How to play Tot Up

Tot Up is a free daily numbers game: three targets, six numbers for each, and 60 seconds on the clock. You join the numbers with + − × and ÷ to hit each target, or to get as close to it as you can.

Everyone gets the same numbers, so you can see how you did against friends, family and everyone else who played. A whole day takes about three minutes.

The day

Each day has three rounds, always in this order.

• Warm-up. Six small numbers, and a target from 21 to 99.
• Classic. One big number and five small ones, and a target from 101 to 499.
• Brain-burner. Two different big numbers and four small ones, and a target from 101 to 999.

The big numbers are 25, 50, 75 and 100. The small ones run from 1 to 10. A small number can turn up twice in the same round, but never three times. Each round gives you 60 seconds.

Every target can be reached, because Tot Up builds each one from the numbers you’re dealt. If you miss, the game shows you a way afterwards. No target is a give-away, either. None can be made in a single move, and a Brain-burner always needs at least four of your numbers.

You get one go a day, and new numbers arrive at midnight UK time. Tot Up runs in your browser with nothing to sign up for, and you can add it to your phone’s home screen.

The moves

Tap a number, then + − × or ÷, then a second number. The two cards turn into one new card with the answer on it, and you carry on from there.

A few rules keep every number whole and above zero.

• Bigger number first. Take-aways and divisions always start from the bigger number, so tapping 3, then −, then 75 gives 72.
• No minus numbers, and no zero. Taking a number away from itself would make 0, so the game won’t let you.
• No fractions. A division has to come out whole. 17 ÷ 5 isn’t allowed, but 10 ÷ 10 = 1 is.
• Use as many cards as you need. You don’t have to use all six, and leftovers cost you nothing.
• Changed your mind? Undo takes back your last move, and Start again puts all six numbers back.

Your closest number counts, even if you carry on past it and end up further away. Hit the target exactly and the round ends there and then. If you’re happy with a near miss, tap Lock in to end the round early.

Scoring

Each round is scored on how close your best number got to the target.

Only a bang-on answer earns points for time, so it pays to be quick when you can see the whole way there.

Say you hit the first target with 37 seconds to spare, finish 3 away in the second round and 8 away in the third. That’s 137, then 70, then 50, for a day’s total of 257.

There’s one extra. Turn on reminders and the next daily game you finish gets a one-off bonus of 30 points.

Three worked rounds

These come from Tot Up’s own puzzle maker, one of each kind, with the working set out as the game sets it out.

Warm-up

• 10
• 8
• 7
• 3
• 3
• 1

88 is 8 × 11, and 11 is 10 + 1. That takes just two moves.

1. 10 + 1=11
2. 11 × 8=88

The 7 and both 3s are left over, which is fine. If the 11 doesn’t jump out at you, get close and adjust instead: 10 × 8 = 80, then 7 + 1 = 8, and 80 + 8 = 88.

Classic

• 25
• 9
• 9
• 7
• 3
• 1

309 is only 9 past 300, and 300 is twelve 25s. So make 12, multiply, then add the other 9.

1. 9 + 3=12
2. 25 × 12=300
3. 300 + 9=309

The 7 and the 1 aren’t needed. There are only a few short ways to 309, so seeing the 300 is what cracks it. Four 25s make 100, so twelve make 300.

Brain-burner

• 75
• 25
• 8
• 4
• 3
• 2

296 is 4 less than 300, and the two big numbers add up to 100. So make three hundreds, then take away 4.

1. 75 + 25=100
2. 100 × 3=300
3. 300 − 4=296

There’s more than one way in. 75 × 4 = 300 gets you to the same place, and then 8 ÷ 2 = 4 and 300 − 4 = 296. Or notice that 296 is 4 × 74, and build the 74 first: 75 − 3 = 72, 72 + 2 = 74, then 74 × 4 = 296.

Beating the clock

A minute goes quickly. These habits help you find a way before it runs out.

• Look for a big product near the target. Multiply your largest numbers and see where you land. If the target is 178 and you hold 25, 7, 6, 5, 3 and 2, then 25 × 7 = 175 is only 3 short, and 175 + 3 = 178 finishes it.
• Make 100. Hundreds are easy to build on. 75 + 25 makes 100, and so does 25 × 4. A Warm-up has no big numbers, but 10 × 10 = 100, and then 100 − 9 = 91.
• Factor the target. If the target divides by one of your small numbers, the rest may be easy to make. 203 is 7 × 29, so with 25, 7, 5, 5, 4 and 2 you can play 25 + 4 = 29, then 29 × 7 = 203.
• Get close, then adjust. Make a round number near the target and fix the gap with what’s left. For 454 with 50, 8, 6, 5, 4 and 1, play 8 + 1 = 9, then 50 × 9 = 450, then 450 + 4 = 454.
• Bank a near miss. Your closest number counts even if the clock runs out, so get within 10 early, then go after bang on. For 711 with 100, 75, 10, 10, 9 and 3, play 75 − 3 = 72, then 72 × 10 = 720. That’s 9 away and already worth 50 points. One more move, 720 − 9 = 711, makes it bang on.

These habits lean on quick sums, factors and estimating, the same mental arithmetic that non-calculator papers such as GCSE and National 5 Maths test. Sharpen your mental maths goes through the tricks behind them.

Tables, leagues and streaks

When you finish, your score goes on the Everyone table and on your area’s table, for today and for the week, Monday to Sunday. In the UK your area is your council area, like Inverclyde or Glasgow, once you’ve tapped Use my location. Elsewhere it’s your city. The Areas table ranks areas by their players’ average score. Areas with only a few players are pulled towards the overall average, so one lucky player can’t carry a whole area. You can also start a league for your family, friends or workplace and share its link, and anyone who opens it joins. Finish each day’s game and your streak carries on, whatever you score. Every seven days in a row earns a rest day, which covers a morning you miss, and you can keep up to two.

The arcade

Want more? The arcade deals a fresh Warm-up, Classic and Brain-burner whenever you like, from the same puzzle maker and scored the same way. Arcade games aren’t posted anywhere and don’t touch your streak, and your best arcade score stays on your phone. You’ll find it under the day’s game on the home screen.

Something not clear, or an idea for the game? Email hello@tot-up.com.