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Puzzle No6 – Max Matches
Puzzle No6 - Max Matches
Here at Design for Need we love problem solving. Can you solve this week's puzzle - Max Matches?
19th October 2017 - Design for Need, Puzzle
By Matt McClumpha
Hello and welcome back to our puzzles series. We are now on our second to last puzzle of the series! This week you are trying to work out the maximum amount of match boxes on the table with the help of your friend. I hope you’re good at maths because this week has a lot of it, good luck!
The Problem
Hint 1 - From looking at B’s description, you can see the match boxes are long, therefore you can narrow down which side B is looking at the boxes.
Hint 2 - With the knowledge that B can only be viewing the matches from two sides, you can multiply each pile with the layers with one of the sides (you may need a piece of paper).
Hint 3 - Once you multiplied each of the layers and piles, add them up and this should give you the total number from that perspective. Now do this for the other possible side, remember we want the maximum number of match boxes.
The Solution
The maximum total number of matches is 21! By multiplying each pile with each layer and then adding them up, you can work out which side has the maximum number of matches. I hope you enjoyed this little brain teaser and I’ll see you again for the final puzzle of the series!
Matt McClumpha
When I’m not designing our latest innovation or working on our website, I occasionally like to write blogs. Whether it be about our project work abroad, designing for international development or even a selection of intriguing puzzles for you to solve.