Each term's initial letter position in the alphabet:
1 = One = O = 15th letter.
.
.
4 = Four = F = 6th letter.
.
.
.
20 = Ten = T = 20th letter.
??
Puzzle 18
W B H F S K F V J P Z H S S H T J P P N W L A F P W P N T D S W S T R H S P L M V R G B I D P B D W S N R T C S R S F T D B K K F B O M F R L Z F R K Y P N J Z J S Z N M B J Q E R Z F Q Z V G Y F V P P F G F W Z W N R P L B J V R J H F K T Z U H F K Y F W J F S R S S W C Q R Q Y H R S O M W F P R Q J K H R N M B W S K B J Y D Q E T J Y P F D L R P F
Hint
The answer is 4 digits long, so what must G equal?
Answer
423 + 675 = 1098.
Reasoning
Remembering that:
even + even = even
odd + odd = even
even + odd = odd
To discuss individual letters, it's easiest to represent the sum as:
A B C
D E F +
————————
G H I J
A + D has to be over 9, which means that G = 1.
B + E = I, is even + odd = odd, which means that we can't have a carry from C + F (otherwise it would have been even + odd + 1, which is even).
The 1 has already gone, so the smallest possible value for either C or F is 3, which means that the other can't be 7 or 9 (otherwise we'd have a carry).
Therefore, C and F are 3 and 5, but we don't know which is which. But we do now know that J = 8.
A + D = H, is even + even = even, which means that we can't have a carry from B + E. Therefore, E can't be 9, as this would force a carry. So E = 7.
I is the only remaining odd number, so I = 9.
Which means that B = 2.
Neither A nor D can be 0 (otherwise we would have two of the same digit). So, H = 0.
Therefore, A and D are 4 and 6 (but we don't yet know which is which).
Since the top row's digits have to add to 9, A can't be 6, so A = 4, making C = 3.
