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Puzzle questions for bank exams, with worked answers

A prelims paper does not label its puzzles, so this set does not either. The twelve puzzle questions for bank exams below rotate through the six arrangement families IBPS and SBI actually set — floors, round tables, rows, parallel rows, box stacks and schedules — in the order you would meet them cold. Every one is engine-generated and proved single-solution before baking.

Download the PDF — 12 questions with answers

Free, ungated, no email. This is the reasoning puzzle questions with answers PDF — the same 12 questions as below, with every worked solution at the back, ready to print.

How to use this set

The 12 questions below are ordered the way an exam block is rather than easiest-first: two gentle openers, then a run of medium, and a hard one every sixth question — 2 of the 12 sit in the hard band. The set mixes floor arrangement, row seating, circular seating, box arrangement, scheduling puzzle and double-row (facing) seating, in the round-robin the paper itself sets rather than one form at a time.

Work each question on paper before you open its solution. The walkthrough is the solver's own elimination order, step for step, so reading it first turns a practice set into a reading exercise and teaches nothing. If you are stuck on the method rather than on one question, the method guide is a better place to start than the next question: All reasoning topics, with the method for each.

12 puzzle questions for bank exams with answers

Every question below was generated by the same engine that mints the DeducePuzzles daily puzzle round, and machine-checked before it reached this page — a puzzle only ships once the solver has confirmed exactly one valid arrangement exists, so a clue set admitting two answers, or none, cannot reach you. The walkthrough is the engine's own.

Question 1

4 people live in a 4-storey building, one person on each floor — floor 1 is the ground floor and floor 4 is the top.

  1. Sanjay lives on a floor somewhere above Jaya.
  2. There are exactly 2 floors between Jaya and Harsh.
  3. Sneha lives on an even-numbered floor.

Can you work out who lives on each floor?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 24 possible arrangements of 4 people.
  2. Clue 2 — "There are exactly 2 floors between Jaya and Harsh." narrows it to 4 possibilities. Board (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 3 — "Sneha lives on an even-numbered floor." ⇒ Sanjay → floor 3, Sneha → floor 2 (2 possibilities left). Board (top → bottom): _ · Sanjay · Sneha · _
  4. Clue 1 — "Sanjay lives on a floor somewhere above Jaya." ⇒ Jaya → floor 1, Harsh → floor 4 (1 possibility left). Board (top → bottom): Harsh · Sanjay · Sneha · Jaya
  5. Exactly one arrangement survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 2

4 people sit in a row, all facing the same way — seat 1 is the far left, seat 4 the far right.

  1. Varun sits somewhere to the left of Tanvi.
  2. Neha sits immediately to the right of Varun.
  3. Tanvi sits somewhere to the left of Geeta.

Can you work out who sits in each seat?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
  2. Clue 2 — "Neha sits immediately to the right of Varun." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 1 — "Varun sits somewhere to the left of Tanvi." narrows it to 3 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Tanvi sits somewhere to the left of Geeta." ⇒ Neha → seat 2, Varun → seat 1, Geeta → seat 4, Tanvi → seat 3 (1 possibility left). Board (left → right): Varun · Neha · Tanvi · Geeta
  5. Exactly one order survives every clue: Varun, Neha, Tanvi, Geeta (left to right).

Question 3

7 people sit around a round table, all facing the centre.

  1. Pooja sits 2nd to the left of Meera (all facing the centre).
  2. Imran sits 2nd to the right of Meera (all facing the centre).
  3. Jaya sits 3rd to the left of Harsh (all facing the centre).
  4. Jaya sits 2nd to the left of Kiran (all facing the centre).
  5. Tarun sits 2nd to the left of Jaya (all facing the centre).

Can you work out who sits in each seat?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 720 distinct seatings (up to rotation) of 7 people around the table. Fix Harsh at seat 1 and count clockwise — only rotations of the same seating differ.
  2. Clue 1 — "Pooja sits 2nd to the left of Meera (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 120 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Harsh): Harsh · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Imran sits 2nd to the right of Meera (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 24 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Harsh): Harsh · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Jaya sits 3rd to the left of Harsh (all facing the centre)." ⇒ Jaya → seat 4 (4 possibilities left). Table (clockwise from Harsh): Harsh · _ · _ · Jaya · _ · _ · _
  5. Clue 4 — "Jaya sits 2nd to the left of Kiran (all facing the centre)." ⇒ Pooja → seat 7, Tarun → seat 6, Imran → seat 3, Kiran → seat 2, Meera → seat 5 (1 possibility left). Table (clockwise from Harsh): Harsh · Kiran · Imran · Jaya · Meera · Tarun · Pooja
  6. Exactly one seating (up to rotation) survives every clue: Harsh, Kiran, Imran, Jaya, Meera, Tarun, Pooja clockwise.

