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Equation puzzle strategy

How to solve eight-character equation puzzles faster: strong first guesses, finding the equals sign and reasoning about the size of numbers.

In short

An equation puzzle has fewer symbols than a word game — ten digits and four operators — but every guess must be a true calculation. The key is to locate the equals sign and the operator early, then reason about the size of the numbers.

Pick an informative opener

Use a first guess that contains six or seven different digits and two different operators. That tests many symbols at once and often tells you which operator the answer uses.

Find the equals sign

With eight characters, the equals sign is usually in position 6 or 7, giving a two- or three-digit result. Once it is green, you know exactly how many characters belong to the calculation.

Reason about magnitude

If the result has three digits and there is only one operator, multiplication is likely. If the result is small, subtraction or division may be involved. Use this to choose operators before you choose digits.

Use the order of operations

Expressions like 3+4*5 are calculated as 3+20. This lets you build valid guesses that place digits exactly where you want to test them.

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