Floor Puzzle Questions for Bank Exams: The Short Answer
A floor puzzle places people (and often a second detail like a colour, city or company) on the floors of a building and asks who lives where. The core method is simple: draw the floors as a vertical table with the lowest floor at the bottom, fix the clues that name an exact floor first, open two cases for every "between" or "top or bottom" clue, and use the negative clues to delete cases. Remember that the bottom floor is floor 1 (or ground floor 0 if the question says so), and "two persons live between X and Y" means their floor numbers differ by 3.
Key takeaway: Floor and flat puzzles are one of the most common puzzle types in IBPS Clerk, SBI Clerk and IBPS RRB prelims, usually as a 5-question set. Solve them in a fixed order: exact floors → linked people → "between" cases → second attribute → negative clues. Both solved sets below were checked by a program that tried every possible arrangement, so each has exactly one answer.
If you have already revised our linear seating arrangement questions for bank exams, floor puzzles will feel familiar: a building is just a vertical row.
What Is a Floor Based Puzzle in Reasoning?
| Variant | What it looks like | Exams |
|---|---|---|
| Single building, one person per floor | 6 to 9 floors, one name each | IBPS Clerk, SBI Clerk prelims |
| Floor + one attribute | Each person also has a colour, city, company or month | IBPS Clerk, RRB, SBI Clerk |
| Floor + flat (two flats per floor) | Flat A and Flat B on each floor, flat A west of flat B | SBI PO, IBPS PO prelims |
| Unknown number of floors | "Some floors are vacant" or total floors not given | IBPS PO, SBI PO, mains |
All four use the same rules; only the size of the table changes.
Floor Puzzle Rules: Above, Below and Between
Write floor numbers in a column, highest at the top. Then use this table.
| Clue | Meaning in floor numbers |
|---|---|
| X lives immediately above Y | X = Y + 1 |
| X lives immediately below Y | X = Y − 1 |
| X lives two floors above Y | X = Y + 2 |
| X lives somewhere above Y | X > Y (any higher floor) |
| Only one person lives between X and Y | X and Y differ by 2 (either can be higher) |
| Two persons live between X and Y | X and Y differ by 3 |
| X lives on an even-numbered floor | 2, 4, 6, 8 … |
| X lives on the topmost floor | X = n |
| X lives either on the top or the bottom floor | Two cases: X = n or X = 1 |
| Not on the top or bottom floor | X is between 2 and n − 1 |
Default rule: the lowest floor is floor 1 and the floor above it is floor 2. If the question says "ground floor is numbered 0" or "basement", adjust before you start.
How to Solve Floor Puzzles Quickly (Step-by-Step Trick)
- Draw the table. One row per floor, highest at the top; columns for name and each attribute.
- Place exact clues first. "Q lives on floor 4", "Red is on the lowest floor".
- Attach linked people. "G lives immediately above B" goes wherever B goes.
- Open cases on purpose. "D lives on an even floor above floor 4" gives floors 6 and 8: draw Case 1 and Case 2 side by side.
- Test the "between" clues in each case. One case usually breaks here.
- Fill the second attribute after names are nearly fixed.
- Apply negative clues last ("F does not live on the top floor", "U does not like Blue").
- Re-read every clue against the final table before you answer.
A clean 8-floor set should take 4 to 6 minutes in the exam; with practice, 3 to 4 minutes.
Floor Puzzle Questions with Answers (Solved Puzzles)
Puzzle 1: Eight floors, one person per floor (IBPS Clerk style)
Eight persons A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H live on different floors of an 8-floor building. The lowest floor is floor 1 and the top floor is floor 8.
- D lives on an even-numbered floor above floor 4.
- Only two persons live between D and B.
- G lives immediately above B.
- A lives either on the topmost floor or on the lowest floor.
- Only three persons live between A and G.
- H lives two floors below E.
- C lives on a floor below F.
- F does not live on the topmost floor.
Solution.
- Clue 1: D is on floor 6 or 8. Make two cases.
- Case 1 (D = 8): B = 5 (clue 2), G = 6 (clue 3). Clue 5 needs A on floor 6 + 4 = 10 or 6 − 4 = 2. Neither is the top or bottom floor (clue 4). Case 1 fails.
- Case 2 (D = 6): B = 3 (floor 9 does not exist), G = 4. Clue 5: A = 8 (floor 0 does not exist). A is on the top floor, so clue 4 holds.
