It might not seem like there's enough information to solve these logic puzzles—but that's part of the fun!
As an academic discipline, logic is the study of reasoning. Logic puzzles, therefore, involve solving problems by making a series of inferences and assessing these using reasoning. Sounds easy, right? Not exactly.
Easier logic puzzles for kids tend to have simpler setups—and therefore fewer possibilities to examine and eliminate. Harder logic puzzles for adults, however, are often deceptively short. They seem simple at first, but you’re often left wondering whether there’s really enough information to draw a conclusion. These brainteasers are a test for your cognition, intelligence and reasoning abilities, which is what makes them so fun.
Like some of the hardest math puzzles and riddles, these reasoning puzzles can get very complex. Ready give it a go? Here are 12 logic puzzles (with answers) that will test your smarts like never before. Happy solving!
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more puzzles, humor, travel and fun facts all week long.
What is a logic puzzle?
Logic puzzles come in various forms and have a near-infinite number of themes. But at their core, these reasoning puzzles present a series of clues and constraints, like detective riddles do. Solvers must then process each in turn to identify contradictions and eliminate possibilities until they arrive at the solution.
How do you solve a logic puzzle?
No matter the format, the key to solving any of these brainteasers is to use the process of deduction. You might not think there’s enough information at first. But read the clues several times. You’ll have fewer and fewer possibilities to analyze with each pass.
Use a pad and pen (or the Notes app on your phone) to brainstorm different scenarios, then eliminate the possibilities to arrive at the solution. Work your way through the easy ones first, then, as you gain some confidence, try the harder logic puzzles.
Now that you know how to solve them, let’s try out a few challenging riddles!
Easy logic puzzles
These logic puzzles are ideal for beginners or anyone who wants to warm up to something more challenging. If you’re looking for good logic puzzles for kids, the ones below are your best bet. With practice, children will develop their reasoning skills and be able to solve lateral thinking puzzles with ease, making learning more fun.
Summer camp
Abigail, Oliver, Rosa and Blake all attend the same summer camp, where they can cook, kayak, rock climb and zip-line. Each child has a different favorite activity.
- Abigail’s favorite activity isn’t rock climbing.
- Oliver is afraid of heights.
- Rosa can’t do her favorite activity without a harness.
- Blake likes to keep his feet on the ground at all times.
Can you figure out who likes what?
Answer:
Abigail likes to zip-line, Oliver likes to kayak, Rosa likes to rock climb and Blake likes to cook.
The good life
Each of five neighborhood dogs (Saber, Ginger, Nutmeg, Pepper and Bear) is enjoying one of the following activities: getting its ears scratched, playing catch, taking a nap, burying a chew toy and going for a walk.
- Pepper is either playing catch or burying a chew toy.
- Neither Ginger nor Saber nor Bear is on a walk.
- One of the dogs named after a spice is getting its ears scratched.
- A dog not named for a spice is playing catch.
- Bear is getting some exercise.
Can you figure out what each pooch is doing?
Answer:
Saber is taking a nap, Ginger is getting her ears scratched, Nutmeg is going for a walk, Pepper is burying a chew toy and Bear is playing catch.
Birthday week
George, William, John, Abe and Millard have their birthdays on consecutive days, all between Monday and Friday.
- George’s birthday is as many days before Millard’s as William’s is after Abe’s.
- John is two days older than Abe.
- Millard’s birthday is on Thursday.
Can you figure out whose birthday is on each day?
Answer:
John’s is on Monday, George’s on Tuesday, Abe’s on Wednesday, Millard’s on Thursday and William’s on Friday.
The long and the short of it
Six neighborhood children (Leisha, Benito, Delia, Charlotte, Weldon and Zina) were measured yesterday.
- Weldon is taller than Delia but shorter than Zina.
- Leisha is taller than Benito but shorter than Delia and Weldon.
- Benito is not the shortest.
Can you put them in order of height from tallest to shortest?
Answer:
From tallest to shortest: Zina, Weldon, Delia, Leisha, Benito, Charlotte.
Medium-hard logic puzzles
Ready to move on from the easy riddles? These are a bit trickier, so we recommend these logic puzzles for adults. They are still good brainteasers for kids, but younger children might not be able to solve them on their own and may need some help.
Dads and grads
A joint Father’s Day and graduation party is being thrown for Michael, Ken, James, Alberto, Elias and Stephanie. Three of them are newly minted high school graduates. The other three are their dads.
- Stephanie went to the senior prom with Michael’s son.
- Elias and James played on the school’s baseball team. One of them is Alberto’s son.
- Michael and Elias are not related.
Can you match the high school graduates to their fathers at this joint celebration?
Answer:
Alberto is Elias’ dad, Ken is Stephanie’s dad and Michael is James’ dad.
