Situation puzzle

Situation puzzles are also known as lateral thinking puzzles or simply yes/no puzzles.

Situation puzzles are usually played in a group, with one person hosting the puzzle and the others asking questions which can be answered with yes or no only. (In some settings other answers (like irrelevant) can be accepted.) The puzzle is solved when one of the questioners can recite the narrative the host had in mind, in particular explaining whatever aspect of the initial scenario was puzzling.

These puzzles are inexact and many puzzle statements have more than one possible fitting answer. The goal however is to find out the story as the host has it in mind. Critical reading, logical thinking, as well as lateral thinking may all be required to solve a situation puzzle. The term lateral thinking was coined by Edward De Bono to denote a creative problem-solving style that involves looking at the given situation from unexpected angles, and is typically necessary to the solution of situation puzzles.

One of the most famous of these puzzles goes something like this:

A man walks into a bar, and asks the bartender for a drink of water. The bartender pulls out a gun, points it at the man, and cocks it. The man says "Thank you" and leaves.

The question and answer segment might go something like this.

1. Question: Did the bartender hear him OK? Answer: Yes
2. Q: Was the bartender angry for some reason? A: No
3. Q: Did they know each other from before? A: No, or irrelevant
4. Q: Was the man's "Thank you" sarcastic? A: No, or No, he was genuinely grateful for some reason
5. Q: Did the man ask for water in an offensive way? A: No
6. Q: Did the man ask for water in some strange way? A: Yes

Eventually the questions lead up to the conclusion: The man had the hiccups, and asked for water. The bartender heard the hiccups, guessed the mans need, and chose instead to cure the hiccups by frightening the man with the gun. Once the man got over his fear, he realized his hiccups were gone, was grateful, and didn't need a drink of water anymore.

Some typical puzzle statements are

• A man and his son were in a car accident. The man was dead on impact, and the son was severely injured and rushed to the hospital. The surgeon refused to operate on the injured boy, saying "I can't operate on him, he's my son!"

• Hunters came upon a cabin in the woods, where inside they found two dead. At first glance, it was obvious how they died.

• Tom is found dead in the living room, with a bar across his back.

• Adults are holding children, waiting their turn. The children are handed to a man, who holds them while a woman shoots them.

• A man walks into a bar and orders a bowl of albatross soup. He takes one bite, then walks into the bathroom and kills himself.

These are considered the classic type: all information needed to solve them is given in the statement.

(For answers to these puzzles, see the talk page.)

External link

• Archive of situation puzzles