Puzzles PYQs for UPSC (2011-2024) | Solved Questions & PDF Download

Master Puzzles for UPSC with solved Previous Year Questions (PYQs) from 2011 to 2024. This comprehensive guide provides step-by-step solutions, logical reasoning techniques, and a free downloadable PDF to help you crack all types of puzzle problems in UPSC CSAT.

Why Puzzles Matter in UPSC CSAT?

Puzzle questions are consistently asked in UPSC CSAT (Paper II) to test:

➡️ Your analytical and logical reasoning skills

➡️ Ability to interpret complex information

➡️ Skills in pattern recognition and problem-solving

This page covers all puzzle PYQs categorized by type with solving strategies.

Types of Puzzle Questions in UPSC

1. Logical Arrangement Puzzles

➡️ Seating arrangements (circular/linear)

➡️ Floor-based puzzles

➡️ Scheduling problems

2. Mathematical Puzzles

➡️ Number/letter sequences

➡️ Age-based problems

➡️ Weight/measurement puzzles

3. Visual Reasoning Puzzles

➡️ Pattern identification

➡️ Figure-based problems

➡️ Mirror/water image questions

4. Verbal Logic Puzzles

➡️ Syllogisms

➡️ Statement-conclusion problems

➡️ Direction-based puzzles

Year-Wise Puzzle PYQs (2011-2024)

Read the following passage and answer the 3 (three) items that follow:

In a survey regarding a proposed measure to be introduced, 2878 persons took part of which 1652 were males. 1226 persons voted against the proposal of which 796 were males. 1425 persons voted for the proposal. 196 females were undecided.

Q1. How many females voted for the proposal? [CSAT 2011]

(a) 430

(b) 600

(d) 640

Q2. How many males were undecided? [CSAT 2011]

(a) 31

(b) 227

(d) 581

Q3. How many females were not in favour of the proposal? [CSAT 2011]

(a) 430

(b) 496

(d) 1226

Q4. Read the passage given below and the two statements the follow (given on the basis of the passage): Four men and waiting at Delhi airport for a Mumbai flight. Two are doctors and other two are businessman. Two speak Gujarati and two speak Tamil. No two of the same profession speak the same language. Two are Muslims and two are Christians. No two of the same religion are of the same profession, nor do they speak same language. The Tamil speaking doctor is Christian. [CSAT 2012]

1. The Christian-businessman speaks Gujarati.

2. The Gujarati-speaking doctor is a Muslim. Which of the above statements is/are correct conclusion/conclusions?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Q5. Three persons A, B and C wore shirts of black, blue and orange colours (not necessarily in that order) and pants of green, yellow and orange (not necessarily in that order). No person wore shirt and pants of the same colour. Further, it is given that [CSAT 2012]

1. A did not wear shirt of black colour.

2. B did not wear shirt of blue colour.

3. C did not wear shirt of orange colour.

4. A did not wear pants of green colour.

5. B wore pants of orange colour.

What were the colours of the pants and shirt worn by C, respectively?

(a) Orange and black

(b) Green and blue

(d) Yellow and black

Q6. Ten new TV shows started in January - 5 sitcoms, 3 drama and 2 news magazines. By April, only seven of the new shows were still on, five of them being sitcoms.

Based on the above information, four conclusions, as given below, have been made. Which one of these logically follows from the information given above? [CSAT 2012]

(a) Only one news magazine show is still going on.

(b) Only one of the drama shows is still on.

(d) Viewers prefer sitcoms over drama.

Q7. Only six roads A, B, C, P, Q and R connect a military camp to the rest of the country. Only one out of A, P, and R are open at any one time. If B is closed so is Q. Only one of A and B is open during storms. P is closed during floods. In the context, which one of the following statements is correct? [CSAT 2012]

(a) Under normal conditions only three roads are open.

(b) During storms at least one road is open.

(d) During calamities all roads are closed.

Q8. In five flats, one above the other, live five professionals. The professor has to go up to meet his IAS officer friend. The doctor is equally to all, and has to go up as frequently as go down. The engineer has to go up to meet his MLA friend above whose flat lives the professor's friend. From the ground floor to the top floor, in what order do the five professionals live? [CSAT 2012]

(a) Engineer, Professor, Doctor, IAS officer, MLA.

(b) Professor, Engineer, Doctor, IAS officer, MLA.

(d) Professor, Engineer, Doctor, MLA, IAS officer.

