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Spark & Whetstonethe grown-up commons

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The Puzzle Post no. 1 · week of 12 October 2026

Five puzzles in large print, made to be done with a pencil. Print one for yourself, or fifty for a library counter or a café table. The answers are on the second page, so nobody sees them by accident.

1. Word ladder

Change one letter at a time to turn COLD into WARM. Every step must be a real word. It takes 3 steps in between.

COLD → ____ → ____ → ____ → WARM

2. Number pyramid

Each block is the sum of the two blocks underneath it. Fill in the blanks.

3. Who has which pet?

Ana, Ben, Chi each have one pet: a cat, a dog, a fish.

  • Ana does not have the dog.
  • The person with the fish is not Ben.
  • Chi has the cat.

4. What comes next?

2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ____

5. Riddle

I have keys but open no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but not come in. What am I?

Answers on page two when printed

  1. COLD → CORD → CARD → WARD → WARM
  2. From the bottom: 3, 5, 2, 6 · 8, 7, 8 · 15, 15 · 30
  3. Ana: fish · Ben: dog · Chi: cat
  4. 42 (n × (n + 1))
  5. A keyboard.

Printing ahead? no. 2, week of 19 October · no. 3, week of 26 October · no. 4, week of 2 November · no. 5, week of 9 November · no. 6, week of 16 November · no. 7, week of 23 November · no. 8, week of 30 November · no. 9, week of 7 December

A puzzle a day lives on the Daily Table. Running a library table or a café? You may print and share this sheet freely.