Old Tricks
No. 003 · SUNDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2026 · NUMBERS · ●●○○○

The doubling reward

Jun is coding a chess app. To celebrate the launch, he promises the first club champion a reward in app coins.

'One coin on the first square of the board,' he says. 'Two on the second, four on the third, and so on, doubling on every square up to the 64th.'

His friend Zara laughs. 'You had better check how many coins that is.'

How many coins does Jun owe in total?

Type the exact whole number. Commas are fine. Your calculator will probably round it, so look for a pattern.