Question 4

5 boxes are stacked one above another — position 1 is the bottom box and position 5 the top.

  1. Exactly 2 boxes are kept between Box C and Box F.
  2. Box H is kept immediately above Box F.
  3. Box E is kept 5th from the bottom of the stack.
  4. Box H is kept somewhere below Box D.

Can you work out which box sits at each position?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 possible stackings of 5 boxes.
  2. Clue 3 — "Box E is kept 5th from the bottom of the stack." ⇒ Box E → position 5 (top) (24 possibilities left). Stack (top → bottom): Box E · _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Box H is kept immediately above Box F." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Stack (top → bottom): Box E · _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 1 — "Exactly 2 boxes are kept between Box C and Box F." ⇒ Box H → position 2, Box C → position 4, Box F → position 1 (bottom), Box D → position 3 (1 possibility left). Stack (top → bottom): Box E · Box C · Box D · Box H · Box F
  5. Exactly one stacking survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 5

5 events are scheduled in 5 ordered time slots, one event per slot.

  1. Nikhil's appointment is on a later day of the week than Meera's.
  2. Priya's appointment is on a later day of the week than Divya's.
  3. Nikhil's appointment is on the day immediately before Divya's.
  4. Priya's appointment is on the day immediately before Sneha's.

Can you work out which event falls in each slot?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 possible schedules of 5 people across Monday–Friday.
  2. Clue 3 — "Nikhil's appointment is on the day immediately before Divya's." narrows it to 24 possibilities. Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 4 — "Priya's appointment is on the day immediately before Sneha's." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 1 — "Nikhil's appointment is on a later day of the week than Meera's." narrows it to 3 possibilities. Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  5. Clue 2 — "Priya's appointment is on a later day of the week than Divya's." ⇒ Meera → Monday, Divya → Wednesday, Nikhil → Tuesday, Sneha → Friday, Priya → Thursday (1 possibility left). Board (Monday → Friday): Meera · Nikhil · Divya · Priya · Sneha
  6. Exactly one schedule survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 6

6 people sit in two parallel rows facing each other — one row faces north, the other faces south, and each person sits directly opposite exactly one other.

  1. Vikram does NOT sit directly opposite Tanvi.
  2. Exactly 1 person sits between Anjali and Neha in the same row.
  3. Vikram sits immediately to the left of Neha (both facing north).
  4. Tanvi sits immediately to the left of Zoya (both facing south).
  5. Vikram faces north.
  6. Zoya sits immediately to the left of Meera (both facing south).

Can you work out who sits in each seat, in both rows?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 720 ways to seat 6 people in two facing rows of 3.
  2. Clue 5 — "Vikram faces north." narrows it to 360 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Anjali and Neha in the same row." narrows it to 48 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Vikram sits immediately to the left of Neha (both facing north)." ⇒ Anjali → the north-facing row, column 1 (1 = west), Vikram → the north-facing row, column 2 (1 = west), Neha → the north-facing row, column 3 (1 = west) (6 possibilities left). Board — North (W→E): Anjali · Vikram · Neha | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  5. Clue 4 — "Tanvi sits immediately to the left of Zoya (both facing south)." narrows it to 2 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): Anjali · Vikram · Neha | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  6. Clue 6 — "Zoya sits immediately to the left of Meera (both facing south)." ⇒ Meera → the south-facing row, column 1 (1 = west), Zoya → the south-facing row, column 2 (1 = west), Tanvi → the south-facing row, column 3 (1 = west) (1 possibility left). Board — North (W→E): Anjali · Vikram · Neha | South (W→E): Meera · Zoya · Tanvi
  7. Exactly one seating survives every clue — north row: Anjali, Vikram, Neha; south row: Meera, Zoya, Tanvi.

Question 7

4 people live in a 4-storey building, one person on each floor — floor 1 is the ground floor and floor 4 is the top.

  1. Priya lives on the topmost floor.
  2. Lata lives on a floor somewhere above Nikhil.
  3. Lata lives on an even-numbered floor.
  4. Priya lives on the floor immediately above Divya.

