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 #45 · August 24, 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 systems and devices by their total number of possible combinations, permutations, or valid states, from fewest to most.
- The total possible permutations of a classic Enigma machine
- A modern 256-bit AES military-grade digital security key
- A standard four-digit bank ATM personal identification number
- The standard biological translation table mapping RNA to amino acids
- A standard physical three-dial luggage padlock
Round 2
Order these famous historical texts, messages, and mysteries by the year they were definitively solved, translated, or mapped, from earliest to most recent.
- The Zodiac Killer's infamous 340-character message to the press
- The secret treasonous correspondence of Mary, Queen of Scots
- The molecular double-helix structure of DNA
- The ancient Mesopotamian Akkadian cuneiform script
- The intercepted Zimmermann Telegram proposing a German-Mexican alliance
Round 3
Order these standard identifiers and data formats by their fixed length in characters or digits, from shortest to longest.
- A single computational binary digit
- A standard North American retail product tracking UPC symbol
- A standard hexadecimal web color value
- A standard commercial airport location identifier (IATA)
- A full expanded United States ZIP+4 postal routing sequence