Directions for the following 5 (five) items:

Examine the information given in the following paragraph and answer the items that follow:

Guest lectures on five subjects viz., Economics, History, Statistics, English and Mathematics have to be arranged in a week from Monday to Friday. Only one lecture can be arranged on each day. Economics cannot be scheduled on Tuesday; Guest faculty for History is available only on Tuesday. Mathematics lecture has to be schedules immediately after the day of Economics lecture. English lecture has to be scheduled immediately before the day of Economics lecture.

Q9. Which lecture is scheduled on Monday? [CSAT 2012]

(a) History

(b) Economics

(d) Statistics

Q10. Which lecture is scheduled between Statistics and English? [CSAT 2012]

(a) Economics

(b) History

(d) No lecture

Q11. Which lecture is the last one in the week? [CSAT 2012]

(a) History

(b) English

(d) Economics

Q12. Which lecture is located scheduled on Wednesday? [CSAT 2012]

(a) Statistics

(b) Economics

(d) History

Q13. Which lecture is scheduled before the Mathematics lecture? [CSAT 2012]

(a) Economics

(b) History

(d) English

Directions for the following 3 (three) items:

Read the following passage and answer the three items that follow:

A tennis coach is trying to put together a team of four players for the forthcoming tournament. For this 7 players are available: males A, Band C; and females W, X, Y and Z. All players have equal capability and at least 2 males will be there in the team. For a team of four, all players must be able to play with each other. But, B cannot play with W, C cannot play with Z and W can not play with Y.

Q14. If Y is selected and B is rejected, the team will consist of which one of the following groups? [CSAT 2013]

(a) A, C, W and Y

(b) A, C, X and Y

(d) A, W, Y and Z

Q15. If B is selected and Y is rejected, the team will consist of which one of the following groups? [CSAT 2013]

(a) A, B, C and W

(b) A, B, C and Z

(d) A, W, Y and Z

Q16. If all the three males are selected, then how many combinations of four member teams are possible? [CSAT 2013]

(a) 1

(b) 2

(d) 4

Directions for the following 4 (four) items:

Read the following statements and answer the four items that follow:

Five cities P, Q, R, S and T are connected by different modes of transport as follows:

P and Q are connected by boat as well as rail.

S and R are connected by bus and boat.

Q and T are connected by air only.

P and R are connected by boat only.

T and R are connected by rail and bus.

Q17. Which mode of transport would help one to reach R starting from Q, but without changing the mode of transport?

[CSAT 2013]

(a) Boat

(b) Rail

(d)Air

Q18. If a person visits each of the places starting from P and gets back to P, which of the following places must he visit twice? [CSAT 2013]

(a) Q

(b) R

(d) T

Q19. Which one of the following pairs of cities is connected by any of the routes directly without going to any other city? [CSAT 2013]

(a) P and T

(b) T and S

(d) None of these

Q20. Between which two cities among the pairs of cities given below are there maximum travel options available? [CSAT 2013]

(a) Q and S

(b) P and R

(d) Q and R

Q21. The music director of a film wants to select four persons to work on "different aspects of the composition of a piece of music. Seven persons are available for this work; they are Rohit, Tanya Shobha, Kaushal, Kunal, Mukesh and Jaswant. Rohit and Tanya will not work together. Kunal and Shobha will not work together. Mukesh and Kunal want to work together.

Which of the following is the most acceptable group of people that can be selected by music director? [CSAT 2013]

(a) Rohit, Shobha, Kunal and Kaushal.

(b) Tanay, Kaushal, Shobha and Rohit.

(d) Shobha, Tanya, Rohit and Mukesh.

Directions for the following 3 (three) items:

Examine carefully the following statements and answer the three items that follows:

Out of four friends A, B, C and D.

A and B play football and cricket,

B and C play cricket and hockey.

A and D play basketball and football,

C and D play hockey and basketball.

Q22. Who does not play hockey? [CSAT 2013]

(a) D

(b) C

(d) A

Q23. Who plays football, basketball and hockey? [CSAT 2013]

(a) D

(b) C

(d) A

Q24. Which game do B, C and D play? [CSAT 2013]

(a) Basketball

(b) Hockey

(d) Football

Q25. A, B, C, D and E belong to five different cities P, Q, R, S and T (not necessarily in that order). Each one of them comes from a different city. Further it is given that [CSAT 2013]

1. B and C do not belong to Q.

2. B and Edo not belong to P and R.

3. A and C do not belong to R, S and T.

4. D and E do not belong to Q and T.

Which one of the following statements is not correct?