Can you work out who lives on each floor?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 24 possible arrangements of 4 people.
  2. Clue 1 — "Priya lives on the topmost floor." ⇒ Priya → floor 4 (6 possibilities left). Board (top → bottom): Priya · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 4 — "Priya lives on the floor immediately above Divya." ⇒ Divya → floor 3 (2 possibilities left). Board (top → bottom): Priya · Divya · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Lata lives on an even-numbered floor." ⇒ Nikhil → floor 1, Lata → floor 2 (1 possibility left). Board (top → bottom): Priya · Divya · Lata · Nikhil
  5. Exactly one arrangement survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 8

4 people sit in a row, all facing the same way — seat 1 is the far left, seat 4 the far right.

  1. Aditi sits somewhere to the right of Sneha.
  2. Harsh sits somewhere to the right of Zoya.
  3. Aditi sits somewhere to the left of Zoya.

Can you work out who sits in each seat?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 24 possible left-to-right orders of 4 people.
  2. Clue 1 — "Aditi sits somewhere to the right of Sneha." narrows it to 12 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Harsh sits somewhere to the right of Zoya." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Board (left → right): _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Aditi sits somewhere to the left of Zoya." ⇒ Harsh → seat 4, Aditi → seat 2, Sneha → seat 1, Zoya → seat 3 (1 possibility left). Board (left → right): Sneha · Aditi · Zoya · Harsh
  5. Exactly one order survives every clue: Sneha, Aditi, Zoya, Harsh (left to right).

Question 9

7 people sit around a round table, all facing the centre.

  1. Isha sits immediately to the right of Zoya (all facing the centre).
  2. Exactly 2 people sit between Yash and Chetan (the shorter way).
  3. Isha sits 2nd to the left of Meera (all facing the centre).
  4. Chetan sits next to Zoya.
  5. Nikhil sits 2nd to the left of Zoya (all facing the centre).
  6. Priya sits 3rd to the left of Zoya (all facing the centre).

Can you work out who sits in each seat?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 720 distinct seatings (up to rotation) of 7 people around the table. Fix Chetan at seat 1 and count clockwise — only rotations of the same seating differ.
  2. Clue 1 — "Isha sits immediately to the right of Zoya (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 120 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Chetan): Chetan · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 3 — "Isha sits 2nd to the left of Meera (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 24 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Chetan): Chetan · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 5 — "Nikhil sits 2nd to the left of Zoya (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Chetan): Chetan · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  5. Clue 6 — "Priya sits 3rd to the left of Zoya (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 2 possibilities. Table (clockwise from Chetan): Chetan · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
  6. Clue 4 — "Chetan sits next to Zoya." ⇒ Meera → seat 4, Priya → seat 3, Nikhil → seat 2, Isha → seat 6, Yash → seat 5, Zoya → seat 7 (1 possibility left). Table (clockwise from Chetan): Chetan · Nikhil · Priya · Meera · Yash · Isha · Zoya
  7. Exactly one seating (up to rotation) survives every clue: Chetan, Nikhil, Priya, Meera, Yash, Isha, Zoya clockwise.

Question 10

5 boxes are stacked one above another — position 1 is the bottom box and position 5 the top.

  1. Box A is kept immediately below Box H.
  2. Box E is kept 5th from the top of the stack.
  3. Exactly 2 boxes are kept between Box F and Box A.
  4. Box E is kept somewhere below Box D.

Can you work out which box sits at each position?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 possible stackings of 5 boxes.
  2. Clue 2 — "Box E is kept 5th from the top of the stack." ⇒ Box E → position 1 (bottom) (24 possibilities left). Stack (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _ · Box E
  3. Clue 1 — "Box A is kept immediately below Box H." narrows it to 6 possibilities. Stack (top → bottom): _ · _ · _ · _ · Box E
  4. Clue 3 — "Exactly 2 boxes are kept between Box F and Box A." ⇒ Box F → position 5 (top), Box A → position 2, Box D → position 4, Box H → position 3 (1 possibility left). Stack (top → bottom): Box F · Box D · Box H · Box A · Box E
  5. Exactly one stacking survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 11

5 events are scheduled in 5 ordered time slots, one event per slot.

