# Breaking Rank (Calibration Game)

*Published on LW with permission from Ben Orlin. Originally published in the book* [*Math Games with Bad Drawings*](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58684397)*, which is includes many more fun math games, all thoughtfully wrote up like below. And also more silly doodles, which I have not reproduced here - get the book for the full experience!*

*Also see* [*Calibration Trivia*](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2RXNmrSLEphNXMwKQ/calibration-trivia) *for instructions on how to run a meetup for a more hardcore calibration game.*

Like [Outrangeous](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ArhS2ye2Bzba4zudB/outrangeous-calibration-game), this is a press-your-luck trivia game, where the most important skill is knowing how much (or how little) you know. The goal is simple: Create the longest list that you can, without making any errors.

But fair warning: "Simple" is not a synonym for "easy."

To begin, one player (acting as judge) picks a **group of items**, such as the seven continents, and a **statistic on which to rank them**-say, their land area. I find that pre-specified groups of four to eight items work best, but if you want, you can leave it more open-ended (e.g., the group can be "countries in the world").

Now, each guesser's job is to **list as many continents as they like, in decreasing order of land area.** If your list is correct, with each continent smaller than the last, then **you'll score 1 point per item**.

But **if you make any errors-if, at any point, a larger continent appears below a smaller one-then you'll score nothing**, and the **judge will receive a point** for stumping you.

Racking up points *should* be easy. You can always take a guaranteed 1 point, and even a random guess has a 50/50 shot at scoring 2 points. Yet somehow I always push my list one item too far. Heaven help you if you list all seven items: There are 5,040 possible  
orders, and 5,039 are wrong.

As in [Outrangeous](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ArhS2ye2Bzba4zudB/outrangeous-calibration-game), the role of judge rotates, and you **should spend 10 minutes coming up with questions before you start playing.** Make sure to pick well-known items (e.g., celebrities everyone has heard of) and unambiguous statistics (e.g., "number of monthly listeners on Spotify," not "most popular''). Feel free to pick a preexisting category of items (like "countries in Europe") or to handpick a few items (like "France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK"). When in doubt, Wikipedia is a great source.

Finally, a few suggestions for questions:

*   **Countries** \[e.g., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK\] by **population**
*   **Continents** \[Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America\] by **coastline length**
*   **US states** \[e.g., Arkansas, California, Kansas, Kentucky, Iowa, Nebraska\] by **order of joining the US**
*   **Countries** \[e.g., Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Philippines\] by **GDP**
*   **Musicians** \[e.g., Ariana Grande, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Rihanna[^81h9udtr57q]\] by number of **lnstagram followers**
*   **Musical artists** \[e.g., Coldplay, Kanye West, Queen, Taylor Swift\] by **number of studio albums**
*   **Songs** \[e.g., "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Don't Stop Believin'," "Livin' on a Prayer," "Take on Me"\] by **release date**
*   **Albums** \[e.g., Abbey Road, Help!, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band\] by **length in minutes**
*   **Movies** \[e.g., 12 Years a Slave, The King's Speech, The Departed, A Beautiful Mind, Forrest Gump\] by **number of Oscar nominations**

[^81h9udtr57q]: Ed note: Rihanna's IG is @badgalriri, not @rihannaofficial