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Bookcase Logic Puzzle

Today, I’m sharing a Bookcase logic puzzle. I typed up this puzzle over a year ago and never got around to using/sharing last year because I could never remember to bring a piece of red cardstock to school with me to print out the pieces.

bookcase logic puzzle

This bookcase based logic puzzle is from The Big, Big, Big Book of Brainteasers.

Bookcase Puzzle

You can still access quite a few of the puzzles in The Big, Big, Big Book of Brainteasers for free, though. Amazon’s Look Inside Feature lets you look at quite a few of the puzzles for free. Just keep clicking “Surprise Me!” on the left pane to see a different page of puzzles. 

https://amzn.to/2JQpjkp

I printed a bookcase puzzle template on 11 x 17 cardstock.

Bookcase Puzzle

The top is printed with six clues that instruct how the nine items printed on colored paper should be placed.

Bookcase Puzzle

The clues reference three types of items: flowers, toys, and books. And, it mentions that there are red, blue, and yellow copies of each item.

Bookcase Puzzle

I created a page of pieces to represent each item, and I printed it three separate times on three different colors of paper (red, blue, and yellow).

This makes three separate sets of pieces for solving this puzzle. I would rather end up with extra pieces than waste paper.

Bookcase Puzzle

If you don’t have access to red, yellow, and blue paper, you could easily edit the bookcase puzzle file to match the colors that you do have access to. 

Bookcase Puzzle

I combined the fact that all items on the top shelf are red with the fact that the leftmost item on each shelf is a flower to determine that a red flower should be the leftmost item on the top shelf.

Then, I used the clue that the middle shelf holds two yellow items which are not books to place the yellow flower and yellow toy on the middle shelf.

Bookcase Puzzle

And, I’ll leave the rest of the bookcase puzzle to you and your students to solve!

Puzzle Solutions

Puzzle solutions are available on a password-protected solution page. I do not openly post the puzzle answer keys because one of my goals as a resource creator is to craft learning experiences for students that are non-google-able. I want teachers to be able to use these puzzles in their classrooms without the solutions being found easily on the Internet.

Please email me at sarah@mathequalslove.net for the password to the answer key database featuring all of my printable puzzles and math worksheets. I frequently have students emailing me for the answer key, so please specify in your email what school you teach at and what subjects you teach. If you do not provide these details, I will not be able to send you the password.

Not a teacher? Go ahead and send me an email as well. Just let me know what you are using the puzzles for. I am continually in awe of how many people are using these puzzles with scouting groups, with senior adults battling dementia, or as fun activities in their workplace. Just give me enough details so I know you are not a student looking for answers to the puzzle that was assigned as their homework!

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4 Comments

  1. I'm loving this puzzle but I'm stuck and can't seem to finish it! Every time I switch two pieces, I always end up with two blue next to each other either horizontally or vertically. Any chance you could send me the solution? taranrm[at]gmail.com

  2. What am I not seeing? I keep getting two blues next to one another. Can you please send the solution: marguerite.spriggs[at]gmail.com

  3. Do you have to have one of each item on each shelf? It doesn't state that in the directions, but I can't find a solution if I don't double up on some items on the same shelf. Can you send the solution? preimi@hamilton.k12.wi.us

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