The way of assigning numbers to an alphametic is not clear to me yet. Have you got any suggestions?


My advice is: start solving the very easy and easy problems. Then proceed to the intermediary and hard levels.

In a cryptarithm, every letter "hides" a specific digit. You have to guess the digits "behind" the letters of the problem. Any time you make a guess you have to substitute the letter for its digit, till you get the whole problem solved. Guessing, is best understood as trying all possible alternative digits (not yet decoded) and finding the only one that fits (matches) the arithmetical set up.

Letīs take this very easy problem : AD + DI = DID.

Write it this way:

                A D
              + D I
             ------- 
              D I D

D + I = D is the units column on the right side
A + D = I is the tens column in the middle
D (alone in the total) is the hundreds column on the left side

You can guess that D in the hundreds column equals 1 because it is the "carry 1" from the tens column. In other words, A + D = I + 10 transfers a "carry 1" to the total in the hundreds column. Can you see it?

Now you substitute all Dīs for 1 and the addition becomes:


                A 1
              + 1 I
             ------- 
              1 I 1

Take a look at the units colum and you will guess that I equals zero. In this column you see that 1 + I = 1 so, if you try all digits not yet decoded, you will find that the only one that matches this pattern is zero. See it?


Now you substitute all Iīs for 0 and the addition becomes:

                A 1
              + 1 0
             ------- 
              1 0 1

Then observe the tens column where we have A + 1 = 10. So, A must be 9 to fit this pattern. And substituting the A for 9 we have the whole problem solved, that is:

                9 1
              + 1 0
             ------- 
              1 0 1

I myself use to write the problem set up using pencil. Then, to substitute the letters for numbers, I erase them and rewrite with pencil. You have to do all these substitutions, one by one, in order to discover the digits that fit.

A final word: donīt get discouraged by not beeing able to solve your first cryptarithms!


SOME "VERY EASY" CRYPTARITHMS
FOR BEGINNERSī PRACTICE


1) AD + DI = DID (given above)

2) I + IS = SOO

3) O + I = IS

4) I + BB = ILL

5) A + FAT = ASS

6) AS + A = MOM

7) I + DID = TOO

8) TO + GO = OUT

9) NO + NO + TOO = LATE

10) OOOH + FOOD = FIGHT

11) SO + SO = TOO

12) US + AS = ALL

13) ED + DI = DID

14) DI + IS = ILL

15) DAN + NAN = NORA

16) ADA + ANN = NED

17) LEO + LEE = ALL

18) COCA + COLA = OASIS

19) NO + MAN + NO = HAND

20) SPOT + A + TOP = GHOST

21) MOSES + MEETS = SALOME

22) TESS + SEES = ELLEN

23) TELL + TALE + TELL + TALE = LATE

24) WOW + WOW + WOW + WOW + WOW = MEOW

25) TOO + TOO + TOO + TOO = GOOD

26) YES + YES + YES + YES = EVER


ANSWERS TO THESE PUZZLES - CLICK HERE !

Authors of puzzles above:

# 1 to 3 - J. A. H. Hunter
# 4 to 10 - Truman Collins
#11 to 26 - Jorge A. B. Soares



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