Round & Revel / Program and reverse
Reverse Recipe
The answer is on the menu. Work out which order cooks it.
Original printable party game. Timing is a planning estimate; this edition has not had a live group playtest.
Good for: Friends who like working through a compact number puzzle together.
What you need
- 12 recipe cards and six reusable instruction tiles A–F
- Paper with four numbered program slots, a pen, and a separate score record
- Answer notes kept aside; a calculator is allowed
How to play
A program made of four moves
A recipe gives a starting number, a finishing number and four named instructions. Your group must order those four instructions so that executing them reaches the finish. Every instruction is used once, and every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 through 40. The route matters as much as the final result: a program that passes through a fraction or a negative number is invalid even if it later returns to a legal finish.
Prepare the recipe bench
Write program slots 1–4 in a row. Cut out the six instruction tiles A–F and keep the 12 recipe cards separate. Shuffle the recipes and select three. Choose a first arranger. Each recipe has six scheduled turns: four placements, one test and one repair decision. Reveal a recipe, read its start, finish and four permitted letters aloud, and put the other two instruction tiles aside. The four permitted tiles start beside the empty slots.
Plan forward or backward
Allow open discussion for about a minute before the first placement, with longer thinking time if the group wants it. You can test ideas on spare paper or a calculator. Work forward from the start, backward from the finish using inverse operations, or both. An inverse operation used in planning does not become an extra playable instruction. The only submitted program consists of the four printed tiles in the four slots.
Place one instruction at a time
In seating order, a player selects one unplaced tile and puts it in any empty program slot. Choosing slot 4 first is legal. Once placed, the tile stays there until the repair step. The player may ask for advice, but chooses the placement. Complete four placements so every slot is filled. Keep the turn rotation going between recipes; with five or six players, the repair and checking roles also move through the group rather than always falling to the first four.
Test the whole program
The fifth player in the continuing turn order takes the test turn, executing the program aloud from slot 1 to slot 4 and writing each result. This checking job uses that scheduled turn, even when the first program succeeds. If a value becomes fractional, falls below zero or exceeds 40, stop the test at that point and mark it invalid. Do not round fractions or wrap values back into range. A legal program that reaches the wrong final number is unsuccessful but still useful evidence. Checking arithmetic is not a strategic move and may be corrected before a score is recorded.
One repair, then a final test
After the first test, the next player takes the sixth scheduled turn and may swap exactly two tiles or keep the order. That same player then performs the final test. The following player starts the next recipe, so the six-turn rotation never resets. All players may discuss that choice. This is the only repair; you cannot remove a tile, reverse three tiles, add an instruction, or change the starting number. Execute the final order from the original start, never from the point where the first test failed. Both before and after repair, all four required letters must appear exactly once.
Scoring and completion
Earn 2 shared points if the first program is fully legal and reaches the exact finish without using a swap. Earn 1 if it succeeds after the one swap. Otherwise score 0. Keeping a successful first order does not lose the 2-point score. After three recipes, total 0–6 points and compare with your own earlier session if you wish. Everyone shares the result, so individual ties do not occur. The aim can simply be to solve all three, ignoring the repair bonus.
An illustrative recipe
Suppose START is 4, FINISH is 5 and the instructions are A (+2), B (−3), C (×2) and D (÷2). Order C, A, D, B gives 4 → 8 → 10 → 5 → 2, so it misses the finish even though every step is legal. Order D, A, C, B gives 4 → 2 → 4 → 8 → 5 and succeeds. If that successful order was submitted first, score 2; if reached by your permitted swap from a different first order, score 1. By contrast, starting with B then D gives 4 → 1 → 0.5 and is invalid immediately. This example is separate from the printed challenge deck.
Using solutions and adapting play
Each answer note gives one checked legal order, not every possible order. If your different order reaches the finish through legal intermediate values, it is correct. Use bold operation signs, read them aloud, and allow a helper to place the chosen tile. There is no arithmetic-speed penalty. For a more exploratory game, allow unlimited repairs and score one completion per recipe. Put used cards aside; when replaying a familiar recipe, look for a different valid order rather than pretending the answer is unknown.
