Brain Out Level 120

Overview

Level 120 shows a short picture-equation line with stylized lucky-cat figures under the prompt What's the answer?. The cats are drawn in parts: a whole cat head-and-body, a face, and separate paws, and the last figure omits a paw that the earlier figures carry. Each earlier row prices one piece of the drawing, and the final row combines those pieces with the reduced last cat. The target is the final number, and the accepted answer is 14.

• Difficulty: Hard
• Estimated moves: 3

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Read the first equation and value the whole cat figure. Three identical full cats, each drawn complete with head, body, and both paws, add up to the first total; dividing that total by three sets the whole cat at 10.
2. Move to the second equation, which mixes one whole cat with two identical face figures. Subtract the known cat value 10 from that row's total, which leaves the two faces; dividing the remainder by two sets one face equal to 5.
3. Read the third equation next, which mixes one face with pairs of paw figures. Subtract the known face value 5 from that row's total, which leaves the paw pair; the pair equals 2, so a single paw equals 1.
4. Write down the three piece values before touching the final line: whole cat 10, face 5, single paw 1. Keeping these beside you avoids re-reading each earlier row while you work the last expression.
5. Inspect the final line closely before substituting anything. The last cat figure is drawn missing one paw that the earlier full cats carry, so it is worth a whole cat minus one paw: 10 minus 1 equals 9, not the full 10.
6. Compute the final expression in the correct order: the face (5) plus one paw (1) multiplied by the one-paw cat (9). Handle the multiplication first, so 1 times 9 is 9, and then add the face: 5 plus 9 gives 14.
7. Recheck the final cat's paws one last time before entering the number. Confirm that one paw is absent, which keeps that reduced cat at 9, then enter 14 as the answer.
8. Submit the number. The level accepts 14 once the missing-paw difference has been counted in; if it rejects the entry, the most likely slip is treating the last cat as a full 10 instead of the reduced 9.

Strategy & Reasoning

The trap in this level is treating every cat as identical. The equations first teach the value of the full cat, the face, and the paw piece, then the last figure deliberately drops a paw so its value is lower than a normal full cat. Counting the parts on the final figure matters more than reaching for a whole-cat substitution.

Order of operation decides the final line. The paw multiplies the reduced cat before the face is added, so multiplying first gives 1 times 9 equals 9, and adding the face 5 afterward reaches 14. Adding the face first would produce a different, incorrect total.

Each earlier equation exists to isolate one piece's value. The first row prices the whole cat, the second prices the face, the third prices the paw; skipping that breakdown and guessing from the last picture alone usually misses the reduced cat's missing paw.

The level is built to look like a simple children's sum, but the trap is visual: nearly every cat in the early rows carries the same pieces, so the eye treats the final figure as another full cat. Going back row by row to assign a value to each drawn part, then re-examining the final figure's paws, exposes the missing piece before the arithmetic is done. That part-by-part reading is what separates a correct 14 from the off-by-one-paw mistakes this level invites.

Tips & Common Mistakes

• Do not assume the final cat is worth 10. It is missing a paw, so subtract one paw's value before multiplying.
• Do not add the face before multiplying. The paw multiplies the reduced cat first; then the face 5 is added.
• Look closely at the paws on every figure. The single-paw and two-paw drawings are easy to blend together, and that difference changes the result.