Where can I find information about the winner of and solution to Mike Wilk's Ultimate Noah's Ark contest? The contest ended in 1995, but there's surprisingly little info on the intrawebs. [more inside]
posted on Jul 22, 2008 - 5 answers

Please help me make a cheap but kick ass version of the amazing Mystery on 5th Avenue apartment for a friend. (recently on Mefi). [more inside]
posted on Jun 17, 2008 - 8 answers

In the mid-eighties, there was some "event" on television. It was a (crappy) movie, but embedded within it was a contest and/or puzzle. [more inside]
posted on May 17, 2008 - 5 answers

Are there any FPS-type games other than the early levels of Portal which would be appropriate for my 5-year old? [more inside]
posted on Mar 1, 2008 - 21 answers

Help me solve this riddle.... "There's something special about Washington, and the heart sometimes rules the head which can often affect ones health, but thats not all, discover and calculate the end result." It's possible that the answer is one word. Please help.... [more inside]
posted on Jan 7, 2008 - 34 answers

My geometry teacher in high school in 1984 showed us this puzzle. I was only half paying attention, but I believe the goal was to draw a line that intersected each segment only once. [more inside]
posted on Jan 6, 2008 - 14 answers

I am looking for brain teasers and puzzles like the ones here http://stores.brilliantpuzzles.com/ But I would like to actually look at them and feel them before buying. So I prefer if there is a store that sells them in the bay area. I am in mountain view. Even if the place is expensive, at least I can see what I like and order it online from somewhere cheaper. Thanks
posted on Dec 26, 2007 - 1 answers

I'm trying a dry run with this wine puzzle (the metal wine caddy version) that I plan to give as a gift, and I'm having a tough time assembling it via the enclosed instructions. I may just give up and drink this wine instead. Do any of you have any firsthand experience assembling that puzzle and could offer a few pointers?
posted on Dec 7, 2007 - 0 answers

PuzzleFilter: I flew Southwest earlier this month and they had this really fun puzzle in their in-flight magazine. Anyone know where I can find more of these online?
posted on Oct 26, 2007 - 11 answers

How do I solve this puzzle mathematically, rather than programmatically? [more inside]
posted on Sep 13, 2007 - 12 answers

What are some (easy to moderate difficulty) math problems with integer answers ranging from 0-18? I'm making mathematical seating cards where guests will solve a problem to find their table number. [more inside]
posted on Aug 30, 2007 - 25 answers

Math puzzle filter. How do you go about solving this puzzle? [more inside]
posted on Aug 28, 2007 - 25 answers

What if someone broke into your house and killed your fish? [more inside]
posted on Aug 11, 2007 - 44 answers

What does a person mean when they say they want to 'trade puzzles'? [more inside]
posted on Jul 26, 2007 - 39 answers

Please help me steal my own trousers... [more inside]
posted on May 4, 2007 - 34 answers

Lost book question: When I was a kid, our upstairs neighbors lent me a book of wild fantasy illustrations that contained a hidden puzzle. There was a sizable prize for whoever figured out the riddle. [more inside]
posted on Apr 6, 2007 - 12 answers

What encoding is this source code? Alternately, any ideas on this puzzle? [more inside]
posted on Mar 31, 2007 - 23 answers

Every heard of a non interlocking "jigsaw" puzzle using tetris-like pieces? [more inside]
posted on Dec 11, 2006 - 5 answers

Help me solve a chess problem, please? [more inside]
posted on Dec 11, 2006 - 33 answers

What's the best plays-fair, all-clues-on-the-table mystery? [more inside]
posted on Nov 29, 2006 - 20 answers

I'm making a hundred or so iterations of a word puzzle type for my class and crave contributions. [more inside]
posted on Nov 25, 2006 - 17 answers

Looking high quality puzzle for San Francisco. [more inside]
posted on Nov 7, 2006 - 3 answers

I've invented my own type of unique, newspaper-publishable, word game. I would like to either make weekly editions of it to sell to weekly newspapers... [more inside]
posted on Nov 5, 2006 - 6 answers

Light fitting appears impossible to remove! Any ideas? [more inside]
posted on Oct 1, 2006 - 7 answers

Help me figure out a mathematical formula I need. [more inside]
posted on Jul 12, 2006 - 15 answers

Where does the extra bloke go? [more inside]
posted on May 29, 2006 - 11 answers

I am reading Douglas Coupland's new book (JPod) and I'm always a little frustrated by him. He seems to get the general vibe of nerds but is horribly off on details sometimes (in the first 50 pages, he makes reference to a "56k floppy disk"), which is agonizing. Anyway, he posits a math problem (I don't think this counts as a spoiler, I'll even omit the context and just pose the problem with page number, but if you really don't want to see anything about the book, don't read on, I guess.) [more inside]
posted on May 27, 2006 - 42 answers

