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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat
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    Evil Christmas Cracker..

    Given the following order of numbers:

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

    Insert either a plus sign or a minus sign or neither between the digits to make a sum that adds up to 666.

    What is the the fewest amount of + and - required to do this?

    Here is an example of a valid expression but with the wrong answer, ie it doesn't add up to 666.

    12-3+456-7-8-9+1011-12 = 1440

  2. #2
    En route
    Cujo's Avatar
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    Why??

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cujo View Post
    Why??
    Sorry, wrong answer. But, thanks for playing.

  4. #4
    Member Ennis's Avatar
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    1234 – 567 + 8 – 9 = 666

    Source: The Nine Digits Page -- 123456789

    Send my million dollar prize, to the Trump Charity Fund - he's a compassionate man and will know what to do with it.

  5. #5
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    Got 680.
    try again

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ennis View Post
    1234 – 567 + 8 – 9 = 666

    Source:[at]The Nine Digits Page -- 123456789[at]

    Send my million dollar prize, to the Trump Charity Fund - he's a compassionate man and will know what to do with it.
    you have 101112 not used.

  7. #7
    A Cockless Wonder
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    678 gets you close to the result as a starting point

    -1 -2 +3 -4 +5 +678 9 +10 -11 -12

  8. #8
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    I'm liking the teamwork. Distributed neural network ftw!

  9. #9
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by foobar View Post
    I'm liking the teamwork
    Yeah, with Maanaam playing to his strength by being a bit of a dick.

  10. #10
    RIP pseudolus's Avatar
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    I don't know. However if you add the numbers 1 through to 36 you get 666 which is 3 6's.

    Surely some mason has this little trick learned by heart. Where's Booners when you need him

  11. #11
    Member Ennis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maanaam View Post
    you have 101112 not used.
    Damn Mr Trump will be disappointed...

  12. #12
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    foobar that's a new one.

  13. #13
    I am not a cat
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    Someone check me:

    123+456+7+89-10-11+12

  14. #14
    . Neverna's Avatar
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    ^ Looks good to me, Nid.


  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by nidhogg View Post
    Someone check me:

    123+456+7+89-10-11+12
    Looks good. I used Looper's seemingly smart starting point of 678 and got 665 or 667 no matter how I manipulated the single digits. Well done.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maanaam View Post
    I used Looper's seemingly smart starting point
    Yeah. I see your error.

  17. #17
    Thailand Expat lom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nidhogg View Post
    123+456+7+89-10-11+12
    That is 6 operations, right?

    So what do you think about -123+456-789+10+1112

  18. #18
    A Cockless Wonder
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maanaam View Post
    I used Looper's seemingly smart starting point of 678 and got 665 or 667 no matter how I manipulated the single digits.
    You would need to do at least 2 more adjacent combinations since 678 leaves you requiring an even number (-12) but with an odd number of odd numbers (1 3 5 9 11) which will always sum to an odd total no matter where you put the signs.

    If you start with 678 then you need to reduce the number of remaining odd numbers by at least 1, which requires splicing 2 odd numbers.

    But odd numbers are not adjacent to each other so you would have to sandwich an even number in the middle which gets you into at least triple digit numbers again and hence far away from the target of 666 once more so the 678 temptation is fundamentally flawed as a starting point for a simple solution.

  19. #19
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by foobar View Post
    Evil Christmas Cracker..
    Evil Christmas Cracker..-70eb5e56-7b80-4926-a3b2-fcf258f345e4-png


    Walmart Santa Claus arrested after dead kids are found buried in his backyard

    https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/...tZutO5bHBjHBI/


    .... Couldn’t help myself.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Evil Christmas Cracker..-70eb5e56-7b80-4926-a3b2-fcf258f345e4-png  

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by lom View Post
    That is 6 operations, right?

    So what do you think about -123+456-789+10+1112
    ...

  21. #21
    I am not a cat
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    Quote Originally Posted by lom View Post
    That is 6 operations, right?

    So what do you think about -123+456-789+10+1112
    I think it does not meet the criteria, which states to put the operators *between* the digits. The first minus sign is not between digits.

  22. #22
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    The initial digit "0" is implied

  23. #23
    I am not a cat
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    There is no zero in the list of numbers given, only digits one to twelve.

  24. #24
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    Just saw this.

    It's pretty easy.

    1234-567-8+9-10+11-1-2


    Still have half me cup of coffee left.

  25. #25
    R.I.P. Luigi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maanaam View Post
    got 665 or 667 no matter how I manipulated the single digits.
    Really?

    Couldn't think of a different method?

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