👀 Picture Riddles

Riddles with pictures, for curious eyes

Picture Riddles is a free game of visual brain teasers. There's almost nothing to read: you look at a picture, think about what you see and choose your answer. Which shape is different? Which shadow fits? Which line leads to the star? How many cubes are in the stack, counting the ones you can't see? It's a great fit for younger children and anyone who prefers pictures to words, and it runs in your browser with no download.

Four kinds of visual brain teaser

Look Closely asks you to count shapes in a busy scatter and to spot the odd one out among four nearly identical pictures. Shadows and Mirrors asks you to match a picture to its outline, and then to imagine it flipped in a mirror, which is a surprisingly hard thing to do. Tangled Lines gives you four strings that twist across each other, and you have to follow one with your eyes to see where it ends up. Later on, all the lines are the same colour. Cube Stacks asks you to count a pile of blocks, including any that are hidden behind or under the others. Every set has 20 riddles, and they get harder as you go.

Why visual puzzles matter

Being able to picture things and turn them around in your head is called spatial thinking. Researchers have linked it to success in math, science and engineering, and, unlike what many people assume, it's a skill you can improve with practice. Puzzles like mirror images and block counting are direct practice for it. They also help with attention: you can't solve a tangled line by rushing, so children learn to slow down and look properly.

Tips for solving picture riddles

Use your finger. Tracing a tangled line or pointing at each shape as you count isn't cheating. It's what good solvers do. Check the outline first. When matching a shadow, look at the most unusual part of the shape, such as a fin or a pointed roof, and then look for it among the answers. Picture the mirror. A mirror image swaps left and right, but what's on top stays on top. If you're unsure, hold your hand next to the screen and think about what its reflection does. Count cubes column by column. Start at the top of each pile and count down to the ground, because a cube can't float, so there must be something holding it up.

Picture riddles for class and for home

Use these buttons to print all the riddles as a worksheet, with or without the answers. They work well for mixed-age groups, for children still learning to read, and for students who are new to English. Try asking children to explain how they know: "How did you find it?" is often more useful than the answer itself. A round of ten riddles takes about five minutes, so it's easy to fit in before lunch or at the end of a lesson.

A round for every age

Children from about five can enjoy the counting and shadow riddles with a little help, especially in the no-clock mode. Older children and adults will find the later riddles harder than they look. The mirror images catch many grown-ups out, and the biggest cube stacks need real concentration. Because the pictures are generated by a computer from a fixed set, everyone gets the same riddles, so a family can compare scores and talk about the ones they found tricky. When you've finished one set, the next one opens up with the stars you've earned.

A quick guide to each riddle type

Counting: pick one shape to look for, and move your eyes in rows, as if you were reading a page. It's easy to count the same shape twice if your eyes jump around. Odd one out: don't try to take in all four at once. Compare just two pictures, then the next two. The difference may be a flip, a small turn or a slightly smaller size. Shadows: ignore the colour, because the shadow has none, and look only at the outline. Mirrors: imagine folding the screen down the middle. Whatever was pointing left now points right, and the top stays on top. Tangled lines: go slowly at each crossing, and keep going in the same direction, the way a real string would. Cubes: count the tops first, then add what must be underneath them. Practising each type on its own, in the no-clock mode, is the fastest way to improve, and you'll soon start spotting the tricks straight away.

More brain games

If you like looking closely, try IQ Puzzle Challenge or Picture Logic. For riddles with words, try Rebus Puzzles or What Am I?. Every puzzle is on the Brain Games page.

Free and safe

Picture Riddles is free to play, with no download, no sign-up and nothing to buy. There is no chat, and your stars are saved only on your own device. See the Parents & Safety page for more.

Frequently asked questions