Number Detective
Crack number puzzles with Inspector Hoot the owl. Every puzzle hides a rule: spot it, test it on every clue, then solve the case. Little ones compare groups, count at a glance and finish picture patterns. Older players master number patterns, number machines, number pairs, balances, shape puzzles, odd one out and charts, with Common Entrance and JAMB-style exam practice. New puzzles every time, and every answer shows its rule.
Play Number Detective
Quick facts
- Subject
- Quantitative reasoning (number reasoning and problem solving)
- Levels
- Little Counters (ages 3–5), Number Spotters (Primary 1–3), Pattern Detectives (Primary 4–6 and Common Entrance), Master Detectives (JSS, SSS, JAMB and adults)
- Games inside
- 12 games: 4 for Nursery and 8 for older players
- Questions
- Made fresh every round, so you never run out
- Help
- Read-aloud, the rule shown after every answer, a “to practise” list, big buttons, works offline once visited
- Cost
- Free forever · No sign-up · No ads
How to play
Choose who is playing, then pick a game. After each answer, Inspector Hoot shows the rule. The results screen lists what you learned and the puzzles to practise. Stars are saved on your device only.
- Little Counters (ages 3–5): 🧺 More or Fewer? · 🎲 Quick Look (how many dots, without counting) · 🔴 What Comes Next? (picture patterns) · 🧱 Tallest Tower. Pictures and read-aloud, no reading needed, and gentle feedback.
- 🔢 Number Patterns: find the missing number, from counting in 2s, 5s and 10s to doubling, growing gaps, squares, cubes, primes and Fibonacci.
- ⚙️ Number Machine: work out the rule from examples, such as “×3 then −5”, then use it forwards and backwards.
- 🔗 Number Pairs: one rule links each pair (12 → 48, 4 → 16, 10 → ?).
- ⚖️ Balance Scales: missing numbers, shape equations, algebra, ratio, proportion and percentages.
- 🔺 Shape Puzzles: Common Entrance-style number triangles: one rule links the corners to the middle.
- 🎯 Odd One Out: even and odd, multiples, squares, cubes, primes and triangle numbers.
- 📊 Data Detective: read bar charts to find the most, the fewest, differences, totals, means, percentages and ratios.
- 📝 Exam Practice: 10 mixed questions with five options (A–E), in the style of the National Common Entrance and JAMB aptitude tests.
What players learn
Quantitative reasoning is the skill of spotting relationships between numbers and using them to solve problems. Players learn to look for a rule, test it on every example and apply it, to work backwards, to check odd-one-out properties, and to read data. These skills support the Quantitative Reasoning paper in the National Common Entrance Examination, school mathematics, JAMB and post-UTME aptitude tests, and everyday thinking about money and amounts.
For teachers and parents
Number Detective follows the question types used in quantitative reasoning tests, including the Nigerian Common Entrance (number series, input–output rules, number pairs and shape puzzles) and international tests like CAT4. Questions are generated fresh each round and checked by automated tests. Play Number Patterns, Number Pairs or Odd One Out as a pass-the-phone class game, then ask learners to explain the rule out loud: explaining the rule is the best practice of all.
Exam Practice is for practice only; question styles vary from year to year. Number Detective supports UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), especially early numeracy (target 4.2) and numeracy for young people and adults (target 4.6).