Matchstick Puzzles With Answers: 8 Classics to Solve
A matchstick puzzle is a brain teaser made of matches laid out as a sum or a shape. The sum is wrong, or the shape is not what it should be, and you have to fix it by moving, adding or removing a set number of matches, usually just one. The answer is almost always simpler than it looks, and you get it when you stop reading the numbers and start looking at the matches.
Below are eight classic puzzles with their answers hidden, so you can try first. Get some real matches, toothpicks or pencils if you have them, or picture the numbers as they look on a digital clock.
How the numbers are built
Matchstick numbers are drawn like the digits on a digital clock, with up to seven matches each:
| Digit | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 6 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
A plus sign takes 2 matches (one across, one down), a minus sign 1, and an equals sign 2.
The three tricks that solve most puzzles
- Change the sign. Taking the upright match out of a + turns it into a − and gives you a spare match. Putting a match on a − turns it into a +.
- Know the one-move changes. Moving one match inside a digit turns 6 into 0 or 9, 0 into 6 or 9, 2 into 3, and 3 into 2 or 5. Adding one turns 5 into 6 or 9, 0, 6 or 9 into 8, and 1 into 7.
- Count before you move. If you move a match, the total number of matches stays the same. If the sum needs a digit with more matches, the match has to come from somewhere else.
The puzzles
Puzzle 1: move one match
6 + 4 = 4
Show the answer
0 + 4 = 4. Move the middle match of the 6 to its top-right corner, and the 6 becomes a 0.
There's a second answer: take the upright match out of the + (making it a −) and add it to the 6 to make an 8: 8 − 4 = 4.
Puzzle 2: move one match
5 + 7 = 2
Show the answer
9 − 7 = 2. Take the upright match from the + so it becomes a −, and put it in the top-right corner of the 5, which turns it into a 9.
Puzzle 3: move one match
3 + 3 = 8
Show the answer
3 + 5 = 8. In the second 3, move the top-right match to the top-left. The 3 becomes a 5.
Puzzle 4: move one match
9 + 3 = 5
Show the answer
9 − 3 = 6. Take the upright match from the +, which leaves a −, and put it in the bottom-left corner of the 5 to make a 6.
Puzzle 5: move one match
8 − 3 = 3
Show the answer
8 − 3 = 5. Change the answer, not the question: in the last 3, move the top-right match to the top-left to make a 5.
Puzzle 6: add one match
5 + 5 = 11
Show the answer
5 + 6 = 11. Add a match in the bottom-left corner of either 5 to make it a 6. (6 + 5 = 11 works too.)
Puzzle 7: move one match (Roman numerals)
XI + I = X
Show the answer
X + I = XI. Take the I from the XI on the left and put it after the X on the right.
Puzzle 8: remove two matches
Twelve matches make a square split into four small squares, like a window with four panes. Remove two matches so that exactly two squares are left, with no loose matches.
Show the answer
Remove two matches of the cross in the middle that meet at the centre and form an L, for example the upper half of the middle upright and the left half of the middle crossbar. Three small squares are broken, and two squares are left: the small one in the opposite corner and the big outer square. Every remaining match is part of one of them.
How to get better at matchstick puzzles
- Read the goal first. "Move", "add" and "remove" are three different puzzles, and the number of matches matters.
- Try the sign first. In "move one" sums, changing + into − (or back) is the answer more often than you'd think.
- Check the answer side. Many people only change the left side of the sum; the result can change too.
- Think outside the digits. In the harder puzzles, a match can become part of a two-digit number, a Roman numeral or a different sign.
- Use real matches. Moving a physical match shows you shapes that are hard to see in your head.
Play 200 matchstick puzzles in your browser
Matchstick Puzzle is a free brain teaser on SalutGames with 200 levels in five worlds, from easy one-move sums to three-move puzzles, squares and triangles. It runs in a browser tab on a Chromebook, a PC or a phone, with no download.
Each level tells you whether to move, add or take away matches, and how many. Drag a match to a dotted spot (the spot where it will land glows gold), tap a match to remove it, or drag a new one out of the matchbox to add it. When the sum is true, or the shape has the right number of squares or triangles, every match lights up. Solve a level without hints for three stars; each hint costs one star, and there's an undo button for second thoughts.
More brain teasers are in our puzzle games category.
Questions
What is the most famous matchstick puzzle?
Probably 6 + 4 = 4, move one match. It looks impossible until you notice that one move turns the 6 into a 0.
Are matchstick puzzles good for kids?
Yes. They practise simple sums, shapes and flexible thinking, and the one-move puzzles suit children from about seven or eight. Use toothpicks or pencils instead of real matches.
How do you solve "move one matchstick" puzzles?
Start with the signs (+ and −), then the digits that change with one move: 6, 9 and 0, then 2, 3 and 5. Remember that moving a match keeps the total number of matches the same.
Can a matchstick puzzle have more than one answer?
Yes, and many do. Puzzle 1 above has two. Any answer that follows the rules and makes the sum true counts.
