Calculator Module

The Calculator looks like the friendliest module in the game: a sum on a screen and a keypad to type the answer. Then it turns out the sum is only half of the job. After the first answer goes in, a light comes on, and the final digit depends on that light and on whether your first answer was odd or even. Teams that treat the arithmetic as the whole solution lose the module on the second stage. It first appears on Level 5.

How the Module Works

Stage 1: The Sum

The screen shows a simple calculation: a number, an operator and a second number. The Deaf Monkey, who can see the screen, reads it aloud and works out the result. The Blind Monkey enters that result on the keypad. Walkthroughs use an example like 67 + 2 = 69.

Stage 2: Parity and Light

Once the first result is in, a light turns on. The Deaf Monkey calls its color. The Mute Monkey then combines two facts in the manual: whether the first result was odd or even, and the color of the light. That gives the final digit, which the Blind Monkey enters. In one walkthrough’s example, 69 is odd and the light is green, which pointed to a final digit of 9 – but the exact mapping comes from the manual, so always read it there.

Who Does What

Step-by-Step Relay

1. Read the whole expression. “Sixty-seven plus two.” Read the first number, the operator and the second number in that order, and say the operator as a word.
2. Solve and classify. “Equals sixty-nine. Odd.” Saying odd or even right away saves the Mute Monkey a step.
3. Enter the result. The Deaf Monkey finds each digit on the jumbled keypad and guides the Blind Monkey to it, one digit at a time; the Blind Monkey repeats and presses.
4. Call the light. “Light green.”
5. Look up the final digit. The Mute Monkey crosses parity with the light color in the manual and signals the digit, usually with a finger count.
6. Enter the final digit. The Deaf Monkey relays it, the Blind Monkey repeats it and presses it.

Walkthroughs recommend completing both stages in one smooth sequence. Don’t leave the module half done to start something else.

Callout Script

The Zero Problem

Two details trip teams up when a result or a digit is zero:

• Zero is even. A result of 0 counts as even in the parity lookup. One community guide lists “forgetting that zero is even” among the common Calculator mistakes.
• Showing zero without words. Finger counts don’t cover zero naturally. Guides suggest agreeing on a dedicated sign in advance, such as ten fingers or circling your head. Pick one before the timer starts.

Common Mistakes

• Treating the sum as the final answer. The result is only stage one.
• Misreading the operator. Calling minus as “dash” or skipping the operator turns a subtraction into nonsense. Say “plus”, “minus” in full.
• Forgetting the parity. The light alone doesn’t give the digit. Odd or even is half of the lookup.
• Assuming a standard layout. The keypad is jumbled. Guide the Blind Monkey to the key that shows the digit, not to where it would be on a normal keypad.
• Entering digits in one burst. One digit, one read-back.
• Losing it to Pressure. On Level 6, Pressure is on the same bomb. Guides note that Pressure exposes hesitation quickly, so know the Calculator steps by heart before you get there.

Where You’ll Meet It

Practice Checklist

• The Deaf Monkey reads number, operator, number – in that order.
• The result is announced together with “odd” or “even”.
• Everyone knows zero counts as even.
• The team has a fixed sign for zero.
• Digits are entered one at a time with a read-back.
• The light color is called only after the first result is in.
• Both stages are finished before the team moves to another module.

FAQ