Multi-variable grid puzzles (floors, boxes, age, profession) solved by systematically filling a table from the most certain clues first.
📖 ~13 min read🧩 SSC Reasoning
Introduction
Puzzle questions combine multiple variables (e.g., people, floors, ages, professions, colours) linked by a
set of clues — the winning strategy is always a grid/table, filled in progressively as
each clue narrows down the possibilities.
Diagram — Sample Puzzle Grid (Floor Puzzle)
Build the tower/grid from the bottom up, placing each fixed clue immediately and leaving relative clues for a second pass.
Solving Strategy
Flowchart — Puzzle-Solving Sequence
Step 1: List all variables and draw an empty grid/table
↓
Step 2: Fill in all ABSOLUTE clues first (e.g., "X is on the top floor")
↓
Step 3: Apply RELATIVE clues (e.g., "Y is just above Z") to the remaining gaps
↓
Step 4: Use elimination for any remaining unplaced variables
Q. Five people A, B, C, D, E live on 5 different floors of a building (1 to 5, bottom to top). A lives on floor 1. D lives immediately above B. B lives on floor 2. C lives on the top floor. Find the floor arrangement.
Q. Three friends X, Y, Z have different professions (Doctor, Engineer, Teacher) and like different colours (Red, Blue, Green). X is not a doctor. The Engineer likes Blue. Y likes Red and is not the Engineer. Z is the Doctor. Find each person's profession and colour.
Z = Doctor (given) → X ≠ Doctor (given) → X must be Engineer or Teacher
Y ≠ Engineer (given) and Y ≠ Doctor (Z is) → Y = Teacher
Remaining: X = Engineer
Engineer (X) likes Blue; Y likes Red (given) → Z gets the remaining colour, Green
Final: X = Engineer, Blue; Y = Teacher, Red; Z = Doctor, Green
💡 Exam Tip: When a puzzle has multiple attribute types (profession + colour + city, etc.), maintain one row per person with a column for each attribute — filling by elimination (marking "≠" for ruled-out combinations) is far more reliable than trying to hold combinations in your head.
✅ Practice Focus: Grid-based systematic solving (absolute clues → relative clues → elimination) · Floor/box-style single-variable puzzles · Multi-attribute puzzles solved with a person-attribute grid.