Puzzle 1
Only using the letters A I O S T, what is the longest word you can find?
You may use each letter more than once.
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
workings
hint
answer
print
www.brainbashers.com
/puzzle/zxeo
share
Hint
The word begins with the letter T.
Answer
Tattooists.
Which has 10 letters.
Puzzle 2
What number comes next in this sequence:
1 · 4 · 8 · 13 · 21 · 30 · 36 · ?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
workings
hint
answer
print
www.brainbashers.com
/puzzle/zoyr
share
Hint
Try writing the numbers out as letters.
Answer
45.
Reasoning
Each term increases by the number of letters in the previous term (ignoring any hyphens).
1 + length("ONE") = 4
4 + length("FOUR") = 8
8 + length("EIGHT") = 13
13 + length("THIRTEEN") = 21
21 + length("TWENTYONE") = 30
30 + length("THIRTY") = 36
36 + length("THIRTYSIX") = 45
Puzzle 3
Two friends were driving from their home to Manchester, Alex drove the first 90 miles, and Billie took over for the remainder of the journey.
On the way back, Alex drove to begin with, and Billie took over for the last 100 miles.
Who drove the furthest?
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
workings
hint
answer
print
www.brainbashers.com
/puzzle/zimh
share
Hint
It doesn't matter how far it was to Manchester, so you can use any distance.
Answer
Billie.
Reasoning
If we call the one way distance T, we know that:
On the way there, Alex drove 90 miles, and Billie drove (T − 90) miles.
On the way back, Alex drove (T − 100) miles, and Billie drove 100 miles.
So, in total, both ways:
Alex drove 90 + (T − 100)
= T − 10
Billie drove (T − 90) + 100
= T + 10
Therefore, Billie drove 20 miles more than Alex.
Puzzle 4
Can you find the encoded countries?
The letter indicates the first letter of the country, and the number represents the number of letters in the country.
H5
V9
D7
J7
F6
N6
P4
Z8
R7
Q5
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
workings
hint
answers
print
www.brainbashers.com
/puzzle/zszx
share
Hint
For example, E7 would be England.
Answers
H5 = Haiti
V9 = Venezuela
D7 = Denmark
J7 = Jamaica
F6 = France
N6 = Norway
P4 = Peru
Z8 = Zimbabwe
R7 = Romania
Q5 = Qatar