Puzzles for SBI PO: Quick Answer
Puzzles and seating arrangement are the largest part of the SBI PO Reasoning section in both Prelims and Mains. The types you must master are linear seating, circular seating, parallel-row seating, floor puzzles, box (stack) puzzles, month/year scheduling, day-wise scheduling, comparison (ranking) puzzles and two-variable puzzles. The method is the same for all: draw the frame, place the definite clues first, branch on the two-way clues into cases, and use the negative clues ("not", "neither") to kill cases.
Key takeaway: Read all clues once, start with the clue that fixes a position (an end, a top floor, a named month), and never guess. Keep cases side by side and strike out a case the moment a clue breaks it.
Each of the 10 puzzles below is original and was checked by a Python brute-force search over every possible arrangement, so each has exactly one solution with the clues as written.
Types of Puzzles Asked in SBI PO
| Puzzle type | What it looks like | Prelims / Mains |
|---|---|---|
| Linear seating (one direction) | 6-8 people in a row, all facing north or south | Both |
| Linear seating (mixed direction) | Some face north, some south | Mostly Mains |
| Circular seating | 6-8 people around a table, facing the centre or outside | Both |
| Square / rectangular table | People at corners and sides | Both |
| Parallel-row seating | Two rows facing each other | Both |
| Floor puzzle | People on floors 1 to 7 or 8, sometimes with flats | Both |
| Box / stack puzzle | Boxes placed one above another | Both |
| Month / year scheduling | Events in months or years | Both |
| Day / week scheduling | Lectures or meetings on days of the week | Both |
| Comparison (ranking) | Heights, weights, marks | Prelims |
| Two-variable puzzle | Person + colour / city / car | Mains |
How to Solve Puzzles for SBI PO (Step-by-Step Method)
- Draw the frame first. A line of numbered seats, a circle, a floor table, a month column.
- Mark directions. Facing north, right is east. Facing south, right is west. Facing the centre of a circle, your left is clockwise and your right is anticlockwise.
- Place the definite clues. "C sits at the left end", "J lives on the top floor".
- Attach relative clues to placed people. "A sits immediately right of E".
- Branch, do not guess. If a clue allows two positions, draw Case 1 and Case 2.
- Use negative clues last to eliminate cases.
- Fill the remaining person and re-check every clue before answering.
Direction rules table for seating arrangement
| Facing | Immediate right | Immediate left |
|---|---|---|
| North (row) | Seat to the east | Seat to the west |
| South (row) | Seat to the west | Seat to the east |
| Centre (circle) | Next seat anticlockwise | Next seat clockwise |
| Outside (circle) | Next seat clockwise | Next seat anticlockwise |
Linear Seating Arrangement Puzzle for SBI PO
Puzzle 1: Six people in a row facing north
Six people A, B, C, D, E and F sit in a row, all facing north.
- C sits at the left end.
- One person sits between C and E.
- A sits immediately to the right of E.
- F sits immediately to the right of B.
Solution:
- C is at seat 1 (left end).
- One person between C and E puts E at seat 3.
- A is immediately right of E, so A is at seat 4.
- Seats 2, 5 and 6 remain. B and F must be adjacent with F on B's right, so B = 5 and F = 6.
- D takes seat 2.
| Seat (left → right) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | C | D | E | A | B | F |
Sample question: Who sits second to the left of A? D (seats 4 → 3 → 2).
Circular Seating Arrangement Puzzles for SBI PO
Puzzle 2: Six people around a circle facing the centre
P, Q, R, S, T and U sit around a circular table facing the centre.
- Q sits immediately to the right of P.
- S sits opposite P.
- T sits immediately to the left of S.
- U is not an immediate neighbour of S.
Solution: Fix P. Facing the centre, P's right is the next seat anticlockwise, so Q sits there. S is opposite P (3 seats away). T is immediately left of S, the next seat clockwise from S. Two seats remain, one next to S and one next to P. U cannot sit beside S, so U sits beside P and R sits beside S.
Final order going clockwise from P: P, U, R, S, T, Q.
Sample question: Who sits opposite U? Going clockwise, U is 1 seat from P, so its opposite is 4 seats from P: T.
