Tricky Test 2 Level 98

Overview

The level says "Correct the equation." at the top. In the centre of the screen, rendered out of glowing matchsticks (a seven-segment digital style), is the equation "2 + 6 = 11". Below it is a grey SUBMIT button. The equation is arithmetically wrong: 2 + 6 = 8, not 11. The digits and signs are made of individual matchsticks that you can grab and move. The task is to move exactly one matchstick to make the equation mathematically true. The solution is to turn the 6 into a 9, so that the equation reads 2 + 9 = 11 (equivalently, 11 = 9 + 2).

• Difficulty: Hard
• Estimated moves: 1

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Read the wrong equation "2 + 6 = 11". Confirm that 2 + 6 is actually 8, so the equation is false.
2. Examine the digit "6" in the middle. It is drawn as a seven-segment matchstick digit. Notice its lower-left vertical segment and its missing upper-right vertical segment.
3. Grab the lower-left vertical matchstick of the 6 (the segment on the lower-left side of the digit) and move it over to the upper-right side of the same digit.
4. Placing that match in the upper-right position changes the shape of the 6 into a 9. The equation now reads 2 + 9 = 11.
5. Check the arithmetic: 2 + 9 = 11. This is correct. Tap SUBMIT (or the level clears automatically) and the puzzle is solved. The game's own hint confirms this: "11 = 9 + 2. We didn't mention anything about moving the matches, did we?"

Strategy & Reasoning

This is a classic matchstick equation puzzle. The trick is that you are allowed to rearrange a single match within a digit, not just swap digits around. The digit 6 and the digit 9 differ by exactly one segment: the 6 has a lower-left vertical segment that the 9 lacks, and the 9 has an upper-right vertical segment that the 6 lacks. Moving that one match converts 6 directly into 9.

Once the 6 becomes 9, the equation 2 + 9 = 11 is arithmetically correct, which is exactly what the game's hidden hint states ("11 = 9 + 2", the commuted form of the same sum).

Other tempting moves do not work. Changing the 2 into a 3 gives 3 + 6 = 9, still not 11. Changing the 6 into an 8 gives 2 + 8 = 10, not 11. Removing a match to make the 6 into a 5 gives 2 + 5 = 7. None of these yields 11. The only single-match move that balances the equation is turning the 6 into a 9.

The joke in the hint ("We didn't mention anything about moving the matches") is because the digits are visually made of matchsticks but the game never explicitly says so - you have to notice you can grab the segments.

Tips & Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Trying to change the 2 or the result 11 instead of the 6. Correct approach: Move a segment within the 6 to turn it into a 9.
• Mistake: Moving more than one match. Correct approach: Only one match moves: the lower-left vertical of the 6 to the upper-right.
• Mistake: Forgetting that 2 + 9 = 11 and trying to force a different total. Correct approach: The target total is already 11 on the right; you just need the left side to add up to 11.
• Mistake: Tapping SUBMIT without moving any match. Correct approach: The equation as written (2+6=11) is wrong; you must physically drag one match segment first.