Allergy season
Five friends (Allegra, Ben, Clara, Flora and Zach) are each allergic to something different: pollen, shellfish, bee stings, cats or nuts.
- Allegra has a food allergy
- Ben can play with his kitten for hours without issue (or medicine).
- Clara’s allergy is not related to animals.
- Flora has seasonal allergies.
Can you figure out who is allergic to what?
Answer:
Allegra is allergic to shellfish, Ben to bee stings, Clara to nuts, Flora to pollen and Zach to cats.
Here’s the deal
Four playing cards, one of each suit, lie face down on a table. They are a three, a four, a five and a six.
- The cards on either side of the four are black.
- The club is to the right of the three but not next to it.
- The spade is to the left of the heart.
- The middle two cards add up to an even number. Neither of them is a club.
Can you determine the cards’ suits and their order?
Answer:
From left to right: Three of diamonds, six of spades, four of hearts, five of clubs.
Party at Charlie’s
You’ve been invited to a party at Charlie’s house, but you’ve never been there. He has seven friends who live nearby. They’ve given you a map showing their houses and Charlie’s house, along with the following information:
- Daniel: I can’t see Benita’s house because Greta’s house is in the way.
- Adam: I live directly (not diagonally) across the street from Daniel.
- Benita: Elena lives due west of me.
- Elena: I have to cross three streets to walk to Franco’s house.
- Hal: I live east of Benita.
Can you figure out which house is Charlie’s?
Answer:
House E.
Hard logic puzzles
These advanced riddles for adults are intricate, so don’t feel bad taking as much time as you need to work out the logic.
Pass the salt, please
On April Fools’ Day, your teenage son replaces the salt in three of your four salt shakers with sugar. But he also leaves messages on each.
If only one of these inscriptions is true, which shaker still contains salt?
Answer:
Shaker C. How’d we land on that? Here’s a step-by-step solution breakdown:
- Go through each note and determine what each shaker would contain if that note were the truthful one. For instance, if A is true, the other notes are false, which would mean C really has salt. Both can’t be true.
- Repeat this line of reasoning for each note.
- The note on shaker D must be true, making all others false.
- Shaker C is the only one that lies about containing sugar.
True blue
Daniel, Emily, Marciano and Christina are all wearing solid-colored shirts. Their shirts are red, yellow, green and blue. Only the person wearing blue tells the truth, while the other three lie. They make the following statements:
- Daniel: “Marciano is wearing red.”
- Emily: “Daniel is not wearing yellow.”
- Marciano: “Emily is wearing blue.”
- Christina: “I will wear blue tomorrow.”
Can you determine each person’s shirt color, and whether we can expect to see Christina in blue tomorrow?
Answer:
Daniel is wearing yellow, Emily is in red, Marciano is in green and Christina is in blue. Yes, Christina will wear a blue shirt again tomorrow. How’d we come up with that? Here’s a step-by-step process:
- Assume each person, in turn, is the truth-teller. Start with Daniel and move through the group.
- If Daniel is telling the truth, he’s wearing the blue shirt.
- If Daniel is telling the truth, everyone else is lying. Emily says Daniel is not wearing yellow, but if that’s a lie, he is wearing yellow. Both can’t be true, so Daniel can’t be the truth-teller.
- Repeat this line of reasoning for each player.
- The only person whose statement works as truth is Christina.
Three cheers for the new parents
Ruby and Lewis are expecting … triplets! They already know what they will name their three children, but they aren’t sharing the names until the babies are born. For now, this is all they’ll say:
- All three babies are boys.
- Their names are six letters long and anagrams of one another.
- Their names include the first letter of each parent’s first name, but none of the other letters in their parents’ first names.
What will Ruby and Lewis name their triplets?
Answer:
Arnold, Roland and Ronald.
Win or lose
The Reds, the Grays, the Blues and the Blacks have a round-robin tournament. Each team plays another team once for a total of six games.
- The Blacks won more games than the Blues.
- The Grays lost more games than the Blues.
- The Reds tied the Blacks. (This was the only tie in the tournament.)
Who won the game between the Reds and the Blues?
Answer:
The Reds.
Why trust us
Reader’s Digest is known for our humor and brain games, including quizzes, puzzles, riddles, word games, trivia, math, pattern and logic puzzles, guessing games, crosswords, rebus, hidden objects and spot-the-difference challenges. We’ve earned prestigious ASME awards for our entertainment content and have produced dozens of brainteaser books, including Word Searches, Word Power, Use Your Words, Fun Puzzles and Brain Ticklers, Mind Stretchers, Ultimate Christmas Puzzles and more. Our 10 published volumes of Mind Stretchers were edited by Allen D. Bragdon, founder of The Brainwaves Center and editor of Games magazine. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
