Four friends sit in a row and the clues tell you a little about each place. Draw the empty seats, fill in the sure facts (an end seat, two people side by side), and the rest falls into place.
Sure clues first — “place the people the clues fix exactly, then fit the rest”
Draw one box per seat, left to right as you look at them.
Fill the sure clues first: “at the left end”, “just to the right of”, “next to both”.
Use the “not” and “somewhere left of” clues to place the rest, and check every clue at the end.
Use it for: Seating arrangement puzzles in Olympiads, aptitude and scholarship tests.
Worked example: Four friends (Aarav, Diya, Kabir and Meera) sit in a row. Left and right are as you look at them. Diya sits at the left end. Kabir sits just to the right of Diya. Meera does not sit at either end. Who sits at the right end? Aarav
Diya is in seat 1 and Kabir in seat 2.
Meera is not at an end, so she takes seat 3; Aarav is left for seat 4 — the right end.
Check: Diya, Kabir, Meera, Aarav fits all three clues ✓
Harder seating puzzles from competitive exams: five or six friends around a round table, all facing the centre. Clues use second to the right, opposite, between and “does not sit next to”. Only one arrangement fits.
Draw a circle. Facing the centre, your right is anticlockwise and your left is clockwise.
Start with the surest clue (who sits between whom, or opposite), then add the others.
With six people, opposite means three seats away; second to the right means two seats anticlockwise.
“Does not sit next to” crosses out places — use it last.
🔥 Challenge practice
Work it out in your head or on paper, then tap your answer — or type it and press Check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.
Right: 0 · Tried: 0
🔥 Seating challenge test
20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.
🏅 Pass to earn the 🔥 Seating Master badge — sign in with Google to keep it.
The challenge is extra: it doesn't count towards the part certificate.
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