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Mental Math TRICKS to Instantly Double Your ‘Hit the Button’ Score

The timer starts. 60 seconds. The first question flashes: 8 x 7. Your mind goes blank. You know you know it, but the pressure is on. You guess, get it wrong, and the clock ticks down faster. Frustrating, isn’t it? ‘Hit the Button’ is a fantastic game for building math fluency, but that ticking clock can turn a fun challenge into a stressful race. What if you could turn that pressure into power? What if you had a secret toolkit of mental math tricks that made you not just faster, but twice as fast?

You’re in the right place. This isn’t about being a “math genius.” It’s about learning simple, powerful strategies that rewire how you approach problems. Forget slow, clunky calculations. We’re going to teach you the mental shortcuts that top scorers use to rack up points with lightning speed. Prepare to master the game, boost your confidence, and instantly double your ‘Hit the Button’ score.

Key Takeaways: Your Fast-Track to a High Score

Pressed for time? Here are the most critical strategies that will make an immediate impact on your score:

• Reframe the Problem: Don’t just calculate; look for shortcuts. The ‘Add 9’ trick (add 10, subtract 1) is a perfect example of working smarter, not harder.
• Reverse Engineer Division: Stop trying to divide. Instead, turn division questions like 56 ÷ 7 into a multiplication search: 7 x ? = 56. You already know your times tables; use them.
• Master the “Make 10” Method: For Number Bonds, especially subtraction, building up to the next ten is dramatically faster than traditional borrowing. For 100 - 38, think 38 -> 40 (that’s 2) and 40 -> 100 (that’s 60). The answer is 62.
• Pattern Recognition Over Calculation: For Times Tables, recognizing patterns (like the 9s or 11s tables) is faster than calculating from scratch every time.
• Practice in Short Bursts: Five minutes of focused practice every day is more effective than one long session once a week. Consistency builds speed.

Understanding the Game: Why Speed is Everything

‘Hit the Button’, developed by Topmarks, is fundamentally a game of rapid recall. It’s not designed to test complex problem-solving. It’s designed to measure and improve your mathematical fluency—how quickly and accurately you can retrieve math facts from your brain. The 60-second timer is the key element that separates knowing the answer from being *fluent* with the answer.

To get a high score, you need to minimize the time between seeing the question and hitting the correct answer. Every millisecond spent “figuring it out” is a point lost. This is where mental math tricks come in. They aren’t cheats; they are highly efficient pathways to the correct answer, bypassing the slower, more traditional methods we often learn in school.

[AAP_IMAGE: “Screenshot of the ‘Hit the Button’ game menu with different math options like Times Tables and Number Bonds”]

Foundational Tricks for All Game Modes

These core techniques are the bedrock of speed. Master them, and you’ll see an improvement across every single ‘Hit the Button’ category.

The “Near Ten” Trick (For Adding 9, 8, and 11)

Our brains love the number 10. It’s easy to work with. The ‘Near Ten’ trick uses this to your advantage.

To add 9: Instead of adding 9, you add 10 (which is easy) and then subtract 1.

• Question: 7 + 9
• Slow way: Counting up from 7… eight, nine, ten… sixteen.
• Fast way: 7 + 10 = 17. 17 - 1 = 16. Instant.

You can extend this logic:

• To add 8: Add 10, then subtract 2. (e.g., 6 + 8 becomes 6 + 10 - 2 = 14)
• To add 11: Add 10, then add 1. (e.g., 5 + 11 becomes 5 + 10 + 1 = 16)

[AAP_IMAGE: “Simple infographic explaining the ‘Add 9’ mental math trick: 9 + 7 is shown as 10 + 7 – 1 = 16”]

Mastering Multiplication by 10, 100, and 5

These are often considered “easy,” but being able to execute them without a moment’s hesitation is crucial for speed.

• Multiplying by 10: Simply add a zero to the end of the number. 12 x 10 = 120.
• Multiplying by 100: Add two zeros. 8 x 100 = 800.
• Multiplying by 5: This has a brilliant two-step trick. First, multiply the number by 10, then halve it. This is often much easier than trying to count in fives.
  • Question: 14 x 5
  • Slow way: 5, 10, 15, 20… ugh.
  • Fast way: 14 x 10 = 140. Half of 140 is 70. Done.

The Doubling and Halving Strategy

This is a versatile trick for multiplication. If one number in a multiplication problem is even, you can halve it and double the other number. The answer will be the same, but the problem is often much simpler.

• Question: 4 x 18
• The thought process: This looks a bit tricky. But 4 is even. Let’s halve the 4 and double the 18.
• The new problem: 2 x 36. Much easier! The answer is 72.

This is fantastic for questions involving 4s, 6s, 8s, and other even numbers.

