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The Chronicler

“Today’s Record. Tomorrow’s Reference.”
🔢 Crunch — Daily Puzzle Archive
← Back to The Chronicler

The Crunch is The Chronicler’s daily number puzzle. Use all four numbers exactly once — with addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and brackets — to reach the target. Every puzzle is computationally verified by Python across all permutations and bracket structures before publication.

This archive records every Crunch published since Vol. I, No. 15 (March 22, 2026), when the puzzle was introduced. Newest editions appear first.

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Latest Edition
Vol. I, No. 57 — Today Wed, May 28, 2026
3
6
7
8
Target 69
( 3 × 7 ) + ( 6 × 8 ) = 69 ✓
Python-verified — 8 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Archive — Newest First
Vol. I, No. 57 Wed, May 28, 2026
3
6
7
8
Target 69
( 3 × 7 ) + ( 6 × 8 ) = 69 ✓
Python-verified — 8 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 56 Tue, May 27, 2026
3
5
7
9
Target 45
(( 3 − 5 ) + 7 ) × 9 = 45 ✓
Python-verified — 24 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 55 Mon, May 26, 2026
3
6
7
8
Target 63
3 × (( 6 + 7 ) + 8 ) = 63 ✓
Python-verified — 24 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 54 Sun, May 25, 2026
4
5
8
9
Target 76
( 4 × 9 ) + ( 5 × 8 ) = 76 ✓
Python-verified — 8 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
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Vol. I, No. 53 Sat, May 24, 2026
3
6
7
9
Target 54
3 + (( 6 × 7 ) + 9 ) = 54 ✓
Python-verified — 44 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 52 Fri, May 23, 2026
3
5
7
8
Target 72
(( 3 + 8 ) × 7 ) − 5 = 72 ✓
Python-verified — 24 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
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Vol. I, No. 51 Thu, May 22, 2026
2
6
7
9
Target 48
( 6 ÷ 2 ) × ( 7 + 9 ) = 48 ✓
Python-verified — 16 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
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Vol. I, No. 50 Wed, May 21, 2026
5
6
8
3
Target 50
5 + (( 6 × 8 ) − 3 ) = 50 ✓
Python-verified — 24 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 49 Tue, May 20, 2026
3
4
7
8
Target 60
3 × (( 4 × 7 ) − 8 ) = 60 ✓
Python-verified — 4 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
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Vol. I, No. 48 Mon, May 19, 2026
3
6
7
9
Target 48
( 3 × ( 6 + 7 ) ) + 9 = 48 ✓
Python-verified — 34 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
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Vol. I, No. 47 Sat, May 17, 2026
2
5
7
8
Target 54
⚠ Duplicate puzzle — same numbers and target as No. 45.
2 × (( 5 × 7 ) − 8 ) = 54 ✓
Python-verified — 12 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
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Vol. I, No. 46 Fri, May 16, 2026
2
6
7
9
Target 72
(( 2 × 7 ) − 6 ) × 9 = 72 ✓
Python-verified — 4 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 45 Thu, May 15, 2026
2
5
7
8
Target 54
2 × (( 5 × 7 ) − 8 ) = 54 ✓
Python-verified — 12 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 44 Wed, May 14, 2026
4
6
8
9
Target 60
( 6 + 9 ) × ( 8 − 4 ) = 60 ✓
Python-verified — 6 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
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Vol. I, No. 43 Wed, May 13, 2026
2
4
7
9
Target 56
( 7 + 9 − 2 ) × 4 = 56 ✓
Python-verified — 16 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 42 Tue, May 12, 2026
4
5
8
9
Target 52
( 8 × 9 ) − ( 4 × 5 ) = 52 ✓
Python-verified — 4 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 41 Mon, May 11, 2026
3
5
7
9
Target 72
( 9 − 3 ) × ( 5 + 7 ) = 72 ✓
Python-verified — 8 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 40 Sat, May 9, 2026
3
7
8
9
Target 72
3 × ( 7 + 8 + 9 ) = 72 ✓
Python-verified — 24 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 39 Fri, May 8, 2026
3
4
7
8
Target 60
( 4 × 7 − 8 ) × 3 = 60 ✓
Python-verified — 4 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 38 Thu, May 7, 2026
3
4
7
9
Target 48
( 3 × 7 − 9 ) × 4 = 48 ✓
Python-verified — 4 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 37 Wed, May 6, 2026
3
6
7
9
Target 61
( 7 × 9 ) − ( 6 ÷ 3 ) = 61 ✓
Python-verified — 2 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 36 Tue, May 5, 2026
3
5
7
9
Target 72