(a) C belongs to P

(b) D belong to R

(d) B belongs to S

Q26. Seven men, A, B, C, D, E, F and G are standing in a queue in that order. Each one is wearing a cap of a different colour like violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. D is able to see in front of him green and blue, but not violet. E can see violet and yellow, but not red. G can see caps of all colours other than orange. If E is wearing an indigo coloured cap, then the colour of the cap worm by F is [CSAT 2013]

(a) Blue

(b) Violet

(d) Orange

Q27. Six books are labelled A, B, C, D, E and F and are placed side by side. Books B, C, E and F have green covers while others have yellow covers. Books A, B and D are new while the rest are old volumes. Books A, B and Care law reports while the rest are medical extracts. Which two books are old medical extracts and have green covers? [CSAT 2014]

(a) B and C

(b) E and F

(d) C and F

Q28. A question paper must have a question on one of the eight poets: A, B, C, D, E, F, G or H. The first four belong to the medieval period while the rest are considered modern poets. Generally, modern poets figure in the question paper in alternate years. Generally those who like H like G also; and those who like F like E also. The paper-setter does not like to ask about F as he has written a book on F, but he likes F. Last year, the paper contained a question on A. On the basis of the information given, this year's paper is most likely to contain a question on [CSAT 2014]

(a) C

(b) E

(d) H

Q29. Examine the following statements: [CSAT 2014]

1. George attends Music classes on Monday.

2. He attends Mathematics classes on Wednesday.

3. His Literature classes are not on Friday.

4. He attends History classes on the day following the day of his Mathematics classes.

5. On Tuesday, he attends his Sports classes.

If he attends just one subject in a day and his Sunday is free, then he is also free on

(a) Monday

(b) Thursday

(d) Friday

Q30. In a group of six women there are four dancers, four vocal musicians, one actress and three violinists. Girjija and Vanaja are among the violinists while Jalaja and Shailaja do not know how to play on the violin. Shailaja and Tanuja are among the dancers. Jalaja, Vanaja, Shailaja and Tanuja are all vocal musicians and two of them are also violinists. If Pooja is an actress, who among the following is certainly a dancer and a violinist? [CSAT 2014]

(a) Jalaja

(b) Pooja

(d) Tanuja

Q31. Consider the following statements: [CSAT 2015]

1. A man had a wife, two sons and two daughters in his family.

2. The daughters were invited to a feast and the male members of the family went out to take part in a picnic.

3. The man's father did not return from his work. Which of the following statements is true?

(a) Only the man's wife was left at home.

(b) It is likely that the man's wife was left at home.

(d) More than one person was left at home.

Q32. Two men, Anil and David, and two women, Shabnam and Rekha are in a sales group. Only two speak Tamil. The other two speak Marathi. Only one man and one woman can drive a car. Shabnam speaks Marath. Anil speaks Tamil. Both Rekha and David can drive. [CSAT 2015]

Which of the following statements is true?

(a) Both the Tamil speakers can drive a car.

(b) Both the Marathi speakers can drive a car.

(d) One those who can drive a car speaks Tamil.

Q33. A society consists of only two types of people fighters and cowards. Two cowards are always enemies. A fighter and a coward are always enemies. Fighters are indifferent to one another. If A and B are enemies, C and D are friends, E and F are indifferent to each other, A and E are not enemies, while B and Fare enemies. Which of the following statements is correct? [CSAT 2015]

(a) B, C and F are cowards.

(b) A, E and F are fighters.

(d) A and F are in different categories.

Q34. Four friends A, B, C and D need to cross a bridge. A maximum of two persons can cross it at a time. It is night and they just have one lamp. Persons that cross the bridge must carry the lamp to find the way. A pair must walk together at the speed of slower person. After crossing the bridge, the person having faster speed in the pair will return with the lamp each time to accompany another person in the group. Finally, the lamp has to be returned at the original place and the person who returns the lamp has to cross the bridge again without lamp. To cross the bridge, the time taken

by them is as follows: A: 1 minute, B: 2 minutes, C: 7 minutes and D: 10 minutes. What is the total minimum time required by all the friends to cross the bridge? [CSAT 2016]

(a) 23 minutes

(b) 22 minutes

(d) 20 minutes

Directions for the following 3 (three) items:

Consider the given information and answer the three items that follow.

