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How to play Sticker Shock

The goal

Guess the average U.S. price of five everyday items, each in a specific year, and score as close to 500 points as you can. Everyone plays the same five prices on the same calendar day, and a new puzzle unlocks at midnight in your own time zone.

Making a guess

  1. Read the item and the year, for example “A gallon of whole milk · 2003”.
  2. Type a price in dollars or drag the slider. The slider uses a stretched scale so small prices are easy to set.
  3. Press Lock in. Your guess cannot be changed after that.
  4. Read the reveal, then move on to the next item. After the fifth item you see your total score.

Scoring

Each item is worth up to 100 points. You earn all 100 when your guess is within 5 percent of the real average price, and zero when you are 60 percent or more away, in either direction. In between, points fall smoothly. Because the scoring uses percentages, guessing twice the price and guessing half the price are treated the same.

Colors and symbols

Blue with a check mark is 90 points or more, orange with an approximately-equal sign is 50 to 89 points, and grey with a cross is below 50 points. Screen readers announce every score in words, so color is never the only signal.

Hints

Each item offers one optional hint: a price range that contains the real answer. Free hints add a light bulb to your shared result. When a short optional video ad is available, you can watch it to reveal the range without the light bulb.

Streaks, statistics and sharing

Finishing the daily puzzle on consecutive days builds your streak. Open Stats to see how many puzzles you have played, your average score, your current and best streak and how your scores are spread. Everything is saved in your browser, so clearing site data resets it.

Unlimited and archive

In unlimited mode you see one known price and one hidden price and decide whether the hidden one was higher or lower. Each right answer extends your run until the first miss. The archive lets you replay any past daily puzzle; archive games count toward your statistics but not your streak. Sticker Shock is entertainment, not financial advice.

Ready? Play today’s puzzle.