Make 24 — the card game that sharpens mental maths
Four cards, four operations, one target: use every card exactly once and land on exactly 24.
Make 24 is a beloved brain game in Chinese classrooms. Four playing cards are dealt, and you must combine their numbers with addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and brackets to make exactly 24 — using each card once and only once. Some hands fall in seconds; others hide their solution behind a clever fraction or a surprising order of operations. Every hand dealt here is checked solvable before it reaches you, so there is always an answer.
This game (called "24 Points") is played in classrooms all over China. Fractions are allowed on the way — for example 8 ÷ (3 − 8 ÷ 3) = 24 — so do not give up if whole numbers alone do not work.
How to play
Type your expression using the four card numbers, then check it. If you get stuck, reveal one solution and study its trick, then deal a fresh hand and try to beat your previous round. The board keeps count of the rounds you win.
What you learn
The game forces flexible thinking about numbers: factor pairs of 24, working backwards from the target, and the quiet power of brackets. It is mental arithmetic practice disguised as a puzzle — the kind children ask to play again.
Want more? Browse the whole Interactive Geometry Lab for nine hands-on math toys, or build a personalised math adventure for your child with the free Game Builder. Everything is free, with no sign-up.
✓ Last checked November 2, 2026 — we re-test this tool every week to make sure it still works.