BalltelligenceHow to play Balltelligence
Balltelligence is a free guessing game for NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB fans. Guess the mystery player. You get 8 tries, and each guess shows how close you are.
Three ways to play
Daily
One player for everyone each day, in the sport you pick. The answer is always a star from the current season, and a new Daily starts at midnight your time. Win on back-to-back days to build a streak. Missed a day? Open Past puzzles on the home screen to play earlier Dailies.
Free Play
As many rounds as you like. When a round starts, pick who can be the answer: Stars (only well-known names), Regulars (stars plus solid regulars) or Full roster (anyone on a roster, deep bench included). The choice locks in with your first guess.
Legacy
Pick eras and a sport, then name a retired great from their number, years, teams and honors in 3 guesses. Each miss unlocks a clue. The Legacy Daily gives everyone the same legend each day.
Reading the clue tiles
Every guess fills a row of seven tiles that compare your guess with the answer. Here is one guess from an NBA game:
| Team | Conf | Div | Pos | Ht | Age | # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOS | East | ATLC | F | 6'8"↓ | 28↑ | 0↑ |
Guessed Jayson Tatum. The answer is also in the East and the Atlantic, but not on Boston. It's a guard (not a forward), shorter, older, and wears a higher number. The answer was Jalen Brunson.
- Green: exact match.
- Yellow: close. Height, age or number is within 2, or, in the NFL, NHL and MLB, the position is in the same group.
- Gray: not a match.
- ↑Arrows: the answer is higher (taller, older, a bigger number) or lower.
Colorblind mode in Settings swaps green and yellow for orange and blue.
What each tile means
- Team: the player's current team, as an abbreviation. Green when it's the same team. Each sport page lists the abbreviations.
- Conf: the conference. East or West in the NBA and NHL, AFC or NFC in the NFL. In MLB this tile is LG, the league: AL or NL.
- Div: the division, shortened. ATLC is the NBA's Atlantic Division.
- Pos: the position. In the NBA, positions match when they share a letter, so G, F and G-F are all green for a G-F answer, and the tile is never yellow. In the NFL, NHL and MLB, the same position is green and the same position group is yellow: a cornerback and a safety, two forwards, or a shortstop and a third baseman.
- Ht: listed height. Yellow within 2 inches.
- Age: age today. Yellow within 2 years.
- #: jersey number. Yellow within 2.
Hints and hard mode
Stuck? After 3 guesses you can take up to 3 hints, one at a time: first the draft and country, then the player's initials, then their jersey. Hard mode, in Settings, hides the Conf and Div tiles and turns hints off. A hard-mode win adds a ⭐ to your shared result.
Legacy in more detail
Legacy is for retired players, from the 1920s to today. Before your first guess you already see the player's number, first and last seasons, every team they played for and their career honors, such as All-Star selections, titles and awards. You get 3 guesses. After each miss a new clue appears. We write the clues ourselves, and each one adds something the card doesn't already show.
In Legacy Free Play you choose the eras and the sport. The Legacy Daily picks one well-known legend per sport for everyone.
Sharing and streaks
When a game ends, Share copies your result as a grid of colored squares, without the answer, so friends can play the same Daily without spoilers. Your stats and streaks are saved on your device. Signing in is optional: it syncs your stats between devices and puts you on the leaderboards.
Pick a sport
- NBA: guards, forwards and centers from all 30 teams.
- NFL: every position, with position groups for yellow tiles.
- NHL: forwards, defensemen and goalies.
- MLB: pitchers and position players, with the league (AL or NL) as the second tile.
Finished Dailies, with a write-up of every answer, are on Past answers from noon UTC the next day. More questions? See the FAQ.