mental_floss Blog » Brain Game

Brain Game: Number Block #2

Sandy Wood — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:30:29 +0000

Here’s the second entry in our Brain Game number block puzzle series. Enjoy!

Each of the nine squares inside the main red grid should contain either a 1, 2, or 3. Three of these numbers are already provided for you. Place a 1, 2, or 3 in each of the blank squares so that the sum of the rows, columns, and diagonals equal the totals shown at the ends of those lines (after the equals signs). Good luck:

NOTE: Super-sharp reader Mike was the first to find a second solution to this puzzle, so we’ve added it to the list. Nice job, Mike!

Here are two SOLUTIONS.

Brain Game: It’s Not Easy

Sandy Wood — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:30:40 +0000

The word GREEN, in its alternate definition meaning “environmentally-friendly,” has become a heavily-used tag in recent years. I was listening to a sixties-pop radio station recently, and the DJ played three GREEN songs in a row. I did some research, and I found that exactly nine U.S. top-ten pop hits have contained the word GREEN in their titles. Oddly, every single one of them was released between 1960 and 1970. I guess that was the real “Green Decade.”

And so, for today’s Brain Game…

How many of these nine top-10 pop
GREEN songs can you name?

Click for a hint (the names of the artists behind the 9 songs)

Here are the ANSWERS.

Brain Game: Buy a Vowel

Sandy Wood — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:30:52 +0000

Today’s Brain Game gives you five letters of the English alphabet, leaving 21 unused. One of those 21 is the answer to today’s puzzle. Good luck!

What’s the next letter in this sequence?

K, M, G, T, P, ?

Here is a the SOLUTION.

Brain Game: Math Square #4

Sandy Wood — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:30:11 +0000

The nine squares inside the main red grid should be filled with the digits 1 through 9. Each digit should appear only once in the mail grid. One of these numbers (the 2) is already provided for you. Place the other digits in the correct spots so that the mathematical equations work both across and down. Remember your algebraic rules when solving the problems… multiplication and division should be solved first, then addition and subtraction. Good luck!

Here is the SOLUTION.

Brain Game: Ben & Gerry?

Sandy Wood — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:30:42 +0000

In this age of the Internet, devout fans often refer to multi-word titles of albums, films, and TV shows by their abbreviations. Please Please Me becomes PPM, just like Revenge of the Nerds becomes ROTN and The Next Generation becomes TNG.

Today’s Brain Game offers 10 Harrison Ford movies abbreviated this same way. To make the puzzle easier, or maybe more difficult, each of the clues are two words long (meaning each film has a two-word title.) Can you identify all of them? Good luck!

. . . . . AG . . . . . BR . . . . . CO . . . . .
. . . . . HH . . . . . PG . . . . . PI . . . . .
. . . . . RH (2 answers) . . . . . SW . . . . . WG . . . . .

Here are the ANSWERS.

Brain Game: The Globe

Sandy Wood — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:30:23 +0000

Thanks for joining us for today’s Brain Game.

By removing one letter in each turn and rearranging the remaining letters (if necessary) to form new words each time, reduce the word SPHERICAL all the way down to a single-letter word. Good luck!

S P H E R I C A L
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _
_ _
_

Here is one SOLUTION.

Brain Game: This World or the Next

Sandy Wood — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:30:07 +0000

Welcome to the Thursday Brain Game. By changing one letter at a time to form new words, and leaving all other letters in their original positions, convert the word LIVE into the word DEAD in seven (or fewer) steps. Good luck!

L I V E
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
D E A D

Here is a six-step SOLUTION.

Brain Game: Number Block #1

Sandy Wood — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:30:13 +0000

If you’ve tried our Math Square challenges, here’s something new to the Brain Game that you might also enjoy: a number block puzzle.

Each of the nine squares inside the main red grid should contain either a 1, 2, or 3. Three of these numbers are already provided for you. Place the number 1, 2, or 3 in each of the blank squares so that the sum of the rows, columns, and diagonals equal the totals shown at the ends of those lines (at the equal signs). Good luck!

Here is the SOLUTION.

Brain Game: All for One, and One for All, and 3 for 5

Sandy Wood — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:30:05 +0000

Good luck with today’s Brain Game:

By placing the same three-letter sequence into each of the five blanks below, you can form five different words. What are the three letters?

DO____AIL
COR____TE
K____CH
RI____ING
CO____OUS

Here is the SOLUTION.

Brain Game: Two of 26

Sandy Wood — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:30:51 +0000

The list of the world’s independent nations (or “sovereign states,” if you’d rather) includes 193 countries. On this list, you’ll find nations beginning with every letter of the alphabet – except two. One of them isn’t terribly surprising, but the other might be.

Name these two letters.

Here is the SOLUTION.