  1. There are exactly 2 days between Arjun's and Sneha's appointments.
  2. Manish's appointment is on Friday.
  3. Arjun's appointment is on a later day of the week than Sanjay's.
  4. Sanjay's appointment is on Wednesday.
  5. Arjun's appointment is on a later day of the week than Neha's.

Can you work out which event falls in each slot?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 120 possible schedules of 5 people across Monday–Friday.
  2. Clue 2 — "Manish's appointment is on Friday." ⇒ Manish → Friday (24 possibilities left). Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · _ · _ · Manish
  3. Clue 4 — "Sanjay's appointment is on Wednesday." ⇒ Sanjay → Wednesday (6 possibilities left). Board (Monday → Friday): _ · _ · Sanjay · _ · Manish
  4. Clue 1 — "There are exactly 2 days between Arjun's and Sneha's appointments." ⇒ Neha → Tuesday (2 possibilities left). Board (Monday → Friday): _ · Neha · Sanjay · _ · Manish
  5. Clue 3 — "Arjun's appointment is on a later day of the week than Sanjay's." ⇒ Arjun → Thursday, Sneha → Monday (1 possibility left). Board (Monday → Friday): Sneha · Neha · Sanjay · Arjun · Manish
  6. Exactly one schedule survives every clue — that is the answer.

Question 12

6 people sit in two parallel rows facing each other — one row faces north, the other faces south, and each person sits directly opposite exactly one other.

  1. Zoya does NOT sit directly opposite Sneha.
  2. Exactly 1 person sits between Anjali and Bhavna in the same row.
  3. Sneha sits immediately to the left of Anjali (both facing north).
  4. Zoya sits immediately to the left of Geeta (both facing south).
  5. Bhavna faces north.
  6. Geeta sits immediately to the left of Farhan (both facing south).

Can you work out who sits in each seat, in both rows?

Show the worked solution
  1. Start: 720 ways to seat 6 people in two facing rows of 3.
  2. Clue 5 — "Bhavna faces north." narrows it to 360 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  3. Clue 2 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Anjali and Bhavna in the same row." narrows it to 48 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  4. Clue 3 — "Sneha sits immediately to the left of Anjali (both facing north)." ⇒ Anjali → the north-facing row, column 3 (1 = west), Bhavna → the north-facing row, column 1 (1 = west), Sneha → the north-facing row, column 2 (1 = west) (6 possibilities left). Board — North (W→E): Bhavna · Sneha · Anjali | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  5. Clue 4 — "Zoya sits immediately to the left of Geeta (both facing south)." narrows it to 2 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): Bhavna · Sneha · Anjali | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
  6. Clue 6 — "Geeta sits immediately to the left of Farhan (both facing south)." ⇒ Zoya → the south-facing row, column 3 (1 = west), Geeta → the south-facing row, column 2 (1 = west), Farhan → the south-facing row, column 1 (1 = west) (1 possibility left). Board — North (W→E): Bhavna · Sneha · Anjali | South (W→E): Farhan · Geeta · Zoya
  7. Exactly one seating survives every clue — north row: Bhavna, Sneha, Anjali; south row: Farhan, Geeta, Zoya.
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Where these questions come from

Most free practice for this topic is a scanned upload or a blog quiz, and neither can tell you a question has exactly one answer. That is the one thing this set can promise: it is minted, not typed. The engine behind it serves DeducePuzzles's daily puzzle round, so the questions here are the same shape as the ones a live round would give you — and there is an unlimited supply of them, which is why this page can be regenerated rather than padded.

If you want the method rather than more questions, All reasoning topics, with the method for each covers the approach, the traps and a worked table. This page and that one deliberately answer different questions: that one is how do I solve these, this one is give me puzzle questions for bank exams with the answers.

FAQ

How many puzzle sets appear in a bank prelims paper?

IBPS and SBI prelims typically carry two or three arrangement sets of five questions each, so roughly a third of the reasoning section hangs on this one skill. Mains papers go further and often build a set on two constraints at once, such as a floor plus a flat number.

Which puzzle type should I practise first?

Linear rows, then floors. Both are single-axis, so a wrong placement shows up quickly and you learn to spot it. Circular tables and parallel rows add a facing direction, which is where most avoidable mistakes come from, and they are worth attempting only once the single-axis method is automatic.

Why does every puzzle here have exactly one answer?

Because it is checked. The generator counts the solutions a clue set admits and discards anything that is not exactly one before the puzzle is written to the page. Most free practice online is a scanned upload that nobody can make that promise about.

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