New: this game comes with the next update of the app.
Number Cross guide
How to play Number Cross
Number Cross is a crossword with digits instead of letters. Every run of light cells adds up to the sum in the dark cell before it, and no digit appears twice in a run. You need small sums, a little logic and no guessing.
Number Cross rules
The rules in one minute
The grid has dark cells and light cells. A run is a line of light cells, across or down, and the number in the dark cell before it is its sum.
- Every run adds up to its clue. A run is a line of light cells. The number in the dark cell before it is its sum: here 4 cells make 30.
- Across top right, down bottom left. One dark cell can hold two sums. Here 11 is for the run to its right, 12 for the run below it.
- No digit twice in a run. 4 in two cells is 1 + 3, never 2 + 2. Only the digits 1 to 9 are used.
- Every digit counts twice. Each light cell sits in a run across and a run down. The 9 here has to fit both sums.
Only the digits 1 to 9 are used, never 0. Every level in Beasties has exactly one solution, and you can always reach it by logic, without guessing.
How to play
Number Cross in Beasties, step by step
The board in the middle, tools and number pad right below it, and your monster peeking over the top edge.
- Pick a cell. Its run across and its run down light up. The line under the board lists the ways to make both sums.
- Tap a number. A right digit stays. Once a run is full, it gives a little hop.
- Take notes. With Notes on, digits go in as small candidates. Perfect for the longer runs.
- Undo and erase. Undo takes back your last step, Erase empties a cell. Both are free.
- Hint, if you must. A hint fills the selected cell, or the easiest one, for 30 stars. After a hint the round gives two stars at most.
Tutorial
Level 0 shows you the first sums
The first time you open Number Cross, a short tutorial starts on a small 4×4 grid. Gnatz shows you where two runs meet, then you finish it on your own.
- A tiny grid to start. Four by four cells, no digit given. Gnatz shows you the first run: two light cells that make 17.
- Where two runs meet. 17 across can only be 8 + 9, 16 down only 7 + 9. The cell they share must be 9, and its neighbour 8.
- The rest is yours. Fill the last cells on your own. Wrong digits cost a star, just like in every level.
You can replay the tutorial any time with the link under Play on the game’s start screen.
Stars and mistakes
Three stars at stake in every level
You start every level with three stars. A wrong digit costs one and is not entered, so it pays to be sure. There is no timer.
- A mistake costs a star. A wrong digit is not entered. The cell shakes and one of your three stars falls.
- Three mistakes: try again. With all three stars gone the level is lost. You start the same puzzle again.
- Solve it, keep them. The stars you have left fly into your counter. Spend them on monster parts, hints and level packs.
Notes, Erase and Undo are free. A hint costs 30 stars: it fills the selected cell, or the easiest one. After a hint the level gives two stars at most.
Combinations
Sums with only one answer
Some sums can only be made one way. Spot them and you know which digits belong in a run before you know their order. These twelve are worth learning by heart.
- Two cells. 3, 4, 16 and 17 have one answer each.
- Three cells. 6, 7, 23 and 24: the smallest and the largest sums.
- Four cells. 10, 11, 29 and 30. Longer runs follow the same idea.
In the app, the line under the board lists the ways to make the sums of the selected cell, as long as there are only a few. A run can never hold the same digit twice, so 4 in two cells is always 1 and 3, never 2 and 2.
Crossing runs
Where two runs meet, both sums count
Every light cell sits in one run across and one run down. Its digit has to fit both sums, and that is the key to every Number Cross puzzle.
- Read the run across. 4 in 2 cells allows only the digits 1 and 3. Note them in the cell.
- Now the run down. 3 in 2 cells allows only 1 and 2. Cross out every note that does not fit.
- One digit fits both. Only the 1 is on both lists, so the cell gets it.
Tip: use notes for the digits a run allows, then cross out what the other run rules out. Start with short runs and very small or very large sums: they have the fewest options.
Difficulty levels
Four difficulties to choose from
The boards below are level 1 of each difficulty. Each step down brings a bigger grid, longer runs and fewer given digits, and asks for a harder idea. None of them ever needs a guess.
