Archive for the 'Logic Problem' Category

Conundrum: An Eventful 52

Sunday, January 5th, 2014

The following recap of 2013 has been redacted by overzealous Internet censors! Can you fill in the blanks to restore our memories of the year?

Here’s the catch: all of the missing words are in alphabetical order. Enjoy!

Was it only 52 weeks __(01)__ that we celebrated the arrival of 2013? A lot has happened since then. __(02)__ __(03)__ was __(04)__ from the same network as Mr. __(05)__ later would be. The __(06)__ story of the past 365 days might be that terrible __(07)__ in __(08)__. The __(09)__ of a mayoral __(10)__ ended when he was revealed to be using the name __(11)__ __(12)__. This may have been the most __(13)__ incident of 2013, unless you wish to give that __(14)__ honor to the family of __(15)__ __(16)__, whose __(17)__ member __(18)__ many by __(19)__ his more __(20)__ views, which many felt went too __(21)__. At the movies, the latest __(22)__ & __(23)__ film had a __(24)__ showing at the box office, though it did not __(25)__ as much __(26)__ as the latest __(27)__ __(28)__ film. In music, the artist born __(29)__ __(30)__ released a second LP with that name. Internationally, __(31)__ __(32)__ was removed from power, while domestically, we fought __(33)__ over __(34)__, the __(35)__ signature __(36)__. The __(37)__ __(38)__ it fiercely, and the __(39)__ itself certainly had some __(40)__ spots. In fact, the worst __(41)__ of 2013 may have been the __(42)__ it triggered, though just as __(43)__ was when Mr. __(44)__ __(45)__ out about the government’s __(46)__ on Americans as part of a secret __(47)__ program. In sports, we once again saw that nobody could __(48)__ from the __(49)__ like __(50)__ __(51)__. All in all, it was an eventful __(52)__.

Conundrum: Prospero’s Books

Tuesday, August 21st, 2012

Jack Prospero buys individual hard-bound volumes of 31 different Shakespeare plays and an empty six-shelf bookcase to put them in.

He puts 3 plays each on the first and second shelves. He puts 5 plays each on the third and fourth shelves. He puts 7 plays on the fifth shelf, and 8 plays on the sixth shelf.

Within each shelf, the plays are in alphabetical order. The titles are exactly as they appear on this list. Ignoring any leading “The” or “A” articles, they are alphabetized by these exact titles.

And, as it turns out, the plays within each shelf are also in exactly the same order as they appear throughout that very same list!

One of the six shelves has only plays with the letter “F” somewhere in the title. A different shelf has no plays with any punctuation marks in the title. One shelf has more than half of its plays containing the word “King” in the title. Pairs of shelves with the same number of books in each are ordered alphabetically by first title.

Can you list the plays as they appear on each shelf?

UPDATE: Puzzle solved by ArtVark. See comments for answer.

Your Move: Conundrum

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

The Shakespeare Teacher is out. It’s your move.

Today’s challenge is based on the most recent Conundrum, which was a logic problem called Poker Game 2.

The answer is the Queen of Spades and the Six of Spades.

Your challenge is to select the five cards on the board to make that answer correct. Everything else about the problem will stay the same.

First person to post a correct entry (by March 10) is the winner.

UPDATE: I’ll leave this challenge active a little longer if anyone wants to try it.

Conundrum: Poker Game 2

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

Our four old poker friends have migrated from five-card stud to no-limit Texas hold ‘em, which they always play with a single deck of cards.

During one hand, the flop was an Eight, Ten, and King – all clubs. Ron went all-in, and the other three players called with money remaining.

The turn card was the Nine of Hearts. Nick went all-in, and the other two called with money remaining.

The river card was the Ten of Hearts. Frank went all-in, and Lennie called with money remaining.

As it turned out, nobody went broke on this hand.

What is the best possible hand that Lennie could have had?

UPDATE: Puzzle solved by Kimi. See comments for answer.

Conundrum: Family Dinner

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

1. Eight members of a nine-member family decided to meet for dinner one evening. Each of them arrived separately. The restaurant took down the last name of the first person to arrive and agreed to set up a table.

2. Hildy’s sister-in-law was the only member of the family who couldn’t make it to dinner.

3. Josie’s daughter has a first and last name which begin with the same letter.

4. Lisa’s father, who was the only male to arrive between the two brothers, has a first name that ends with the fifth and third letters of his last name, in that order.

5. Otis is the only person related by blood to everyone who came to dinner. One of his two uncles has a last name that ends with the third letter of Otis’s other uncle’s last name.

6. Paul arrived immediately after his grandson, whose last name begins with four letters in alphabetical order, none of which are identical or even alphabetically consecutive.

