Number Bite guide
How to play Number Bite
Number Bite is a number sums puzzle: a grid of digits with a sum next to every row and column. Keep the digits that add up to those sums, and Gnatz munches the rest. No maths beyond adding, no timer, and every level has exactly one solution.
Number Bite rules
The rules in one minute
Every number on the edge of the grid is a sum. The digits you keep in that row or column must add up to exactly that number.
- Every number on the edge is a sum. Row 2 says 10: the digits you keep in this row must add up to exactly 10.
- Keep the digits that add up. A kept digit sits on a yellow coin. The badge shows what the sum still needs.
- Gnatz munches the rest. Once a sum is reached, every digit left in that line is eaten. Only crumbs stay behind.
- Columns work the same way. The number above column 1 is its sum, 7, from top to bottom. Every digit counts for its row and its column.
- Every sum adds up: solved. There is exactly one way to do it, and you can always find it by logic.
A row says 12? Then the digits you keep in that row make 12, no more, no less. The same digit also counts for its column, which is what makes it a puzzle. Every level in Beasties has exactly one solution, and you can always find it by logic, without guessing.
How to play
Number Bite in Beasties, step by step
The grid with its sums in the middle, the tools below it, and Gnatz peeking over the top edge, hungry for every digit you don’t need.
- Keep: tap a digit. With the heart on, a tap puts the digit on a coin.
- Munch: switch to the fork. Now a tap feeds the digit to Gnatz. Crunch.
- Hold for the other tool. Press and hold a digit and it uses the tool you don’t have selected. No switching back and forth.
- Done lines munch the rest. Keep the last digit a row or column needs, and Gnatz eats everything else in it by himself.
- Hint, if you must. For 30 stars a hint reveals the digit that logic says comes next. The round then gives two stars at most.
Monster families
Colourful families bring their own sums
From Normal on, about every second level groups its tiles into families. Each family has a sum of its own, shown in a small tag on its first tile.
- Each colour is a family. Tiles of the purple family are joined together. From Normal on, families bring a third kind of sum.
- Its sum sits in the corner. The small tag on its first tile says 26. The kept digits of the family add up to that, just like a row.
- Here, only the family knows. No row or column decides these digits yet. The family does: The purple family still needs 12, and only one choice of its digits makes it.
A family works like a third kind of line: its kept digits add up to its tag. Families are often the key to a level, because they cut across rows and columns.
Sleeping sums
Some sums are fast asleep
From Tricky on, a few rows or columns don’t show their sum. A little sleeping monster sits there instead.
- A sleeping sum. Row 1 has no number, just a sleeping monster. From Tricky on, some sums take a nap.
- Solve it with the other sums. The columns crossing it decide its digits one by one, as if the row were not there.
- Done: it wakes up. Once all its digits are decided, the monster wakes and shows the sum. It fits, of course.
You never need a sleeping sum to solve a level: the other sums always decide its digits. Tap a sleeping sum in the app and Beasties explains it again.
Stars and mistakes
Three stars at stake in every level
There is no undo in Number Bite, because there is nothing to undo: every digit you mark shows the truth at once. A wrong guess just costs you.
- A wrong tap costs a star. The digit shakes, shows the truth at once, and one of your three stars falls.
- Three mistakes: level lost. With all stars gone, the round is over. Happens to the best.
- Restart: all three back. The same grid from the start. There is no undo, because every mark is checked right away.
Helpers cap a round at two stars: once you use a hint, the third star is struck through for that level. Play it again without help to win all three.
Difficulty levels
Four difficulties, 999 levels each
The boards below are level 1 of each difficulty. The grid grows from 4×4 to 8×8, and new ideas join on the way: families, sleeping sums, and in Devilish the occasional “what if”.
Chill
4×4 and 5×5
4×4 and 5×5 grids with row and column sums only. Perfect to warm up.
Normal
6×6 · families
6×6 grids. Every second level brings colourful monster families with their own sums.
