Guides
Plain-words guides from the makers of Midrate FX, Sudoku Sunrise and Pick Reveal.
Money
What a transfer or an exchange really costs.
Sending money abroad
The mid-market rate, the markup hidden in a rate, and how to compare two quotes by what arrives, with a worked example.
Paying abroad with a card
Foreign transaction fees, cash machines, holds, and the “pay in your own currency?” question, with a worked example.
Exchange rates by currency pair
Today’s mid-market rate for the routes people search most, each with notes on who uses it and how the money arrives.
Puzzles and games
Rules, techniques and keeping score.
How to solve sudoku
Every technique behind Sudoku Sunrise’s levels, from the last number left to X-wings and chains, each with a real example board.
How sudoku puzzles are made
From a finished grid to a puzzle with one solution, and why the level depends on logic, not on the number of clues.
13-card rummy rules
The rules in plain words, house rules side by side, how a losing hand counts, and pool and points games.
Rummy score sheet
A sheet for 2 to 8 players that adds up as you type, shows who is out, and prints clean.
Secret Santa
Drawing names without the hat, the email or the sign-ups, and the White Elephant game.
Secret Santa draw on one phone
Type the names, shuffle, and pass one phone around; each person sees only their own pick.
Secret Santa without email
Running a draw when people won’t sign up for anything, and what to do when someone can’t be there.
Keeping couples apart
A fair way to keep partners from drawing each other, by hand or with an app.
Office Secret Santa
Budget ranges, gift cards and alcohol, gift rules worth stating, and an announcement to copy.
Family Secret Santa with kids
One draw at the table, kids who can and can’t read yet, a budget that works for kids, and not the same cousin every year.
White Elephant gift exchange rules
Opening, stealing and the final swap, and the house rules to agree before the first gift is unwrapped.
Tool guides
On each tool’s own page.
Every free tool has a short guide on its page that explains the idea behind it with worked examples: what a mid-market rate is, which unit conversions are exact, how ISO dates and Unix time work, what an IP address does and doesn’t reveal, why PDFs get large, and more. See them all on Free tools.