Totle #1: make 2 from 1, 3, 14, 15 and 20
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Use all five numbers with + − × ÷ to make 2. Combine two at a time; every result has to be a positive whole number.
A Tuesday puzzle, so level 3 of 7 (they get harder from Sunday to Saturday). There were 23 different answers. Harder than 54% of all Totle puzzles, and these five numbers can make 866 different totals.
About this puzzle
The very first Tōtle. With a target of just 2 and twenty-three different answers, it's a friendly place to start, and a good one for seeing how many roads lead to the same small number.
Small targets reward thinking in division: any number and its double will land on 2, so the puzzle turns into a hunt for a pair like that you can build from what you have.
Playing past puzzles needs a free account. They don't count toward your streak.
How people did
No results were recorded for this day.
How to think about it
- Work backward. Ask what two numbers make 2, then whether you can build them from what you have.
- Find the even splits. Division has to come out even, so spot the pairs that divide cleanly early.
- Make a 1 to use up a spare number. Two numbers one apart subtract to 1, and × 1 or ÷ 1 changes nothing.
- Break big numbers into tens. 7 × 16 is 70 + 42; 91 ÷ 7 is 70 ÷ 7 + 21 ÷ 7, or 10 + 3.
Hints and an answer
Tap one at a time to open it.
Hint 1: think about the target
The last move makes 2. It can add or subtract two numbers you've built, multiply two (2 is prime, so only 1 × 2), or divide a multiple of 2 by the right number (4 ÷ 2, 6 ÷ 3, 8 ÷ 4…). Look at the numbers you have: which of those could you build?
Hint 2: a first move
Try 14 + 20 = 34.
Hint 3: how it ends
The last move is 30 ÷ 15 = 2. So the job is building 30 and 15 from the numbers.
Walk through it
Start from the target. 2 is prime, so no handy multiplication lands on it, and finishing with + or − means building two numbers exactly 2 apart. Division is often easier: you only need a number and its double.
The 15 makes a good anchor. Its double is 30, and 30 ÷ 15 = 2, so the job becomes making 30 from 1, 3, 14 and 20.
14 + 20 = 34 is close to 30, just 4 too many, and the two small numbers make exactly that: 1 + 3 = 4. Take it away, 34 − 4 = 30, and finish with 30 ÷ 15 = 2.
Show an answer
- 14 + 20 = 34
- 1 + 3 = 4
- 34 − 4 = 30
- 30 ÷ 15 = 2
Turn it around: 15 × 2 = 30, so 30 ÷ 15 = 2.
One of 23 different answers.
Other ways to get there
- 14 ÷ ((3 + 20) − (15 + 1))
Aim for 7 instead, since 14 is its double: 3 + 20 = 23 and 15 + 1 = 16, and 23 − 16 = 7. Then 14 ÷ 7 = 2. - (3 × 20) ÷ (1 + (14 + 15))
Go big: 3 × 20 = 60, and the other three numbers add up to exactly half of it, 1 + 14 + 15 = 30. Then 60 ÷ 30 = 2. - ((3 + 15) ÷ (20 − 14)) − 1
Or land on 3 and step down: 3 + 15 = 18 and 20 − 14 = 6, so 18 ÷ 6 = 3, and the 1 finishes it, 3 − 1 = 2.