- Floors left: 1, 2, 5, 7. Clue 6: E and H must be two apart, so E = 7 and H = 5.
- Floors 1 and 2 are left for C and F. Clue 7: C below F, so C = 1, F = 2. Clue 8 holds.
| Floor | Person |
|---|---|
| 8 | A |
| 7 | E |
| 6 | D |
| 5 | H |
| 4 | G |
| 3 | B |
| 2 | F |
| 1 | C |
Questions
- Who lives on the floor immediately below D? H.
- How many persons live between F and E? Floors 3 to 6, so 4.
- Who lives on the lowest floor? C.
- Which pair lives on adjacent floors: (a) A and D (b) B and G (c) F and H (d) C and B? (b) B and G.
Puzzle 2: Six floors with a second detail (SBI Clerk / IBPS RRB style)
Six persons P, Q, R, S, T and U live on six floors of a building (floor 1 is the lowest). Each likes a different colour: Red, Blue, Green, Pink, White and Black.
- Q lives on floor 4.
- Only one person lives between Q and T.
- S lives on some floor above T.
- U lives neither on the top floor nor on the lowest floor.
- The person who likes Green lives immediately above Q.
- The person who likes Red lives on the lowest floor.
- Only one person lives between the persons who like Blue and Red.
- R lives on a floor below P.
- S likes White.
- U does not like Blue.
- The person who likes Pink lives above the person who likes Black.
Solution.
- Clue 1: Q = 4. Clue 2: T = 2 or 6. Clue 3: S must be above T, so T cannot be 6. T = 2.
- Clue 5: Green is on floor 5. Clue 6: Red is on floor 1. Clue 7: Blue is on floor 3.
- Clue 9: S likes White, so S cannot be on floors 1 (Red), 3 (Blue) or 5 (Green). S is above T, so S = 6.
- Floors 1, 3 and 5 remain for P, R and U. Clue 4: U is on 3 or 5. Clue 10: U does not like Blue (floor 3), so U = 5 (Green).
- Clue 8: R below P, so R = 1 (Red) and P = 3 (Blue).
- Pink and Black remain for Q (floor 4) and T (floor 2). Clue 11: Pink above Black, so Q likes Pink, T likes Black.
| Floor | Person | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | S | White |
| 5 | U | Green |
| 4 | Q | Pink |
| 3 | P | Blue |
| 2 | T | Black |
| 1 | R | Red |
Questions
- Who likes Blue? P.
- Which colour does the person immediately below Q like? Blue (P on floor 3).
- How many persons live above the person who likes Black? 4 (P, Q, U, S).
- Who lives between R and P? T.
Unknown Number of Floors (IBPS PO and SBI PO Pattern)
Some puzzles do not give the number of floors. Treat it as a counting problem first.
Example. Some persons live on different floors of a building, one per floor. A lives on floor 3. Four persons live between A and B, and B lives above A. Only two persons live above B. How many floors are there? B = 3 + 5 = 8. Two persons above B means floors 9 and 10. Total = 10 floors.
Tips for this type:
- Find the person with the most fixed position (an exact floor number) and build outwards.
- Count "persons between" carefully: four persons between means a gap of five floors.
- When some floors are vacant, mark them with a dash so you do not count them as persons.
Floor and Flat Puzzles (Two Flats per Floor)
In the flat variant, each floor has Flat A (west) and Flat B (east), and Flat A of one floor is directly above Flat A of the floor below.
| Clue | Meaning |
|---|---|
| X lives in the same flat type as Y | Both in A or both in B |
| X lives directly above Y | Same flat type, one floor higher |
| X lives to the east of Y | Same floor, X in Flat B, Y in Flat A |
| X lives diagonally above Y | One floor higher, different flat |
Draw two columns (A | B) instead of one and apply the same step-by-step method. Treat "directly above" and "immediately above" carefully: in flat puzzles, "immediately above" usually means the floor just above, in either flat, unless the question states otherwise. Read the instructions for each set.
Common Mistakes in Floor Puzzles
- Numbering from the top. Floor 1 is the lowest unless stated.
- Treating "two persons between" as a difference of 2. It is a difference of 3.
- Keeping only one case for "top or bottom" or "even floor above 4".
- Filling attributes too early. Fix names first, attributes second.
- Ignoring the last negative clue. "F does not live on the top floor" is often the case-breaker.
- In flat puzzles, confusing "directly above" (same flat type) with "diagonally above".