When three friends A, B and C met, it was found that each of them wore an outer garment of a different colour. In random order, the garments are: jacket, sweater and tie; and the colours are: blue, white and black. Their surnames in random order are: Ribeiro, Kumar and Singh. Further, we know that:

1. Neither B nor Ribeiro wore a white sweater.

2. C wore a tie.

3. Singh's garment was not white.

4. Kumar does not wear a jacket,

5. Ribeiro does not like to wear the black colour

6. Each of the friends wore only one outer garment of only one colour.

Q35. What is C's surname? [CSAT 2016]

(a) Ribeiro

(b) Kumar

(d) Cannot be determined

Q36. What is the colour of the tie? [CSAT 2016]

(a) Black

(b) Blue

(d) Cannot Determined

Q37. Who wore the sweater? [CSAT 2016]

(a) A

(b) B

(d) Cannot determined

Direction for the following 3 (three) items:

Consider the given information and answer the three items that follow.

Six boxes A, B, C, D, and F have been painted with six different colours viz., violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow and orange and arranged from left to right (not necessarily either kept or painted with the colours in the same order). Each box contains a ball of any one of the following six games: cricket, hockey, tennis, golf, football and volleyball (not necessarily in the same order). The golf ball is in violet box and is not in the box D. The box A which contains tennis ball is orange in colour and is at the extreme right. The hockey ball is neither in box D nor in box E. The box C having cricket ball is painted green. The hockey ball is neither in the box painted blue nor in the box painted yellow. The box C is fifth from right and next to box B. The box B contains volleyball. The box containing the hockey ball is between the boxes containing golf ball and volleyball.

Q38. Which one of the following boxes contains the golf ball? [CSAT 2016]

(a) F

(b) E

(d) None of the above

Q39. Which of the following statements is/are correct? [CSAT 2016]

(a) D is painted yellow

(b) F is painted indigo

(d) All of the above

Q40. The football is in the box of which colour? [CSAT 2016]

(a) Yellow

(b) Indigo

(d) Blue

Q41. In a group of six women, there are four tennis players, four postgraduates in Sociology, one postgraduate in Commerce and three bank employees. Vimala and Kamla are the bank employees while Amala and Komala are unemployed. Komala and Nirmala are among the tennis players. Amala, Kamla, Komala and Nirmala are postgraduates in Sociology of whom two are bank employees. If Shyamala is a postgraduate in Commerce, who among the following is both a tennis player and a bank employee? [CSAT 2017]

(a) Amala

(b) Komala

(d) Shyamala

Directions for the following 3 (three) items:
Consider the given information and answer the three items that follow.

Eight railway stations A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H are connected either by two-way passages or one-way passages. One-way passages are from C to A, E to G, B to F, D to H, G to C, E to C and H to G. Two-way passages are between A and E, G and B, F and D, and E and D.

Q42. While travelling from C to H, which one of the following stations must be passed through? [CSAT 2017]

(a) G

(b) E

(d) F

Q43. In how many different ways can a train travel from F to A without passing through any station more than once?

[CSAT 2017]

(a) 1

(b) 2

(d) 4

Q44. If the route between G and C is closed, which one of the following stations need not be passed through while travelling from H to C? [CSAT 2017]

(a) E

(b) D

(d) B

Directions for the following 3 (three) items:

Consider the given information and answer the three items that follow.

A, B, C, D, E, F and G are Lecturers from different cities Hyderabad, Delhi, Shillong, Kanpur, Chennai, Mumbai and Srinagar (not necessarily in the same order) who participated in a conference. Each one of them is specialized in a different subject, viz., Economics, Commerce, History, Sociology, Geography, Mathematics and Statistics (not necessarily in the same order). Further

1. Lecturer from Kanpur is specialized in Geography.

2. Lecturer D is from Shillong.

3. Lecturer C from Delhi is specialized in Sociology.

4. Lecturer B is specialized in neither History nor Mathematics.

5. Lecturer A who is specialized in Economics does not belong to Hyderabad.

6. Lecturer F who is specialized in Commerce belongs to Srinagar.

7. Lecturer G who is specialized in Statistics belongs to Chennai.

Q45. Who is specialized in Geography? [CSAT 2017]

(a) B

(b) D

(d) Cannot be determined as data are inadequate

Q46. To which city does the Lecturer specialized in Economics belong? [CSAT 2017]

(a) Hyderabad

(b) Mumbai

(d) Cannot be determined as data are inadequate

Q47. Who of the following belongs to Hyderabad? [CSAT 2017]

(a) B

(b) E

(d) Cannot be determined as data are inadequate

Q48. In a school, there are five teachers A, B, C, D and E. A and B teach Hindi and English. C and B teach English and Geography. D and A teach Mathematics and Hindi. E and B teach History and French. Who teaches maximum number of subjects? [CSAT 2017]

(a) A

(b) B

(d) E

Directions for the following 6 (six) items:

Read the information given below and answer the six items that follow.

