Math Chain — Free Running-Total Mental Math Game
Follow a chain of operations. Type the result.
- Mental math
- 3 min
- Medium
Math Chain starts with a number, then feeds you operations one at a time: +7, ×3, −12. Nothing is written down and nothing stays on screen. You are updating a single value under time pressure, which is the same executive process Serial Addition trains — just wearing arithmetic clothes.
Play Math ChainHow it works
1A starting number flashes, then disappears.
2Operations arrive one at a time. Apply each as it lands.
3Type the final total. Nothing stays on screen.
How to play
- 1
Note the starting number
A number flashes briefly. That is your starting total.
- 2
Apply each operation
Operations appear one at a time — +, −, × or ÷. Apply each to your running total as it arrives.
- 3
Type the final total
When the chain ends, enter the result. Longer chains and faster steps come with each level.
What it trains
Compute fast without writing anything down. Maintaining and revising a single running value is the updating component of executive function, separable from inhibition and task switching.
- Brain area
- Prefrontal cortex — working memory
- Based on
- Miyake et al., 2000
Leaderboard
Weekly season resets every Monday. Scores show as Lvl 5.
Leaderboard
Questions
Can I write the steps down?
You can, but the whole exercise is keeping one number alive in your head while it changes. Writing removes the load.
How long are the chains?
Level 1 uses three operations. By level 8 you are tracking six or more with less time between each.
What if I lose the total halfway?
Guess and move on. Trying to reconstruct the chain costs you the operations still arriving.
