Target

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Attempts:

How to play Targetly

Targetly is a free daily maths puzzle. Everyone gets the same six numbers and the same three-digit target each day, and your job is to reach the target exactly using + − × and ÷. It's a quick brain teaser that rewards a bit of number sense rather than speed.

How the puzzle works

Tap a number, tap an operation, then tap a second number. The two numbers are swapped for their answer, which you can keep using in the next step. You can use each number once, results always stay whole and positive, and division has to come out exactly. When your working hits the target it's checked straight away; otherwise press Submit to check your last result. You get two undos a day to take back a step, and Clear starts your working again but uses up an attempt. Every puzzle is checked in advance so it can always be solved, usually in three or four steps.

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 step of one solution, 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

Look for a multiplication that gets you close to the target, then use the small numbers to fix the gap.

You don't have to use every number. Four or five is often enough.

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

What Targetly trains

Mental arithmetic. Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing in your head.

Planning. Working backwards from the target is often the quickest route.

Number sense. Spotting useful multiples and near misses.

Did you know?

Reaching a three-digit target from six numbers is the famous numbers round of the British TV show Countdown, on air since 1982.

A good trick is to get close with multiplication first, then adjust with small numbers.

Your attempts