How to solve the Papyrus Problems in Civilization 7

While playing Civilization 7, you will often encounter different narrative events depending on what path you take. If you choose the Science Legacy Path, there is a good chance that you will come face-to-face with an event called "The Papyrus Problem." Here, you will be presented with a math equation that you must solve from the displayed options.

Solving the equation can be slightly tricky, as it is based on a real-life problem called the Seven Hours Riddle, and its origin goes back to ancient Egyptian math. This article will cover everything you must know about decoding the Papyrus Problem in Civilization 7.

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"The Papyrus Problem" solution in Civilization 7

The problem requires a combination of multiplication and addition (Image via 2K|| YouTube/@Doom External)

This is how the riddle goes:

"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?"

The game will offer you 16,807 and 19,607 as the solutions to the Papyrus Problem. However, only one of them is correct, and depending on how you solve it, the result will be one of these two options. There is a very high chance that you might try multiplying the number 7 five times with itself, but that will just give you the wrong answer.

Reading the riddle a couple of times will bring your attention to the word "sum," meaning the solution will not appear only by multiplication. So, after the multiplication of the number 7 five times with itself for the solution, you also need to find the total of each component of the problem. Once you get the sum of each, add them all together to get your answer, which should be 19,607.

This will mark the end of the Papyrus Problem in Civilization 7, which will reward you with a +100 boost to Science.