Make 24
Five hands of four numbers. Combine two with +, −, × or ÷ and they become one; use all four to make exactly 24. Every hand can be made — the hard ones only with a division. Today’s five are the same for everybody; a new set comes at your level.
Make 24 is a classic number puzzle, played with a pack of cards in schools for decades: four numbers, the four operations, and one target. Use every number once to make exactly 24 — 4, 7, 8 and 8 is (7 − 8 ÷ 8) × 4. It trains mental arithmetic and the habit of working backwards from where you want to be.
How to play Make 24
- Tap a number, then an operation, then another number. The two become their result, already picked for the next step.
- Do that three times and one number is left. If it is 24, the hand is made and the next one comes.
- Undo steps back one; Start again goes back to the four numbers. On a keyboard, + − * and / pick the operations and Backspace undoes.
- There are five hands. Easy uses the numbers 1 to 9 and never needs a division; normal — the daily one — uses 1 to 13; hard deals only hands that cannot be made without dividing.
Scoring
- Each hand made is 100 points, and all five are 200 more.
- A last number that is not 24 is a slip and costs 10. A hint makes the next step of a way that works and costs 30. A skipped hand shows one way to make it and scores nothing.
- Between equal scores, the quicker solve wins.
Tips
- Work backwards: 24 is 3 × 8, 4 × 6, 2 × 12, 12 + 12 or 25 − 1. Look for two numbers that make one of those halves.
- A fraction on the way is allowed and sometimes the only way: 8 ÷ (3 − 8 ÷ 3) is exactly 24.
- A spare 1 can be multiplied in, and two equal numbers can make 1 by dividing or 0 by subtracting.
Play it with friends
- On your own, against the characters — each plays the game by its own rules the moment it starts, so there is always somebody to beat.
- With friends, each on their own phone or laptop: one of you shows a code, the others type it in, and everybody gets exactly the same game on the same Go.
- Taking turns on one device — pass it round, and each turn is scored against the turns before.
Related
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