Puzzle Question Types with Example for LIC AAO

When preparing for the LIC AAO exam, the Reasoning Ability section is one of the most crucial areas to focus on. Among all reasoning topics, puzzles hold a significant weightage and can make or break your performance. Candidates who are comfortable with puzzles often find it easier to score high in the reasoning section. However, without proper practice and understanding of puzzle types, it can also become time-consuming. This blog will guide you through the major puzzle types asked in LIC AAO, explain how to approach them, and provide a solved example for better clarity.

Importance of Puzzles in LIC AAO Exam

In the LIC AAO Prelims Reasoning Section, puzzles carry a weight of around 10 to 15 marks. Since prelims have only 35 questions in reasoning, these marks can be a score booster. In the Mains exam Reasoning section, puzzles and seating arrangements together form the backbone of the paper. The examiner checks your ability to think logically, maintain accuracy, and manage time through puzzle-based questions. Thus, mastering this topic is not optional but mandatory for every aspirant.

Most Asked Puzzle Types in LIC AAO Exam

Based on the Previous Year’s Exam questions, puzzles in the LIC AAO exam come in various forms, each testing a different logical skill. The most frequently asked types include arrangement puzzles, where candidates arrange people or objects in a row or in a circle. Other common types are floor-based puzzles, where residents live on different floors, and scheduling puzzles, where events or people are arranged across days, weeks, or months. Additionally, order and ranking-based puzzles test relative relationships like age, height, or marks. Along with these, grid matrix-based puzzles and shelf-based puzzles are asked in exams. Practicing all these variations of puzzles is essential to scoring well in the exam. Let’s discuss the major types of puzzles below.

Box-based puzzle 

A box-based puzzle is a logic puzzle where several boxes (or positions) each hide a unique item (or have unique attributes). You’re given a set of clues about which box contains which item (or weight, color, label, etc.). Using elimination, deduction, and chaining of clues you fill a grid (or table) to find the unique placement for every box.

Typical solving techniques: make a table (boxes vs. attributes), mark possibilities and impossibilities, use direct clues first, then use relative/conditional clues (A is before/after B, heavier/lighter than, not/only, either/or), and chain deductions until each slot is fixed.

Solved example (step-by-step)
There are four boxes labelled A, B, C and D. Each contains exactly one coin: a Penny, a Nickel, a Dime or a Quarter. From the clues below, find which coin is in each box.

Clues:

1. The Dime is in a box whose label comes after the box containing the Penny (i.e., Dime’s box is later alphabetically than Penny’s).
2. The Nickel is in box B.
3. The Quarter is not in box D.
4. The Penny is not in box C.
5. Box A does not contain the Dime.

Step-by-step approach

1. From clue 2 we immediately place Nickel → B. (Fixed)
2. From clue 4, Penny ≠ C. From clue 5, Dime ≠ A.
3. Clue 1 says Dime’s box index > Penny’s box index (alphabetical order A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4). That means the Penny must be in a box earlier than the Dime.
4. Since Nickel is in B, Penny cannot be B. Penny also cannot be C (clue 4). So Penny must be in A or D.
   • If Penny were in D, there is no later box for the Dime (D is last). That would violate clue 1. So Penny cannot be D.
   • Therefore Penny → A.
5. With Penny in A, Dime must be in a box later than A, so Dime can be B, C, or D. But B already has Nickel, so Dime is either C or D.
6. Clue 3 says Quarter is not in D. So if Dime were in D, Quarter cannot go in D — but Dime in D would leave only C for Quarter and B is Nickel and A is Penny — still possible. We must check consistency:
   • Try Dime → C: then remaining coin for D is Quarter — but clue 3 forbids Quarter in D. So Dime cannot be C.
   • Therefore Dime → D.
7. With Dime in D and Nickel in B and Penny in A, the only remaining coin for box C is Quarter → C.
8. Verify clue 3: Quarter is not in D (it’s in C) – satisfied. All clues satisfied.

Final Solution

Floor Based Puzzle

Floor-based puzzles are very common in LIC AAO. Candidates are given information about people living on different floors of a building, often along with other variables like professions or hobbies.

Example Question:

A building has five floors numbered 1 to 5 (ground floor is 1). Five people A, B, C, D, and E live on different floors. D lives on the top floor. B lives immediately below C. A does not live on the first floor. E lives two floors above A.

Solution Approach:

• Start with D on floor 5.
• B lives just below C, so (B, C) pair is fixed together.
• Since E lives two floors above A, check positions that satisfy this.
• The arrangement is: A–1, C–2, B–3, E–4, D–5.

Floor puzzles require careful step-by-step elimination. In the exam, always make tables to keep track of information.

Scheduling Puzzle

Scheduling puzzles involve people assigned to different days, months, or time slots. These questions are usually asked in the LIC AAO mains exam.

