There are many types of puzzles, including classics and new puzzles you haven’t tried yet, for all age groups, adults, children and families. puzzles include jigsaw, cryptic puzzles, logic puzzles, mechanical puzzles, and word puzzles.
The thing to remember is that many puzzles involve mathematics and logic of some sort. Therefore, almost any puzzle can teach various types of mathematics, and play is the best way to teach!
Below are recommended puzzles that are specific to high school mathematics and above. These do not include games and brain teasers.
Getting Started
Here are a few puzzles to get you started on your puzzle journey.
There are 100 passengers waiting in line to board an airliner with 100 passenger seats.
The seats are numbered from 1 to 100. Each passenger holds a ticket with his seat number.
You are the last passenger in line.
One of the passengers ahead of you in line is crazy. We don’t know which one. He will ignore his seat assignment and sit in a random empty seat. The crazy person might sit in his assigned seat; he is equally likely to sit in any open seat.
Every other passenger will sit in their assigned seat — unless it is already taken, in which case they too will sit in a random empty passenger seat.
Passengers board one by one.
What is the probability that you will sit in your assigned seat?
Let’s train your brain with fun math & logic puzzles! In this quiz you’ll find math based brain teaser riddles: 20 fun and challenging math & logic puzzles. With only 20 seconds on the clock for each puzzle the pressure is on! After every math & logic puzzle you’ll get the answer straight away.
Recommended Puzzles
“Logical Puzzles | Brilliant Math & Science Wiki”. 2023. brilliant.org. https://brilliant.org/wiki/logical-puzzles/.
A logical puzzle is a problem that can be solved through deductive reasoning. This page gives a summary of the types of logical puzzles one might come across and the problem-solving techniques used to solve them.
“Maths Puzzles With Answers | Mathematical Puzzles | Maths Riddles”. 2023. BYJUS. https://byjus.com/maths/maths-puzzles/.
A maths puzzle is based on mathematical or numerical facts, rules, and objects, or whose solution requires strong mathematical reasoning, thought or consideration. Mathematics is the study of abstract topics such as numbers, shapes, quantity, space, and change. In simple words, it is the study of facts related to numbers and shapes; as there is no generally accepted definition for maths. There are a variety of views among mathematicians and scholars as to the specific scope and interpretation of mathematics.
Maths puzzles or Mathematical puzzles form an essential part of recreational mathematics. They have special rules, but they do not typically involve competition between two or more players. Preferably, the solver must find a solution that satisfies the given conditions to solve a particular puzzle. Maths puzzles require the basics of mathematics to solve them. A common type of math puzzle is logic puzzles, which are pretty much interesting for students not only in academics but also to work on in their leisure hours. Here, we are going to learn how to solve maths riddles in detail. Also, we have provided Maths riddles with answers to help students to solve the puzzles quickly.
“Puzzles – GeeksForGeeks”. 2023. GeeksForGeeks. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/puzzles/.
A puzzle is a game, problem, or piece of information about any facts, clues, etc., that tests a person’s ingenuity or knowledge. A person is required to put pieces or the given information together in a logical way to arrive at the answer.
“Puzzle Baron”. 2023. Puzzle Baron. https://www.puzzlebaron.com/.
WEBSITES: The Puzzle Baron network of websites serves more than six million puzzle enthusiasts each year.
MOBILE APPS: We offer top-rated mobile apps for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, Nook and many other widely-used mobile platforms.
PRINTABLES: We publish more than 40 unique printable puzzles each day, for those who still prefer solving with pencil and paper.
BOOKS: Our library of puzzle books from Sterling Press and Alpha Books is available at reputable bookstores nationwide.
“Sumit ⛰️ – Daily Math And Logic Puzzles”. 2023. sumit.clontz.org. https://sumit.clontz.org/.
How to play. The nine marked spaces in each puzzle contain every digit 1-9. Fill in the missing digits to make a valid sum, then climb 🧗 to the next level!
Additional Reading
“20 Math Puzzles To Engage Your Students”. 2023. prodigygame.com. https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/math-puzzles/.
Math puzzles are one of the best — and oldest — ways to encourage student engagement. Brain teasers, logic puzzles and math riddles give students challenges that encourage problem-solving and logical thinking. They can be used in classroom gamification, and to inspire students to tackle problems they might have previously seen as too difficult.
Clontz, Steven. “Puzzle Types”. 2023. clontz.org. https://clontz.org/puzzles/types/.
Generally speaking, a puzzle is any task which satisfies two properties: designed to entertain the solver and has a well-defined solution.
“puzzles”. 2024. Accessed February 16. Quanta Magazine. https://www.quantamagazine.org/tag/puzzles/.
Thirteen pages of puzzles to stimulate your mind. Here are a few.
Hyperjumps Math Game
Play Quanta Magazine’s daily interactive math game, Hyperjumps!
The Math Behind Wordle Guesses
Wordle is a word game. But you can use math to optimize your chances of winning (without cheating).
The Many Ways to Win at Wordle (Without Cheating)
Solve these puzzle questions to level up your Wordle game.
Help Star Trek’s Lieutenant Uhura Overcome Astronomical Odds
Readers rescued a Star Trek crew from a probabilistic predicament armed only with the power of mathematical reasoning.
Seeking Mathematical Truth in Counterfeit Coin Puzzles
Readers balanced logical reasoning and mathematical insights to find phony coins with a double-pan balance scale.
How to Weigh Truth With a Balance Scale and Math
In recreational mathematics, the balance scale is an endless source of puzzles that require precise and elaborate logic and teach the fundamentals of generalization.
The featured image on this page is from the Puzzle Baron website.
Mathematical Mysteries 