There's no way: you cannot compare the top two numbers. All comparisons' results will be the same if those two were switched. --- With the new question, **yes**, it is possible. Say the numbers are secretly (a) to (f), where "a" is the highest and "f" is the lowest.There are six possible comparisons: ab[cd]e ab[cd]f ab[ce]f ab[de]f ac[de]f bc[de]f The sets of two distinguished elements have one pair that appears exactly once (c and e), and one pair that appears exactly twice (c and d). The set of three *un*distinguished elements is the same in all three of these trials, except for one of them; the element that is in two of these three sets is the lowest-ranked element.