Chill
6×7 · 3–4 given
Short runs and a few digits given. Perfect to warm up.
Normal
7×9 · 0–3 given
Longer runs, hardly any help. Combine across and down.
Tricky
8×10 · runs up to 6
No digits given. Pairs and combinations lead the way.
Devilish
9×11 · runs up to 8
Long runs, tight sums, area sums. Never guesswork.
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 puzzles in the same order, so the solutions on this site match your app.
Number Cross techniques
From the first sum to the last
Beasties rates every level by the hardest idea it needs. Here they are from easy to hard, each with the difficulty that first asks for it. Every example comes from a real level of the app.
Technique 1 · Chill
The last gap
When a run has only one empty cell left, its digit is the sum minus the digits already there. Together with crossing runs, this is all Chill needs.
- Find a run with one gap. This run makes 20, and all its cells but one are filled.
- Subtract what is there. Take the digits 3 and 9 away from 20.
- The rest goes into the gap. 20 − 3 − 9 = 8. That digit fits nowhere else.
Technique 2 · Normal
Rule out combinations
List the ways to make a run’s sum. A way that needs a digit none of its cells can take is out. What the remaining ways have in common decides the cells. This is where Normal starts.
- List the ways. 14 in 2 cells can be made in 2 ways. The notes show what each cell can still take.
- One way drops out. It needs the 5, and no cell of the run can take it any more.
- Only one way is left. So the run is 6 + 8. Every other note goes.
Technique 3 · Tricky
Pairs in a run
If two cells of a run can only be the same two digits, those two digits belong to them. Cross them out everywhere else in the run. Every Tricky level needs it at least once.
- Write the notes. This run of 4 cells makes 12. Each cell shows the digits it can still take.
- Spot the pair. Two cells can only be 1 or 2. One of them gets the 1, the other the 2.
- Cross them out elsewhere. No other cell of the run can be 1 or 2 any more.
Technique 4 · Devilish
Area sums
Add the across sums of a block of the grid and take away the down runs that lie completely inside it. What is left is the sum of the few cells that are not covered. Most Devilish levels need it.
- Take a block of runs. These across runs fill one block of the grid. Their sums add up to 21.
- Take away what lies inside. The down runs that lie completely inside the block are part of that total. Subtract their sums.
- The rest is in the uncovered cells. What is left, 4, is the sum of the 2 cells that are not covered. Here that can only be 1 + 3.
Tip: work from the corners and short runs inwards. A run with one way to make its sum is a gift, and two crossing runs often leave just one digit. If you play Cage Sums, you know these combinations already.
Solutions
Stuck on a level?
Every level has its own solution page, free and Pro. You see the puzzle with its sums first, reveal one digit at a time, and open the whole grid only if you want to.
FAQ
Number Cross questions, short answers
What are the rules of Number Cross?
Fill every light cell with a digit from 1 to 9. The digits of each run, across or down, add up to the sum in the dark cell before it, and no digit appears twice in a run.
Which sum belongs to which run?
A dark cell can hold two sums, split by a diagonal. The one in the top right belongs to the run to its right, the one in the bottom left to the run below it.
Can a digit repeat?
Not within one run. The same digit may appear several times in the grid, as long as no run has it twice. That is why 4 in two cells is always 1 and 3.
Where do I start?
With runs that can be made only one way, like 3 or 17 in two cells, and with the cells where two of them cross. In Chill a few digits are given, too.
Do I ever have to guess?
No. Every level has exactly one solution and logic always gets you there. Devilish asks for pairs and area sums, but never for trial and error.
Can I look up the rules during a round?
Yes. Tap the gear at the top left of the round: Settings open, and their Game guide row takes you straight to the rules of this game and how the stars work.
What happens after three mistakes?
A wrong digit is not entered and costs one of your three stars. With all three gone the level is lost and you start the same puzzle again. Stars from earlier levels stay yours.
What does a hint cost?
A hint costs 30 stars and fills the selected cell, or the easiest one if none is selected. A level with a hint gives two stars at most. Notes, Erase and Undo are free.
Is there a timer?
No. Number Cross has no clock. Take as long as you like, offline and without ads.