10 lateral thinking puzzles with answers

The puzzles below are the legends of the genre: the ten most famous lateral-thinking puzzles, also known as situation puzzles or mystery riddles, the ones played for decades at tables, campfires and long car rides. Each follows the same rule: the story is true inside its own world, the obvious explanation is wrong, and the solution comes out through yes/no questions. Try to crack each one BEFORE opening the answer; that's where all the joy lives.

New to the genre? Start with the guide on what lateral thinking puzzles are and how you play them.

1. Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet lie dead on the floor. Around them: broken glass and a puddle of water. The window is half-open. Nobody touched them. What happened?

Reveal the solution

Romeo and Juliet are goldfish. The wind (or the cat) knocked their bowl off the table.

2. The elevator

A man lives on the 10th floor. Every morning he takes the elevator down to the lobby. In the evening, though, he rides it only to the 7th floor and takes the stairs the rest of the way, unless it's raining, in which case he rides straight to the 10th. Why?

Reveal the solution

He is very short. He can only reach the button for the 7th floor, unless he has his umbrella with him, which he uses to press the button for the 10th.

3. The puddle under the hanged man

In a locked, completely empty room hangs a dead man. There is no chair, no stool, no furniture, only a puddle of water on the floor, directly beneath him. How did he do it?

Reveal the solution

He stood on a block of ice and waited for it to melt. The puddle is all that remains of his "step".

4. The dead man in the desert

In the middle of the desert, far from anything, lies a dead man. Next to him: a pack, closed and untouched. Had he opened it, he would have lived. What happened?

Reveal the solution

The pack is a parachute that never opened.

5. When the music stopped

When the music stopped, she died. What happened?

Reveal the solution

She was a circus tightrope walker crossing blindfolded. The music counted her steps, and its ending meant "you've reached the platform". That night, the band stopped early.

6. The diver in the burned forest

After a great wildfire, deep in the charred forest, lies a dead man, in full scuba gear, mask and fins. The nearest sea is miles away. How did he get there?

Reveal the solution

He was diving when a firefighting plane scooped him up along with the seawater and dropped him over the fire.

7. The cabin on the mountain

High on a mountainside sits a cabin. Inside it, dozens of dead people. No door forced, no sign of a struggle. What happened?

Reveal the solution

It is an airplane cabin. The aircraft crashed into the mountain.

8. She shot him, then they went to dinner

A woman "shoots" her husband. Then she holds him under water for quite a while, and finally she hangs him. A little later the two of them go out to dinner, perfectly happy. How?

Reveal the solution

She is an old-school photographer: she "shot" him with her camera, developed the film in the darkroom chemicals, and hung the photograph up to dry.

9. The tunnel

A man rides the train home, happier than he has ever been, coming from the hospital where he was given something precious. As the train passes through a tunnel, he lets out a cry of despair. Why?

Reveal the solution

He had been blind, and an operation had just given him his sight. In the darkness of the tunnel he believed he had gone blind again.

10. Albatross soup

A man walks into a restaurant and orders albatross soup. He tastes one spoonful, turns pale, stands up, and shortly afterwards takes his own life. Why? (The most famous mystery riddle of all time, and the darkest on this list.)

Reveal the solution

He was a shipwreck survivor. In the lifeboat, his companions had told him the meat they were eating was albatross. Tasting real albatross, he realised the flavour was not the same, and understood what he had truly eaten.

And now, one you DON'T know

The fate of every classic puzzle is to be solved exactly once; after that, you simply know it. On PlayWhydunit you play mystery stories you've never heard before, with an AI Game Master who answers your questions and never gives the solution away. No spoiler lists, just you and the mystery.

And if you want to crack them with fewer questions, see the six techniques for smarter questions.