Skip to main content
Scientific American
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.

Math Puzzles

Stretch your math muscles with these puzzles.

Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesJanuary 11, 2025

Math Puzzle: Measure the Stroll

Martin Gardner
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesJanuary 4, 2025

Math Puzzle: Find the Fakes

Martin Gardner
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesDecember 28, 2024

Math Puzzle: Test the Discovery

Hans-Karl Eder
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesDecember 21, 2024

Math Puzzle: Ask One Question

Martin Gardner
Graphic shows the five disks stacked in size order on the left rod with two empty rods to the right.
GamesDecember 14, 2024

Math Puzzle: Move the Tower

Heinrich Hemme
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesDecember 7, 2024

Math Puzzle: Prove the Trick

Martin Gardner
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesNovember 30, 2024

Math Puzzle: Count the Digits

Heinrich Hemme
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesNovember 23, 2024

Math Puzzle: Pick a Marble

Martin Gardner
The following numbers are shown in a pyramid arrangement. Row 1: 1; Row 2: 1, 2; Row 3: 1, 3, 2; Row 4: 4, 1, 3, 2; Row 5: 5, 4, 1, 3, 2; Row 6: 5, 4, 1, 6, 3, 2; Row 7: 5, 4, 1, 7, 6, 3, 2.
GamesNovember 16, 2024

Math Puzzle: Help the Numbers Get in Line

Heinrich Hemme
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesNovember 9, 2024

Math Puzzle: Solve the Subway Conundrum

Martin Gardner
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesNovember 2, 2024

Math Puzzle: Find the Genuine Coins

Heinrich Hemme
Illustration of a hand and multiple numbers against a purple background.
GamesOctober 26, 2024

Math Puzzle: Find the Card-Drawing Probability

Hans-Karl Eder
PreviousNext

Subscribe to Scientific American to learn and share the most exciting discoveries, innovations and ideas shaping our world today.

Subscription PlansGive a Gift Subscription
  • Explore SciAm
  • Latest Issue
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Newsletters
  • Podcasts
  • Games
  • Travel
  • Company
  • About
  • Press Room
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Standards & Ethics
  • International Editions
  • Advertise
  • More
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • US State Privacy Rights
  • Use of cookies/Do not sell my data
  • Return & Refund Policy

Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientific American maintains a strict policy of editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

© 2026 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, A DIVISION OF SPRINGER NATURE AMERICA, INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.