20 riddles and logic puzzles to try with children
These twenty riddles give you short problems to discuss together, with a hint and an explained answer for each. Start with one or two that suit your child’s interests. The groups below suggest a progression, not a test of what a child should know at a particular age.
Choose the reasoning, not just an age label
Begin with familiar objects and visible patterns. Add written clues when the child is comfortable reading them, and use the longer deductions when they want a challenge. Reading aloud can remove a reading barrier, but it does not make a complex puzzle simple.
Ask how they reached an answer. A sensible explanation matters more than guessing the expected word quickly. If a riddle has another plausible solution, discuss which details support it rather than dismissing it.
Familiar objects and simple patterns
1. A face in the sky
I appear in the daytime sky and give the Earth light and warmth. What am I?
Hint for puzzle 1
Think about what rises in the morning.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 1
The Sun. The clues describe the star that lights our days.
2. Four legs
I have four legs but never walk. You put your dinner plate on me. What am I?
Hint for puzzle 2
Look for a piece of furniture.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 2
A table. Its legs support the surface where the plates go.
3. Two hands
I have two hands but cannot clap. My hands point to numbers to tell you something. What am I?
Hint for puzzle 3
These hands move around a face.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 3
A clock, or a watch with hands. The hands show the time.
4. A travelling home
I carry a shell on my back and leave a shiny trail as I move. What am I?
Hint for puzzle 4
Think of a small animal you might see in a damp garden.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 4
A snail. It has a shell and leaves a trail of mucus.
5. A colour pattern
Continue the repeating pattern: red, blue, red, blue, red…
Hint for puzzle 5
Look at the colours in pairs.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 5
Blue. The pair red–blue repeats.
6. The odd one out
Sock, boot, slipper, spoon: which is the odd one out, and why?
Hint for puzzle 6
Which items can you wear on your feet?
Answer and explanation for puzzle 6
Spoon. The other three are worn on the feet. A different grouping is worth discussing if the explanation fits.
7. Garden visitors
There are two cats and one duck in the garden. How many legs do they have altogether?
Hint for puzzle 7
Count the cats’ legs first, then add the duck’s.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 7
10 legs: 4+4+2.
Word building and short deductions
8. Weather word
Put together the word for water falling from clouds and the word for an arch-shaped curve. What colourful thing might you see in the sky?
Hint for puzzle 8
The first word is rain; the second starts with b.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 8
Rainbow: rain+bow. In this compound word, bow is pronounced to rhyme with go.
9. A growing word
Join the name of the star that lights our day to the word for a plant’s colourful bloom. What plant do you get?
Hint for puzzle 9
The two words are sun and flower.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 9
Sunflower.
10. Bigger by taking away
The more material you dig out of me, the bigger I become. What am I?
Hint for puzzle 10
Imagine digging in sand.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 10
A hole. Removing material makes the empty space larger.
11. Red and blue marbles
A box holds 24 marbles, all red or blue. There are twice as many red marbles as blue ones. How many are red?
Hint for puzzle 11
Draw one equal share for blue and two for red.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 11
16 red marbles. Three equal shares contain 24÷3=8 each; red takes two shares, or 16.
12. Two ages
Leah is 3 years older than her brother. Their ages add up to 17. How old is Leah?
Hint for puzzle 12
Subtract the three-year difference, then divide what remains equally.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 12
Leah is 10 and her brother is 7. (17−3)÷2=7, then add 3 for Leah.
13. Who has the banana?
Alice, Bilal and Chloe each have a different fruit: an apple, a banana or a kiwi. Bilal has the kiwi. Alice does not have the banana. Who has it?
Hint for puzzle 13
Cross out Bilal’s fruit, then consider Alice.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 13
Chloe. Alice must have the apple, leaving the banana for Chloe.
14. A keyboard clue
On a standard English QWERTY keyboard, which letter is between E and T in the top row of letters?
Hint for puzzle 14
The row begins Q, W, E…
Answer and explanation for puzzle 14
R. The sequence is Q, W, E, R, T, Y.
Longer reasoning challenges
15. The climbing snail
A snail climbs a 10-metre wall. Each day it climbs 3 metres and each night it slips back 2. On which day does it first reach the top?
Hint for puzzle 15
Once it reaches the top, it does not slip back that night.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 15
Day 8. After seven complete days and nights it is 7 metres up. The next climb takes it to 10.
16. Places without buildings
I show cities without houses, forests without trees and rivers without water. What am I?
Hint for puzzle 16
You might unfold me to find your way.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 16
A map. It represents those places with symbols, lines and names.
17. The notebook and pencil
A notebook and a pencil cost £11 altogether. The notebook costs £10 more than the pencil. How much does the pencil cost?
Hint for puzzle 17
After subtracting the £10 difference, you have twice the pencil’s price.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 17
50p. The notebook costs £10.50, making £11 in total.
18. A growing sequence
The rule is to double a number and subtract 1. Continue: 2, 3, 5, 9, 17…
Hint for puzzle 18
Apply the stated rule to 17.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 18
33, because 17×2−1=33. The rule is stated because a finite number sequence can fit more than one pattern.
19. Brothers and sisters
In a family with both boys and girls, each girl has as many brothers as sisters. Each boy has twice as many sisters as brothers. How many children are there?
Hint for puzzle 19
Remember that a child does not count themselves among their siblings. Try four girls and three boys.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 19
Seven: four girls and three boys. Each girl has three brothers and three sisters. Each boy has four sisters and two brothers.
20. Three switches: a thought experiment
Imagine three switches outside a closed room. Exactly one controls a filament bulb inside. All start off. You may operate the switches, but enter the room only once. In this imaginary puzzle, you can distinguish a lit bulb, a warm unlit bulb and a cold unlit bulb. How can you identify the switch?
Hint for puzzle 20
Use the fact that the bulb stays warm for a while after it is switched off.
Answer and explanation for puzzle 20
Imagine switching the first on long enough to warm the bulb, then off. Switch the second on and enter. Lit means second; unlit but warm means first; cold and unlit means third. Keep this as a paper puzzle; do not handle a hot bulb.
Help without revealing everything
First reread the question together. Ask which facts are useful, or invite the child to draw the situation. Then offer the hint and allow another attempt. If frustration takes over, explain the solution kindly or move to a different puzzle; finishing the list is not the objective.
Make a puzzle of your own
Choose the answer first: a familiar object, a simple number or a location in the room. Write two or three clues that point to it, then test whether another answer fits equally well. Ask someone to try the puzzle without extra explanation. If you have to add a missing rule aloud, put that rule into the written version.
For a short hunt, connect just a few tested clues and keep the hiding places clear and accessible. Avoid making speed the main challenge unless the child enjoys it.
Moving on to a full game
A collection of riddles and a full investigation ask different things of a player. Escape Maison’s main games are written for adults, so these children’s puzzles are not a claim that the catalogue is suitable for young players. Choose a children’s game for a child-led session. For an older teenager joining adults, preview the story and try the material together first.
Our family guide covers shared roles and choosing suitable difficulty. For adults exploring the browser format, the free trial rooms show how the investigations work.