Level: Medium
Time: 20 mins
Proverbial Tales
In Proverbial Tales, you have to make your own story based on a well known proverb. These brainteasers help build your analogical reasoning skills since you have to find ways to align your story with the meaning of the proverb. A good story arc includes the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and denouement, so make sure to inlude these elements in your tale.
Level: Easy
Time: 20 mins
Wacky Inventions
Wacky Inventions brainteasers are related to Chindogu, the Japanese art of unuseless inventions. Your ideas can be unusual and ridiculous (we encourage that!) as long as they do indeed solve a problem, or is worthy of an ignoble award. In this version, you will use two random objects to create your invention. These brainteasers help build associational thinking.
Level: Medium
Time: 20 mins
Pose-a-Problem
In Pose-a-Problem, you get to create your own math problems based on the given situation. With these challenges, think of as many questions as you can and try to use different areas of mathematics while doing so. The ability to pose good questions is an indicator of exceptional talent in Mathematics.
Level: Easy
Time: 20 mins
Opposite Day
Opposite Day brainteasers work by identifying assumptions in a situation and then applying the "reversal" antix on them. After you reverse the assumption, you need to solve the challenge or in other words find a way to make the reversed assumption work well. You might be surprised at the new insights that you get! These brainteasers are based on the technique called "False Faces" in Michael Michalko's Thinkertoys.
Level: Easy
Time: 20 mins
Word ORIGINals
Word ORIGINals explores the etymological roots of a word or a phrase through a creative lens. Each brainteaser in this category provides the etymology of the word or phrase but you have the creative license to construct the story behind it. If your creative story incorporates the etymology, you will be more likely to remember this word and others with the same root.
Level: Medium
Time: 30 mins
Virtual History
Virtual History is a form of historiography that attempts to answer "What If" questions about historical figures or events. It's a creative exercise that needs critical thinking skills to discover plausible alternate scenarios. These brainteasers build the skill of "perspective taking" while developing a richer understanding of history.