The program row
Draw four generous boxes labelled 1 → 2 → 3 → 4. Below them, leave five spaces for the starting value and four intermediate results. The reusable instruction tiles are included after the recipe cards.
Printable cards and components
Print single-sided and cut on the borders. Read the setup before sorting the cards; some games use separate card types or fewer copies for smaller groups.
Recipe 01
START: 3. FINISH: 14.
USE EACH ONCE: A +2, B −3, C ×2, E +5.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 02
START: 8. FINISH: 8.
USE EACH ONCE: A +2, C ×2, D ÷2, F −1.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 03
START: 5. FINISH: 6.
USE EACH ONCE: B −3, C ×2, D ÷2, E +5.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 04
START: 12. FINISH: 4.
USE EACH ONCE: A +2, B −3, D ÷2, F −1.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 05
START: 2. FINISH: 16.
USE EACH ONCE: A +2, C ×2, E +5, F −1.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 06
START: 9. FINISH: 8.
USE EACH ONCE: A +2, B −3, C ×2, D ÷2.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 07
START: 6. FINISH: 14.
USE EACH ONCE: B −3, C ×2, E +5, F −1.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 08
START: 14. FINISH: 10.
USE EACH ONCE: B −3, D ÷2, E +5, F −1.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 09
START: 1. FINISH: 8.
USE EACH ONCE: A +2, C ×2, D ÷2, E +5.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 10
START: 10. FINISH: 16.
USE EACH ONCE: A +2, B −3, C ×2, F −1.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 11
START: 4. FINISH: 8.
USE EACH ONCE: C ×2, D ÷2, E +5, F −1.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Recipe 12
START: 16. FINISH: 12.
USE EACH ONCE: B −3, C ×2, D ÷2, F −1.
Every intermediate value must be a whole number from 0 to 40.
Instruction A
+2 to the current value. Use only when this letter is listed on the current recipe. Division must produce a whole number; every intermediate result must stay between 0 and 40.
Instruction B
−3 to the current value. Use only when this letter is listed on the current recipe. Division must produce a whole number; every intermediate result must stay between 0 and 40.
Instruction C
×2 to the current value. Use only when this letter is listed on the current recipe. Division must produce a whole number; every intermediate result must stay between 0 and 40.
Instruction D
÷2 to the current value. Use only when this letter is listed on the current recipe. Division must produce a whole number; every intermediate result must stay between 0 and 40.
Instruction E
+5 to the current value. Use only when this letter is listed on the current recipe. Division must produce a whole number; every intermediate result must stay between 0 and 40.
Instruction F
−1 to the current value. Use only when this letter is listed on the current recipe. Division must produce a whole number; every intermediate result must stay between 0 and 40.
Answer notes: open only when the rules tell you to check
Keep these notes away from players during a puzzle or writing round. This section is excluded from the website print view. The PDF player kit includes a separate answer appendix.
RR-01
One legal instruction order: A → B → E → C. Values: 3 → 5 → 2 → 7 → 14. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-02
One legal instruction order: C → A → D → F. Values: 8 → 16 → 18 → 9 → 8. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-03
One legal instruction order: C → E → B → D. Values: 5 → 10 → 15 → 12 → 6. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-04
One legal instruction order: D → B → F → A. Values: 12 → 6 → 3 → 2 → 4. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-05
One legal instruction order: E → A → F → C. Values: 2 → 7 → 9 → 8 → 16. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-06
One legal instruction order: B → A → D → C. Values: 9 → 6 → 8 → 4 → 8. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-07
One legal instruction order: F → B → E → C. Values: 6 → 5 → 2 → 7 → 14. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-08
One legal instruction order: F → B → D → E. Values: 14 → 13 → 10 → 5 → 10. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-09
One legal instruction order: A → E → C → D. Values: 1 → 3 → 8 → 16 → 8. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-10
One legal instruction order: A → F → B → C. Values: 10 → 12 → 11 → 8 → 16. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-11
One legal instruction order: F → E → D → C. Values: 4 → 3 → 8 → 4 → 8. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
RR-12
One legal instruction order: B → F → D → C. Values: 16 → 13 → 12 → 6 → 12. Other legal orders reaching the same finish also count.
Round & Revel. Edition 1 / October 2026. No purchases, accounts or specialist equipment beyond the listed materials are required.