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Life & fun · April 9, 2025

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Fermi – A Wordle-style game for order-of-magnitude thinking

I always thought it was cool when someone could make a plausible estimate from reasonable guesses. I recently learned that these are sometimes named after Enrico Fermi, the famous physicist, and its the same technique used to create his famous Fermi paradox. You build a rough logic chain using a few sliders and fixed quantities (e.g. weeks per year), and the goal is to get within an order of magnitude of the true answer. The math is simple; the thinking is the game. Would love feedback.

Fermi – A Wordle-style game for order-of-magnitude thinking launched on April 9, 2025 with 52 votes, #599 of 7,818 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches.

In plain words

Fermi is a daily estimation game that teaches order-of-magnitude thinking inspired by physicist Enrico Fermi. Players build logic chains using sliders and fixed quantities to estimate answers to real-world questions, with the goal of getting within one order of magnitude of the correct value. The game is designed for anyone interested in developing quick estimation skills and understanding how to break down complex problems into reasonable guesses. Simple math combines with strategic thinking to create the challenge.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

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