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How to play Chainy

Chainy is a free daily maths puzzle. Everyone gets the same start number, the same target and the same four moves each day, and your job is to chain those moves together to get from the start to the target in as few moves as possible. It's a little route-finding brain teaser that rewards planning ahead.

How the puzzle works

Each day has four moves, such as +7, −3, ×2 and ⇄, which reverses the digits (so 26 becomes 62). Tap a move to apply it to your current number, and use the moves in any order, as often as you like. Numbers always stay whole and between 1 and 999, and a ÷ move only works when it divides exactly. Every puzzle is solved in advance to find its par, the fewest moves possible, and each attempt gives you par + 1 moves. Reach the target within that budget and you've solved it. Reach it in exactly par for a perfect chain ⭐. If your moves run out, or you press Submit, you'll see how far your number ended up from the target. You get two undos a day to take back a move, and Clear starts your chain again but uses up an attempt.

Scoring and the helper

You have six attempts. Solving it on your first attempt earns 12 points, then 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2 for attempts two to six. Each miss tells you how far away you were. Stuck early on? The helper shows the first move of a shortest chain, but it halves the day's score and is only available during your first three attempts.

Streaks and badges

Your play streak counts the days in a row you've played, and your solved streak counts the days in a row you've solved the puzzle. Play seven days running and you earn a 7-point bonus, or 14 points if you solved all seven. Miss a day and the streaks start again. A new puzzle arrives every day at midnight UTC.

Tips

Work backwards from the target: which number could a single move have come from?

Watch for the reverse move. Flipping the digits can jump you a long way in one go.

Undos are precious: you get two a day, shared across all your attempts. Save them for a genuine slip.

What Chainy trains

Planning ahead. Choosing moves now that set up the target later.

Mental arithmetic. Quick sums with each move in your head.

Problem solving. Finding the shortest route, not just any route.

Did you know?

Finding the fewest moves is a 'shortest path' problem, the same kind of maths sat-navs use to plan routes.

Reversing digits can create curious coincidences: 12 × 42 and 21 × 24 both equal 504.

Your attempts