The free cooperative party game In Order

How to play In Order

In Order is a cooperative number game for 3 to 10 players. Nobody wins at anyone else's expense. The whole group is one team, trying to line up in the right order using nothing but well-chosen examples.

1. 1Pass the phone around. Each player taps to see a secret number from 1 to 100, then hands it on.
2. 2Read the scale for the round together, for example “How scary is it? 1 = not scary, 100 = terrifying.”
3. 3Each player says something that matches their number on that scale. With a 60, you might say “a spider.” With a 5, maybe “a kitten.”
4. 4Talk it over and arrange yourselves from lowest to highest without saying any numbers. Swap seats, stand in a line, argue a little.
5. 5When the group agrees, the app reveals each number in that order, from the low end up.
6. 6Your score is how many players were in the right order. Play 3 rounds and try to beat your best.

A sample round: the scale is “How scary is it?” Ana says “a thunderstorm.” Ben says “a spider.” Cleo says “a dentist appointment.” Is the dentist scarier than the spider? The whole group debates it for a full minute, and that debate is the game.

In Order scales

Each round uses one scale, with 1 at the low end and 100 at the top. Some are silly, some are about food, everyday life or pop culture, and every one is family-friendly. Here's the full list, so you can see what you're in for.

Scales, scores and rounds

Each round brings a new scale. The scale tells you what 1 and 100 mean, so everyone starts from the same picture. After that, it's all about how well your examples match what's in other people's heads.

Scoring is simple: the app counts how many players are in order, meaning their number is higher than everyone placed before them. The team plays 3 rounds and tries to beat its best score. Nobody gets blamed for a bad round. Well, maybe a little.

Since everyone is on the same side, In Order is a good pick when the group is tired of accusing each other in Imposter or Find the Spy. It still gets loud, though. People feel strongly about whether a roller coaster is scarier than a job interview.

Tips for a perfect line

• Use the whole scale. With a 95, go big: not “a scary movie” but “a haunted house at midnight.”
• Middle numbers are the hardest. Pick something clearly more than mild but well short of extreme.
• Think about your group. An example only you understand won't help anyone place you.
• Compare out loud. “Is a bee scarier than a big dog?” is exactly how the line gets sorted.
• Agree before you start whether hints like “about halfway” count as saying a number. Most groups say yes, so they're off limits.
• If two of you are probably close, like 41 and 44, it's fine to ask each other for a second example.

Ways to play

Where In Order works best

It's a scale game for groups that want to play together, not against each other: families, coworkers, classrooms, friends meeting new friends. Nobody is singled out, nobody has to bluff, and quieter people get pulled into the conversation naturally.

In a classroom, run it at a small-group table of up to 10 students with one tablet, not on the projector: everyone needs to see their own secret number. Everyone has to explain their thinking, and the group has to reach an agreement, which is a skill in itself.

You need 3 to 10 people, a spot where you can see each other, and one phone. A round takes a few minutes, so three rounds fit easily before dinner or between other games.

Where the secret-number idea comes from

Placing things on a scale is a familiar idea in modern party games. One game made the secret-number version popular: ito, a cooperative card game from Japan first published in 2019, gives each player a hidden number from 1 to 100 and a theme to describe it with. It found a big audience there and later got an English edition.

In Order is our own free take on that kind of game. It has no connection to that game or its publishers. The scales are written by us, and it runs in any browser with no download and no account.

Questions