Sums Puzzle
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I was an instant fan of this Sums Puzzle when I discovered it in Puzzle Box, Volume 2. Place the number cards 1-99 into the grid, once each. A cell can contain no numbers, one number, or two numbers. Two numbers in a cell form a 2-digit number in that cell. The numbers outside the grid show the sums of numbers in the respective rows or columns. If a row or number has just a single number, then the respective number outside the grid shows that number alone.
As I mentioned above, I found this sums puzzle from Hasan Yurtoglu in Puzzle Box, Volume 2 by Dover Publications. The Puzzle Box books (all 3 volumes) are probably my absolute favorite series of puzzle books. It was this series of puzzle books that convinced me I should be using puzzles in my classroom.
I printed the puzzle board on 11 x 17 cardstock. If you don’t have the ability to print on this size of paper, I have also uploaded a letter sized version at the bottom of this post.
For example, you could place a 6 in one box and combine the 1 and 2 to make 12 in order to make the numbers in the first row sum to 18.
Similarly, in the last column, you could create 12, 8, and 5 since they sum to 25. That’s the easy part. Now the tricky part of the puzzle is to use the provided digits to make all of the rows and columns sum to the correct values at the same time.
Happy Puzzling!
Free Download of Sums Puzzle
Click here to Download
Sums Puzzle – Letter Sized (PDF)
3859 downloads – 253.20 KB
Want more puzzling fun? Check out my puzzles page!
Puzzle Solutions
I intentionally do not make answers to the printable puzzles and math activities I share on my blog available online because I strive to provide learning experiences for my students that are non-google-able. I would like other teachers to be able to use these puzzles in their classrooms as well without the solutions being easily found on the Internet.
However, I do recognize that us teachers are busy people and sometimes need to quickly reference an answer key to see if a student has solved a puzzle correctly or to see if they have interpreted the instructions properly.
If you are a teacher who is using these puzzles in your classroom, please send me an email at sarah@mathequalslove.net with information about what you teach and where you teach. I will be happy to forward an answer key to you.
Not a teacher? Go ahead and send me an email as well. Just let me know what you are using the puzzles for. I am continually in awe of how many people are using these puzzles with scouting groups, with senior adults battling dementia, as fun activities in their workplace, or as a birthday party escape room.