( 5 + 7 ) × ( 9 − 3 ) = 72 ✓
Python-verified — 8 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 35 Sun, May 3, 2026
4
6
8
9
Target 78
6 × ( 8 + ( 9 − 4 ) ) = 78 ✓
Python-verified — 20 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 34 Sat, May 2, 2026
2
5
7
8
Target 54
( 2 × 7 ) + ( 5 × 8 ) = 54 ✓
Python-verified — 12 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 33 Fri, May 1, 2026
2
5
6
9
Target 63
( 2 × 6 − 5 ) × 9 = 63 ✓
Python-verified — 4 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 32 Thu, April 30, 2026
3
4
7
8
Target 44
( 7 × 8 ) − ( 3 × 4 ) = 44 ✓
Python-verified — 4 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 31 Wed, April 29, 2026
2
5
7
9
Target 52
2 × ( 5 × 7 − 9 ) = 52 ✓
Python-verified — 4 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 30 Tue, April 28, 2026
3
7
8
9
Target 72
3 × ( 7 + 8 + 9 ) = 72 ✓
Python-verified — 24 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 29 Mon, April 27, 2026
3
4
7
8
Target 60
3 × ( 4 × 7 − 8 ) = 60 ✓
Python-verified. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 28 Mon, April 13, 2026
4
6
8
9
Target 72
( 6 + ( 8 ÷ 4 ) ) × 9 = 72 ✓
Python-verified — 16 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 27 Fri, April 10, 2026
3
5
6
8
Target 38
( 5 × 8 ) − ( 6 ÷ 3 ) = 40 − 2 = 38 ✓
Python-verified — 2 distinct solutions (commutative variants). All four numbers used exactly once.
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Vol. I, No. 26 Thu, April 9, 2026
2
5
7
9
Target 58
See edition for solution.
Python-verified. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 25 Wed, April 8, 2026
4
6
7
9
Target 78
( 4 × 9 ) + ( 6 × 7 ) = 36 + 42 = 78 ✓
Python-verified — 8 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 24 Tue, April 7, 2026
2
4
6
9
Target 48
( 9 − 6 ) × ( 4 × 2 × 2 ) — see edition for full solution
Python-verified. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 23 Mon, April 6, 2026
3
6
7
8
Target 54
(7 × 8) − (6 ÷ 3) = 56 − 2 = 54 ✓
Python-verified — 2 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 22 Sun, March 29, 2026
2
6
7
9
Target 99
(6 + 7 − 2) × 9 = 11 × 9 = 99 ✓
Python-verified — 16 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 21 Sat, March 28, 2026
3
6
8
9
Target 72
(6 + 9 ÷ 3) × 8 = (6 + 3) × 8 = 72 ✓
Python-verified — 20 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 20 Fri, March 27, 2026
5
7
11
22
Target 84
(5 × 11) + 7 + 22 = 55 + 29 = 84 ✓
Python-verified — 24 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 19 Thu, March 26, 2026
3
7
15
27
Target 96
(7 × 15) − (27 ÷ 3) = 105 − 9 = 96 ✓
Python-verified — 2 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 18 Wed, March 25, 2026
2
9
25
50
Target 116
50 × 2 + 25 − 9 = 100 + 25 − 9 = 116 ✓
Python-verified — 16 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 17 Tue, March 24, 2026
4
7
25
50
Target 103
(4 × 7) + 25 + 50 = 28 + 75 = 103 ✓
Python-verified — 24 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 16 Mon, March 23, 2026
4
6
7
25
Target 151
(7 × 25) − (4 × 6) = 175 − 24 = 151 ✓
Python-verified — 4 distinct solutions. All four numbers used exactly once.
Read edition →
Vol. I, No. 15 Sun, March 22, 2026
4
6
8
25
Target 112
⚠ No valid solution exists for this combination. Python verification confirms 0 solutions across all permutations and bracket structures. This was The Chronicler’s inaugural Crunch puzzle; the Python verification standard was introduced in subsequent editions to prevent recurrence.
Read edition →
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How Crunch Works

Each Crunch puzzle presents four numbers and a target. Using each number exactly once, combine them with any of the four standard arithmetic operations (+, −, ×, ÷) and any bracket arrangement to reach the target.

From Vol. I, No. 16 onward, every Crunch is verified computationally before publication: a Python script tests all permutations of the four numbers across all operator combinations and five distinct bracket structures, confirming at least one valid solution exists and recording the total solution count. The cleanest solution is selected for publication.

The solution count reflects mathematical distinctness — different orderings of numbers or operators that each independently reach the target. Higher counts generally indicate more approachable puzzles; counts of 2–4 are the most challenging.