A brain teaser is a puzzle you solve by thinking rather than by knowing a fact. The answer is hidden in plain sight: in the exact words of a riddle, in the clues of a logic grid, or in a pattern you have not noticed yet. Working one out builds the habits good problem solvers share: read carefully, test an idea, notice when it fails and try another.
Choose a level to match the child. Easy teasers suit ages 4 to 7 and can be read aloud; medium ones need a few steps of reasoning; hard ones take patience and, often, a pencil. The riddles come with two hints, so a stuck child can get a nudge instead of the answer.
Riddles to puzzle over
Read the riddle and think it through. When you are ready, open its page for two hints, the answer and an explanation of why it works.
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Hard
With one straight cut, snip a small triangle off one corner of a square. The cut crosses the two sides that meet at that corner. How many corners does the bigger piece have now?
Hints and answer
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Hard
A snail climbs 3 meters each day and slips 2 meters each night. Starting at the bottom, on which day does it first reach the top of a 10-meter wall?
Hints and answer
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Hard
Two US coins total 30 cents. One of them is not a nickel. Which coins are they?
Hints and answer
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Hard
A bat and a ball cost $1.10 altogether. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. What does the ball cost?
Hints and answer
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Hard
A farmer must take a fox, a chicken, and grain across a river. The boat carries the farmer and one item. Without the farmer, the fox cannot stay with the chicken, or the chicken with the grain. How can everything cross?
Hints and answer
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Hard
Anna, Beth, and Cara each have a different pet: cat, dog, or fish. Anna has neither cat nor dog. Beth does not have the dog. Who has each pet?
Hints and answer
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Hard
Eight balls look identical, but one is heavier. Using a balance scale, how can you always find it in no more than two weighings?
Hints and answer
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Hard
In a three-digit number, the tens digit is two more than the ones digit. The hundreds digit is one less than the tens digit. The digits add to 12. What is the number?
Hints and answer
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Hard
A drawer has three red socks and three blue socks. Without looking, how many socks must you take out to be sure of getting two of the same color?
Hints and answer
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Hard
A pen holds only chickens and rabbits. There are 20 heads and 56 legs. How many rabbits are there?
Hints and answer
More: Logic riddles · Math riddles · Hard riddles · All riddles for kids
Puzzle games to play
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Logic & Puzzles
Check every guest into the right room using clues like "right above" and "between".
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Logic & Puzzles
Crack the vault code: find what changes along each row and column, then pick the missing tile.
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Logic & Puzzles
Flip switches to light the lamps in the target pattern — in as few presses as you can.
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Logic & Puzzles
Turn, flip and fit the seven tangram pieces to fill each shadow.
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Logic & Puzzles
Slide tiles and blocks into place — then try to match the fewest moves.
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Logic & Puzzles
Bend a beam of light with mirrors to light up every crystal — in the right order.
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Coding
Snap together arrow, repeat and dance blocks to guide Bolt the robot home.
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Coding
A robot program almost works. Run it, spot the buggy block, and fix it.
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English
Flip glowing lanterns to find pairs that belong together.
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Mathematics
Feed the machine, crack its rule and predict what comes out.
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Mathematics
Stack cubes under three lamps until every shadow matches the outline.
More: Logic puzzle games · All logic games
