#431 - Brainy Game Question

You are playing a game with your friend Jack. There are digits from 1 to 9. You both will take turn erasing one digit and adding it to your score. The first one to score 15 points will win the game.

Would you want to play first or second?
PS: The sum should be exactly 15.

Brainy Game Question
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Suppose you are player 1 and your friend is player 2.
You pick up 9, then your friend will choose 8.
Now you won’t be able to pick up 7 as then your sum will be more than 15 which will make you lose. But then your friend will pick 8 and will win.

Thus you will start by picking 1. If your friend picks up 2, then you will pick 3 and your friend will pick 4. Now this will force you to pick 9. The score now becomes 6 to 13 and you have no chance of winning. Thus you pick up 9 after your friend picks up 2. Then the player 2 will pick 8. The score will now be 10 to 10. Thus you pick the number 3 as picking 7 will throw him over 15. Your friend will pick 4. Now you will have no move, thus your friend will win. So it will be wise to play second.

#432 - Easy Matchstick Puzzle

In the given figure, you can see that four match sticks are used to form a square. Can you form five squares by using six matches?

Easy Matchstick Puzzle
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Simple answer :=)

#433 - Good Critical Thinking Question

There are a certain number of blue balls and a certain number of red balls in an urn. You pick up two balls from the urn randomly. If you find that they are opposite in colors, you throw them and put a red ball in the urn. If they are of same colors, you throw them and put a blue ball in the urn.

Thus you are reducing the number of balls in the urn one at a time no matter what the case is. After going through it again and again. Only one ball will be remaining in the end. If you are told the respective number of blue and red balls at the outset, will you be able to predict the color of the final ball ?

Good Critical Thinking Question
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Whenever you are drawing the balls, the number of red balls can decrease by either 2 or not decrease at all. However, in the case of blue balls, at each drawing, they can either go down by 1 or increase by 1.

Therefore, if the outset is assumed to begin with at least one ball in the urn to begin with and the number of red balls are 0 or even in number, all the red balls will finish and a blue ball will remain at the end. In the other case, one red ball will remain.

#434 - Visual Thinking Puzzle

Ten coins have been arranged as you can see in the given picture. In this arrangement, a triangle is formed pointing upwards. You have to invert the position of the triangle and make it point downwards while just changing the position of 3 coins only.Can you do it?

Visual Thinking Puzzle
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See the picture given. It is self-explanatory. Just move the coins as shown and you will get the desired result.

#435 - Matchstick Tricks Puzzle

Can you place six matchsticks in a manner that each of the matchstick is in touch will the other five matchsticks ?

Matchstick Tricks Puzzle
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The given solution in the figure is not the only one. Can you find another way?

#436 - Witty Clever Riddle

A charming young lady was approached by a kind looking old woman in a restaurant. The old woman said to her, 'You look exactly like my younger daughter. Sadly she passed away a couple of months back. Could you do me a favor and say 'Goodbye, mother' with a kind smile on your face when I leave?

The young lady agreed for the same and said, 'Goodbye, mother' when the old woman left. Soon after, she got the most disengaging shock of her life.

Can you guess what the shock was?

Witty Clever Riddle
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The young lady was then approached by the waiter and presented by the bill. The old woman has assured the waiter that her daughter will pay for her meal.

#437 - Who Am I Trivia Question

The measurement of time
That cant be found on a clock
But can be looked upon on a map
Who am I ?

Who Am I Trivia Question
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I am Mississippi.
(One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi etc.)

#438 - Coin Puzzle

I inserted a coin in a bottle and closed its mouth with the help of a cork. Now, I was able to take the coin out from the bottle without taking out the cork or breaking the bottle. Can you tell me how I did it ?

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It is possible if the cork was pushed inside the bottle and then, the coin was taken out normally.

#439 - Interesting Puzzle To Solve

In an office's desk, you find a unique method that shows the current day of the month. Two numbered cubes are used to depict the current date.

Can you find out the numbers on both the cubes so that each date can be mentioned using them?

Please note that you have to use both the cubes to display any date. Thus the 1st day must be represented by 01 and so on.

Interesting Puzzle To Solve
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First cube has the following numbers:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Second cube has the following numbers:
0, 1, 2, 6, 7, 8

If you noticed, we have not used number 9 on any cube. This is because, you can always invert the number 6 to make it 9.

Please note that an alternate solution is also available for this problem. If you can find it, do post in the comments section.

#440 - Solve The Picture Riddle

Can you arrange the six given marbles in a manner that each one of them is touching all four marbles of different colors?

Solve The Picture Riddle
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To make it happen, you must arrange the marbles as the vertices of an octahedron. See the image for reference.