Zigzag Numbers
Up, down, up, down — never twice in the same direction.
What is it?
A zigzag number strictly alternates direction with every digit: each digit is bigger than its neighbor, then smaller, then bigger — or the mirror image. 1425 zigzags; 1225 does not, because equal digits break the alternation. Four digits minimum.
- Exact matches136,425
- Odds1 in 7
- Out of1,000,001
How it scores
Zigzags are uncommon enough to score, common enough to actually show up on a daily roll — a mid-tier pattern that often decides whether a roll feels special.
The formula: -log2(count / 1,000,001) bits per trait, capped at 20, summed with 0.5 decay per additional trait.
Highest-scoring zigzag numbers
- 4,096score 25.7 · Mythic
- 1,010score 24.6 · Mythic
- 32,768score 23.9 · Mythic
- 142,857score 23.4 · Mythic
- 101,010score 23.2 · Mythic
- 898,989score 23.1 · Mythic
- 989,898score 23.1 · Mythic
- 271,828score 23.0 · Mythic
- 16,384score 22.3 · Mythic
- 2,020score 21.7 · Mythic
Related patterns
FAQ
Does 1212 zigzag?
Yes — 1<2>1<2 strictly alternates. It also scores as an ABAB pattern, so it stacks.
Can a zigzag have equal neighbors?
No. The alternation must be strict: 1331 is not a zigzag because 3 equals 3.
What is the minimum length?
Four digits. With three digits almost everything "alternates" once, which is not interesting enough to score.