Strategies for Logic Puzzles

[musicmeg222]

Can anyone provide strategies or tips that can help me solve the logic puzzles? I read through the clues and mark the obvious information first. Then I usually have a few clues left that I'm not sure what to do with. They don't help me eliminate anything in the puzzle and then I get stuck. Help!!

[uigrad]

If you are getting stuck, then you need to use the hint button. By using it, you'll learn all the necessary logic for these puzzles.

Keep in mind that clicking on a clue will make it leave the list. It is very helpful to prune the list by clicking on any clues that you have fully used.

[musicmeg222]

I printed some of the logic puzzles and tried to solve them with a pencil and paper. I like doing it that way instead of online. I didn't realize that clicking on a clue will make it leave the list. Maybe I should try that too. I entered the puzzle code into the website for a few hints. Sometimes the hint is the same as one of the clues, so it doesn't help. Sometimes I get a hint that says 'Joe earned more money than Sarah.' That's not really helpful because I don't have enough info to determine how much each of them earned. I just know that Joe's is more than Sarah's.

I suppose I need more practice with these. I enjoy trying to solve them, but I get stuck so often and then I don't know what to do.

[Ellie1]

The clue/hint "Joe earned more money than Sarah" can be broken down into more direct sub-clues like this, with the first two being the most straightforward:

1. Out of all the people, Joe did not earn the least money - you can put an X in the intersection between Joe and the lowest amount of money.

2. Out of all the people, Sarah did not earn the most money - you can put an X in the intersection between Sarah and the highest amount of money.

3. Next, compare Joe's range of possible money-amounts to Sarah's. (You might come back and do this multiple times throughout the course of solving the puzzle. You can 'cross off' the clue whenever you reach the point where it becomes impossible for Joe to not earn more money than Sarah.)

a. The lowest possible money amount for Joe must be higher than the lowest possible money amount for Sarah, and

b. the highest possible money amount for Sarah must be lower than the highest possible money amount for Joe.

For example, if Anna, Bob, Corey, Sarah, and Joe earned $10, $20, $30, $40, and $50; and "Joe earned more money than Sarah":

-Sarah did not earn $50;
-Joe did not earn $10.

That leaves you with "Sarah is either $10, $20, $30, or $40" and "Joe is either $20, $30, $40, or $50".

Let's say there's another clue that says "Joe did not earn $50". Crossing off the intersection between Joe and $50, you can also cross off the intersection between Sarah and $40 - because Joe earned more than Sarah, so if Sarah earned $40, then Joe must have earned $50, which you know is not the case.

[musicmeg222]

Ellie1 Ahhhh. That makes sense. I've been solving these puzzles just for fun later in the evening to give my brain a break. I didn't even think about taking the clue even further like you explained. I will have to try that. What would you suggest I do when I've used the clues as much as I can, but I'm still stuck? I enter in the puzzle code online to get a few hints, but even after those I'm still stuck. Are you pretty good at solving these?

[Ellie1]

Drat, I forgot that the Puzzle Baron forums hide posts with links in them - I posted above this but you won't be able to see it I guess?

Anyway, I'm not the fastest out there (there are players on this site who can solve these puzzles AMAZINGLY fast), but I'm methodical!

If you play online, when you get stuck you can request a hint that's tailored to the exact point you're at in the puzzle - though if you like playing on paper to give your eyes a break from screens I guess that's not too helpful.

I was going to link to Puzzle Baron's tutorial article that walks through how to solve the puzzles & different types of clues, but I can't link it in this post. You can find it if you do an online search of "How to solve a logic puzzle". It's pretty thorough!

[musicmeg222]

I found the tutorial article. I'm going to look at it now. I have no idea how players can solve these so fast. I know it takes practice but they are tough! I'm trying to solve the easy ones too!