Crunch (Mind Loft)

About Crunch (Mind Loft)

Crunch is the classic numbers round as a daily puzzle. You get six numbers, a mix of large and small ones, and a three-digit target. Tap a number, an operation and another number; the result replaces both, and you go again. Every value along the way has to be a positive whole number, and you can stop as soon as you hit the target without using every number.

Each board is checked by an exhaustive solver before it is published, so the target is always reachable exactly. The board also tells you the difficulty as a fact: the fewest numbers any exact answer needs (for example, needs 5 of the six). Undo and Start over cost nothing, since the score depends only on where you finish.

Scoring follows the familiar scale: hitting the target exactly scores 10, within five scores 7 and within ten scores 5. There is a hint button and a Give up option. A new board comes out every day at midnight Eastern, and the daily leaderboard compares results and times.

How to play Crunch (Mind Loft)

1. Open Crunch and press Start to see the six numbers and the target.
2. Tap a number, then an operation, then another number; the result replaces the two numbers.
3. Keep combining until you reach the target or get as close as you can.
4. Undo or start over freely; your score depends on how close your final number is.

Screenshots

Tips

• Multiply a large number by a small one to get near the target first, then adjust with what is left.
• Keep a small number spare for the last step; adding or subtracting a 1 to 9 fixes small gaps.
• The 'needs N of the six' note tells you how many numbers the shortest exact answer uses.

Questions