Make 36 with four 9s

The classic four nines puzzle: build an expression from exactly four 9s that equals 36. 36 can be made with nothing but four 9s, + - × ÷, and parentheses.

Solutions using only + - × ÷

9 + 9 + 9 + 9 = 36

Solutions with square roots, factorials, exponents

9 + 9 × 9 / sqrt(9) = 36
9 + sqrt(9 × 9 × 9) = 36
(9 + 99) / sqrt(9) = 36
9 × sqrt(9)! - 9 - 9 = 36
9 × (9 / 9 + sqrt(9)) = 36

…and 912 more at this tier.

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

How 36 compares

36 has 918 distinct solutions across all three tiers — #10 most plentiful of all 100 targets. Exactly one of them uses nothing but + - × ÷. Next door, 35 has 16 solutions and 37 has 29 solutions.

If 36 went down easily, make 35 with four 9s — 16 solutions, the nearest step up in scarcity.

Make 35 with four 9s · Make 37 with four 9s

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

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Stay for something you did not search for.

Four Nines — the daily puzzle: 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.

Play the daily Four Nines puzzle, pick another number in the solver, or find more free math games.