Logic puzzles for children aged 4 to 10, with answers and hints

A good logic puzzle feels like a little mystery: you have a few clues, and if you think carefully, the answer can only be one thing. The puzzles below are short, need no materials and can be read aloud in the car, at the table or before bed. They are grouped by age, but feel free to move up or down depending on your child.

How to use these puzzles

Read the puzzle twice, slowly. Many mistakes come from missing a clue.
Wait. Give your child time before offering help. Silence is thinking time.
Hint before answering. Use the hint ladder further down instead of giving the answer.
Ask "How do you know?" even when the answer is right. The explanation is the real exercise.
Answers are at the end, so you can read the puzzles without spoiling them.

Ages 4 to 6

Where is the ball? There are three boxes: red, blue and yellow. The ball is not in the red box. The ball is not in the blue box. Where is the ball?
Who is the shortest? The rabbit is taller than the cat. The cat is taller than the mouse. Who is the shortest?
What comes next? Circle, square, circle, square, circle, … ?
Which one doesn't belong? Apple, banana, carrot, pear. Which one is different, and why?
How many legs? A bird and a cat are sitting in the garden. How many legs are there altogether?

Ages 6 to 8

The sock drawer. A drawer has red socks and blue socks, all mixed up. It is dark, so you cannot see the colours. How many socks must you take out to be sure you have two of the same colour?
Who is the oldest? I am older than my brother but younger than my sister. Who is the oldest of the three?
Sharing sweets. Three children share 7 sweets so that everyone gets the same number. How many does each child get, and how many are left over?
In a row. A cat, a dog and a rabbit stand in a row. The cat is not first. The rabbit is last. Who is first?
The frog on the ladder. A frog wants to climb a ladder with 5 steps. Each turn, it jumps up 2 steps, then slips down 1 step. If it reaches the top, it stops and does not slip. How many turns does it need?

Ages 8 to 10

Who ate the cake? One of three friends ate the cake. Ana says: "I didn't eat it." Bo says: "Chi ate it." Chi says: "Bo is not telling the truth." Only one of them is telling the truth. Who ate the cake?
The balance. One melon weighs the same as 3 apples. One apple weighs the same as 2 plums. How many plums weigh the same as the melon?
The tallest in the middle. Put the numbers 1, 2 and 3 in a row of three boxes so that the middle number is bigger than both of its neighbours. How many ways can you find?
The train. A train leaves at 9:40 and the trip takes 35 minutes. What time does it arrive?
The growing sequence. 3, 5, 8, 12, 17, … What comes next?

The hint ladder

When your child is stuck, climb one step at a time and stop as soon as they are moving again:

Read it again. "Let's listen to the puzzle once more."
What do we know? "Tell me one thing the puzzle says for sure."
Draw or act it out. Three boxes on paper, three toys in a row, a ladder drawn with five steps.
Cross things out. "Can the ball be in the red box? No. So let's cross it out."
Try an example. "What if it was Bo? Let's check each sentence."

If none of these help, the puzzle may simply be too hard for now. Put it aside and come back in a few weeks; that is a normal part of learning.

Answers

Yellow. It is not red and not blue, so only yellow is left.
The mouse. The rabbit is taller than the cat, which is taller than the mouse.
Square. The pattern repeats circle, square.
Carrot, because it is a vegetable and the others are fruit. Other answers can be fine too if your child explains them, for example "banana, because it is not round".
6 legs. The bird has 2 and the cat has 4.
3 socks. With 3 socks and only 2 colours, at least two must match.
My sister. She is older than me, and I am older than my brother.
2 each, 1 left over. 3 × 2 = 6, and 7 − 6 = 1.
The dog. The rabbit is last, the cat is not first, so the dog must be first.
4 turns. After each of the first 3 turns the frog is 1 step higher (steps 1, 2, 3). On the 4th turn it jumps from step 3 to step 5 and stops.
Ana. If Ana ate it, only Chi tells the truth. If Bo or Chi ate it, two people would be telling the truth.
6 plums. The melon is 3 apples, and each apple is 2 plums: 3 × 2 = 6.
2 ways: 1, 3, 2 and 2, 3, 1. The 3 must be in the middle.
10:15. From 9:40, 20 minutes takes you to 10:00, and 15 more to 10:15.
23. The jumps grow by one each time: +2, +3, +4, +5, so next is +6.

If your child enjoys puzzles like these, the Logic topic in Dologi offers new puzzles each time, generated at a level that adapts to your child.

In short

Short logic puzzles train careful reading, deduction and explaining.
Choose puzzles by age, but move up or down freely.
Hint with the ladder: reread, list what we know, draw, cross out, try an example.
Always ask "How do you know?", even for right answers.