The Xmas Puzzles 2024

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!