Example Question:

Seven employees attend training sessions on different days of the week starting from Monday to Sunday. R attends on Wednesday. T attends the day before R. Q attends the last day. S attends immediately after R. P attends before T but not on Monday.

Solution Approach:

• Place R on Wednesday and T on Tuesday.
• Q is on Sunday and S on Thursday.
• P comes before Tuesday but not on Monday, so P is on Saturday (previous week).
• Final schedule: Monday – U, Tuesday – T, Wednesday – R, Thursday – S, Friday – V, Saturday – P, Sunday – Q.

Scheduling puzzles test your sequential reasoning and ability to track multiple constraints.

Grid (matrix) puzzle 

A grid (matrix) puzzle gives you several items that must be matched across two or more categories (for example: Person ↔ Pet ↔ City). You solve it by drawing a matrix (grid) for each pair of categories, marking possibilities and impossibilities, and using the clues to eliminate options until every item has a unique match in each category.

Quick solving techniques: set up cross-check grids, mark ✔ for confirmed pairs and X for impossible pairs, use direct clues first, then indirect/relative clues, and frequently cross-reference grids to propagate eliminations.

Solved example (step-by-step)

Four friends — Amit, Binita, Charu, and Deepak — each bought a different fruit (Apple, Banana, Cherry, Date) and live in four different cities (Agra, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi). Use the clues to find which person bought which fruit and lives in which city.

Clues:

1. The person from Agra bought a Cherry.
2. Amit does not live in Chennai and did not buy Banana.
3. Binita bought a Date.
4. The person who lives in Delhi bought an Apple.
5. Charu lives in Bhopal.
6. Deepak did not buy Cherry.

Step 1 — make grids

We need two 4×4 grids:

• Persons (rows) vs Fruits (columns)
• Persons (rows) vs Cities (columns)

Rows/columns: Amit, Binita, Charu, Deepak | Apple, Banana, Cherry, Date | Agra, Bhopal, Chennai, Delhi.

Step 2 — apply direct clues

• From clue 3: Binita → Date. (Fruit fixed)
• From clue 5: Charu → Bhopal. (City fixed)
• From clue 1: Agra → Cherry. So whoever lives in Agra bought Cherry.
• From clue 4: Delhi → Apple. So whoever lives in Delhi bought Apple.
• From clue 6: Deepak ≠ Cherry.
• From clue 2: Amit ≠ Chennai, Amit ≠ Banana.

Step 3 — combine clues and eliminate

We know fruits are unique and cities are unique.

Since Binita bought Date, Date is taken.

Agra’s fruit is Cherry. So the person who has Cherry lives in Agra. Deepak did not buy Cherry, so Cherry belongs to one of Amit, Binita, Charu — but Binita has Date, Charu is in Bhopal, so check possibilities:

• Could Charu have Cherry? If Charu had Cherry, then Charu lives in Agra (clue 1) but clue 5 says Charu lives in Bhopal. So Charu cannot have Cherry.
• Binita has Date, so she can’t have Cherry.
• Therefore, Amit must have Cherry, and since Cherry ↔ Agra, Amit → Agra.

So far: Amit — Cherry — Agra; Binita — Date — (city unknown); Charu — (fruit unknown) — Bhopal; Deepak — (fruit unknown) — (city unknown).

From clue 4: Delhi → Apple. Remaining fruits are Apple and Banana for Charu and Deepak (since Amit=Cherry, Binita=Date). But Amit is Agra, Charu is Bhopal, so Delhi and Chennai remain for Binita and Deepak (cities remaining: Chennai, Delhi). Amit is not Chennai (already Agra), clue 2 also said Amit ≠ Banana (we used Cherry), so OK.

Consider Deepak: Deepak ≠ Cherry (clue 6) — already handled. Could Deepak be Apple? If Deepak bought Apple, he’d live in Delhi (clue 4). Then binita would have Chennai (only city left). Is that consistent with Amit’s constraints? Yes (Amit is Agra, not Chennai). Any contradictions? Check Amit: clue 2 says Amit does not live in Chennai (good). So two possible assignments appear: Deepak → Apple/Delhi and Binita → Date/Chennai OR Deepak → Banana/Delhi and Binita → Date/Chennai? Wait fruit-city links must match.

Let’s deduce carefully: Remaining fruits: Apple, Banana. Remaining cities: Chennai, Delhi — for Binita and Deepak.

Clue 2: Amit did not buy Banana, we already gave Amit Cherry. No more restriction.

But clue 4 forces whoever is in Delhi to have Apple. So if Deepak were in Delhi he must have Apple. Alternatively, if Binita were in Delhi she must have Apple — but Binita’s fruit is Date, so Binita cannot be in Delhi. Therefore Binita ≠ Delhi. So Binita must be in Chennai.

