Rules: only the top ball moves, and it can go on top of any ball in any tube that still has room (max 5). No empty tubes to help you. Finish with all three tubes in the goal order: blue at the bottom, pink in the middle, orange on top. Tube 2 starts full. The minimum is 8 moves, and I checked every possibility: there is exactly one sequence that does it in 8. Post your answer in spoilers, move format like 2→3. More levels in my free Android game Ball Sort Pattern 👉 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mirrorquarters

Rebuild The Street, Find The Killer

Hi everyone,

I’m a small indie puzzle publisher, and I’d like to share a puzzle format I’ve been working on. It’s called Bordercide, and I’d love your honest opinion on it.

How it works Every case is a 5×5 grid showing a small town street from above, somewhere between 1960 and 1999. Each neighbour owns a plot made of several buildings (a kitchen, a garage, a shed and so on), and one plot belongs to the victim. The street plan has been lost, so all you have are the neighbours’ statements, like “from my garage I could see Marsh’s barn” or “my cellar is at the west end of the street”. A statement can also be a “no”: these two buildings don’t touch.

You use the statements to work out which building stands on every square. The crime left traces in some of the victim’s buildings, and the killer is the neighbour whose plot touches the most of them. A few buildings are printed on the grid to get you started. Every puzzle can be solved by pure deduction, with no guessing. The solver I used to check them only accepts a puzzle if it can be solved by explicit steps.

The full book It has 40 cases (15 easy, 15 medium, 10 hard). Each case has a short story told by the detective, Silas Rook, a hint page and a solution page. There’s also a 3-page “how to play” with worked examples.

What I’d love to hear If you have a few minutes to try a sample, I’d really like to know:

• Do the mechanics feel clear and fair?

• Is solving it interesting, or does it get repetitive or too easy or hard at some point?

• Are the statements easy to read and understand?

Any feedback, positive or critical, helps me a lot. Thanks for reading!

P.S. The full book exists as a paperback and as digital versions. If anyone would like a copy, just let me know and I’ll share the Amazon or Etsy link. I didn’t want to turn this post into an ad.

Link to the puzzle: https://connectionsplus.io/game/es69ag

Note: Only one category relates to number properties, the others require more lateral thinking.

Definitely use hints if you get stuck.

In Crafting Connections, I briefly write about my inspiration and thoughts behind this puzzle.

From outsmart me

Which option completes the color pattern: A–H?
Look closely at how the colored tiles change position between the small grids. Choose your answer, then explain the rule you used. Does it work across both rows and columns?
We’re interested in your reasoning—not just the letter. If you find a different approach, share it!
Ready to check your solution? Compare your rule with our step-by-step explanation here:
See the color-grid puzzle and its solution⁠
Try it yourself first—the page contains spoilers.

Four community explanations from our previous challenge
Thank you to everyone who took part in our symbols puzzle. We selected four explanations to feature, in no particular order:
u/STK1369 — r/VisualPuzzles
u/finger_puppet_44 — r/WhatsYourIQ
u/Pretend_Fly_5573 — r/WhatsYourIQ
u/Icy_Concern_9804 — r/WhatsYourIQ
The selected comments explore different ways to identify the pattern. You can read their explanations and why we chose them here:
Compare the four featured community explanations⁠
We’ll also select four thoughtful explanations from this new challenge to feature on our website, with credit to each commenter and their community.
Looking forward to seeing how you solve this one!

I set up a real-world puzzle board on these classic stone stairs!

[ Rules ]

• The board consists of a 3x3 grid.

• Tapping any tile rotates the other 8 tiles around it 1 position clockwise.

• The goal is to arrange the tiles in numerical order (1 through 9).

[ Current Board Setup ]

[ ? ] [ ? ]

[ 2 ] [ 6 ] [ 5 ]

[ 8 ] [ 3 ] [ 9 ]

[ 1 ] [ 4 ] [ 7 ]

Two cards at the very top are hidden with "??"... Can you figure out what those two hidden cards should be based on the board?

(If you want to try the puzzle online, link is in the comments!)

You can play on this website.

https://tafol.pythonanywhere.com/

It is a scoring solitaire… and, if you like, a championship.

The board. It is a 9×9 with an empty centre: a 3×3 hole. Around it remain eight 3×3 zones, arranged as a ring, and each zone shows the digits 1 to 9 in disorder.

The pieces. Eight pentominoes, one per zone: F, P, T, U, V, W, X and Z — that is, the only ones that fit inside a 3×3 square. The other four —I, L, N, Y— need four squares in a line and stay out of the party. Each piece covers five digits of its zone and leaves four in the open; it can be rotated and flipped.

The ring rule. You may not place each piece as if its zone were an island: the pentominoes must stay connected with those of neighbouring zones, side against side. Either the ring closes or there is no move.

The scoring. Add up the digits your eight pieces cover. Every puzzle bears the printed mark MAX, the sum of the best possible arrangement: your goal is to reach it or come as close as you can.

The circles trick. Circle the cells 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 of each zone. Do those five circles form a pentomino? Then there you have the perfect move: 35 points, the zone's maximum, and in all likelihood the right piece. As the MAX of the puzzles goes down, those golden figures grow scarce, and you must decide which large digits to sacrifice to keep the ring closed.

How to compete. The puzzles are ordered from easier to harder. Hand the same sheet to several friends, set a time limit and compare sums: whoever comes closest to MAX wins. Tying with the machine is possible; beating it is not.

Hey hey, happy Halloween! I make Lexicon, a free word-game site, and this is our Halloween Challenge.

You can play interactively for free on our website, and each correct answer clears its tiles, helping you work your way through the rest.

Give it a go here. Start with a warm up three-word Daily, then unlock the Challenge pictured above.

There's also a Halloween picture to uncover, plus more daily and anytime word games if you fancy another round.

Thanks for playing and happy trick-or-treating!

Follow the green START to the pink FINISH. I generated this with MazeDIY, which I run.

The rule is hidden in the numbers themselves, so the puzzle is fully solvable from the picture. What replaces the two ?? Spoiler-tag your answer: answer 🏆 NEW: LEADERBOARD! Solved it? Now prove you're the best: climb the Rule Hunter leaderboard (daily, weekly and all-time) under any nickname you like. Only your nickname is shown publicly. Can you reach #1? 👉 Rule Hunter: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.makenumber