Puzzle 3: Eight people around a circle facing the centre
A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H sit around a circular table facing the centre.
- E sits opposite A.
- B sits second to the right of A.
- C sits immediately to the left of E.
- G sits third to the left of B.
- D is an immediate neighbour of A.
- F is an immediate neighbour of G.
Solution:
- Number the seats 0 to 7 clockwise and put A at 0. E is opposite, at 4.
- B is second to the right (anticlockwise) of A: seat 6.
- C is immediately left (clockwise) of E: seat 5.
- G is third to the left (clockwise) of B: 6 → 7 → 0 → 1, so G is at seat 1.
- A's neighbours are seats 1 and 7. Seat 1 is G, so D is at seat 7.
- Seats 2 and 3 remain for F and H. F must be next to G (seat 1), so F = 2 and H = 3.
Final order going clockwise from A: A, G, F, H, E, C, B, D.
Sample question: Who sits immediately to the right of E? E's right is anticlockwise, seat 3: H.
Parallel Row Seating Arrangement Puzzle for SBI PO
Puzzle 4: Two rows facing each other
Eight people sit in two rows of four. In Row 1, A, B, C and D face south. In Row 2, P, Q, R and S face north, so each person faces one person of the other row.
- B sits at the extreme east end of Row 1.
- R faces B.
- Q sits immediately to the left of R.
- D sits immediately to the right of A.
- S faces A.
- C does not sit at the west end.
Solution:
- B is at the east end of Row 1, so R (facing B) is at the east end of Row 2.
- Row 2 faces north, so Q, immediately left of R, is to R's west.
- Row 1 faces south, so "right" is west. D is immediately west of A.
- In Row 1 the three western seats hold A, C and D, with D directly west of A. That gives two cases from the west: D-A-C or C-D-A. C cannot be at the west end, so the order is D, A, C, B.
- S faces A (second from west), Q faces C, so P takes the west end of Row 2.
| Position (west → east) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 (facing south) | D | A | C | B |
| Row 2 (facing north) | P | S | Q | R |
Sample question: Who faces D? P.
Floor Puzzle for SBI PO
Puzzle 5: Seven people on seven floors
J, K, L, M, N, O and V live on different floors of a 7-storey building. The ground floor is floor 1 and the top floor is floor 7.
- J lives on the top floor.
- K lives on an even-numbered floor.
- Two floors lie between K and M, and M lives above K.
- O lives below K.
- L lives immediately above N.
Solution:
- J is on floor 7.
- K is on 2, 4 or 6, and M is 3 floors above K, so K = 2 (M = 5) or K = 4 (M = 7, but 7 is J). So K = 2, M = 5.
- O lives below K, so O = 1.
- Free floors: 3, 4 and 6. L immediately above N needs two consecutive free floors: N = 3, L = 4.
- V takes floor 6.
| Floor | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | J | V | M | L | N | K | O |
Sample question: How many people live between O and L? Two (K and N).
Box Puzzle for SBI PO
Puzzle 6: Six boxes in a stack
Six boxes of different colours (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, White and Black) are placed one above another. Box 1 is at the bottom.
- Green is third from the bottom.
- One box lies between Red and Green, and Red is above Green.
- Yellow is immediately above Blue.
- White is at the top.
Solution: Green = 3, Red = 5, White = 6. Free positions: 1, 2 and 4. Blue and Yellow need two consecutive free positions, so Blue = 1, Yellow = 2. Black takes 4.
| Position (bottom → top) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Blue | Yellow | Green | Black | Red | White |
Sample question: Which box is immediately below Red? Black.
Month-Based Puzzle for SBI PO
Puzzle 7: Six people, six months
A, B, C, D, E and F each take an exam in a different month: January, March, May, July, September or November (in that order).
- D takes the exam in May.
- Only one person takes the exam between D and B, and B is after D.
- E takes the exam immediately after A.
- F takes the exam after C.
