Sorta Game — the daily ordering puzzle
Put the world in order… sorta.
Three quiet rounds, five things each, and one hidden way to arrange them. Trust your instinct and see how close your order comes to the truth.
Sorta Game puzzle #18 · July 28, 2026
Three rounds of five things, each with a hidden scale to sort them by — then one last guess at the theme tying all three together. Here’s what this puzzle asks.
Round 1
Order these from shortest to longest wingspan or equivalent aerodynamic width.
- A North American southern flying squirrel
- The Hughes H-4 Hercules ("Spruce Goose") aircraft
- A Wandering Albatross
- A typical female mosquito
- A standard recreational hang glider
Round 2
Order these from slowest to fastest typical peak velocity.
- A professional baseball pitcher's fastball
- A casually thrown paper airplane
- A Formula 1 race car at top speed
- A fired 9mm handgun bullet
- A gently falling snowflake
Round 3
Order these from shortest to longest typical duration spent continuously off the ground.
- A typical recreational hot air balloon ride
- A flipped coin
- The Apollo 11 spacecraft from Earth launch to lunar touchdown
- A punted American football
- A Common Swift bird during its non-breeding phase