Games like Nerdle
The games most like Nerdle are other daily math puzzles: Mathler, where you find the equation that makes the day’s number, and Sumplete, KenKen and Calcudoku, where numbers have to add up. Nerdle also has its own versions, from five-character Micro Nerdle to Cross Nerdle. If it’s the logic you like more than the math, Pips, Sudoku and the number puzzles we make, Lacey’s Web, Grandma’s Knitting and The Kid’s Treasure Map, use numbers as clues with little or no arithmetic.
How Nerdle works
Nerdle is Wordle with a calculation in place of a word. You have six tries to guess the day’s hidden equation, eight characters long, made from the digits 0 to 9, the four signs + − * / and one equals sign. Every guess has to be a true calculation, which is half the puzzle.
After each guess the tiles change color: green for the right character in the right place, purple for one that’s in the answer somewhere else, and black for one that isn’t in it at all. The usual order of operations applies, so * and / come before + and −. If your guess has the same parts as the answer in a swapped order, Nerdle accepts it too.
There is one new game a day, at midnight GMT. Nerdle’s FAQ says you can play a past day by adding its date to the end of the address. It is free to play with no sign-up, paid for by ads and a donation option, and an account is optional, for keeping your stats and streak across devices.
Nerdle was made by Richard Mann, a data scientist in London, with his family: his daughter Imogen helped come up with it, and his son Alex made the puzzles. It launched on 20 January 2022. Its own story page counts around twenty games in the family now.
Nerdle’s own versions
Before trying another game, try another Nerdle. Its own list includes:
- Mini and Micro Nerdle: six and five characters, for a quicker or gentler day. Nerdle calls Micro the easiest in the family.
- Maxi Nerdle: ten characters, with brackets and exponents.
- Instant Nerdle: one guess only, with every digit given: pure logic.
- Speed Nerdle: the classic game against a clock, with time penalties.
- Bi, Quad and Octo Nerdle: two, four or eight grids at once, every guess going on all of them, like Dordle and Quordle.
- Cross Nerdle: a crossword built from equations.
- Nerd duel: head to head against a friend or a bot.
Games like Nerdle at a glance
Nerdle first, so you can compare. Most have a new puzzle every day, and all of them can be played in a browser.
| Game | Made by | What you do | Daily? | Free? | Plays in the browser |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nerdle | Richard Mann and family | Guess a hidden equation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mathler | Hey, Good Game | Find the equation that makes the day’s number, in six tries | Yes, with a practice mode | Yes | Yes |
| Sumplete | Not named on its site | Delete numbers until every row and column adds up to its target | Yes: a 5 x 5 and a 7 x 7 | Yes | Yes |
| KenKen | KenKen Puzzle, LLC | Fill a grid so no number repeats in a line and each cage makes its total | Yes, in sizes 3 to 9 | Yes, with ads; an ad-free premium is sold | Yes |
| Calcudoku | Patrick Min | Sudoku with math: each cage’s numbers make its result | Yes, several sizes and levels | Plays in a browser; a subscription is offered | Yes |
| Pips | The New York Times | Place dominoes to meet each region’s rule | Yes: easy, medium and hard | Yes | Yes |
| Mini Sudoku | A small Sudoku | Yes | Anyone can play | Yes | |
| Sudoku | The New York Times | The classic | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lacey’s Web | Us | Join numbered knots into one web | Yes, at midnight your time | Yes | Yes, on a phone or a computer |
| Grandma’s Knitting | Us | Knit what the numbers say, and a picture appears | Yes, at midnight your time | Yes | Yes, on a phone or a computer |
| The Kid’s Treasure Map | Us | Flag every treasure from the numbers around it | Yes, at midnight your time | Yes | Yes, on a phone or a computer |
Checked on each game’s own site in October 2026. Prices and offers change, so check there too.
Math puzzles like Nerdle
Daily puzzles where the arithmetic is the puzzle.
Mathler
Hey, Good Game · Browser
Another math Wordle, from February 2022, a few weeks after Nerdle. Here you are given the answer, a single number, and you have six tries to find the equation that makes it, with order of operations applied and colored tiles after each guess. It has several difficulty levels, each with its own equation, a practice mode you can play as long as you like, and its site says there are no ads during play and no paywall.
