number games

Puzzles using digits

Number games are manipulations of statistics or figures to create a misleading impression.

Politicians play number games with economic data; companies play them with earnings reports.

The phrase suggests technically accurate numbers arranged to deceive: The budget projections are just number games—they've hidden the real costs.

Also refers literally to mathematical puzzles or games involving numbers.

Related

puzzle · sequences · combinatorics · game · lotteries · skyscrapers · KenKen · cryptogram · probability theory · playing the odds · bingo · mental arithmetic · guessing · odds · counting · riddles · dice · patterns

Categories
Opposites
symbolic medium

number gamesword puzzles

Language-based mental challenges

word games · crossword puzzles · Scrabble · anagrams · word searches

sincerity of communication

number gamesstraight talk

Honest, direct communication

plain facts

cognitive domain

number gamestrivia games

Contests testing miscellaneous knowledge

storytelling games · word association · charades

Family

number, games, numbers, numbered, numbering, enumerate, innumerable, numberless, unnumbered

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G