Binary Puzzles for Kids: How to Start (Printable Sample)

A binary puzzle for kids works best when the grid is small, the rules are said out loud and the first digit is found together. A binary puzzle is a grid that you fill with two symbols, 0 and 1, so that no symbol appears three times in a row, each line has as many 0s as 1s, and no two lines are the same. This page explains how to introduce it, which LogikLand level to start with, and gives a 4 x 4 starter to draw by hand.

Why binary puzzles suit children

There is nothing to read and nothing to calculate. A child compares neighbours: "these two are the same, so the next one must be different". The only counting is up to three on the smallest printed level. Every step can be seen on the page, so a child can explain why a cell has to be a 0 or a 1. That explanation is the real skill, and it is the same one used in Sudoku.

What LogikLand offers for beginners

LogikLand has no separate children's edition of the Binary Puzzle assistant. The assistant is the same for every reader, and it has four levels set by the size of the grid.

For young solvers we suggest Easy only. That is our suggestion, not a rule. Note that you cannot choose the number of digits given: in our sample the Easy puzzles had between 6 and 12. Print a page and try it yourself before you hand it over, as the puzzles with fewer digits are more demanding.

A 4 x 4 starter to draw on paper

Draw a 4 x 4 square, copy the five digits below and explain the three rules. This puzzle is small enough to solve in two minutes. We checked it by listing all 72 grids that obey the three rules: exactly one of them contains these five digits.

Five steps

1. The sandwich. Row 2 has a 1 in column 2 and a 1 in column 4. The cell between them cannot be a 1: that would make three 1s in a row (columns 2, 3 and 4). It is a 0.
2. The same sandwich in a column. Column 2 has a 1 in row 2 and a 1 in row 4, so the cell between them, row 3, is a 0.
3. Count. Row 2 now has two 1s, and a 4-cell line holds two. Its last empty cell, column 1, is a 0.
4. The twin 0s. Column 1 starts 0, 0. Two 0s side by side mean that row 3 of the column is a 1.
5. Count again. Column 1 has one 1 and needs two, so its last cell, row 4, is a 1. The other six empty cells follow in the same way.

The words "sandwich" and "twin" are ours, chosen to be easy to say. LogikLand's how-to-play pages call them "a gap between two identical digits" and "two identical digits side by side".

The first 6 x 6

This is an Easy puzzle from the LogikLand generator. It has 12 digits given, the most we found in a sample of 80 Easy puzzles, so it makes a gentle first printed puzzle.

Start with the two 0s at the bottom of column 1, in rows 5 and 6. They are twins, so row 4 of column 1 is a 1. In row 2, the two 0s in columns 2 and 3 are twins, so columns 1 and 4 of that row are 1s. Then column 1 has a 1 in rows 2 and 4 with one empty cell between them, a sandwich: row 3 is a 0. Four cells found, and every new cell makes new sandwiches and twins.

Ways to play it with a child

• Colours. Our suggestion: draw the grid and use two colours instead of 0 and 1. The rules are the same, and the printed LogikLand pages use digits, so it also shows that the symbols do not matter.
• Say why. For every cell, ask "how do you know?". One sentence is enough: "because two 0s are next to it".
• Pencil first. Digits you are sure of go in ink or firm pencil, ideas go in light pencil.
• Check at the end. Run a finger along each row and column and count: three 0s, three 1s. Then look for three in a row.

Making a book for young solvers

LogikLand has no free single-puzzle tool for binary puzzles. Create a free account to make a book with the Binary Puzzle assistant. Choose Easy, add the "How to play" page in its detailed version, which has a worked 6 x 6 example, and decide how many puzzles go on a page. With 1 or 2 puzzles per page the squares are larger, which helps small hands. The assistant allows 1, 2 or 4 puzzles per page and 1, 2, 4 or 6 solutions per page.

Questions