Sumplete
Browser
A grid of numbers with a target at the end of every row and column. Delete numbers until each line adds up to its target. Its site calls it a daily number logic puzzle inspired by Sudoku, Kakuro and Hitori. There is a daily 5 x 5 and 7 x 7, and unlimited puzzles from 3 x 3 to 9 x 9.
KenKen
KenKen Puzzle, LLC · Browser; iPhone and Android apps
Fill the grid so no number repeats in a row or column, while each outlined cage makes its target with its operation: add, subtract, multiply or divide. A free daily puzzle in every size from 3 x 3 to 9 x 9, with ads, and an ad-free premium for sale.
Calcudoku
Patrick Min · Browser
The same idea as KenKen, on a hobby site whose maker wrote its puzzle program in 2009, with new puzzles every day at several sizes and levels, up to 12 x 12. Its site says every puzzle has a single solution. Good for: when the daily KenKen is gone too fast.
If you like the logic more than the math
Number logic: the numbers are clues, and working out where things go is the puzzle, with little or no adding up.
Pips
The New York Times · Browser and the NYT Games app
Place the day’s dominoes on a board so each colored region meets its condition, in easy, medium and hard. The New York Times’s first original logic puzzle, from August 2025, and free. The numbers are the dots on the dominoes, and there’s only a little adding.
Mini Sudoku
LinkedIn · Browser or the LinkedIn app
A small Sudoku on LinkedIn: each number once in every row, column and shaded region. No sums at all, and a few minutes a day.
Sudoku
The New York Times · Browser and the NYT Games app
The classic, free every day on NYT Games. Numbers as symbols, never as sums.
Lacey’s Web
us · any browser
We make this one. Numbered knots on a spider’s web: each number says how many threads that knot held, and you spin the threads back into one web. A bridges puzzle, in the family of Hashi, with exactly one answer each day and no guessing. About two minutes, free. Play today’s web or read our Lacey’s Web guide.
Grandma’s Knitting
us · any browser
We make this one too. A nonogram: each number along Grandma’s swatch is a run of knitted squares in its row or column. Knit them all right and a picture appears in her yarns. Counting, not sums. Exactly one answer each day, about two minutes, free. Play today’s picture or read our guide to nonograms.
The Kid’s Treasure Map
us · any browser
And this one. Each number on the Kid’s backyard map counts the treasure in the squares around it, as in Minesweeper, but every number is there from the start and nothing goes off. Flag every treasure. No guessing, about two minutes, free. Play today’s map or read our guide to minesweeper puzzles.
How to choose
- You want Nerdle exactly, but more of it: Nerdle’s own versions, then Mathler.
- You want the sums without the guessing: KenKen or Calcudoku.
- You want something new to work out: Sumplete, or Pips.
- You like the logic more than the math: Sudoku, Mini Sudoku or Lacey’s Web.
- You want a picture at the end: Grandma’s Knitting.
- You like counting what’s around a square: The Kid’s Treasure Map.
For daily puzzles with no words to guess, from maps to music, see games like Wordle, but not words. For grids where you place one thing in every row and column, see games like Queens.
Questions people ask
What games are like Nerdle?
Mathler is the closest: you find the equation that makes the day’s number, in six tries. Sumplete, KenKen and Calcudoku are daily number puzzles with sums in them. Nerdle has its own versions too, from Micro to Maxi.
Is Nerdle free?
Yes. Nerdle’s own site says it is free to play, with no sign-up needed. It is paid for by ads and a donation option.
Can you play old Nerdle puzzles?
Yes. Nerdle’s FAQ says you can play a past day’s game by adding its date to the end of the game’s address.
What is the difference between Nerdle and Mathler?
In Nerdle you guess the whole equation, answer included. In Mathler you are given the answer, a single number, and you find the equation that makes it. Both give you six tries.
Is there an easier version of Nerdle?
Yes. Mini Nerdle uses six characters, and Micro Nerdle five, which Nerdle calls the easiest in the family.
Is there a game like Nerdle without the math?
Yes: number logic, where the numbers are clues rather than sums. Try Pips, Sudoku or Lacey’s Web, a free daily we make.
More lists like this one
- Games like Murdle
- Games like Clues by Sam
- Games like Murdoku
- Games like Queens
- Games like Wordle
- Daily mystery games
- Games like Connections
- Daily puzzle games like Wordle
New to Lie of Sight? How to play has the rules and the family, with pictures.
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