Make 42 with four 4s

The classic four fours puzzle: build an expression from exactly four 4s that equals 42. 42 cannot be made with + - × ÷, concatenation, or decimals (the solver checked every expression) — solutions need square roots, factorials, or exponents.

Solutions using only + - × ÷

No expression made of four plain 4s and + - × ÷ reaches 42 — the solver checked every possible expression.

Solutions with concatenation and decimals

Concatenation and decimals do not help for 42 either — every combination was checked.

Solutions with square roots, factorials, exponents

4! + 4! - 4! / 4 = 42
4! - (4! / 4 - 4!) = 42
44 + sqrt(4) - 4 = 42
44 - 4 + sqrt(4) = 42
44 - 4 / sqrt(4) = 42

…and 48 more at this tier.

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

How 42 compares

42 has 53 distinct solutions across all three tiers — #47 scarcest of the 95 solvable targets. Next door, 41 has 7 solutions and 43 has 11 solutions. The nearest impossible target is 73, 31 away — proven unreachable, not just unsolved.

If 42 went down easily, make 41 with four 4s — 7 solutions, the nearest step up in scarcity.

Make 41 with four 4s · Make 43 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.