HOCUS + POCUS = PRESTO
What is this puzzle?
Solve the addition alphametic puzzle where HOCUS + POCUS = PRESTO. Each letter represents a unique digit from 0-9. No number starts with zero.
Difficulty: hard · Category: addition · Unique letters: 9
This hard-level addition alphametic puzzle features 9 unique letters (C, E, H, O, P, R, S, T, U). In the equation HOCUS + POCUS = PRESTO, each letter maps to a distinct digit from 0 to 9. With only 9 of 10 digits used, 1 digit remains unused in the solution. The leading letters H and P cannot represent zero — this is your first constraint. The result "PRESTO" has more digits than any addend, which means there must be a carry into the leftmost position. This is a crucial clue for determining the result's leading letter. This is a challenging puzzle that requires systematic use of carry analysis, parity checking, and elimination. Start by listing all constraints, then methodically eliminate impossible digit assignments.
- This addition alphametic has 9 unique letters to determine.
- Leading letters: H, P. None of these can be zero.
- There are 9 unique letters, so 1 digits from 0–9 will not be used.
- Start from the rightmost column (units place) and work left, tracking carries between columns.
- With two addends, each column can produce a carry of at most 1.
- With many unique letters, use elimination and constraint tracking to narrow down possibilities step by step.