Lateral thinking puzzles with answers
Puzzles we wrote ourselves, kept only when the answer surprises you, only one answer fits, and no special knowledge is needed. 41 of them, each with the answer folded away.
Open “See the answer” on any page to read it.
How these were chosen
These 41 came out of 505 puzzles we wrote, cut down in four rounds. We looked for five things: an answer that surprises you and still convinces you, exactly one answer that fits, a premise that is genuinely odd, a route you can reason along without special knowledge, and no repeat of a pattern already used. So the list itself is the selection — there is no separate shelf of the good ones.
By difficulty
By genre
- Everyday mysteriesAn ordinary scene, just slightly out of true9 puzzles
- WordplayRead one word differently and the picture changes4 puzzles
- Against common senseDoubt the “well, obviously”13 puzzles
- Scary riddlesA frightening story that turns out to have a harmless explanation6 puzzles
- Moving storiesOnce the answer lands, you see it differently9 puzzles
★☆☆ Easy1 puzzles
★★☆ Medium22 puzzles
- She sniffed, then left
- Sold before it was made
- Nobody looks at the exhibits
- Disappointed to get in
- Three dinners in one day
- Weighed in, weighed out
- He hit himself and smiled
- Surfing in a dry desert
- Payday puts him in a mood
- Three went in, two came out
- A ten-year closing sale
- Practising how to lose
- He buried it at midnight
- Watched every night at three
- A child who was not there
- A figure behind the glass
- He won and paid up
- A blank slide, a triumph
- Not knowing got him hired
- She forgot the words
- Buying milk, a huge step
- An hour on the same bench
★★★ Hard18 puzzles
- Break it or it is useless
- A ceiling under the ground
- Full marks, then tears
- One letter, two reactions
- Likes she dreads
- One bite and she wept
- Busiest when nobody comes
- Dinner in total darkness
- Thanked for a broken window
- Five people, four chairs
- A burglar calls the police
- He followed her for hours
- Only in the mirror
- Run, said the doctor
- He only opens a window
- Thank you, and she sobbed
- A coin a day in a jar
- Losing his job saved him
Everyday mysteries9 puzzles
An ordinary scene, just slightly out of true
Wordplay4 puzzles
Read one word differently and the picture changes
Against common sense13 puzzles
Doubt the “well, obviously”
- Busiest when nobody comes
- Disappointed to get in
- Dinner in total darkness
- Thanked for a broken window
- Payday puts him in a mood
- A burglar calls the police
- The owner likes leftovers
- Practising how to lose
- He won and paid up
- Run, said the doctor
- A blank slide, a triumph
- Not knowing got him hired
- Losing his job saved him
Scary riddles6 puzzles
A frightening story that turns out to have a harmless explanation
Moving stories9 puzzles
Once the answer lands, you see it differently
Every puzzle41 puzzles
- She sniffed, then left
- Break it or it is useless
- Sold before it was made
- Nobody looks at the exhibits
- A ceiling under the ground
- Full marks, then tears
- One letter, two reactions
- Likes she dreads
- One bite and she wept
- Busiest when nobody comes
- Disappointed to get in
- Three dinners in one day
- Weighed in, weighed out
- He hit himself and smiled
- Dinner in total darkness
- Surfing in a dry desert
- Thanked for a broken window
- Payday puts him in a mood
- Three went in, two came out
- Five people, four chairs
- A burglar calls the police
- The owner likes leftovers
- A ten-year closing sale
- Practising how to lose
- He buried it at midnight
- He followed her for hours
- Only in the mirror
- Watched every night at three
- A child who was not there
- A figure behind the glass
- He won and paid up
- Run, said the doctor
- A blank slide, a triumph
- Not knowing got him hired
- She forgot the words
- Buying milk, a huge step
- He only opens a window
- An hour on the same bench
- Thank you, and she sobbed
- A coin a day in a jar
- Losing his job saved him
