviously far away, eliminate it first.
The idea behind it
Research on mental computation has found that people who are good at estimating do not just round numbers; they flexibly change the problem. In the 1980s, Robert Reys and colleagues described how skilled estimators reformulate numbers into compatible ones, such as replacing 29 × 31 with 30 × 30.
Studies also show that experience with the number line helps: people who estimate well tend to have an accurate mental number line. The effect of the 'distance' between the answer options is a known factor in number comparison tasks, called the numerical distance effect: the closer two numbers are, the longer and more error-prone the comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Can two answers be equally close?
No. The game checks that the best calculation is clearly closer to the target than the others.
Do I need to know the exact results?
No. After the answer the exact results of the three calculations are shown, so you can see how close you were.
What other game builds this skill?
Gut Total asks you to estimate sums, and What Feels Right? asks for the next number in a pattern.
Related games
Free, no account. Your best scores are saved on your device.