← Play today's Tōtle

How to play Tōtle

Five numbers. One target. Combine all five with + − × ÷ to hit it.

Tōtle (say it like "total") is a free daily math puzzle. Everyone gets the same puzzle each day, and it takes a few minutes.

The rules

• Each day you get five different numbers from 1 to 20, and a target from 1 to 20 that isn't one of them.
• Combine two numbers at a time with +, −, × or ÷. The two merge into their result, so five numbers become four, then three, two, and finally one.
• You have to use all five numbers, so every answer takes exactly four moves.
• Every result has to be a positive whole number: subtraction can't reach zero or go below it, and division has to come out even.
• If the last number left is the target, you've solved it.

For example, with 7, 4, 16, 8 and 5 and a target of 9: 16 ÷ 8 = 2, then 5 − 4 = 1, then 7 + 2 = 9, then 9 × 1 = 9.

Making a move

• Drag one number onto another and pick an operator from the pop-up. Dragging puts the bigger number first, so dragging 2 onto 8 and picking − makes 8 − 2.
• Or tap a number, an operator, then another number. Tapping keeps the order you tapped, so 2, −, 8 isn't allowed.
• On a keyboard, 1–5 pick a number by position, + - * / pick an operator, Backspace undoes and Escape cancels.

Rounds and undos

• You get 3 rounds. A round is one attempt at the whole puzzle: four moves, down to one number.
• Finishing on the wrong number, or tapping New round to start over, uses up a round.
• Each round comes with 4 undos. Each one takes back a move.
• The grid under the timer has a row per round, so you can see how each one went.
• Stuck? Give up ends the game, and you can see one answer.

Medals

Every solve earns a medal, from the number of moves you made across all your rounds. Undone moves still count, and a round played out to the wrong number counts all four of its moves. A perfect game is four moves.

After the game you'll also see how your moves and time compare with other players', and how many solvers got each medal.

A new puzzle every day

• There's one puzzle a day, the same for everyone, and a new one at midnight your time.
• Puzzles get harder through the week: Sunday is the easiest and Saturday the hardest. The S M T W T F S row above the target shows where today falls.
• Once you've finished, a line tells you something about the puzzle, like how many different answers it had.
• Your game is saved as you go, so closing the page or reloading doesn't lose anything.

Sharing your result

When you're done, tap Share to send your result without giving the puzzle away. It looks like this:

Totle #20 · Sunday
2/3 · 🥇 8 moves · ⏱ 1:42
🟥🟥🟥🟥
🟩🟩🟩🟩
https://playtotle.com/?s=share

There's one row per round and one square per move: 🟩 the round that hit the target, 🟥 a round that finished on the wrong number, 🟨 a round you started over, ⬛ a round you gave up on, and ↩️ where you used an undo. The numbers and the answer never appear.

A few tips

• Work backward from the target. If it's 9, what could make it? 3 × 3, 18 ÷ 2, 4 + 5, 12 − 3… Then see which of those you can build.
• Find the even splits first. Division has to come out even, so it's often the hardest move to fit in. Spot the pairs that divide cleanly, like 16 ÷ 8 or 18 ÷ 6, early.
• Make a 1 to use up a spare number. Two numbers one apart subtract to 1, and multiplying or dividing by 1 leaves anything as it is.
• Break big numbers apart. 7 × 16 is 7 × 10 plus 7 × 6: 70 + 42 = 112. Halving and doubling help too: 14 × 5 is the same as 7 × 10.

Accounts

You don't need an account to play. Signing in (optional, free) keeps your streak and stats, shows every day you've played, lets you play days you missed, and keeps your games in step across your devices.

Play today's puzzle