Calc (Mind Loft)
Walk a grid of calculator buttons so your route adds up to the target.
Every day: One calculator-button board a day, the same for every player: walk from START to END through touching buttons so the route, read left to right, comes out at the target. New puzzle: Midnight US Eastern Time.
Calc is a free daily number puzzle from Mind Loft. The board is a grid of calculator buttons alternating number, operator, number; you walk from the top-left button to the bottom-right one, one touching button at a time, and the sum you trace, read left to right like a calculator, has to hit the day's target exactly.
About Calc (Mind Loft)
Calc turns a calculator keypad into a maze. Number buttons and operator buttons alternate across the grid, so any route from START in the top-left corner to END in the bottom-right spells out a calculation. The calculation is evaluated the way a simple calculator does it, strictly left to right, so 7 + 8 x 2 gives 30 rather than 23. Arrive on END holding exactly the target and the puzzle is solved.
Three rules shape the search. You cannot use the same button twice in a route; a division that does not come out to a whole number is not allowed, so nothing is ever a fraction; and the route has to finish on the bottom-right button, which makes the last operator before it worth planning for. Landing on END with the wrong total only costs a try, and Step back and Back to start let you change course as often as you like. There is also a hint button.
Boards are six buttons across early in the week and seven from Thursday, and each one is checked so a route to the target exists. Sundays bring a harder edition with three targets on one board. A new board appears every day at midnight Eastern.
How to play Calc (Mind Loft)
- Open Calc and press Start to see the board and the target.
- Tap a button touching START to set off; each next button must touch the last one.
- Your route alternates numbers and operators and is worked out left to right, like a calculator.
- Reach the END button holding exactly the target; a wrong total costs a try and you can step back.
Screenshots
Tips
- Work backwards from END: decide what the total needs to be before the last operator.
- Remember there is no precedence here; multiplication does not happen first.
- Use division only where it comes out whole, otherwise the step is refused.
Questions
What time does Calc reset?
A new Calc puzzle goes up every day at midnight US Eastern Time, the same for every player. Sundays bring a harder Sunday Edition with three targets on one board.
Is Calc free?
Yes. Calc plays in the browser on Mind Loft with no app and no account. Signing up with a display name (no password) puts your result on the daily leaderboard; an email is optional.
Can I play earlier Calc puzzles?
Yes. Mind Loft keeps an archive of past Calc boards together with each day's standings.
Does Calc use order of operations?
No. The route is read left to right like a basic calculator, so 7 + 8 x 2 is 30.
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