How To Play Mathler?

Wordle became a huge hit this year, quickly moving from obscurity to The New York Times in just one month. However, if you prefer numbers over words, you might want to try a new game called Mathler.

This game closely mimics Wordle, from its look to its color palette to how you post results on social media.

Although it shares similarities with Wordle, Mathler is somewhat more challenging. Perhaps we’re just not that good with numbers.

Basics of Mathler Explained

Mathler is a simple, free game like Wordle, available on its own website without ads. Players can try it once a day, with new puzzles released at 7 p.m. ET (midnight GMT).

In Mathler, the answer is a number given beforehand. The task is to figure out the correct equation using numbers 0-9 and operations like +, -, *, and / in six boxes.

This challenge is tougher than it seems because there could be several ways to reach the number. For example, if the answer is 20, the solution is 1* 5+15 or 30-8-2. The difficulty is in finding the right approach.

Like Wordle, Mathler gives clues. A correct and correctly placed digit turns green, a correct but misplaced digit turns yellow, and an incorrect one turns gray.

If you solve it, a pop-up shows your longest streak, success rate, games played, and guess distribution. There’s also a Share button to boast about your intelligence without revealing the solution.

Daniel Tait created Mathler, and it’s still a new game, offering a chance to join in early.

How to Play Mathler: A Guide to the Rules

Like Wordle, Mathler is simple but has few rules:

• You need to guess the right answer in six tries or fewer.
• Each guess must be a correct equation. For example, if the answer is 20, you can’t guess 50+5-2 because that doesn’t make 20.
• You must solve equations using the PEDMAS order: parentheses, exponents, division, multiplication, addition, then subtraction.
• A right number or operation turns green.
• A right number or operation in the wrong spot turns yellow.
• A wrong number or operation turns gray.
• You can use digits and operations more than once.

How to Develop a Winning Strategy for Mathler?

This part won’t take long since we’ve only played one game so far and solved it in 4 out of 6 guesses.

From this, the best approach seems to be to think backwards. What does that mean?

Imagine the answer is 50. How would you get there? You might think of 10*5 as a way to reach 50. Start by solving the first part of the equation to get 10 — maybe from 18-8. So, your equation would be: 18-8*5 = 50.

However, as some readers have pointed out, this doesn’t adhere to PEMDAS, so it wouldn’t be correct.

Once you find an equation that works but probably isn’t the exact solution, things get a bit easier — you realize it might not use an 8 but does use a subtraction.

This makes it more challenging in one way, as it limits the possible routes. After you eliminate several numbers and operations, it can be tough to find an equation that fits your guess. You’ll need both luck and logic to find the correct answer, similar to Wordle.

There are many math puzzle games online, but Mathler hits the right level of difficulty. It uses a familiar Wordle format, so it’s easy to learn. If you prefer word games, you can explore our top Wordle alternatives.