So remaining city Delhi must be Deepak’s city. From clue 4, Delhi → Apple, so Deepak → Apple.

Then remaining fruit for Charu is Banana (only fruit left), and remaining city for Binita we set Chennai already. Check Amit: Amit we set Agra and Cherry earlier.

Let’s list final matches:

• Amit — Cherry — Agra
• Binita — Date — Chennai
• Charu — Banana — Bhopal
• Deepak — Apple — Delhi

Check all clues:

1. Agra bought Cherry — Amit in Agra has Cherry. OK.
2. Amit not Chennai and not Banana — Amit is Agra and Cherry. OK.
3. Binita bought Date — satisfied.
4. Delhi buyer bought Apple — Deepak in Delhi has Apple. OK.
5. Charu lives in Bhopal — satisfied.
6. Deepak did not buy Cherry — he bought Apple. OK.

Final grid 

Shelves Puzzle

A shelves puzzle is a type of logical reasoning problem (commonly asked in LIC AAO and other bank/insurance exams) where a certain number of books or objects are arranged on different shelves, usually one above another. The challenge is to determine the exact order of placement using given clues.
Clues are generally based on positions like above, below, immediately above, exactly between, not on the top/bottom shelf, etc.

Solved Example

There are 5 shelves in a rack (numbered 1 to 5 from bottom to top). Five different books – English, Maths, Science, History, and Geography – are placed one on each shelf. Use the clues below to find out which book is on which shelf.

Clues:

1. The English book is on the shelf immediately above the Science book.
2. The Maths book is not on the top shelf.
3. The History book is on the bottom shelf.
4. The Geography book is above the Maths book but not on the top shelf.
5. Science is not on the bottom shelf.

Step 1 – Apply direct clues

• From clue 3: History → Shelf 1 (bottom).
• From clue 5: Science ≠ Shelf 1.
• From clue 1: English is immediately above Science → positions must be consecutive (e.g., Science on 2 → English on 3).

Step 2 – Test placements for Science & English

Possible Science-English pairs:

• Science 2 → English 3
• Science 3 → English 4
• Science 4 → English 5

Step 3 – Use other conditions

• Clue 2: Maths ≠ Shelf 5 (not top).
• Clue 4: Geography is above Maths but not on Shelf 5 → So Geography could be 3 or 4, Maths must be below it.

Step 4 – Elimination

Case 1: Science 2 → English 3

• Then shelves filled: 1=History, 2=Science, 3=English. Left: Maths, Geography for shelves 4 and 5.
• But Geography ≠ Shelf 5 (clue 4), so Geography = Shelf 4 → Maths = Shelf 5. Contradiction (Maths cannot be top). 

Case 2: Science 3 → English 4

• Shelves: 1=History, 3=Science, 4=English. Left: Maths, Geography for 2 and 5.
• Geography is above Maths (clue 4). So if Maths=2 → Geography=5. Works fine.

Case 3: Science 4 → English 5

• Shelves: 1=History, 4=Science, 5=English. Left: Maths, Geography for 2 and 3.
• Geography above Maths, but only shelf 3 above 2 possible. So Maths=2, Geography=3. Works too.

But check clue 4: “Geography not on top shelf” – satisfied in both.

Step 5 – Which case is correct?

We must pick the arrangement that doesn’t violate any clue. Both case 2 and case 3 look valid, but let’s recheck:

• In Case 3, if Science=4 and English=5, then Maths=2, Geography=3. All clues satisfied.
• In Case 2, if Science=3 and English=4, Maths=2 and Geography=5. But clue 4 says “Geography is above Maths but not on the top shelf.” Geography=5 → top shelf. So Case 2 invalid.

Thus only Case 3 is correct.

Final Arrangement (Bottom → Top)

Tips to Solve Puzzles Quickly in LIC AAO

Start with direct clues and use them as anchors. Draw diagrams or tables instead of solving mentally. Avoid guesswork, as puzzles have only one correct solution. Practice variations with two variables (like circular + profession). Focus on accuracy first in practice sessions, then increase speed. Take topic-wise tests regularly. Make a habit of reviewing your notes on a regular basis. Attempt PracticeMock’s Live Mock Tests for speed practice. By following these tips, you can learn to solve reasoning puzzles with speed and accuracy in LIC AAO exam. 

Conclusion 

Puzzles in LIC AAO are not just about reasoning but also about smart time management. Candidates should aim to practice all types of puzzles like seating arrangement, box, floor, scheduling, grid matrix and shelves puzzle to build confidence. In prelims, focus on solving the easier puzzles first, while in mains, expect layered puzzles with multiple variables in the exam. Regular practice with mocks, rank boosters, and previous year paper tests will give you an edge over others. With accuracy and patience, puzzles can become your scoring area in LIC AAO 2025.

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