Four friends were competing in the internationally renowned BrainBashers Bog Snorkelling competition.
As usual, the judges were a little careless and, once again, they managed to lose the results.
Luckily, a number of spectators were able to remember the following snippets of information:
Only one person wore the same number as the position they finished. Gary, who didn't wear green, beat Barry. Larry beat the person who wore yellow. The person who wore number 3, wore green. The person who wore number 2 finished first, whereas Harry came last. The person who finished second wore green, Barry wore yellow, and the person wearing red beat the person wearing blue.
Can you work out who finished where, and the number and colour they wore?
Hint
Start by looking at clue (5), and then at the first part of clue (6).
Answer # Name Wore Colour
1 Gary 2 red
2 Larry 3 green
3 Barry 1 yellow
4 Harry 4 blue
Reasoning
By (5), the winner wore #2, and Harry finished last: # Name Wore Colour
1 2
2
3
4 Harry
By (6), the person who finished second wore green, and by (4), wore #3: # Name Wore Colour
1 2
2 3 green
3
4 Harry
By (1), only the person in last place could have worn the same number as the position they finished: # Name Wore Colour
1 2
2 3 green
3 1
4 Harry 4
By (3), Gary didn't wear green (so can't have finished second) and beat Barry (so can't have finished third), which means that he must have finished first. # Name Wore Colour
1 Gary 2
2 3 green
3 1
4 Harry 4
By (6), Barry wore yellow, so must have finished third: # Name Wore Colour
1 Gary 2
2 3 green
3 Barry 1 yellow
4 Harry 4
By (6) the person wearing red beat the person wearing blue, giving: # Name Wore Colour
1 Gary 2 red
2 Larry 3 green
3 Barry 1 yellow
4 Harry 4 blue
??
Puzzle 2
Combine the word fragments below to produce pairs of words that have opposite meanings. There are 9 pairs of words, one pair on each line.
For example, USE REF EPT ACC becomes ACCEPT + REFUSE.
AB ANT RCE SCA UND
Hint
The answer is 4 digits long, so what must G equal?
Answer
423 + 675 = 1098.
Reasoning
Remembering that:
even + even = even
odd + odd = even
even + odd = odd
To discuss individual letters, it's easiest to represent the sum as:
A B C
D E F +
————————
G H I J
A + D has to be over 9, which means that G = 1.
B + E = I, is even + odd = odd, which means that we can't have a carry from C + F (otherwise it would have been even + odd + 1, which is even).
The 1 has already gone, so the smallest possible value for either C or F is 3, which means that the other can't be 7 or 9 (otherwise we'd have a carry).
Therefore, C and F are 3 and 5, but we don't know which is which. But we do now know that J = 8.
A + D = H, is even + even = even, which means that we can't have a carry from B + E. Therefore, E can't be 9, as this would force a carry. So E = 7.
I is the only remaining odd number, so I = 9.
Which means that B = 2.
Neither A nor D can be 0 (otherwise we would have two of the same digit). So, H = 0.
Therefore, A and D are 4 and 6 (but we don't yet know which is which).
Since the top row's digits have to add to 9, A can't be 6, so A = 4, making C = 3.
You find yourself playing a game of GreenJack with your friend.
It is played with a deck of only 16 cards, divided into 4 suits:
Red, Blue, Orange, and Green.
There are four cards in each suit:
Ace, King, Queen, and Jack.
All Aces outrank all Kings, which outrank all Queens, which outrank all Jacks, except for the Green Jack, which outranks every other card.
If two cards have the same face value, then Red outranks Blue, which outranks Orange, which outranks Green, again except for the Green Jack, which outranks everything.
Here's how the game is played: you are dealt one card face up, and your friend is dealt one card face down. Your friend then makes some true statements, and you have to work out who has the higher card, you or your friend. It's that simple!
Round 1:
You are dealt the Green Ace and your friend makes three statements:
My card is higher than any Queen. Knowing this, if my card is more likely to beat yours, then my card is Blue. Otherwise, it isn't. Given all of the information you now know, if your card is more likely to beat mine, then my card is a King. Otherwise, it isn't.
Who has the higher card, you or your friend?
Hint
List all of the cards, and then eliminate some using (1).
Answer
Your friend.
Reasoning
You were dealt the Green Ace.
The possible cards, in order, are:
Green Jack
Red Ace
Blue Ace
Orange Ace
Green Ace (your card)
Red King
Blue King
Orange King
Green King
Red Queen
Blue Queen
Orange Queen
Green Queen
Red Jack
Blue Jack
Orange Jack
By (1), your friend's card is higher than any Queen, so your friend can only have one of these cards:
Green Jack
Red Ace
Blue Ace
Orange Ace
Green Ace (your card)
Red King
Blue King
Orange King
Green King
By (2), their card is not more likely to beat yours (4 v 4), so their card is not Blue, leaving:
Green Jack
Red Ace
Orange Ace
Green Ace (your card)
Red King
Orange King
Green King
By (3), your card is not more likely to beat theirs (3 v 3), so your friend's card is not a King, leaving:
Green Jack
Red Ace
Orange Ace
Green Ace (your card)
