How to play Hundred Square
Fill the missing numbers on pieces cut from a number square, using right adds 1 and down adds 10. Also known as Missing number square.
The rules
- Each piece is part of a big number square with ten numbers in each row.
- Moving one square right adds 1; moving left takes 1 away.
- Moving one square down adds 10; moving up takes 10 away.
- Fill every empty square on every piece.
Playing Hundred Square on Puzzle Solvers
- Choose which numbers (1–100, 101–200, up to 1000, or counting in tens) and a difficulty, then press New Puzzle.
- Each piece is cut from a big number square. A few numbers are shown.
- Tap an empty square and type its number. One step right adds 1; one step down adds 10 (on the tens square, right adds 10 and down adds 100).
- Hint shows the next number and how to get it from its neighbour.
A worked example
A piece shows 34. The square just to its right is 34 + 1 = 35, and the square just below is 34 + 10 = 44.
The square below 35 is 45 — and it is also just right of 44, which checks out.
Strategies
- Start next to a clue. Fill the squares touching a shown number first — each is just one more, one less, ten more or ten less.
- Watch the row ends. A number ending in 0 is at the right-hand end of its row, so nothing can sit to its right.
- Same column, same ones digit. Every number in a column ends with the same digit.
- Jump by tens. Going down two squares adds 20; going down and right adds 11.
Common mistakes
- Adding 1 when moving down instead of 10.
- Forgetting that a piece cannot cross the edge of the number square.
Where it comes from
The hundred square is a classic tool in primary classrooms for teaching place value and number patterns.
Frequently asked questions
What is the tens square?
A square that counts in tens: right adds 10 and down adds 100, from 10 up to 1000.
Can pieces be rotated?
No — pieces keep the same orientation as the number square.
Is there always one answer?
Yes — every piece has at least one clue, so every square follows.
Keep going
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