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Challengeware facts & stats

7 fact-checked facts about puzzles and brain games, each with the reason behind it. 5 more are in today's round and join this page after it closes.

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The basics

How many small squares are in a standard Sudoku grid?

Answer81

A standard Sudoku is a 9 by 9 grid, which makes 81 cells.

Rearranging the letters of 'listen' to spell 'silent' is an example of what?

AnswerAn anagram

An anagram is formed by rearranging all the letters of a word or phrase to make another.

Going deeper

What is the fewest number of moves needed to solve the Tower of Hanoi puzzle with 3 discs?

Answer7

The minimum is 2 to the power of n, minus 1 moves; for 3 discs that's 2³ − 1 = 7.

In a 3×3 magic square using the numbers 1 to 9, what does every row, column and diagonal add up to?

Answer15

The numbers 1 to 9 total 45; split across three equal rows, each line must sum to 15.

The first jigsaw puzzles, made in the 1760s by gluing maps to wood and cutting them up, were used for what?

AnswerTeaching geography

London mapmaker John Spilsbury made 'dissected maps' around 1766 as tools for teaching geography.

Expert level

How many holes are on the cross-shaped board in English peg solitaire?

Answer33

The English board has 33 holes and starts with 32 pegs; the French or European board has 37 holes.

What is a picture puzzle where you shade grid cells using number clues for each row and column called?

AnswerA nonogram

In a nonogram, numbers beside each row and column give runs of filled cells that reveal a hidden picture.

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