🔢Countdown

Reach the target using the six numbers. Today's target is always reachable exactly, the numbers are drawn first and the target is picked from what they can actually make.

• Each number may be used once. You don't have to use them all.
• Every intermediate result must be a positive whole number: no negatives, no fractions.
• Division must be exact: 100 ÷ 4 is fine, 100 ÷ 3 is not.
• Scoring follows the show: 10 for the target exactly, 7 within five, 5 within ten, nothing beyond.
• Only an exact answer extends your daily streak.
• Difficulty follows the week: Monday is gentle and it builds to a tough Saturday, with Sunday easing off again. The tag under the target tells you which sort of day you're on.

Building an answer

You don't write one long sum with brackets. You work it a step at a time, the way contestants talk it through, "50 times 3 is 150, then add the 9".

1. Tap a number to select it.
2. Tap an operation.
3. Tap a second number. The step is done, both numbers are used up, and the result joins the row as a new number you can use again.

Each step appears in the working list underneath, showing how far it lands from the target. Undo takes back the last step; Start again clears the lot and gives you all six numbers back.

Declaring

When you're happy, tap a line in your working to choose the result you're declaring, then tap Declare. You declare once, so make it count. If you don't pick a line, your closest result is declared for you.

Declaring doesn't end your day unless you hit the target exactly. If you were short, you can clear the board and try again as many times as you like: the closest you ever get is what is recorded, so another go can only help. The worked solution is never shown while the day is still open. It appears on the Past games page from the following day.

Worked example

Numbers 25 50 75 100 3 6, target 952:

Better: (100 − 3) × 6 = 582, then 582 + 370… you'd need to find 370 from 25 50 75. It's (75 − 50) × 25 = 625, which isn't it. The point is you can back up freely: nothing is lost until you declare.

Tips

• Look at the target's last digit. It often tells you which small number has to be added or subtracted at the end.
• Aim for a round number near the target first, multiples of 25, 50 or 100 are easy to reach with the large numbers, then fix up the remainder.
• Dividing is rarer than multiplying, but a clean division is often the whole trick.