05/01/2014 - 12th Day (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

Here's another classic puzzle that we've yet to look at.

The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a cumulative song, meaning that each verse is built on top of the previous verses. There are twelve verses, each describing a gift given by "my true love" on one of the twelve days of Christmas.

...and so forth, until the last verse:

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..

12 Drummers Drumming

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords-a-Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids-a-Milking

7 Swans-a-Swimming

6 Geese-a-Laying

5 Gold Rings

4 Colly Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

So, on the first day the true love gave 1 item (a Partridge in a Pear Tree).  On the second day he gave 3 items (2 Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree), summing to 4 items in total!

Puzzle

What is the total sum of all the gifts by the end of the twelfth day?

Check the solutions for the correct answer.

25/12/2013 - Christmas Pudding (*)

This puzzle is rated 1 star (easy).

Description

Father Christmas spends 364 days of the year as a taster of Christmas puddings (which is why he is so round and jolly). Recently he came across a Magic Pudding. 

If you eat some of this pudding, the next thing you say comes out in a magic code.

Father Christmas tried it, liked it, and said:

"IP! IP! IP! XIBU B MPWFMZ QVEEJOH! NFSSZ DISJTUNBT BOE B IBQQZ OFX ZFBS UP ZPV BMM!"

Puzzle
What did Father Christmas Say?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

24/12/2013 - Mince Pies (*)

This puzzle is rated 1 star (easy).

Description

Father Christmas has to visit a lot of homes on Christmas Eve when he is out delivering presents. He usually gets a glass of sherry and a mince pie at each house too. 

Now, Father Christmas can manage the sherry, but finds eating all those mince pies quite difficult. So Rudolph helps him out.

Last year Father Christmas finished his rounds with lots of mince pies to spare. He gave 25 million (25 000 000) to Rudolph. 

It takes Rudolph just 10 seconds to eat a mince pie. 

Puzzle
How long did it take Rudolph to eat all 25 million mince pies, without stopping? 

An hour? A day? A week?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

03/05/2013 - Triangles and Quadrilaterals (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

A slight change from our "how many triangles" puzzles!

Puzzle
How many triangles and quadrilaterals are there in the above shape.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

01/04/2013 - How Many Triangles 4 (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

Make sure you can clearly see the image shown above.

Puzzle
How many triangles are there in the shape shown above?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

25/03/2013 - When? 2 (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

Nine days ago, the day before yesterday was three weeks before a party.

Puzzle
If it is Sunday, what day of the week is the party on?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

21/03/2012 - Countdown (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description
Here in the UK there is a TV programme called "Countdown".  Countdown is primarily about creating words from randomly chosen letters, but there is a couple of rounds based around numeracy.  Basically the contestant picks a random set of numbers and using only the numbers a maximum of 1 time and the operations add, subtract, multiply and divide he has to make a total.

Sometimes these are hard to get...

Puzzle
Using the rules of Countdown outlined above to make 446 using the numbers 100, 6, 2, 8, 9 and 5.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

20/03/2013 - Dominoes 2 (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

Use above and imagine (or use) 4 dominoes labelled 6:6, 6:2, 2:5, 3:1, 1:5, 4:6, 5:6, 3:3 and 2:1.

Puzzle
Place the dominoes 6:6, 6:2, 2:5, 3:1, 1:5, 4:6, 5:6, 3:3 and 2:1, so that the correct numbers are covered by the dominoes.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

19/03/2013 - Alphamaths (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

 

Decription

1. A is one-third of C and one-quarter of G
2. G is ten lower than H
3. H is double the value of F, but four lower than B
4. B is six higher than D
5. D is double the value of E
6. the value of E is lower than G

Puzzle
From the following six clues, find the values of the letters A to H. Each letter contains a different whole number in the range 1-30.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

18/03/2013 - Strawberry Picking (*)

This puzzle is rated 1 star (easy).

Description

A gardener planted a row of 10 strawberry plants in his garden, setting them exactly 1 m apart.

Each plant produced just one strawberry.

When picking time came, the stupid gardener placed a basket 1 m from the end of the row, and then proceeded to pick and carry each strawberry to the basket one by one.

Puzzle
How far did the gardener have to walk when picking his strawberries?

Check the solutions page for the correct solution.

17/03/2013 - Four Times Table (*)

This puzzle is rated 1 star (easy).

Description

For this puzzle you need to know your 4 times table.

The sequence is 4 + 8 + 12 + 16, etc (adding multiples of 4).  Giving totals of 4, 12, 24, 40, etc.

Puzzle
What is the first number past 200 that you reach?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

16/03/2013 - Sponsored Walk (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

Harry recently went on a Sponsored Walk to raise funds for new equipment at the local Hospital.  His sponsor form looked like this:

Sponsor's Name	Amount Per km	Total
Fat Freda	10p
Dim Jim	15p
Tall Tanya		£3
Silly Cilla	5p
C.U.Jimmy	5p
Albert Bodge		£2.50
Roland Heap	20p
Nice Nigel		£4.50
Merlin Shriek	20p
Carol Singer	25p

Altogether Harry collected £22.00 from his sponsors. 

Puzzle
How far did he walk?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

15/03/2013 - Alpha-numbers (*)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (easy).

Description

Write out the numbers 1 to 20 (inclusive) in order, as words.

Puzzle
When placing these numbers in alphabetical order, how many numbers remain in their original position?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

13/03/2013 - Old News (***)

This puzzle is rated 3 star (hard)

Description

A newspaper is printed on 8 large sheets of paper that are laid on top of each other and folded in half. 

This means that the newspaper has 32 pages altogether.
The first sheet contains pages 1, 2, 31 and 32.

Puzzle
I pick up a sheet containing page 25. What are the other pages that this sheet contains?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

12/03/2013 - How Many Triangles 3 (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

Make sure you can clearly see the image shown above.

Puzzle
How many triangles are there in the shape shown above?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

07/03/2013 - True Number (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

I am thinking of a 6-digit number. The sum of the digits is 43. 

And only two of the following three statements about the number are true: 

1. It's a square number,
2. It's a cube number, and
3. The number is under 500000.

Puzzle
What is the number?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

06/03/2013 - Four 4s (10-19) (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

During this puzzle you can only use the following mathematical functions:

• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Division
• Decimal point
• Square-root
• Brackets
• Power (e.g. 4 to the power 4 is 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 = 256)
• The number of 4 exactlyf 4 times.
  

Puzzle
Using only the mathematical functions and the number 4 (EXACTLY 4 times) construct the numbers from 10 to 19.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

05/03/2013 - Adding It Wrong! (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

This is an additional table that seems to follow a different pattern.

Puzzle
Work out the missing number.

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

04/03/2013 - How Much? (**)

This puzzle is rated 2 star (medium).

Description

Brian was about to pay £12 for a number of cakes, but then the baker decided two throw two extra ones in for free, because they were so little.

By adding the two extra cakes the cakes now cost one pound a dozen less than when Brian was about to pay.

Puzzle 
Tell now how many eggs she received for her twelve cents?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.

03/03/2013 - Weighing the Baby (***)

This puzzle is rated 3 star (hard).

Description

A the mother weighs 100 pounds more than the combined weight of the baby and the dog, and the dog weighs 60 percent less than the baby?

Puzzle
How much does the baby weigh?

Check the solutions page for the correct answer.