Quick Revision Table: Floor Puzzle Tricks
| Clue type | Rule |
|---|---|
| Immediately above / below | ± 1 |
| k persons between | Difference k + 1, both directions possible |
| Somewhere above / below | Greater / smaller, any distance |
| Even / odd floor | Restrict the floor set first |
| Top or bottom | Two cases |
| Not at top or bottom | Floors 2 to n − 1 |
| Unknown floors | Build from the person with an exact floor |
| Flat puzzles | Two columns; check "directly" vs "diagonally" |
Floor Puzzle Practice Questions with Answers
- In Puzzle 1, who lives on the floor exactly in the middle between C and E (floors 1 and 7)? Answer: G (floor 4).
- In Puzzle 1, how many persons live above D? Answer: 2 (E and A).
- In Puzzle 1, if all persons on odd-numbered floors move one floor up and those on even-numbered floors move one floor down, who will live on floor 8? Answer: E. E moves from floor 7 to floor 8.
- In Puzzle 2, who likes Green? Answer: U.
- In Puzzle 2, how many floors are there between the persons who like Red and White? Answer: 4 floors (2, 3, 4 and 5).
- In Puzzle 2, which of these is true: (a) T likes Pink (b) S lives immediately above U (c) P likes Red (d) R lives on floor 2? Answer: (b). S is on floor 6, U on floor 5.
- A building has 7 floors. X lives on floor 2 and Y lives three floors above X. How many persons live between X and Y (one per floor)? Answer: 2 (floors 3 and 4).
- In a building, M lives on floor 5. Only one person lives between M and N, and N lives above M on the topmost floor. How many floors does the building have? Answer: 7. N = 5 + 2 = 7, and N is on the top floor.
- In a 9-floor building, K lives on an odd floor above floor 5 and two persons live between K and L, with L below K. Which floors can L be on? Answer: 4 or 6. K = 7 or 9, so L = 4 or 6.
- In a flat puzzle, X lives in Flat A of floor 3 and Y lives directly above X. Where does Y live? Answer: Flat A of floor 4.
Timed practice: the IBPS Clerk Puzzle and Seating Arrangement Test 01 and SBI Clerk Puzzle and Seating Arrangement Test 02 include floor-based sets.
Floor Puzzle FAQs
How do you solve floor based puzzles quickly?
Draw the floors with the lowest at the bottom, place exact clues first, attach linked people, open two cases for every "between" or "top or bottom" clue, add the second attribute, and use negative clues last to delete cases.
Is floor 1 the top or the bottom floor?
The bottom. In bank exam puzzles the lowest floor is numbered 1 and the numbers increase upwards, unless the question says the ground floor is 0.
What does "two persons live between A and B" mean in a floor puzzle?
A and B are three floors apart, with exactly two floors between them. Either A or B can be higher unless another clue fixes it.
How many floor puzzle questions come in IBPS Clerk?
A floor or flat puzzle often appears as one set of about 5 questions in the reasoning section of IBPS Clerk and SBI Clerk prelims. The exact puzzle types change every year.
What is the difference between floor puzzles and box puzzles?
They work the same way. Box puzzles stack boxes instead of floors, and the same above, below and between rules apply.
How do you handle an unknown number of floors?
Start with the person whose floor is fixed, build upwards and downwards using the between and above clues, and count the total only after all persons are placed.
Practice Next
- New puzzle tests with a floor, a day-based and a box puzzle set: IBPS RRB PO Puzzle Mock Test 04 and IBPS RRB Clerk Puzzle Mock Test 03.
- More floor, box, day and circular sets, each with exactly one solution: IBPS PO Puzzle & Seating Mock Test 04 and IBPS Clerk Puzzle & Seating Mock Test 03.
- Mock tests: IBPS Clerk Puzzle and Seating Arrangement Test 02, SBI Clerk Puzzle and Seating Arrangement Test 01 and IBPS PO Puzzle and Seating Arrangement Test 01.
- New IBPS PO puzzle set (floor, box, day and mixed-facing circle, each checked for exactly one solution): IBPS PO Puzzle & Seating Mock Test 03.
- Related notes: linear seating arrangement questions for bank exams, circular seating arrangement tricks, order and ranking questions for bank exams and input output reasoning for SBI PO, plus box puzzle questions for bank exams, plus blood relation questions for bank exams.
- Exam details: SBI Clerk 2026 notification.
- Browse all study notes.