Fair Share is a free daily number puzzle about splitting work evenly. A team has a pile of tasks, and every task takes a certain number of hours. Give each task to one person so that everybody ends up with exactly the same hours. The target is shown next to each person. Monday is easy: 2 people and 6 tasks. On Friday there are 4 people and 12 tasks, and two of the tasks are already locked to someone.
No sign-up and nothing to install. It runs in your browser on a computer or a phone, and your progress is saved on your device.
- Drag or tap. Drag a task to a person. Or tap the task and then the person.
- Watch the bars. Each person has a bar that fills as hours are added. Green means exactly right. Red means too much.
- Change your mind. Tap a task that someone has to put it back in the pile, or drag it to another person.
- Stuck? The lightbulb gives the biggest open task to the right person. If the tasks you placed cannot work out, it takes the last one back.
How to play Fair Share
- Read the target: the hours each person must reach.
- Start with the biggest tasks. They have the fewest places to go.
- Fill each person up to the target with the smaller tasks.
- You win when the pile is empty and every bar is green.
What you see
| Part | What it means |
|---|---|
| Task card | A task. The number is its hours. |
| Card with a lock | Already belongs to that person. It cannot move. |
| Yellow card | The task you picked. Tap a person to hand it over. |
| Bar | The hours of a person against the target. |
| Green column | This person has exactly the target. |
| Red column | This person has too many hours. |
| Pile | The tasks nobody has yet. |
Tips for sharing the load
- Big tasks first. A task of 11 hours leaves only a little room for the rest of that person’s load, which rules out a lot.
- Look for what is missing. If someone needs 4 more hours, look for a 4, or for a 3 and a 1.
- Keep small tasks for the end. Ones and twos are the small change that makes the last person fit.
- Start from the locks. A locked task tells you how many hours that person still needs.
- Think of the others. The pile must split exactly, so a task that fits one person now can still be needed by someone else.
How the week gets harder
| Day | People | Tasks | Locked tasks | Hours per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 2 | 6 | None | 9 to 21 |
| Tuesday | 2 | 8 | None | 11 to 24 |
| Wednesday | 3 | 9 | 1 | 9 to 22 |
| Thursday | 3 | 11 | 2 | 14 to 30 |
| Friday | 4 | 12 | 2 | 12 to 28 |
Saturday plays like a Wednesday and Sunday like a Tuesday.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fair Share free?
Yes. There is no account, no download and no paywall.
Is there only one right answer?
No. Often the tasks can be shared in more than one way. Any sharing where everyone has exactly the target wins.
Can I give someone too much and fix it later?
Yes. The column turns red, and you can move a task away at any time.
What are the locked tasks?
From Wednesday on, one or two tasks already belong to a person and cannot be moved. They make the puzzle more exact.
How does the hint work?
A program looks for a complete fair sharing that keeps your tasks where they are. If there is one, it hands out the biggest open task. If not, it takes back the task you placed last.
When does the new puzzle appear?
At midnight in your local time.
Can I play earlier puzzles?
Yes. Open the calendar button at the top of the game and pick any day from the past eight weeks.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Drag the cards with a finger, or tap a card and then a person.
More to play on WiseChecker
- Browser Games: every WiseChecker game in one place.
- Clean Desk: remember the desk and find what is gone.
- No Blind Spots: place cameras so that no square is a blind spot.
- Cell Value: find the number behind every letter.
- File Pairs: turn over two cards and find the pairs.