🔥 Logic puzzle
Move 1 match!
Every equation is wrong – until you move exactly one match. Tap a match, then tap an empty spot.
How to crack matchstick puzzles
The digits are made of up to seven matches – just like on a digital clock. Moving one match usually changes one digit or the operator. Knowing how digits are “related” is a huge advantage:
- One match more: 1 → 7, 3 → 9, 5 → 6 or 9, 6 → 8, 9 → 8, 0 → 8
- One match moved: 2 ↔ 3, 3 ↔ 5, 6 ↔ 9, 0 ↔ 6 and 0 ↔ 9
- Operators: “+” becomes “−” when you take away the vertical match – and that’s often the trick!
Why are these puzzles so hard?
Our brain reads numbers as finished symbols, not as building blocks. Only when you remind yourself that an 8 is made of seven separate sticks do you see the hidden options. Psychologists have used exactly these matchstick equations to study how hard it is for us to break familiar symbols into their parts.