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Chain for

medium4 moves

The board

TargetTarget: 298
Running value: 59
  1. 59

0 of 4 moves

Reach the target in exactly 4 moves. Nothing here is recorded — this day is over.

Show the solution
  1. 59 → 93: +34: 59 → 93
  2. 93 → 56: −37: 93 → 56
  3. 56 → 149: +93: 56 → 149
  4. 149 → 298: ×2: 149 → 298

From 59 to 298: 4 moves, no tile twice, and only one set of tiles gets there.

The hand: +43, ×2, +93, +34, −37. +43 moves you up by 43; from 59 that is 102. ×2 multiplies by 2 — an even number, so it can never land on an odd target directly; 298 is a multiple of 2. +93 moves you up by 93; from 59 that is 152. +34 moves you up by 34; from 59 that is 93. −37 takes 37 off; from 59 that is 22.

First, +34: 59 → 93. That leaves 205 still to gain. Move 2: −37, 93 → 56. That leaves 242 still to gain. Then +93: 56 becomes 149. That leaves 149 still to gain. ×2 next, taking 149 to 298. 298 is even, as any ×2 result must be.

Working backwards helps: the final move must be ×2, because 149 is the only value in reach that turns into 298. So the real question is how to reach 149 in 3 moves from 59 with the remaining tiles.

Step by step, the choices narrow: At 59, 5 tiles are legal and 3 of them still lead to 298. At 93, 4 tiles are legal and 2 of them still lead to 298. At 56, 3 tiles are legal and 1 of them still leads to 298. At 149, 2 tiles are legal and 1 of them still leads to 298.

Why not +43? Play ×2, +43, +93, +34 and the chain ends on 288, 10 below the target — a near miss, but a miss.

In total there are 8 ways to land within 10 of 298 without hitting it, and 6 orders of the right tiles that do hit it.

Once the set of tiles is right, the order usually follows from what is legal at each step.

How Chain works

You start on one number and have to end on the target, using each tile in the hand at most once, in whatever order you like. Tiles add, subtract, multiply, divide — division only when it comes out exact — or swap the digits of the running value. The number of moves is fixed: it is the length of the shortest solution, so playing fewer never ends on the target and there is no longer route to take. A chain that uses all its moves and misses counts as a try, and the board goes back to the start; undo and reset are free. Exactly one set of tiles works, and the rest are there to look plausible.

The full rules, with worked examples · how to find the set faster

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    Chain for Sunday 6 September · puzzles