Lateral thinking puzzles (aka situation puzzles) are strange situations where you are given a small amount of information and then have to try to figure out what is going on by asking questions. They work best as a group game. One person acts as quizmaster. Others fire in questions. The quizmaster can only answer - yes, no or irrelevant. The puzzles are great fun and at the same time they teach techniques for questioning, testing assumptions, using your imagination and piecing together clues. Probably the best known puzzle is the man in the elevator:
A man lives on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. When he returns he takes the elevator to the seventh floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. He hates walking so why does he do it?
If you do not know this one then you can find the answer in my list of classic puzzles on the rec.puzzles archive site. I have written 18 books of lateral thinking puzzles (many co-authored with Des MacHale). The books have proved to be popular both with adults and children. They have been used in schools, on training courses, as an after-dinner game and as a great way to entertain any small group that likes a mental challenge. Over 2 million copies of the books have been sold and they have been translated into many languages. They are available at Amazon.
There are more details on my website below together with a selection of favorite puzzles and a link to the infamous Wally Test - a collection of mean, low, trick questions. Why not try it?
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