How the Symbol Oracle works

The Oracle never needs your number. Every number from 10 to 99 ends on the same symbol.

The math

Take 47. It is 4 tens and 7 ones. Its digits add up to 4 + 7 = 11. Taking 11 away removes the 7 ones, then one from each ten. Each ten becomes a nine, so 4 nines are left: 36.

This happens with any two-digit number. Only the tens digit matters. You always land in the nine times table: 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72 or 81.

Ten numbers land on each answer. All nine answers wear the same symbol.

The chart

Every round, the Oracle prints a new chart. Its secret symbol goes next to all nine answers, so wherever you land, you find it. To hide the pattern, the secret symbol also turns up a few times at random. Two other symbols repeat every 9 numbers too, in lines just like its line. Then the Oracle just names the secret symbol.

Do it for a friend

Write 0 to 99 with a doodle by each number. Give 9, 18, 27 and the rest of the nine times table the same doodle, plus a few extras. Walk your friend through the steps, then name the doodle.