Make 13 with four 4s

The classic four fours puzzle: build an expression from exactly four 4s that equals 13. 13 cannot be made with + - × ÷ alone (the solver checked every expression) — you will need to stick 4s together (like 44) or use decimals (like .4).

Solutions using only + - × ÷

No expression made of four plain 4s and + - × ÷ reaches 13 — the solver checked every possible expression.

Solutions with concatenation and decimals

(4 - .4) / .4 + 4 = 13
4 - (.4 - 4) / .4 = 13

Solutions with square roots, factorials, exponents

4! - 44 / 4 = 13
4! - 4.4 / .4 = 13
(4! + 4 + 4!) / 4 = 13
(4 + 4! + 4!) / 4 = 13
4! - (.4 + 4) / .4 = 13

…and 63 more at this tier.

70 distinct solutions found in total, after removing trivial rearrangements.

How 13 compares

13 has 70 distinct solutions across all three tiers — #45 most plentiful of the 95 solvable targets. Next door, 12 has 1,538 solutions and 14 has 327 solutions. The nearest impossible target is 73, 60 away — proven unreachable, not just unsolved.

If 13 went down easily, make 31 with four 4s — 9 solutions, the nearest step up in scarcity.

Make 12 with four 4s · Make 14 with four 4s

The Number Lab

Same idea, different constraints: four 9s, four 4s, or any four digits you like.

Four Nines — the daily puzzle
Four Nines solver — every target, solved
Four Fours — the 1881 original
Four Fours solver — including the impossible five
Make 24 solver — any four digits
Today's 24 — one new hand a day

Got what you came for?

Stay for something you did not search for.

Four Nines — the daily sibling: four 9s, one target, new at midnight
The Reflex Lab — nine ways to measure your hands and memory, none of them polite about it
hand me something weird — a random pick from the directory. Could be the horse.

Read up on the 1881 original, pick another number in the solver, or find more free math games.