Game-Specific Strategies to Dominate ‘Hit the Button’

Now let’s apply mental math principles directly to the most popular game modes.

Times Tables: Pattern Recognition is Your Superpower

While rote memorization is the ultimate goal, using patterns is a powerful backup that builds confidence and speed.

• The 9s Trick: The two digits in the answer always add up to 9. For 9 x 6, you know the first digit will be one less than 6, which is 5. Since the digits must add to 9, the second digit must be 4. Answer: 54.
• The 11s Trick (up to 9): Just repeat the digit you’re multiplying by. 11 x 7 = 77. 11 x 4 = 44.
• The 12s Trick: Think of it as (10 x the number) + (2 x the number). For 12 x 6, think (10 x 6) + (2 x 6) which is 60 + 12 = 72.

Division Facts: The Reverse Multiplication Hack

This is the single most important strategy for the division section. Stop doing division. Your brain is wired for multiplication, which is just addition in sequence. Division is abstract and slow.

When you see a question like 48 ÷ 6 = ?, immediately reframe it in your mind as a multiplication problem with a missing number: 6 x ? = 48.

Your brain will instantly retrieve the “8” from its times-table memory bank. This is orders of magnitude faster than trying to work backwards with division.

Number Bonds: The “Make 10” Method

For number bonds involving subtraction from 100, the traditional “borrowing” method is a disaster for speed. The “Make 10” or “Build Up” method is king.

Question: Find the number bond for 100 with 63. (i.e., 100 - 63)

• Step 1: How much to get from 63 to the next “friendly” number (the next ten)? 63 -> 70 is 7.
• Step 2: How much to get from 70 to 100? 70 -> 100 is 30.
• Step 3: Add your two jumps together. 30 + 7 = 37.

This method feels strange at first, but with a little practice, it becomes an incredibly fast and accurate way to subtract without ever actually subtracting.

Square Numbers: Memorize and Conquer

There’s no magic trick for this one—just pure, powerful memorization. The good news is that for ‘Hit the Button’, you really only need to know your squares up to 12 x 12.

1x1=1, 2x2=4, 3x3=9, 4x4=16, 5x5=25, 6x6=36, 7x7=49, 8x8=64, 9x9=81, 10x10=100, 11x11=121, 12x12=144

Write them on flashcards. Say them out loud. Practice this specific game mode for a few minutes every day. Direct recall is the only strategy here, and it’s unbeatable for speed.

[AAP_QUIZ_GEN: “Hit the Button Mental Math”]

Beyond the Tricks: Training Your Brain for Speed

Having the right tools is only half the battle. You also need to train the engine: your brain.

The Power of Practice and Repetition

Mental math is a skill, like playing a sport or a musical instrument. You can’t just read about it; you have to do it. The key is little and often. Aim for just 5-10 minutes of ‘Hit the Button’ practice each day. This consistent reinforcement builds neural pathways, making fact retrieval faster and more automatic over time.

Visualizing the Numbers

When you perform a trick like “add 10, subtract 1,” try to “see” the numbers in your head. Visualize 7 + 10 = 17, and then picture the 7 changing to a 6 to get 16. This mental visualization can help solidify the process and make it feel more intuitive and less like a sequence of abstract rules.

Staying Calm Under Pressure

The timer is designed to induce stress. When you panic, your working memory suffers, and you make simple mistakes. Before you start a round, take one deep breath. Inhale for four seconds, hold for four, and exhale for four. Remind yourself, “It’s just a game. The goal is to be accurate, then fast.” Focusing on accuracy first will naturally build speed as you become more confident.

[AAP_IMAGE: “Happy child looking proudly at a high score on a tablet displaying the ‘Hit the Button’ game”]

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How long does it take to get faster at ‘Hit the Button’?

With consistent daily practice of these tricks (even just 5 minutes a day), most people see a significant improvement in their score within a week. Doubling your score is a realistic goal within two to three weeks of focused effort.

What’s the most important game mode to practice?

Times Tables are the foundation for almost everything else. A solid, instant recall of multiplication facts will make the Division mode trivial (using the reverse multiplication hack) and help with many other calculations. Start there.

My child gets frustrated when they can’t beat their score. What should I do?

Shift the focus from the score to the process. Celebrate the use of a new trick! Say, “I saw you use the ‘add 10, subtract 1’ trick on that one – well done!” Praise the strategy, not just the outcome. This builds resilience and encourages them to keep practicing the methods that lead to high scores.

Are these mental math tricks useful outside of the game?

Absolutely! These tricks are designed to build number sense and calculation fluency, which are invaluable life skills. They are useful for everything from calculating a tip at a restaurant and figuring out discounts while shopping to general problem-solving and building overall academic confidence in math.