top of page

Some Challenging Brainteasers And Riddles

Updated: Nov 9

These puzzles are a mix of riddles, logic problems, and word games, but they all have one thing in common: They'll take brainpower to solve.


Lightbulb to signify a 'lightbulb moment'

Perhaps it's the perfect way to kick-start your brain on Sunday morning? Good luck!


You're escaping a labyrinth, and there are three doors in front of you. The door on the left leads to a raging inferno. The door in the center leads to a deadly assassin. The door on the right leads to a lion that hasn't eaten in three months. Which door do you choose?


Answer: The door on the right.


Explanation: The lion would be dead after not eating for three months.

 

Turn me on my side and I am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am I?


Answer: The number 8.


Explanation: On its side, the number 8 looks like an infinity symbol. Cut in half, the number 8 becomes two zeros.

 

A farmer needs to take a fox, a chicken, and a sack of grain across a river. The only way across the river is by a small boat, which can only hold the farmer and one of the three items. Left unsupervised, the chicken will eat the grain, and the fox will eat the chicken. However, the fox won't try to eat the grain, and neither the fox nor the chicken will wander off. How does the farmer get everything across the river?


Answer: The farmer must follow these steps.


1. Take the chicken across the river.

2. Come back with an empty boat.

3. Take the grain across the river.

4. Bring the chicken back.

5. Take the fox across the river.

6. Come back with an empty boat.

7. Take the chicken across the river.

 

You're in a dark room with a candle, a wood stove, and a gas lamp. You only have one match, so what do you light first?


Answer: The match.

 

You are walking down a road and come to a fork. One path leads to certain death; the other leads to eternal happiness. You don't know which is which. In the middle of the fork, you come across two brothers who know which road is which. One brother always tells the truth and the other always lies. You can only ask them one question. How would you determine which road to take?


Answer: Ask each brother, "If you were your brother, which road would you say leads to eternal happiness?"


Explanation: Let's say the path on the right leads to eternal happiness. After you ask your question, both brothers will tell you the exact same thing: "He would say the left path leads to eternal happiness."


In either case... you would pick the opposite of what they both say because one is telling the truth about it being a lie, and one is lying about it being the truth.

 

A rebus is a pictogram that represents a word, phrase, or saying. For example, "Ci ii" represents "See eye to eye." What word or phrase does the following rebus represent: O_ER_T_O_?


Answer: Painless operation.


Explanation: The letters missing in O_ER _T _O_ (OPERATION) spell out PAIN. Thus, "pain-less" operation.

bottom of page