Tricky
7×7 · sleeping sums
7×7 grids with sleeping sums: some rows and columns keep their total to themselves until they are done.
z2125352135z13zz36172427172025Devilish
8×8 · “what if”
Big 8×8 grids for pros, with sleeping sums and families. About one level in four needs a “what if”.
Chill, Normal and Tricky have 150 free levels each. You unlock the rest for free with the stars you win, or all at once with Pro. Every player gets the same grids in the same order, so the solutions on this site match your app, from level 1 to 999 on every difficulty.
Number Bite techniques
How to find every digit
Four ideas solve every level in Beasties. Each example comes from a real level of the app, at the moment the idea is needed.
Technique 1
Too big to fit
A digit that is bigger than what its sum still needs can never be kept. Munch it. Start every level with the small sums: they throw out the most digits.
- Read the sum. Row 3 needs 3, and nothing is kept yet.
- Spot the giants. A 9, 7 alone is already more than 3. It can never be part of this sum.
- Munch them. Gnatz gets them right away. Fewer digits left means the rest gets easier.
Technique 2
Only one way
Look for the combinations of open digits that make what the sum still needs. If there is only one, keep those digits and munch the rest of the line.
- What does the sum need? Row 2 needs 10 from the digits that are still open.
- Try the combinations. Only 6 + 4 makes 10. No other choice of these digits adds up.
- Keep them, munch the rest. One way only means every digit of the line is decided in one go.
Technique 3
In every combination
Several combinations? Then look at what they share. A digit that is in all of them stays, a digit that is in none of them goes, whichever combination it ends up being.
- Two ways to make it. Column 5 needs 19. Both 7 + 3 + 9 and 5 + 5 + 9 add up.
- Look at what they share. You don’t know which way it is yet, but 9 is in both of them.
- In every way: keep it. And a digit that is in none of them goes to Gnatz.
Technique 4 · Devilish
Think across: what if?
In Devilish, sums sometimes stop helping one at a time. Pick a digit, assume it stays or goes, and follow what the sums say. If one of them can no longer add up, the opposite is true.
- Stuck? Ask “what if”. No sum decides anything on its own. Assume the 3 in row 6 gets munched.
- Follow it through. Then the teal family has only one way left, and row 7 can no longer add up.
- So the opposite is true. The assumption broke a sum, so the 3 in row 6 stays. Everything you tried goes away again.
Tip: after every digit you decide, look at the other line it belongs to. A kept digit in a row changes what its column still needs, and that is where the next step usually hides.
Solutions
Stuck on a grid?
Every level has its own solution page, free and Pro. Reveal one digit or one sum, follow the logic step by step, or see the solved grid.
FAQ
Number Bite questions, short answers
What is Number Bite?
A number sums puzzle in the Beasties app. Each row and column has a sum. Keep the digits that add up to it, and Gnatz eats the rest. It is a logic puzzle with simple adding, not a maths test.
Where do I start?
With the smallest sums. Every digit bigger than such a sum can be munched at once. Then look for lines where only one combination of digits works.
Do I ever have to guess?
No. Every level has exactly one solution, and logic always gets you there. In some Devilish levels you need a “what if”: assume a digit stays or goes, and see whether a sum breaks.
What are the coloured families?
From Normal on, about every second level groups its tiles into coloured families. The small number on a family’s first tile is its sum: the kept digits of the family add up to it.
What does the sleeping monster on a sum mean?
That sum is asleep and doesn’t show its number. Solve the line with the other sums. Once all its digits are decided, the monster wakes up and shows the sum.
Why do digits disappear by themselves?
When a row, column or family has all the digits it needs, Gnatz munches the rest of it for you. You never have to tap every digit.
What happens after three mistakes?
Every wrong tap costs one of your three stars and shows the right answer for that digit. With all three stars gone, the level is lost and you start the same grid again.
What does a hint cost?
A hint costs 30 stars. It reveals the digit that logic says comes next, close to where you were working. A round with a hint gives two stars at most.
Is there a timer?
No. Number Bite has no clock and no move limit. Take as long as you like, and play offline without ads.