Marathon Warm-up - Logic Puzzles
After the recent BrainBashers annual marathon, the judges were comparing notes to determine who finished where. From their notes, can you help them to reconstruct the final result?
Max Merrymood beat Toby Trent and Jesse James.
Pat Piper beat Jesse James, Toby Trent, and Alex Ardle.
Zeb Zebra lost to Pat Piper.
Glenn Goodfellow beat Toby Trent
Zeb Zebra beat Frankie Flint.
Glenn Goodfellow lost to Frankie Flint and Pat Piper.
Toby Trent beat Billie Brick.
Alex Ardle beat Zeb Zebra, Kelly Kingfisher, and Glenn Goodfellow.
Kelly Kingfisher lost to Glenn Goodfellow and Max Merrymood.
Billie Brick beat Kelly Kingfisher.
Max Merrymood lost to Alex Ardle and Zeb Zebra.
Frankie Flint beat Toby Trent, Max Merrymood, and Billie Brick.
Toby Trent lost to Jesse James and Alex Ardle.
Jesse James beat Glenn Goodfellow and Billie Brick.
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Answer
Pat Piper
Alex Ardle
Zeb Zebra
Frankie Flint
Max Merrymood
Jesse James
Glenn Goodfellow
Toby Trent
Billie Brick
Kelly Kingfisher
Reasoning
If we number the clues, write each name using a single letter, and rewrite the clues so that those who finished ahead are written first:
M beat T and J.
P beat J, T, and A.
P beat Z.
G beat T.
Z beat F.
F and P beat G.
T beat B.
A beat Z, K, and G.
G and M beat K.
B beat K.
A and Z beat M.
F beat T, M, and B.
J and A beat T.
J beat G and B.
By (3): P, Z.
By (5): P, Z, F.
By (6): P, Z, F, G.
By (4): P, Z, F, G, T.
By (7): P, Z, F, G, T, B.
By (10): P, Z, F, G, T, B, K.
By (2) and (8): P, A, Z. Giving: P, A, Z, F, G, T, B, K.
and:
By (1): M, J.
By (12): F, M, J.
By (14): F, M, J, G.
Inserting, to give: P, A, Z, F, M, J, G, T, B, K.
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