Lateral Mindtrap Puzzles

The clues to solving each puzzle can be found within it, but you need to break free from conventional thinking and toss aside core assumptions. Ninety entertainingly illustrated puzzles, from murder mysteries to treasure hunts, will challenge your thinking skills, and there are hints if you need them.

Stand out from the pack--don't think conventionally, think laterally! And, you can start developing well-honed mental skills with more than 80 braintwisting puzzles that test your creativity and smarts. At first it might not seem as if there's enough information to solve them, but if you just persist, you'll come up with the logical answers. Some of the conundrums come from real life: try to figure out how the Greek playwright Aeschylus could have been killed by a tortoise or how the truth about Mary Queen of Scots' baldness was finally revealed. Or, give this a shot: A runner was awarded a prize for winning a marathon. But, the judges disqualified him when they saw a picture of his wristwatch. Why? Happy puzzling! Answer: A picture of the runner early in the race showed him wearing his watch on his right wrist. When he crossed the finishing line it was on his left wrist. The judges investigated and found that one man had run the first half and his identical twin brother ran the second half of the race.

Puzzles - Clues - Answers_

Chosen from nearly 18 collections, the authors' favorite lateral thinking puzzles are put together in one volume.

The latest in the hugely popular series of think-out-of-the box brainteasers, including Classic Lateral Thinking Challenges and Colorful Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Here's how you play the game and figure out these perplexing puzzles: take one of the scenarios, and with the help of a friend who looks at the answer, pose a series of yes and no questions until, by a process of elimination and deduction, you arrive at the solution. If you get stuck--and everyone does from time to time--there are additional clues to push you along. Keep trying and you will reach that glorious "aha!" moment when everything becomes crystal clear. In no time at all you'll have sharpened your wits...and become an accomplished lateral thinker.

These slippery lateral-thinking puzzles start with a situation that appears completely normal; then suddenly something strange happens, and with only a couple of hints you have to figure out the reason why. Stay alert as you run into all kinds of fantastic situations--people climbing prison walls, ocean cruises, shoplifter arrests, rich men who give away pennies, deliberate car crashes, shooting rare eagles for prizes, paying to have your silver taken away, and dozens of other weird experiences that make perfect sense once you come up with the lateral answer.

Become a master of the lateral logic puzzle. The clues to solving each puzzle can be found within it, but to figure them out you need to break free from conventional thinking and toss aside core assumptions. Ninety entertainingly illustrated puzzles, from murder mysteries to treasure hunts, will challenge your thinking skills. There are clues for each puzzle if you need them, and of course you can peek at the answer if you really get stumped.

A man writes the same number, and nothing else, on 20 sheets of paper. Why? To figure this out--and hundreds of other mind-bending lateral puzzles, too--you'll have to really fire up your brain and imagination. At first, it may not seem as if there's enough information to come up with a solution. But look more closely; there's always more than meets the eye. Check your assumptions, ask good questions, retune your mind, separate the facts from the red herrings, and the answers will come.