Daily Value FAQ

Yes. Daily Value is a free daily game: each day you name one everyday food from its Nutrition Facts label, plus clues about its food group, calorie density, serving weight, protein, fat and sodium. You have eight guesses, and there are 442 foods to choose from. The numbers are USDA’s values for a generic food, scaled to one serving and rounded the way the FDA rounds a label.

Study the label, then type any of the 442 foods into the guess box and submit it. Each guess shows how its group, density, serving, protein, fat and sodium compare with the hidden food, so every guess narrows the list. You have eight guesses.

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The nutrients are from the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s FoodData Central, in its Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) 2021–2023, the October 2024 release. FNDDS gives the amount of each nutrient in 100 grams of a food, and Daily Value scales it to one serving. The data and method page has the details.

Because FNDDS has no values for either. A real label has both lines, so Daily Value shows a dash for each, with a footnote saying that USDA’s survey data has no trans fat or added sugars values. Total sugars are in the data, so that line is shown.

Because Daily Value shows USDA’s survey averages for a generic food, not the numbers for one brand or recipe. Brand-name products are left out of the game on purpose. The serving can differ too: it is chosen from the household portions FNDDS lists to match the FDA’s reference amounts, which may not be the size on your package.

Because their labels are nearly identical, so the six clues could not tell them apart. Near-twins like that are merged into one food, and either name wins: typing “nectarine” offers Peach, and a lime counts as a lemon in the same way. Altogether, 149 of the 442 foods answer to at least one other name, whether a near-twin or simply another word for the same thing.

A new daily puzzle unlocks at midnight in your own time zone. Everyone gets the same food on the same calendar date.

Of Daily Value’s 442 foods, Red velvet cake has the most calories per serving, at 710 for a slice (200 g). Cheesecake follows with 700 for a slice (175 g), then Pecan pie with 670. Those are labels as printed, one serving each, so a food with a big serving can lead without being the densest: Olive oil has the most calories per 100 g, at 900, but 130 in its tablespoon.

Of Daily Value’s 442 foods, Tuna steak has the most protein per serving, at 41 g in a 135 g serving, ahead of Salmon (36 g) and Pork chop (33 g). Amounts are per serving as printed on the label, so a food with a larger serving has more room to lead.

Of Daily Value’s 442 foods, Sub sandwich has the most sodium per serving, at 2,050 mg, which is 89% of the FDA’s Daily Value of 2,300 mg. Burrito follows with 1,070 mg (46%) and Orange chicken with 1,050 mg (45%). That is a ranking within Daily Value’s foods, not of every food.

Density is calories per 100 grams: the calories in a serving divided by the serving’s weight in grams, times 100. The label doesn’t print it, but it tells apart foods that look alike on the label. Across the 442 foods it runs from 0 for Water to 900 for Olive oil, with a median of about 196. It matches within 10 percent of the hidden food’s figure and reads close within 25 percent.

Blue means a match, orange means close and grey (⚪ in the share grid) means a miss. Density, serving, protein, fat and sodium show a simple up or down arrow for whether the hidden food’s figure is higher or lower than your guess. Group never has an arrow: blue means the same USDA category and orange means the same top-level group.

Each serving is one of the household portions FNDDS lists, picked by hand to match the FDA’s reference amounts customarily consumed (21 CFR 101.12). The label shows a generic unit, such as cup, slice or tbsp, and the portion’s weight in grams, taken from FNDDS. A different reasonable serving would print different numbers, so the serving is a judgment call.

Daily Value has 442 foods, not every food. It leaves out alcohol, baby foods, formula and human milk, and brand-name products. Of the 442, 228 can be the food of the day, and the rest can only be guessed. Many foods also answer to other names, so try the name you would use.

Daily Value has 442 foods you can guess, spread across nine top-level groups and 136 USDA food categories. Any of them can be a guess, and 228 of them can also be the food of the day.

No. Hints never break a streak. Free hints add a light bulb to your shared result, while hints unlocked by watching an optional ad do not.

Yes. The archive lists every past daily puzzle. Archive rounds count toward your statistics, but only today’s puzzle extends your streak.

Yes. The daily puzzle, the archive and unlimited mode are all free to play, with no account required.

Daily Value is made by Guessday, an independent site of original daily guessing games. It is not affiliated with USDA or the FDA.

No. The labels describe USDA’s values for generic foods and are there for a guessing game, not as a recommendation about any food. Not dietary advice.