You are suspended in a large, hollow sphere. The inside of the sphere is perfectly mirrored. There is nothing else in the sphere, and all you carry is a flashlight. You turn the flashlight on. What do you see? [more inside]
posted on May 15, 2006 - 41 answers

Need help with a Google Earth based puzzle game... [more inside]
posted on May 12, 2006 - 3 answers

Looking for a site that posts daily Scrabblegrams and answers for previous puzzles. [more inside]
posted on Mar 31, 2006 - 3 answers

Attention codebreakers! For a friend: A friend of mine gave me this "riddle". I can't figure it out. Now there is a chance that they are just messing with me and it is complete gibberish. “lwa hy ou wi Tll I di a w h at g ys y” [more inside]
posted on Mar 14, 2006 - 32 answers

My young nephew came across an ancient Rubik's Cube last fall, and the time has come to give him a hand in solving it. Obviously, Google returns a wealth of solutions. What I'm looking for, though, is a solution that teaches a logical process for solving the cube, rather than the rote memorization of algorithms. If that doesn't exist, can someone recommend a guide that has animation, or sharply executed diagrams, or at the very least is well-written and free of initialisms?
posted on Feb 7, 2006 - 9 answers

Help me make a mix cd about puzzle pieces. [more inside]
posted on Feb 2, 2006 - 11 answers

Why are my Google skills failing me when searching for help with a specific puzzle in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel? (Caution - may be spoilers!) [more inside]
posted on Jan 30, 2006 - 6 answers

I played this IQ test online a few days ago here: http://www.iqtest.dk/main.swf and didn't do too badly. However, the last question (no. 39) seems completely impossible. I worked out by elimination which answer must be the right one but I still can't figure out why it's right. Are there any genuises out there who can put me out of my misery please?
posted on Dec 12, 2005 - 43 answers

A project of mine has inovlved me creating a number of Sudoku puzzles. What is my position with regards to copyright? I have created, from scratch, a program that builds Sudoku grids. I don't actually build the grids myself, my program does. Do I still hold copyright on the generated grids? [more inside]
posted on Oct 15, 2005 - 22 answers

A crystal consists of 100,000,000 layers of atoms such that there is 1 atom in the first layer, 3 in the second, 6 in the third, 10 in the fourth, 15 in the fifth, and so forth. Exactly how many atoms are there in the entire crystal? [more inside]
posted on Oct 8, 2005 - 8 answers

Can anyone help me find an internet puzzle or riddle involving the US states? [more inside]
posted on Aug 7, 2005 - 5 answers

The top of this little sign says, "This compressed message [from the NAIC-Arecibo Observatory] is a mathematical puzzle for an intelligent species to solve. The answer will reveal information about the Earth and its people." I got nothin'. Help?
posted on Jul 28, 2005 - 17 answers

This puzzle is driving me nuts! A glass bottle, bolts, and a wood rod. [more inside]
posted on Jul 14, 2005 - 10 answers

Puzzle filter: I saw this drawn on the street in Wicker Park, Chicago, and couldn't figure out what it meant. I took a photo because I knew I could count on you all to help. Any ideas? (View at original size for better view.)
posted on Jul 7, 2005 - 17 answers

What are your favorite puzzle and riddle sites? Preferably challenging. For example, I know of greylabyrinth.com ,rec-puzzles.org, cut-the-knot.org, cs.cmu.edu/puzzle, ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/riddles. Also do you know of any good free cryptic crossword sites?
posted on Jun 23, 2005 - 10 answers

I know the theory of solving Sudoku puzzles but I'd like to know how you would go about creating them. [more inside]
posted on May 27, 2005 - 7 answers

Calling web sleuthes: what's the real deal with this site ["most embarassing moments: forum"]? It's just stupid... why does it exist? [more inside]
posted on Apr 4, 2005 - 7 answers

The management of my office building is holding a contest: determine the number of jelly beans in a container. Prize: $500 at Best Buy and all the beans. [more inside]
posted on Mar 22, 2005 - 12 answers

Yet another PC game question. Help me find a puzzle game that I really do not have a lot of information about, but hopefully something will tweak someone's memory. [+]
posted on Feb 12, 2005 - 7 answers

Has anyone framed a jigsaw puzzle before? [+]
posted on Jan 8, 2005 - 10 answers

Do you remember an old PC puzzle game called 'Revelation?' [MI]
posted on Dec 13, 2004 - 4 answers

What international tournaments exist that might be thought of as "mental" Olympics? (That is, they contain a range of competitions based on intellect, strategy, problem-solving, mental arithmetic, etc...)
posted on Aug 17, 2004 - 7 answers

About five years ago, I found a game online, and I can't remember what it's called or where I found it. It was more of a logic puzzle than a game really -- a little like Mastermind and a little like Battleship. And it also involved primitive natural language processing. [more inside.]
posted on Jul 6, 2004 - 1 answers