As you navigate through the Legacy Paths in Civilization 7, you will be presented with various narrative events. One of those narrative events asks you to solve Papyrus Problems during a Civilization 7 playthrough. If you’re left stumped by the mathematical problem, this guide contains all the details on how to work it out and most importantly, the correct answer.
You may recognize the Papyrus Problems riddle as it shares similarities with the St. Ives nursery rhyme. The rhyme goes “As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives, each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats, each cat had seven kits: Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, how many were going to St. Ives?” However, the presence of the Papyrus Problems in Civilization 7 most likely relates to Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, dating back to Ancient Egypt.
More Civilization 7 guides
Civilization 7: Best Leaders for Beginners | Civilization 7: Biggest Changes From Civilization 6 | Civilization 7: All Difficulty Levels Explained | Civilization 7: What is Influence and How to Use it | Civilization 7: Best Religious Pantheons | Civilization 7: All Natural Wonders and Bonuses |
Test your math with Papyrus Problems in Civilization 7
In Civilization 7, you are asked, “there are seven houses, and each house has seven cats. Each cat kills seven mice, and each mouse has eaten seven grains of barley. Each grain would have produced seven gallons of cereal. What is the sum of the enumerated things?”
From here, you are given two answers, 16807 or 19607. Your first instinct may be to simply do 7x7x7x7x7, but the question asks for the sum of the enumerated things. Instead of multiplying 7 by itself five times, you must find the sum of each individual part of the puzzle and then add them together.
The calculation is 7^5, then add 7^4, then add 7^3, then add 7^2, and finally add 7 to your result and you should get 19607. Selecting the correct answer to Papyrus Problems in Civilization 7 will grant you +100 Science. If you have previously come across this narrative event and you selected the wrong answer, there is a negative consequence. The game continues, but instead of the Science reward, your empire will be hit with a Happiness penalty.
Since Papyrus Problems is always the same each time you encounter it, you can now choose the correct answer each time it pops up and reap the rewards of a handy Science boost.
