Puzzle Questions for Bank and SSC Exams
Floor, box and scheduling puzzles, solved by fixing what you can and testing every case.
A puzzle gives you a few people or objects, a fixed set of places, and a list of clues. Your job is to place everything so that every clue is true. Bank exams usually ask several questions on one arrangement.
This page covers floor, box and scheduling puzzles, a step-by-step method, and four solved practice questions.
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Common Puzzle Types
Floor puzzle
What you arrange
People on the floors of a building, lowest floor numbered 1
Typical clue
"R lives on an even-numbered floor"
Box puzzle
What you arrange
Boxes stacked one above another
Typical clue
"Only one box is kept between A and E"
Scheduling puzzle
What you arrange
Events across days, months or years
Typical clue
"Z's meeting is on a day after Y's"
Two-variable puzzle
What you arrange
Any of the above plus a detail such as colour
Typical clue
"The green-liker lives on floor 2"
| Type | What you arrange | Typical clue |
|---|---|---|
| Floor puzzle | People on the floors of a building, lowest floor numbered 1 | "R lives on an even-numbered floor" |
| Box puzzle | Boxes stacked one above another | "Only one box is kept between A and E" |
| Scheduling puzzle | Events across days, months or years | "Z's meeting is on a day after Y's" |
| Two-variable puzzle | Any of the above plus a detail such as colour | "The green-liker lives on floor 2" |
How to Solve a Puzzle, Step by Step
- 1
Draw the frame first
Write the places in order, such as floors 1 to 5 or Monday to Thursday.
- 2
Place the fixed clues
Start with clues that name one exact place, such as "C is in the middle".
- 3
Split into cases for the half-fixed clues
"R is on an even floor" gives two options. Draw one row for each.
- 4
Apply the remaining clues to every case
Strike a case the moment any clue fails.
- 5
Keep only the case that survives
Exactly one case should survive. If two do, you have misread a clue.
Practice question 1: Floor Puzzle
Five people, P, Q, R, S and T, live on five floors of a building, one on each floor. The lowest floor is 1 and the top floor is 5. R lives on an even-numbered floor. Exactly two people live between R and T. P lives immediately above T. S lives on a floor below Q. Who lives on the top floor?
- 1
Cases from the first clue
R is on floor 2 or floor 4.
- 2
Case R = 2
T is then on floor 5, and P would need floor 6, which does not exist. This case fails.
- 3
Case R = 4
T is then on floor 1 (floor 7 does not exist), so P is on floor 2.
- 4
Place the rest
S is below Q, so S takes floor 3 and Q takes floor 5.
- 5
Answer
From bottom to top: T, P, S, R, Q. Q lives on the top floor.
Practice question 2: Box Puzzle
Five boxes, A, B, C, D and E, are stacked one above another. Position 1 is the bottom and position 5 is the top. Box C is exactly in the middle. Box A is somewhere above box C. Only one box is kept between A and E. Box B is not at the bottom. Which box is at the top?
- 1
Fixed clue
The middle of five positions is 3, so C is at position 3.
- 2
Cases for A
A is above C, so A is at 4 or 5.
- 3
Case A = 5
E would be at 3, where C is. This case fails.
- 4
Case A = 4
E is at 2. B is not at the bottom, so B is at 5 and D is at 1.
- 5
Answer
From bottom to top: D, E, C, A, B. Box B is at the top.
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Practice question 3: Scheduling Puzzle
W, X, Y and Z each have one meeting from Monday to Thursday, one meeting per day. Z's meeting is on a day after Y's. Exactly one day falls between X's meeting and Z's. W does not meet on Monday or Thursday. X meets later in the week than W. Who meets on Wednesday?
- 1
Number the days
Monday = 1 to Thursday = 4. Z comes after Y, so Z is not on day 1.
- 2
Case Z = 2
X is on day 4 and Y on day 1. W takes day 3, and X is later than W. Every clue holds.
- 3
Case Z = 3
X must be on day 1. X then cannot be later than W. This case fails.
- 4
Case Z = 4
X is on day 2. W must be earlier than X, so W is on day 1, but W cannot meet on Monday. This case fails.
- 5
Answer
Monday Y, Tuesday Z, Wednesday W, Thursday X. W meets on Wednesday.
Practice question 4: Two-Variable Floor Puzzle
A, B and C live on floors 1, 2 and 3, one per floor. Each likes a different colour: red, blue or green. The person who likes green lives on floor 2. A lives immediately above the person who likes blue. C lives on floor 1. B does not like green. Which colour does B like?
- 1
Fixed clues
C is on floor 1. The green-liker is on floor 2.
- 2
Place A and B
B does not like green, so B is on floor 3 and A, on floor 2, likes green.
- 3
Use the blue clue
A is immediately above the blue-liker, so C on floor 1 likes blue.
- 4
Answer
Only red is left, so B likes red.
Common Traps
- check_circleReading "above" as "immediately above". "Somewhere above" allows any higher floor; only "immediately" means the very next one.
- check_circleCounting the gap wrongly. "Two people between R and T" means a difference of 3 floors, not 2.
- check_circleStopping at the first case that fits. Check every case.
- check_circleForgetting negative clues such as "W does not meet on Monday".
How Bank and SSC Papers Test Puzzles
In IBPS PO, puzzles sit in Reasoning Ability in prelims (35 questions, 40 marks) and in Reasoning in mains (40 questions, 60 marks). Common formats include floor-based, box-based and month-year based puzzles. A puzzle usually comes as one arrangement with several questions on it.
SSC CGL tests reasoning in the Tier 1 General Intelligence & Reasoning section (25 questions, 50 marks), and its syllabus lists puzzles together with seating arrangement.
FAQs
Which puzzle types come in bank exams?expand_more
The IBPS PO syllabus names floor-based, box-based and month-year based puzzles. Circular and linear seating is a separate topic.
How do I solve puzzle questions faster?expand_more
Place the fixed clues first, split the half-fixed clues into cases, and strike each case the moment a clue fails.
Should I skip a puzzle in the exam?expand_more
If one clue fixes a position, solve it, because one arrangement answers the whole set. If nothing is fixed and the cases multiply, move on and return later.
Next steps
- Seating Arrangementarrow_forward
- Direction Sensearrow_forward
- Syllabusarrow_forward
- Number series for bank and SSC examsarrow_forward
The whole syllabus, timed and scored, in one sitting.