A, B, C and D are students. They are studying in four different cities, viz., P, Q, R and S (not necessarily in that order). They are studying in Science college, Arts college, Commerce college and Engineering college (not necessarily in that order), which are situated in four different States, viz., Gujarat, Rajasthan, Assam and Kerala (not necessarily in that order). Further, it is given that:

(i) D is studying in Assam.

(ii) Arts college is located in city S which is in Rajasthan.

(iii) A is studying in Commerce college.

(iv) B is studying in city Q.

(v) Science college is located in Kerala.

Q49. A is studying in [CSAT 2018]

(a) Rajasthan

(b) Gujarat

(d) Kerala

Q50. Science college is located in[CSAT 2018]

(a) City Q

(b) City S

(d) City P

Q51. C is studying in [CSAT 2018]

(a) Science college

(b) Rajasthan

(d) City Q

Q52. Which one of the following statements is correct? [CSAT 2018]

(a) D is not studying in city S.

(b) A is studying in Science college.

(d) Engineering college is located in Gujarat.

Q53. Which one of the following statements is correct regarding Engineering College? [CSAT 2018]

(a) C is studying there.

(b) B is studying there.

(d) D is studying there.

Q54. Which one of the following statements is correct? [CSAT 2018]

(a) Engineering college is located in Assam.

(b) City Q is situated in Assam.

(d) B is studying in Gujarat.

Q55. Lakshmi, her brother, her daughter and her son are badminton players. A game of doubles is about to begin:

[CSAT 2018]

(i) Lakshmi's brother is directly across the net from her daughter.

(ii) Her son is diagonally across the net from the worst player's sibling.

(iii) The best player and the worst player are on the same side of the net.

Who is the best player?

(a) Her brother

(b) Her daughter

(d) Lakshmi

Directions for the following 3 (three) items:

Read the following information and answer the three items that follow:

Six students A, B, C, D, E and F appeared in several tests. Either C or F scores the highest. Whenever C scores the highest, then E scores the least. Whenever F scores the highest, B scores the least. In all the tests they got different marks; D scores higher than A, but they are close competitors; A scores higher than B; C scores higher than A.

Q56. If F stands second in the ranking, then the position of B is [CSAT 2019]

(a) Third

(b) Fourth

(d) Sixth

Q57. If B scores the least, the rank of C will be [CSAT 2019]

(a) Second

(b) Third

(d) Second or third

Q58. If E is ranked third, then which one of the following is correct? [CSAT 2019]

(a) E gets more marks than C

(b) C gets more marks than E

(d) D is ranked fifth

Q59. Seven books P, Q, R, S, T, U and V are placed side by side. R. Q and T have blue covers and other books have red covers. Only S and U are new books and the rest are old. P. R and S are law reports; the rest are Gazetteers. Books of old Gazetteers with blue covers are [CSAT 2021]

(a) Q and R

(b) Q and U

(d) T and U

ANSWER KEY
1. B	30. D
2. A	31. B
3. A	32. D
4. C	33. B
5. B	34. A
6. C	35. A
7. B	36. B
8. D	37. A
9. D	38. B
10. B	39. B
11. C	40. C
12. C	41. C
13. A	42. B
14. B	43. D
15. C	44. C
16. B	45. A
17. A	46. B
18. B	47. B
19. D	48. B
20. A	49. B
21. C	50. A
22. D	51. B
23. A	52. A
24. B	53. D
25. D	54. A
26. C	55. A
27. B	56. C
28. B	57. D
29. D	58. B
	59. C

Download Puzzles PYQs PDF

➡️ Download the complete set of Puzzle PYQs (2011-2024) with solutions in PDF format.
➡️ Click Here to Download PDF

FAQs on Puzzle Problems for UPSC

1. How many puzzle questions appear in CSAT?

➡️ Typically 4-5 questions annually in CSAT Paper II.

2. What are the most common puzzle types?

➡️ Seating arrangements (30%)

➡️ Scheduling/timetable (25%)

➡️ Classification puzzles (20%)

➡️ Direction-based (15%)

➡️ Mixed puzzles (10%)

3. Any time-saving tips?

✔️ Solve visual puzzles first (usually quicker)

✔️ For seating arrangements, fix definite positions first

✔️ Use abbreviations to save time

✔️ Skip and return to complex puzzles if stuck

Conclusion

Mastering Puzzle PYQs can significantly boost your CSAT score. This page provides:

✅ All PYQs from 2011-2024

✅ PDF with 100+ solved puzzles

✅ Proven solving methodologies

For more UPSC preparation resources, explore iassetu.com. Happy learning!