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Best
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A mental arithmetic chain: a starting number appears, then operations flash one at a time — add, subtract, and later multiply and divide — while you keep the running total in your head. Type the final result to score. Every level adds a step and speeds the chain up, and three wrong answers end the game.
Each round starts by showing a single number in the panel at the top. Hold it in your head. Then operations appear one at a time in the same place: + 7 means add seven to what you have, − 4 means subtract four, × 2 means double it, ÷ 3 means divide it by three. A short gap separates the operations, so two identical ones in a row are two separate steps, and a counter shows how far into the chain you are.
When the last operation disappears a question mark takes its place and the keypad lights up. Type the total you ended with and press OK; the backspace key removes the last digit. Nothing can be typed while the chain is still playing.
The first chains are three additions and subtractions long. Each correct answer scores a point and adds one more step. Multiplication by 2 or 3 joins at level 4 and division by 2 or 3 at level 7, and each operation stays on screen for less time as you climb. The chains are built so that every intermediate value is a whole number between 0 and 99, and an operation never simply undoes the one before it.
A wrong answer costs one of your three hearts; the correct total is shown along with the whole chain and the value after every step, so you can see where you slipped. When all three hearts are gone the game ends and you can save your score.
Say the running total, not the operation. After “17, plus 6” think “23” and let the 17 go. Holding only one number at a time is far easier than trying to remember the whole chain and work it out at the end.
Split awkward steps. Adding 8 is adding 10 and taking 2; subtracting 9 is subtracting 10 and adding 1. Doubling 37 is doubling 30 and 7 separately: 60 plus 14. With practice these become single thoughts.
Division is always exact, which is a useful check. If you reach “÷ 3” and your total is not a multiple of three, you have already slipped somewhere. The same goes for a total that would go below zero or above 99 — the chain never does that, so an impossible step tells you to recheck.
As the operations speed up, the gap between them becomes your working time. Use the moment an operation appears to read it and the blank that follows to finish the arithmetic, so you are ready before the next one arrives.