Just to keep things light, I thought I’d share with you a favorite game of mine, called Mindtrap. The game centers around a number of questions requiring deduction, horse sense, and close observation. Here are seven sample questions. How many can you figure out all on your own?

1. Gary Gladhand, the politician, was very tired after a long day of campaigning. He went to bed at 10 p.m., wound his alarm clock and set it for noon the next day. Since Gary fell asleep almost immediately, how many hours of sleep did he get before the alarm woke him?


2. Captain Frank went to the hardware store to make a purchase for his house. He asked the clerk, “How much will one cost?”

The clerk thought for a moment, and said, “Three dollars.”

Captain Frank, who looked a little puzzled said, “Well then, how much will twelve cost?”

“Six dollars,” replied the clerk.

Captain Frank scratched his head and said, “If I were to purchase two hundred, how much would that cost?”

“That,” said the clerk, “will cost you nine dollars.”

What was Captain Frank buying?


3. A worm is at the bottom of a forty meter hole. It can crawl upwards at the rate of four meters in one day, but at night, it slips back three meters. At this rate, how long will it take the worm to crawl out of the hole?


4. If a third of six is three, what would half of twenty be?


5. The gym was generally crowded at lunch hour, and part of the reasons was that Sam Slug, Sid Shady, Slip Shod and Art Bragg always attended. Following their workout, the four would regularly retire to the sauna. Sam and Sid read magazines. Slip always brought a thermos with a drink, and Art just talked about the next million dollar deal he was working on.

One day, when they left the sauna, they realized Art had not come out. When they went back in to check on him, they found him with a deep stabwound through his heart.

Detective Shadow searched the sauna for clues and questioned the three witnesses, but discovered nothing. Even the autopsy failed to reveal the murder weapon.

Which of the three men killed Art, and how did he do it?

6. A poem:

Four men sat down to play.
They played all night ‘til the break of day.
They played for gold and not for fun
With separate scores for everyone.

When they came to square accounts.
They all had made quite fair amounts.
Can you the paradox explain?
If no one lost, how could all gain?

7. Charles Pompuss travels all over the world buying expensive pieces of art, gem, and antiques to add to his collection. Each time Charles negotiates a price for an item, he insists on wearing dark sunglasses, regardless of the lighting conditions in the room. What is the reasoning behind Charles’ peculiar behavior?

Click here for the answers.