How to play Target Number

  1. Choose a level, then press Start game.
  2. Tap a number tile, then an operation, then another tile. The two tiles become one tile with the answer.
  3. Keep combining tiles until one shows the target number.
  4. Press Undo to take back a step, or Show me to see one way of making the target.
  5. A game is eight targets.

For parents and teachers

Hitting a target means working backwards as well as forwards: to make 24, a child might think of 3 times 8 and then look for a 3 and an 8. That kind of number reasoning grows fluency more than drill alone. The expression written at the end, with its brackets, shows how the order of steps is recorded in maths. Let your child explain their route; there is usually more than one.