The Xmas Puzzles 2024

29 Jan 2025: Winners announced, and solutions released!

Dr Tim Paulden (RSS Quizmaster) writes...

We were delighted to receive no fewer than 44 entries to the 2024 RSS Christmas Quiz - a record in recent memory! The quality of submissions was so high that in addition to the main donation prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, the other teams / entrants who finished inside the top 12 will also receive a small donation of £15 to their nominated charity or good cause.

The list of this year's main winners appears below, and the solutions PDF (which also contains the complete list of prizewinners, including those in the 'top 12') can be accessed via the blue button below. (If you'd like to open the original PDF of puzzles before seeing the solutions, simply click on one of the orange buttons further down the page.) Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any queries / corrections regarding the solutions!

RSS Christmas Quiz 2024: Our winning teams

 
First place (£150 donation)
Oliver Church and Liam Hughes - Nominated charity: Doctors Without Borders
 
Second place (£120 donation)
Susannah Williams and Benedict Howell - Nominated charity: The Brain Tumour Charity
 
Joint third place (3 × £30 donation)

Andrea Chlebikova and Oscar Gillespie - Nominated charity: Animal Aid
Gerad Carter, Rosie Barron, and Molly Barron - Nominated charity: St Catherine's Hospice
 James Taverner and Mattias Andersson - Nominated charity: Shelter

Click the blue button above to view the solutions PDF!

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17 Dec 2024: Puzzles now live!

Dr Tim Paulden (RSS Quizmaster) writes...

The twelve brain-bending puzzles below (click on the orange button to open the PDF) have just been published as 'Section B' of the Royal Statistical Society and Significance Magazine's 2024 Christmas Quiz.

This is no ordinary 'quiz' though! Solving these puzzles will require a mix of general knowledge, ingenuity, lateral thinking, and searching skills, and you are encouraged to use the internet (and all other tools and resources at your disposal) to help crack them.

This year, the competitive / prize-winning aspects of the puzzles will be administered by the quizmaster via this website (www.TheXmasPuzzles.com). The top three entries received by the deadline (20:00 GMT on Sunday 5 January 2025) will win a donation of £150 (1st) / £120 (2nd) / £90 (3rd) to a charity or good cause of the team's / solver's choice. The names of all our prize-winners will also be published on this website.

For detailed instructions and solving tips, please see page 2 in the PDF of puzzles, which can be accessed by clicking either of the orange buttons below, or visiting the Royal Statistical Society website (from 17 December onwards) or Significance website (from 18 December onwards).

Hope you enjoy grappling with these challenging puzzles over the festive break - and wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Top three entries win a charity donation!

If your submission is one of the top three entries, you will win a donation of £150 (1st) / £120 (2nd) / £90 (3rd) to a charity or good cause of your choice!

Submit your entry by Sunday 5 January 2025

The entry deadline is 20:00 GMT on Sunday 5 January 2025 – please refer to page 2 in the PDF of puzzles for detailed rules and solving tips

A very different kind of “Christmas Quiz

The twelve puzzles are designed to challenge your ingenuity and lateral thinking skills – so you are encouraged to use the internet (and all other tools at your disposal!)

Unwrap the 2024 puzzles here!

Ready for the challenge? Click on the orange button below to open the PDF with this year’s puzzles!