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Double Letters Puzzles

These double letter puzzles from Serhiy Grabarchuk look simple, but they can be surprisingly tricky to solve!

double letters puzzle

Usually, my classroom puzzle table features mathematical puzzles. But every once in a while, I like to change things up and feature a word/letter-based puzzle.

double letters puzzle

Don’t worry, though. There’s still a bit of hidden mathematical reasoning in this puzzle.

Puzzle Instructions

You are given nine cards. Each card features a different set of double letters. Your goal is to arrange the nine cards in a line so that a 10-letter word is formed.

(NOTE: some versions of this puzzle feature a different number of cards that produce a different length of resulting word.)

double letters puzzle doubletters serhiy grabarchuk

Cards can (and must) overlap each other. But, you cannot fully cover, rotate, or flip any of the cards.

Double Letters Puzzle Doubletters

Here’s a visual that Serhiy Grabarchuk created to illustrate how the letter cards can be arranged. Keep in mind, the word you will be creating is MUCH longer!

Puzzle Source

I first ran across a double letters puzzle in Puzzle Box, Volume 2. You can also find double letters puzzles in Puzzle Box, Volume 1 and Puzzle Box, Volume 3.

I cannot recommend this series of puzzle books enough for classroom teachers. Every time I flip through one of these books, I end up bookmarking ten more things I want to create for my students!

These puzzles were created by Serhiy Grabarchuk. I found out while doing some research as I wrote this post that these puzzles are actually known as “DoubLetters” puzzles.

Serhiy published another one of his DoubLetters puzzles on Puzzles.com in February of 2012.

Using These Puzzles in the Classroom

I have used these puzzles both flat on my puzzle table and with magnets on the back thanks to the inspiration of Lisa Richardson. I placed adhesive disc magnets on the back of each piece.

double letters puzzle by serhiy grabarchuk doubletters

I’m super excited with the results of magnetizing these puzzles. I’ve had WAY more students attempt them than I ever had last year with the puzzles laying horizontally on the puzzle table. I will definitely be keeping these puzzles vertical going forward!

double letters puzzle hanging on dry erase board.
double letters puzzle partially solved on dry erase board.

More Double Letter Puzzles from Lisa Richardson

Lisa Richardson was inspired by my blog post to create her own set of Double Letters puzzles. I was super inspired by her use of magnets on the back of the letter cards.

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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