How to play Pila
Pila is a visual estimation test. Poker chips of one color land on a felt table, stay for a moment and disappear under a cloth. You say how many there were. It works like a how many dots game, with real chips and a count-up that shows exactly how close you came. Start on Easy, then try Medium and Hard, where more chips show for less time.
Play Pila freePila at a glance
- Players
- 1
- Rounds
- 5, each scored 0 to 10
- Goal
- Say how many chips you saw
- Game length
- About 2 minutes
How to play Pila
Watch
Chips of one color land on the felt and stay for a moment.
Answer
A cloth covers them. Type how many there were on the number pad or the keyboard.
Count
The cloth lifts and the chips count up one by one. The closer you were, the more you score.
Complete Pila rules
The table
A walnut table with green felt. Each round, chips of one color land on the felt.
Watch
The chips stay on the felt for 5 seconds on Easy, 4 seconds on Medium and the Daily and 2 seconds on Hard, with a countdown above the table, then a cloth sweeps over them.
Answer
Type how many chips there were, from 1 to 999, with the number pad or the keyboard. Backspace deletes and Enter answers. There is no time limit on your answer.
Scoring
Each round scores up to 10. An exact answer scores 10, 10% off scores 7.50, 20% off scores 5 and 40% off or more scores 0. Five rounds make a total out of 50, and 35 or more wins.
Rounds
Every round has more chips than the one before, and a new color.
Who can play
The quick look at the chips is the whole game, so Pila needs sight. Everything else works with a keyboard.
Tips to win at Pila
- Don’t try to count. Take in the whole pile at once and trust the first number that comes to mind.
- Split the felt into halves in your mind, judge one half, then double it.
- Watch the count-up after each round. If you keep guessing low, aim a little higher next time.
- Chips get smaller as the pile grows, so a crowded felt holds more than it looks.
Ways to play Pila
Easy
8 to 40 chips over five rounds, shown for 5 seconds each.
Medium
15 to 120 chips over five rounds, shown for 4 seconds each.
Hard
30 to 150 chips over five rounds, shown for 2 seconds each.
Daily
Five rounds a day at Medium, the same for everyone, ranked by score.
Play by your house rules
- LevelEasyMediumHard
About Pila
Estimating a quantity at a glance is a skill people use every day, from judging a queue to guessing the coins in a jar. Researchers call it number sense, and it gets sharper with practice. Pila turns it into a short game you can play in two minutes.
Rules reviewed by the tavlo.gg game team · Updated October 10, 2026Questions about Pila
What is a visual estimation test?
How is my score worked out?
How long do the chips stay on the table?
Is there a daily Pila?
Can I play Pila without seeing the screen?
- What is a visual estimation test?
- A visual estimation test shows you a group of objects too briefly to count, then asks how many there were. It works as a number sense test, measuring the quick feel for quantity people use every day. Pila is an estimation game with poker chips on a felt table, scored on how close you get.
- How is my score worked out?
- Each round scores up to 10 points. An exact answer scores 10, 10% off scores 7.50, 20% off scores 5 and 40% off or more scores 0. Five rounds make a total out of 50, and 35 or more is a win.
- How long do the chips stay on the table?
- 5 seconds on Easy, 4 seconds on Medium and the Daily, and 2 seconds on Hard, with a countdown above the table. That is too short to count them all, so trust your first impression of the whole pile. Your answer has no time limit.
- Is there a daily Pila?
- Yes. Everyone gets the same five rounds each day, ranked by score on the daily leaderboard. Share your result and challenge your friends to see who wins.
- Can I play Pila without seeing the screen?
- No. The quick look at the chips is the whole game, so Pila needs sight. Every button works with a keyboard, and you can type your answer with the number keys.