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Snowflake Puzzle

This snowflake puzzle is a fun, logic puzzle with a winter theme. Can you place the snowflakes on the grid so that each row and column contain an even (not odd) number of snowflakes?

snowflake puzzle

Snowflake Puzzle Instructions

Arrange the ten snowflakes in the 4×4 grid so that each row and column contain an even (not odd) number of snowflakes. Each square on the grid may only contain one snowflake.

Snowflake Puzzle Game Board

Printing Instructions

I created a page of snowflake pieces for you to print and cut apart for students to use. Each student or group of students will need ten snowflakes. Each printed page will give you enough snowflake pieces for 4 students.

Snowflake Puzzle Pieces

This puzzle is designed to print on letter-sized paper, but it could easily be scaled to print on A4 paper for my non-North American readers. Both pages are in the same file, so they should scale equally without any issues.

I would suggest printing the snowflake pieces on colored paper or cardstock to help make them “pop” when placed on the grid.

snowflake puzzle

Puzzle Source

This snowflake puzzle was inspired by a puzzle called “Make it Even” that was included in Boris A. Kordemsky’s The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations which is published by Dover Publications.

I first used the Make It Even puzzle back in my classroom in 2015. As I read back over my old blog post, I realized just how much I have learned about using puzzles in my classroom over the past 8 years. Wowzers.

The original puzzle involved making a grid of items (I used bingo chips) and removing a certain number of items to leave an even number in each row and column. I quickly discovered that students found this to be very confusing.

It is much easier for students to place items in a grid to meet the required criteria instead of removing items from a grid.

I also decided to put a seasonal spin on this old puzzle and take what I have learned to make the instructions clearer and the design more aesthetically pleasing.

If you are looking for more winter-y, snow-y fun, check out my winter mystery tangram puzzle which features a snowman.

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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