7. Rose arrived immediately after her father, whose first and last names share a common second letter, though at least one of the letters of his first name doesn’t appear in any last name in the family.

8. Sean’s brother-in-law’s name is unusual in that his first name consists of letters that span the exact same range of letters in the alphabet as the letters in his last name, even though his last name is twice as long as his first name (for example, the name “Sean” spans the letters “A through S”).

9. Tom arrived immediately after his sister-in-law, who has never married. Her first and last names share a common fourth letter.

10. Tim’s sister-in-law has a maiden name that could be a cryptogram for her last name.

11. No two people who arrived consecutively to dinner share any common letters in their first names.

12. This is a very traditional family: nobody is divorced, and nobody has been married more than once. All couples are heterosexual, all names are gender-appropriate, all married women have taken their husbands’ last names, all children were born in wedlock, and nobody has married any kind of relative. The clues above do not refer to anybody other than the nine family members, either by name or relation. Nobody has a Q anywhere in his or her name, but at least one of the family members has a last name that contains a U.

The table for eight is almost ready, and the entire party has arrived.

For what name should they be listening?

UPDATE: Puzzle solved by Neel Mehta. Solution provided by ArtVark. See comments for answer.

Conundrum: The English Department

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

The English department at the local university has nine professors. Each has been with the department a different number of years, ranging from the new-hire (zero years), all the way up to the chair who has been with the department for fifteen years. Since the university only hires at the beginning of the school year, the number of years that each person has been with the department can be expressed as a whole number.

This morning, the nine professors divided themselves into three committees and each of these committees held a meeting which lasted all morning. In the afternoon, the nine professors divided themselves into three different committees and each of these committees held a meeting which lasted all afternoon. At no point today did anybody meet with anyone outside of these six committees.

1. Irene met with Adam and Dr. Marshall in the morning, and met with Deborah and Dr. Smith in the afternoon. Both meetings were held in Conference Room A.

2. Dr. Osborne met with Charles and Dr. Kaplan in the morning, and met with Gerald and Dr. Lewis in the afternoon. Both meetings were held in Conference Room B.

3. Dr. Johnson met with Frank and Dr. Rogers in the morning, and met with Elizabeth and Dr. Nelson in the afternoon. Both meetings were held in Conference Room C.

4. Each of the six committees has the exact same combined number of years that the three committee members have been with the department, though no two of the committees are identical.

5. Harold has been with the department longer than Barbara has.

6. After the Shakespeare scholar, who has been with the department exactly four times as many years as Irene has, was hired, nobody else was hired until five years later, when the Romantic poetry expert joined the department.

7. Dr. Kaplan was hired one year before Dr. Peterson and one year after Dr. Lewis. Nobody was hired the year before Dr. Lewis. Nobody mentioned anywhere above has left the department.

The department is currently hiring for a tenure-track position for next year. They offer a competitive salary and an impressive benefits package. To apply for a position, determine the full names of all nine professors, and how many years each has been with the department.

UPDATE: Puzzle solved by ArtVark. See comments for answer.

Conundrum: Poker Game

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007

Four poker friends played a hand of five-card stud. Each player was dealt one hole card face down, and then four additional cards face up. The cards were dealt, as in standard poker, one at a time around the table, from one regular poker deck. However, instead of betting each round, they decided to deal all twenty cards out in the beginning, and let winner take all!

1. As it turned out, any two consecutive cards dealt in this hand were either different color cards of the same rank or were consecutive ranks of the same suit, considering Aces as high cards only.

2. At least three of the four hole cards were Queens.

3. The last card dealt was a Heart.

4. At least one player was dealt more than one Ten. Nobody was ever dealt a Nine.

5. No Diamond was ever dealt immediately before or after a Spade.

6. Ron was dealt no Clubs, Lenny was dealt no Kings, Nick was dealt at least one Jack, and Frank’s hole card was a Spade.

Who won, and with what hand?

UPDATE: Puzzle solved by ArtVark. See comments for answer.

Conundrum: Primary Colors

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

You may want to use a map for this one…

Imagine the 2008 Republican primaries are over, and only four candidates won any states. (DC, which is not a state, went to Ron Paul.)

1. Mitt Romney won more states than any other candidate.

2. Rudy Giuliani’s states included Massachusetts and Washington.

3. John McCain won all of the states beginning with one particular letter, and only those states.

4. Fred Thompson’s states included New Mexico.

5. Strangely enough, no two bordering states went for the same candidate. (Four Corners does not count as a border.)

Who won in Michigan? How do you know?

UPDATE: Puzzle solved by David. See comments for solution.