15 Difficult Word Puzzles to Challenge Your Mind

Scrambled cities

These seemingly random phrases hide the names of eight capital cities around the world. Each phrase contains the name of two cities. Can you unscramble them and figure out what they are? This isn’t a trick question! The answer is staring you in the face.

When you’re ready, scroll on to find the answer.

Solution: Scrambled cities

The cities are: Beijing, London, Berlin, Moscow, Rome, Tokyo, Madrid and Paris.

What’s the quote?

This is a well-known William Shakespeare quote, but all of the vowels have been removed, and the consonants have been mixed into groups of five letters. Replace the vowels to reveal the quote. Can you solve this tough literary riddle for adults?

When you have your quote, check out the next slide for the solution.

Solution: What’s the quote?

Yes, it’s the famous quote from Romeo and Juliet!

Spell it out

Spell out a two-word place name by traveling to each letter along the lines. You can go through each circle only once. (Hint: It’s a statuesque location.)

You’ll find the answer on the next slide!

Solution: Spell it out

The answer is Easter Island, home of the famous moai statues. Feel inspired? Try these Easter riddles next.

Word worm

From wherever you start (hint: it’s probably easiest to start at the top left), join the hexagons by creating a new word that is only one letter different from where you started. Each hexagon must connect to exactly two adjacent hexagons. Good luck!

Keep scrolling to reveal the answer.

Solution: Word worm

Think this is too easy? Try solving the world’s first crossword puzzle.

Look for the link

Far from a spot-the-difference quiz, this riddle asks how these items are related. Can you guess? Once you have an answer, check out the solution below.

Solution: Look for the link

The picture shows petals, plates and pleats, words that are all anagrams of one another. (Don’t get anagrams confused with acronyms, abbreviations or initialisms!)

Step down

Beginning at the top of the upside-down pyramid, remove one letter from the word strides and rearrange the remaining letters to build a new six-letter word beneath. Continue the same process for each word until you get to the bottom.

Keep scrolling for the answer. (There may be more than one solution.)

Solution: Step down

Did you make it to the bottom, or did you get stumped halfway through?

Odd word out

Look closely at the following words. Which one doesn’t belong with the rest? Write down your answer before checking the slide below.

Solution: Odd word out

This is a tricky one because even though it’s on our list of word puzzles, it’s also secretly a math riddle!

Word circles

Create three words, one from each circle, that all have a similar meaning. Can you solve it?

Give yourself some time to work it out, then keep scrolling.

Solution: Word circles

The three similar words are merriment, laughter and hilarity—hopefully things you experienced while working on this puzzle!

Word centers

Each four-letter word is the middle of a much bigger word. Fill in the blank spaces to create the original eight-letter word. Then, check the answers below.

Solution: Word centers

Some of these were tricky! If you loved this puzzle, you might be a wiz at word searches too.

Scrambled

Unscramble the letters to create six words that relate to reading, then scroll on for the solution.

Solution: Scrambled

Once you get the answer to this puzzle, you’ll want to sit down with a good book.

Turn again

Begin at one of the corner squares, move clockwise around the perimeter and finish in the center square to spell a nine-letter word. You must fill in the empty squares with your own letters.

Stumped? You’ll find the answer below.

Solution: Turn again

Starting from the bottom left and going clockwise, the missing letters are R and N to spell out chronicle. Did you guess the right letters?

X words

The X in each word represents missing letters. Figure out which letters are missing to uncover each word. This isn’t a Mensa-level quiz, but we admit it’s a head-scratcher! (Hint: For each puzzle, the missing letters form different words that have something in common.)

Ready to make a guess? Keep scrolling for the solution.

Solution: X words

This was a tough one! The trick is realizing that each word has a number spelled out within it.

What am I?

Can you work out the answer to this challenging riddle? Take your time, then check out the answer below to see if you were correct.

Solution: What am I?

It’s the horizon! If this whet your appetite for word puzzles, try these other “What am I?” riddles.

Anagram

Only one of the following rows is an anagram of a five-letter English word. Do you know which one it is? Write down your guess, then check the solution below.

Solution: Anagram

 The answer is the fourth row. LUDIB is an anagram of the word build, while the other letters are nonsense.

Star words

Create a word from each segment of each star using the four letters provided and one mystery letter. In the star at the top, the mystery letter is the third letter in each of the new words you create. In the star at the bottom, the mystery letter is the last letter in the new word you create. What are the two mystery letters?

If this is too tough, keep scrolling for the solution. But give it a good try first!

Solution: Star words

The mystery letter in the start at the top is W, spelling rowed, hawks, lower, byway and towns. The mystery letter for the bottom star is R, spelling timer, baker, briar, flier and razor.

How did you do with these tricky word puzzles overall? Regardless of how many you got right or wrong, your brain surely benefited from a mental workout as you tried to find the answers!

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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.

Sources:

• The BMJ: “Mind games: do they work?”
• Medical Science Monitor Basic Research: “Brain Training Games Enhance Cognitive Function in Healthy Subjects”
• National Library of Medicine: “The Effect of Brain Teaser Games on the Attention of Players Based on Hormonal and Brain Signals Changes”