Holiday Puzzle

 It’s Tuesday, so here are some more Missing Word puzzles.  Today there are ten puzzles of varying difficulty.

As a refresher in each puzzle, a word or words are missing, replaced by their first letter.  In order to solve each puzzle, you need to find the missing words.  Here’s an example of how they work:

Puzzle1:       12 I in a F

The solution is     “12 INCHES in a FOOT”  (“I” stands for “INCHES” and “F” stands for “FOOT“)

Below are ten puzzles to try.

• 4 S in a D of C

• 12 N on a C

• 5 O in the W

• 7 W of the A W

• 13 S on the U S F

• 2 W on a B

• 12 M in a Y

• 9 L of a C

• 15 B on a P T

• 2 E on a F

These are not original puzzles, but I still like to share them.  Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them! 

Today’s puzzle is another original puzzle called Number Junctions. I originally named these puzzles Octangles as they contained a collection of octagons. However, when Mindware published them in book form (actually two books), they changed the format to circles and subsequently the name. Number Junctions are easy to understand – all you need to do is to place the given numbers into the small following the simple rules (or directions). In order to correctly solve these puzzles, you will only need to use basic addition and your deductive reasoning skills. Each puzzle is an nxn grid (like 5×5 or 9×9) of circles. Between every group of four circles is a “diamond” containing a number. This number is the sum of the numbers in the four surrounding circles. Finally, each row (and column) contains the numbers 1 through n once and only one (just like Sudoku). You just have to place the numbers correctly into the empty circles

Click here for a detailed set of rules and an example puzzle.

Here is an easier 5×5 Number Junctions puzzles from my second book for you to try.



For a more challenge 9×9 Number Junctions puzzle click here!


If you like these Number Junctions puzzles, take a look at the books of Number Junctions that I wrote which is available on mindware. Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them!

Today’s puzzle is another Counting Shapes (like day 2 of this years Holiday Puzzles).  As with many puzzles, the concept of Counting Shapes puzzles is very straight-forward and getting an answer is very easy, but getting the correct answer is a bit more challenging.

In today’s puzzles, you will be presented with a collection of triangles. All you need to do is count how many triangles are in each picture. I suggest that you take your time and count twice, as it is easy to miss a few on the first count.

Below is an interactive version with three puzzles. Enter your count in each of the three boxes and then select check. You will not be told which of the three (if any) are correct, only if all three are correct. The first puzzle is easier than the other two, but still take your time and good luck! Click here for a download of the puzzle.

 

Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them! If you get stuck and would like the solutions, use the “Contact Us” button and we will reply.  Take your time and see if you can get all three correct on the first attempt!

In order to use the interactive puzzle, you need to have adobe flash enabled.

“Today you are you!  That is truer than True!  There is no one alive that is you-er than you!” – Dr. Suess

Today’s puzzle is another original puzzle called Number Circuits.  I originally named these puzzles Magic Puzzles as they are based on Magic Squares.  However, when Mindware published them in book form (acually two books), they changed the name.  Number Circuits are easy to understand – all you need to do is to place the given numbers into the small circles following the simple rules (or directions).  In order to correctly solve these puzzles, you will only need to use basic addition and your deductive reasoning skills.  

Here are two Number Circuit puzzles from my second book for you to try –   Click here for a pdf file.

If you like these Number Circuit puzzles, take a look at the books of Number Circuits that I wrote which is available on mindware.  Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them!

“Simplicity is the glory of expression.” – Walt Whitman

Today’s puzzle is fun for everyone – Letter Riddles.  I came up with these riddles years ago while sitting at a restaurant with my family while waiting for the meal.  I was challenging my oldest daughter with these and in return she came up with a couple to challenge me!

The idea is really simple – all of the riddles have answers that are words that are pronounced the same as a single letter or a combination of letters.  For example, “What letter did Columbus cross?”  – the “C” is the answer because the letter C is pronounced the same as the word “sea“.   That’s the idea – not too crazy hard, but still thought provoking.

Below are ten letter riddles for you to try – all of them can be answered with a single letter or a combination of two or three letters.

• 1. What two letters are shifty?
• 2. What two letters does a banana have?
• 3. What two letters are four score?
• 4. What two are sick?
• 5. What two letters play cards?
• 6. What letter is a bird?
• 7. What two letters are slippery?
• 8. What two letters are a report?
• 9. What two letters are not hard?
• 10. What two letters are a girls name?

Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them!

“Be quick, but don’t hurry.” – John Wooden

As promised, Tuesday’s will be Missing Word Puzzle day, so here’s another set of missing word puzzles.  Today there are ten puzzles of varying difficulty. The first five are easier than the second five which are much more challenging. Please keep this in mind when you attempt the puzzles.  

As a refresher in each puzzle, a word or words are missing, replaced by their first letter.  In order to solve each puzzle, you need to find the missing words.  Here’s an example of how they work:

Puzzle1:       12 I in a F

The solution is     “12 INCHES in a FOOT”  (“I” stands for “INCHES” and “F” stands for “FOOT“)

Below are ten puzzles to try – remember the first five are easier than the last five.

• 2 H in a W

• 3 F in a Y

• 5 F on each H

• 10 D in a D

• 4 S on a S

The next five puzzles are more challenging!  Good Luck!

• 3 H on a C

• 2 S to every S

• 12 S of the Z

• 3 B in the “L of the R”

• 4 S and 7 YA

These are not original puzzles, but I still like to share them.  Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them! 

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Today’s puzzle is a great puzzle that everyone can enjoy. They are called alphametics. In each puzzle, there is a simple addition problem. However, instead of using numbers, letters are used. Each letter stands for a single digit number (e.g. 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 or 9). Within each puzzle, a number can be associated with only one letter, so two different letters can not equal the same number. The meaning of the letters may change from puzzle to puzzle, so “N” may be “5” in the first puzzle and may be “3” in the second puzzle. The objective is to assign each letter a number so the statement is correct – in other words, it all adds up. It sounds straight-forward and is easy to understand, but may be very challenging. Here’s an example:

In this example, there are eight different letters each matched with a unique number, so F=1, O=3, U=6, R=7 and so on. Make sure you understand the example. When you do, try the following puzzles. I have created three interactive puzzles below.

I hope you enjoy these puzzles. Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them!

“Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.” – Pat Riley

Today’s puzzle is a Number Sense Puzzle.  They are geared for younger puzzlers to help them improve their number sense.  However, many have requested more challenging puzzles, so I have included a second more challenging puzzle for older puzzlers (just click the link below). In each, there are 8 statements each corresponding to a number.  You have to use the numbers 0 through 9 once and only once to fill in the correct number for each statement.  You will need to use and develop your deductive problem solving skills in order to correctly place the numbers.  Since there are only 8 answers and 10 numbers (0 through 9), some of the answers will require two digits. 

I hope you enjoy these puzzles.  If you find these interesting, Click Here for a selection of more Number Sense puzzles that I’ve created.  I will be adding to the selection over time. Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them!

“You can observe a lot by watching.” – Yogi Berra

It’s my favorite today – Math Riddles!  These are all original.  Some are from my riddle book Riddle-Me Math and some are new.  I love riddles because they are often very simple to state, but at the same time, very difficult to solve.  There are five riddles below, dealing with numbers and relationships (e.g. proportions).  Riddles typically require a bit of thought and their solutions may not be immediately seen.  That’s the challange!  Don’t give in, keep thinking about them and try to get each solution without being told.  Your first few guesses may seem crazy, but keep plugging along – even the best riddlers take their time and make a few mistakes.

Today’s puzzle is a Counting Shapes puzzle that was very popular in last years Holiday Puzzles.  As with many puzzles, the concept of Counting Shapes puzzles is very straight-forward and getting an answer is very easy, but getting the correct answer is a bit more challenging.

In today’s puzzles, you will be presented with a collection of rectangles. All you need to do is count how many rectangles are in each picture. I suggest that you take your time and count twice, as it is easy to miss a few on the first count.

Below is an interactive version with three puzzles. Enter your count in each of the three boxes and then select check. You will not be told which of the three (if any) are correct, only if all three are correct. The first puzzle is easier than the other two, but still take your time and good luck! Click here for a pdf version of the puzzle.

Good Luck and pass the puzzles onto others who may enjoy them! If you get stuck and would like the solutions, use the “Contact Us” button and we will reply.  Take your time and see if you can get all three correct on the first attempt!

In order to use the interactive puzzle, you need to have adobe flash enabled.

Here are a few hints:

the number of squares in the first puzzles is not 3; the number of squares in the second puzzle is greater than 4; and the number of squares in the third puzzle is greater than 10.