Solution: D = May. B is two slots after D: B = September. Free months: January, March, July, November. E immediately after A needs two consecutive free slots: A = January, E = March. C and F take July and November, with F after C: C = July, F = November.
| Month | Jan | Mar | May | Jul | Sep | Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | A | E | D | C | B | F |
Day-Based Scheduling Puzzle for SBI PO
Puzzle 8: Lectures from Monday to Saturday
G, H, I, J, K and L each give a lecture on a different day from Monday to Saturday.
- H lectures on Thursday.
- Two days lie between G's and H's lectures, and G is before H.
- K lectures immediately after H.
- L lectures immediately before H.
- J lectures after I.
Solution: H = Thursday, so G = Monday, K = Friday and L = Wednesday. Tuesday and Saturday remain for I and J; J is after I, so I = Tuesday, J = Saturday.
| Day | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | G | I | L | H | K | J |
Comparison (Ranking) Puzzle for SBI PO
Puzzle 9: Who is the tallest?
M, N, O, P and Q have different heights.
- M is taller than N.
- O is shorter than only P.
- Q is shorter than N.
- M is not the tallest.
Solution: "Shorter than only P" means P is the tallest and O is second. Then M, N and Q fill ranks 3 to 5, with M > N > Q.
Order (tallest → shortest): P > O > M > N > Q.
Sample question: Who is the third tallest? M.
Two-Variable Puzzle for SBI PO Mains
Puzzle 10: Five people, five days, five colours
A, B, C, D and E attend a class on a different day from Monday to Friday, and each likes a different colour among Red, Blue, Green, Pink and White.
- B attends on Wednesday.
- D attends the day after B.
- A does not attend on Monday.
- The person who likes Red attends on Friday.
- A does not like Red.
- C likes Green.
- D likes Pink.
- B does not like Blue.
Solution:
- B = Wednesday, D = Thursday.
- A is not on Monday, so A is on Tuesday or Friday. Friday's person likes Red and A does not, so A = Tuesday.
- C and E take Monday and Friday. C likes Green, but Friday's person likes Red, so C = Monday, E = Friday (Red).
- Blue and White remain for A and B. B does not like Blue, so B = White, A = Blue.
| Day | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | C | A | B | D | E |
| Colour | Green | Blue | White | Pink | Red |
Common Mistakes in SBI PO Puzzles
| Mistake | How to avoid it |
|---|---|
| Mixing up left and right when facing south or the centre | Use the direction rules table above before placing anyone |
| Reading "two floors between" as "two floors above" | Two floors between K (2) and M means M = 5, a gap of 3 |
| Treating "shorter than only P" as "shortest except P" | It means P is first and this person is second |
| Guessing when a clue gives two options | Draw both cases; one will break later |
| Forgetting to re-check every clue at the end | Read each clue against the final table once |
Puzzles for SBI PO: FAQs
How many puzzle questions come in SBI PO Prelims?
SBI does not publish a topic-wise breakdown. In recent papers, puzzles and seating arrangement together make up the largest share of the 35-question Reasoning section, usually in sets of 5 questions.
Which puzzles are most asked in SBI PO?
Floor puzzles, box puzzles, circular and linear seating, parallel-row seating and scheduling (months or days) are the most frequent types in recent SBI PO papers.
How can I solve puzzles faster in SBI PO?
Start from the clue that fixes a position, write cases side by side instead of guessing, and practise one full puzzle set daily under time limits.
What is the difference between Prelims and Mains puzzles in SBI PO?
Mains puzzles usually have more people (8-10), more variables (colours, cities, ages) and mixed directions, so they need more cases and more time.
Is seating arrangement part of puzzles in SBI PO?
Yes. Seating arrangement is usually counted with puzzles, and both use the same case-based method shown above.
Practice Next: SBI PO Puzzle and Seating Arrangement Tests
- Fresh puzzle sets (floor, day and box): IBPS RRB PO Puzzle Mock Test 04 and IBPS RRB Clerk Puzzle Mock Test 03.
- SBI PO Puzzle and Seating Arrangement Test 01
- SBI PO Puzzle and Seating Arrangement Test 02
- SBI PO Puzzle and Seating Mock Test 07
- SBI PO Prelims Mock Test 1: Reasoning Puzzles
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