Big & Small
A free game about size. The first level asks which of three is biggest, the second asks you to put four in order, and the third asks you to sort six. Three levels, three different tasks.
- Free
- No ads
- No account
- No download
- Works offline
- Single player
How do you play?
- Pick a level - Choose, order or sort. Three different tasks, not one task at three sizes.
- Look at the sizes - The difference is deliberately clear, even on hard.
- Answer - One tap to choose, and for ordering you tap in sequence. No dragging.
- Move up - A correct answer brings a fresh round with new sizes.
About this game
An elephant, a cat and an ant. Which one is biggest?
The number that decides difficulty here is not how many items there are, it is how close they get. On easy any two items differ by at least 2.5 times in size, which a two-year-old cannot get wrong by looking. Medium narrows the gap to 1.6 times and hard to 1.25, which is the smallest gap we ship. Below that the round stops being fair on a phone screen, and that is a decision made by physics rather than by taste: two things differing by 15% on a six-inch display is a guess, not a question.
Each level is also a different task rather than the same one with more items. Easy asks you to pick one. Medium asks you to put four in order, which is a bigger jump than it sounds, because four items have 24 possible orderings and only one of them is right. Hard asks you to sort six into groups, which is a third kind of thinking again.
No clock. No score that falls. Another try is always available. The items are familiar animals and objects, so children name them out loud while playing, which is a bonus we did not plan.
Sizes change from round to round, so the same animal is not always the biggest. A child who learned that elephants always win discovers quickly that the game asks about what you see rather than what you know.
What does it teach?
Comparing size
Bigger and smaller are concepts that need practice, and here they get practised directly.
Putting things in order
Four items have 24 orderings and only one is right. A different skill from picking the biggest.
Sorting into groups
Hard asks you to divide everything rather than pick one, which is a third kind of thinking.
Trusting your eyes
The game asks about what is visible rather than what you know about the world, and children learn that distinction here.
Tips
Start at the ends
When ordering, find the biggest and the smallest first. What is left in the middle is far easier.
Compare in pairs
Do not try to see all four at once. Two at a time, and comparison becomes easy.
Ignore what you know
A cat can be bigger than an elephant here. The question is about what is on the screen.
No need to hurry
There is no clock at all. On hard, where the gap is only 1.25 times, an extra second of looking is worth a lot.
What age is it for?
2 to 3
Easy. A 2.5 times gap between items, so it cannot be got wrong at a glance.
4 to 5
Medium, once ordering four becomes possible.
6 and up
Hard. Six items to sort at a gap of only 1.25 times.
Parents
Nothing to lose and no clock, so this one can be left open and returned to.
Accessibility
Tapping only. Ordering is done by tapping in sequence rather than by dragging, so a small child or somebody using an alternative input device is not shut out. Items are larger than 2cm square on any screen, including the smallest one on hard. The question is about size rather than colour, so colour blindness is irrelevant here. No clock and nothing flashing, and every round is understandable from the pictures without a word to read.
Playing together
Say bigger or smaller
Ask your child to compare out loud before touching. A spoken comparison is sharper.
Sort the toys
Line up five dolls or cups and ask them to order by height. Same skill, in hand.
Which is bigger at home
Chair or table, spoon or fork. The game continues after you close it.
Guess the order
Before touching, guess the full order together. Then check how close you were.
Common questions
Is the game free?
Completely. Nothing to pay and no purchases inside the game. Every game on the site is open from the first second.
Do I need to download or sign up?
No to both. It runs in the browser with no download and no account, and we do not ask for an email.
What is the difference between the levels?
The task itself. Easy asks you to pick one of three, medium to order four, and hard to sort six. The gap between sizes also narrows from 2.5 times to 1.6 to 1.25.
Is the hard level too hard for a child?
1.25 times is the smallest gap we ship, and below it the round stops being fair on a phone screen. That was decided by screen size rather than by feel.
Are there ads?
None. No banners and no video between levels.
Does it work offline?
Yes. After one visit the game is stored on the device and runs on a plane.
Does my child have to drag items?
No. Ordering is done by tapping in sequence, because a four-year-old and somebody using an alternative input device cannot always sustain a drag.
What happens on a wrong answer?
Nothing. No score drops and there are no lives, and another try is available immediately.
What age is this for?
From about two on easy. There is no reading anywhere, and the difference between items there is too large to get wrong.
Does it collect data about my child?
No. There is no signup and no name. No session recording and no behavioural advertising. We count how many times a game was opened, with nothing attached that identifies who opened it.