axeman61
December 9th, 2005, 02:23 AM
An idea I just got. I've seen puzzle threads here and there on other forums, and they've been pretty good. I wanted to try this out.
A lateral puzzle is one where you have to think about things from a different perspective. The "format" of a Lateral puzzle gives you a question to answer and some clues.
Here's a good example:
Puzzle: All her life, a girls mother told her not to open the door to a certain room. One day, unable to resist temptation, she disobeyed. What she saw made her uneasy, but it probably would seem standard to everyone else.
Clues: You have to think of where the girl was in the house.
Answer: The girl was in the room her mother told her not to open the door to. Upon opening it, she saw the rest of the house. She had oddly never seen the rest of the house, so it unnerved her.
I know it's weird, but it's a paraphrase of an LP I heard a while back. It made much more sense in the actual puzzle.
Anyway, I figured we could make our own puzzles like that, coming from situations or events in our own lives. The question could be almost anything, as long as there's a degree of mystery and logic to it. You can be as specific as you want to with the clues, as long as they all hint to the answer. Finally, make sure the answer syncs up with the question and clues, please. The puzzle should make total sense when all the pieces are there.
Okay, I'll start:
Puzzle: The house I live in is junky; there's no way around saying that. Some parts are clean, but otherwise the lack of space from the junk make this big house little. Ironically though, there's been a piece of clutter outside the house that's served me well these past two days by making sure deliveries are on time. What is it, and how did it perform this function?
Clues
-When you're talking old people and porches, this object fits right into the equation.
-Normally, if I'm not at the house, I don't get my delivery. I just get a note. The same goes for if I'm asleep.
-It has to do with the visibility of the packages.
-The answer to this one won't make too much sense either, when you consider that it's hard to miss a UPS truck and someone stepping out of it to place the package.
You don't have to answer my puzzle before making your own, just to let you know.
A lateral puzzle is one where you have to think about things from a different perspective. The "format" of a Lateral puzzle gives you a question to answer and some clues.
Here's a good example:
Puzzle: All her life, a girls mother told her not to open the door to a certain room. One day, unable to resist temptation, she disobeyed. What she saw made her uneasy, but it probably would seem standard to everyone else.
Clues: You have to think of where the girl was in the house.
Answer: The girl was in the room her mother told her not to open the door to. Upon opening it, she saw the rest of the house. She had oddly never seen the rest of the house, so it unnerved her.
I know it's weird, but it's a paraphrase of an LP I heard a while back. It made much more sense in the actual puzzle.
Anyway, I figured we could make our own puzzles like that, coming from situations or events in our own lives. The question could be almost anything, as long as there's a degree of mystery and logic to it. You can be as specific as you want to with the clues, as long as they all hint to the answer. Finally, make sure the answer syncs up with the question and clues, please. The puzzle should make total sense when all the pieces are there.
Okay, I'll start:
Puzzle: The house I live in is junky; there's no way around saying that. Some parts are clean, but otherwise the lack of space from the junk make this big house little. Ironically though, there's been a piece of clutter outside the house that's served me well these past two days by making sure deliveries are on time. What is it, and how did it perform this function?
Clues
-When you're talking old people and porches, this object fits right into the equation.
-Normally, if I'm not at the house, I don't get my delivery. I just get a note. The same goes for if I'm asleep.
-It has to do with the visibility of the packages.
-The answer to this one won't make too much sense either, when you consider that it's hard to miss a UPS truck and someone stepping out of it to place the package.
You don't have to answer my puzzle before making your own, just to let you know.