Yesterday afternoon my friend A treated a bunch of kids to a Harry Potter treasure hunt. He loosely based it on some of my puzzle hunts of yore.
I contributed the following logic problem to the endeavor:
Four members of the house of Slytherin have wands of different lengths, different woods, and different cores. From the clues below, can you determine who owns which wand?
- Draco Malfoy’s wand is longer than both the wand that contains the dragon heartstring and the wand that contains the veela hair, but shorter than the cherry wand.
- Salazar Slytherin’s wand is shorter than both the cherry wand and the elder wand, but longer than the wand that contains the dragon heartstring.
- Lucius Malfoy’s wand is longer than both the walnut wand and the wand that contains the unicorn hair.
- Bellatrix Lestrange’s wand is shorter than both the wand that contains the phoenix feather and the yew wand.
S O L U T I O N
| Slytherin | Wood | Core |
|---|---|---|
| Bellatrix | ||
| Draco | ||
| Lucius | ||
| Salazar |
The puzzle can be solved with only the information above. However, since this was aimed at youngsters, I provided two additional clues. Feel free to use them if you get stumped, or want to verify that your answer is correct:
- Both the longest wand and the shortest wand are made from the wood of trees that produce food.
- Neither the longest wand nor the shortest wand contain a hair.
I was pleased with how it turned out. Having exactly one clue per Slytherin struck me as elegant, it has a bit of a twist, and the challenge was about perfect for the target audience of fourth graders. The challenge of solving the puzzle, I mean. The challenge of writing about “wands” and “length” without making the target audience of fourth graders snicker uncontrollably was one I didn’t even bother to tackle.
If you want to post solutions or hints to this thread, please use the spoiler tag [spoiler]like so[/spoiler].
For instance, here is the “twist” I alluded to in the post (the revelation of which doubles as a solving hint): the puzzle is presented as if wand length is incidental to the solution, when in fact it is key.
Posted by Matthew on May 2nd, 2011.
This was the most productive thing I have done all day. I think it is time for me to pack it in and head home
Posted by Meadow on May 2nd, 2011.
I got it! And without using the supplementary hints too; that must mean I’m smarter than a fourth grader! (though just barely, I can say from personal experience).
Posted by Dan Achibald on May 2nd, 2011.
Geez, you make puzzle hunts but didn’t jump at my offer to check out the National Puzzlers’ League convention when we were in Seattle? You are a ninny.
Posted by Eric Berlin on May 2nd, 2011.
Ahhh! LSAT flashbacks.
Posted by dfinnecy on May 2nd, 2011.
Any chance we could see the rest of the treasure hunt prompts? Love HP and hunts – such a great idea!
Posted by Rachel on May 2nd, 2011.
Very nice puzzle. If you twig to the twist (or something equivalent) it’s a fast solve, but if you don’t, it’s hairy.
Posted by John Costello on May 2nd, 2011.
Bellatrix has the Walnut wand, with a Dragon Heartstring.
Draco has the Elder wand, with a Unicorn Hair in its core.
Lucius has the Cherry wand, with a Phœnix Feather.
Salazar has Yew wand, with a Veela Hair.
Posted by Bedroom on May 3rd, 2011.
I actually drew out that old logic puzzle grid from sixth grade so I could solve this. Took me a little while, and when I finished I realized I’d already solved it in scribbled notes off to the side. Logic 1, Paying Attention 0.
Posted by Rick on May 3rd, 2011.
What in the world is a logic puzzle grid? I admit I created a grid with names, length, wood, and core and then used the sidelines to name all the options which I crossed off as used. Then used what was left to make the answers. Is that the same thing? Regardless, I solved the puzzle! I am ready for 4th grade.
Posted by kerewin on May 3rd, 2011.
the most productive thing I have done all day.
Posted by çet on May 9th, 2011.
So that’s the twist! I though it must be that the owner of the elder wand is the only one who won the elder wand in book 7. (hint/HP7 spoiler)
Posted by AndrewF on May 18th, 2011.