• Home
  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

My World Their Way

Screen free Activities & Ideas for Families | Hands on Learning Activities for kids

  • My World Their Way
  • At Home Learning
    • Math
    • Literacy
    • Science
    • STEM
  • Kids Activities
    • Art and Craft
    • Games
  • Books
    • Books for Kids
  • Parenting
  • PRINTABLES
    • Coloring Pages

5+ MatchStick Puzzles

Back in the days when matchsticks were available in every household, people used them not only to light the candles, but also to solve some lateral thinking puzzles with their friends. As time passed, lighters replaced match boxes, and somewhere along the line these “out of the box thinking” puzzles became lost. The matchstick puzzles in this article are great for keeping your kids entertained while waiting at restaurants using minimal materials. 

I introduced my kids to these brain teasers today, and together we worked through a couple. In some cases, they found solutions immediately, but in others it was more difficult. All in all, we had a great time exercising our brains. So, let’s get started.

MATCHSTICK PUZZLES WITH ANSWERS

Place the matchsticks on a table as shown below. Then ask your kids, if they can correct the equation by moving only 1 matchstick.

MatchStick Puzzle - Lateral thinking puzzles. Solving equations. Elementary aged kid puzzles

And the solution is to move the vertical matchstick from the addition operator to the number 6 to convert the number 6 to 8.

MatchStick Puzzle - Lateral thinking puzzles. Solving equations. Elementary aged kid puzzles

Lets try another example,

Can you move 2 matchsticks and reform the hoop in the same shape so that the ball is outside the hoop. 

MatchStick Puzzle - Lateral thinking puzzles. Ball inside the hoop. Ice in a glass

By moving the left matchstick downward parallel to the handle of the hoop and slightly moving the horizontal matchstick, all of the vertical matchsticks will be aligned properly.

MatchStick Puzzle - Lateral thinking puzzles. Ball outside of the hoop. Ice in a glass

Have your kids had fun solving the matchstick puzzles ? Then try some of these challenging ones below. If you do not have a matchstick, you can also use plastic drinking straws (cut them into smaller pieces), toothpicks or thin pretzel sticks, the options are endless. Have fun with these low cost brain teasers. 

ADDITIONAL MATCHSTICK PUZZLES


Rearranging Squares – Puzzles of this type suggest rearranging the matches in order to obtain a certain number of squares or triangles.


Changing Direction – Additionally, there are more creative challenges. For example, move a certain number of matches to make the animal or object in the picture look to the other side.


Order of Digits –  In these puzzles, the challenge is to rearrange a certain number of matchsticks to get the largest and smallest number possible using a number


Solve the equation – These matchstick puzzles are among the most popular. In this puzzle, the equation is not correct. The challenge is to move certain number of matchsticks to correct the equation.


Lateral thinking puzzles like matchstick puzzles are a great way to help your kids flex their problem-solving muscles. These types of puzzles can improve cognitive skills and help with creative thinking. Have you tried out any of these puzzles with your family? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.

Pin it for later.

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin8
8 Shares
«
»

Math 2

Subscribe

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Suzanne says

    November 7, 2019 at 11:09 am

    For the first puzzle, I solved it by taking a matchstick away from the six and adding it to the last four, to get 5+4=9.

    Reply
    • myWorldtheirway says

      November 7, 2019 at 11:38 am

      That is right Suzanne. There are couple of other combinations to solve this puzzle, can you also find them ?

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Get connected

Subscribe to our newsletter to get updates on all our latest product releases, sales, and some free goodies!

Hooked On Phonics

Search all of my posts

Categories

Our Privacy Policy

  • 20+ SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS
  • FREE PRINTABLES
  • Privacy Policy

Amazon Affiliate Disclosure

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

Footer

About the Designer

Follow on Instagram

Instagram post 18270364312104281 Instagram post 18270364312104281
GIVEAWAY CLOSED. Winner is @Teachingnextdoor . Con GIVEAWAY CLOSED. Winner is @Teachingnextdoor . Congratulations ! 
📣TPT is having a site wide sale on November 28th and November 29th , and I’d love to gift one of you with a $10 TPT gift card! 📣

To enter, simply:
Like this post
Follow me @myworldtheirway
Tag a friend
Comment below with an emoji

Bonus entries: 1 bonus entry for following me on TPT. Enter separate comment below for that 😄 (link in bio - Worksheets by Sush ) ⭐️

Check out my store during the sale- all my products will be on sale 🤩

Winner will be contacted by private messenger! Contest ends November 26th. Good luck!

( P.S. : Sale starts on November 28th at 12:01am ET and ends on Tuesday, November 29th at 11:59pm ET )

This contest is not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with Instagram or Facebook. Participants must be 18+. Contest ends on Saturday, Nov. 26th at 8 pm PST. Entries will be verified and a winner will be announced in time to shop the sale!
Make a Christmas Tree Tessellation. A fun math art Make a Christmas Tree Tessellation. A fun math art project to do with kids. #christmas2022
Who says #halloween has to be all about spooky thi Who says #halloween has to be all about spooky things ? Solve these fun rebus puzzle aka picture puzzle and get into the holiday spirit !

#halloween2022
#halloween
Recently, we decided to learn the different art fo Recently, we decided to learn the different art forms and techniques used by different artists by creating our own unique artwork using their methods. And what can be better choice to start with than using Eric Carle’s  art technique to create the vibrant and colorful bugs as illustrated in his most famous book ‘The very Hungry Caterpillar’ .  What will you create ?
As a math lover, all I see is a #fibonacci pattern As a math lover, all I see is a #fibonacci pattern in the spirals of Romanesco Broccoli. Math is everywhere around us. Love the variety of vegetables and fruits offered at #saratogafarmersmarket
🔸 WHY DOES A BALLOON AMPLIFY SOUND 🔸 When y 🔸 WHY DOES A BALLOON AMPLIFY SOUND 🔸

When you think of speakers, loud sounds are typically the first thing that comes to mind. Speakers have amplifiers built in to make sounds louder. But did you know that a balloon may also be used as an amplifier to boost the volume?

Find out how in this science experiment for kids! 

https://myworldtheirway.com/2022/01/balloon-amplifier/

#scienceexperimentsforkids #kidsactivities
🧩 NEW YEAR MATH PUZZLES 🧩 Put your math ski 🧩 NEW YEAR MATH PUZZLES 🧩

Put your math skills to the test with some fun new year’s activities. We've got puzzles and exercises to get you in the spirit for celebrating the holidays and kicking off the new year right by exercising your brain.

https://myworldtheirway.com/2022/01/new-year-2022-math-puzzles/

#newyear #puzzles #kidsactivities
🔸 LOGIC PUZZLE - FORK IN THE ROAD 🔸 A logic 🔸 LOGIC PUZZLE - FORK IN THE ROAD 🔸

A logician went on vacation to an island. There were two different tribes that lived on the island. One tribe always told the truth and one tribe always lied. When he reaches to a fork in the road, he must ask a local person which way to go to reach the village. The logician has no way of knowing if the person is telling the truth or lying. He pause for a bit, then asks only one question. He knows which path to take based on the response.

What question does he ask?

Let us know your answer in the comments or find out the answer here 

https://myworldtheirway.com/2021/12/fork-in-the-road-logic-puzzle/

  #puzzle #logicalpuzzle #kidsactivities
Follow on Instagram

Subscribe for Updates

Copyright © 2023 · Darling Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in