FORGE, the daily number puzzle

You get five or six number tiles and a target. Tap one tile, tap plus, minus, times or divide, then tap a second tile. The two melt into one new tile with the result. Keep going until a tile shows the target.

Every tile can be used once, and you do not have to use them all. Subtraction cannot go to zero or below and division has to come out even, so every tile stays a whole number. Everyone gets the same puzzle each day. It takes two to three minutes with one thumb or a keyboard.

Yesterday's FORGE and the last 7 days

Yesterday's FORGE answers: November 5 (puzzle #9)

• November 5
• November 4
• November 3
• November 2
• November 1
• October 31
• October 30

All past FORGE puzzles

How to play

1. Drag one tile onto another and pick plus, minus, times or divide from the ring that pops up. Each button shows what it would make. Or tap a tile, tap an operation, then tap another tile.
2. The two tiles melt into one tile with the result. Tiles glow hotter the closer they are to the target, and the ingot at the top fills up.
3. Subtraction and division put the bigger number first for you, because tiles stay whole numbers above zero. If a merge cannot work, the tiles shake and say why.
4. Make the target to light the forge. You do not have to use every tile. Undo takes back the last merge as often as you like.
5. On a keyboard, type a tile's number to pick it, press + - * or / for the operation, type the second number, and press Enter or Backspace to undo.
6. Stars: three for hitting the target in at most one merge more than the minimum with no hint, two for any exact answer, one for finishing within 10 of the target. The first hint is free and lights the two tiles to merge next; asking again shows the operation. Each hint after the first costs a star. When the target can no longer be made, the bench says Dead end so you can Undo. Finish with extra merges and you can replay for par. Show me ends the puzzle with no stars.

Tips

• Look at the target first. If it is near a multiple of a big tile, build the difference with the small ones.
• Multiply early. Small tiles make big numbers fast, and subtraction or division at the end can trim the difference.
• Targets ending in 0 or 5 usually come from a tile times 5 or 10, or from 25, 50, 75 and 100.
• If you are close, check whether one leftover tile closes the gap exactly. Plus or minus a single tile is often the last merge.
• Undo is free. Try a risky idea and take it back.

A worked example: puzzle #1, October 28, 2026

The tiles for puzzle #1 are 2, 5, 5, 6, 7 and 9, and the target is 130. One way is 2 times 5 is 10, then 6 plus 7 is 13, then 10 times 13 is 130. That is three merges, the minimum for this puzzle.

There are many other routes that also work. Any exact route earns two stars and the shortest ones earn three.

A common mistake

Spending the big tiles first. A big tile that gets used up early leaves the small ones with no way to reach the target. Try the small tiles first and bring the big tile in near the end.

How FORGE differs

This is a numbers game, not a grid. There is no hidden grid to deduce, you build the target out of the tiles you are given. Unlike a timed game show round, there is no clock. Every day is checked by a solver, so an exact answer always exists, and we tell you the fewest merges it takes.

Questions

FORGE unlimited · GRIDS, the daily nonogram · More daily puzzles · Brain games

Past FORGE puzzles · How to play FORGE · Your streaks