Online numbers game has origins in mountains in the west

A NEW online numbers game inspired by the mountains of Mayo and Connaught invites you to exercise your mental muscle.

If you haven’t played it yet, Numbobulate is a two-minute daily numbers game that aims at turning us all into a ‘numbers person’.

Created by Daithi Hogan and played initially with friends in the pub, the game aims to provide a fun way to exercise your ‘number-brain’. The basic premise is that you have four numbers (e.g. 2, 3, 4 and 5) to play with and using them in conjunction with +, -, and x buttons, you have to reach a target number (e.g. using 2, 3, 4 and 5 can you reach 16? Or how about 29?).

Skip forward a few years from those pub days and Daithi adapted it as a family hiking game in the hills and mountains around Doolough and Kilary while staying in nearby Delphi.

Imagine hiking single file with adults and children (who are not always as appreciative of the magnificent scenery and might need a little distraction!). Again, using 2, 3, 4 and 5, if the person walking in front of you got to 17, then your task would be to get to 18, and the person after you would be tasked with 19 and so on as you clock up the hiking kilometres.

In 2023, Hogan curated the targets and put the game online in such a way as to offer players a daily challenge of three target numbers to reach. As you are using the same four numbers for a whole week (say 2, 3, 4 and 5 again), players gain an intimate knowledge of these numbers and, by introducing increasingly challenging double digit target numbers over time, the aim is that players will build a comfortable relationship with the all numbers from 1 to 99.

“People who play more piano, can play more piano, people who lift more weights can lift more weight. The concept is simple - play with the numbers for two minutes a day and become more comfortable playing with numbers,” says Hogan.

As a father with tweenage children, Hogan believes that numeracy is a vital skill and foundational building block everybody should be really comfortable with - yet many people have a fear of or tend to avoid numbers.

The game has been available online for family and friends for six months and he has seen the positive impact that regular play has on people’s confidence and abilities and wants to make that available to anybody who would like to give it a go.

One eloquent Irish man living in Australia noted: “It’s a fun way to exercise your mental muscle without consequence.”

You can play it today at https://www.numbobulate.com/.