Geography quiz
US states logic puzzle 3
25 cells, one answer each, all different. Two cells are given; every cell you solve shows a new clue about the others.
- Format
- Logic grid
- Items
- 23 cells
- Limit
- 16:00
- Level
- Hard
- Checked
- 2026.10.03
The rules as listed below.
- Grid
- 5 by 5, 23 to solve
- Time limit
- 16:00
- Wrong answer
- A strike; 3 end the round
- Pick a cell and type its state. Every cell you solve shows a new clue about other cells.
- Cells are named like chess squares: the letter is the column, the number is the row.
- Not sure yet? Add a name to a cell as a note. Notes are never checked and never cost a strike.
- Keyboard: Alt and an arrow key moves between cells, Enter answers, Shift and Enter adds a note.
- Pause whenever you like (Esc). The board hides while the clock is stopped.
Work out the state in every cell from the clues. The grid appears when you start.
About this quiz
Fifty states, one grid. Each clue ties a cell to others by borders, population, area or the date a state joined the Union, and only one arrangement of states fits them all.
- Any of the 50 states could be in a cell, and no answer appears twice.
- River boundaries count as borders; states that meet only at a point or across water are never called neighbours or strangers.
- A clue only says one state has more people or more area than another when it is at least a fifth larger.
- For the 13 original states, joining the Union means ratifying the Constitution.
Sources
- [1]US Census Bureau. State population totals and components of change: 2020 to 2025.
- [2]US Census Bureau. State area measurements and internal point coordinates.
- [3]Congressional Research Service. Admission of States to the Union: A Historical Reference Guide (R47747).
- [4]US Census Bureau. Cartographic Boundary Files.
- [5]US Census Bureau. County adjacency file.
Note on the data. Populations (1 July 2025 estimates), areas and admission dates are the Census Bureau and Congressional Research Service figures in the shared state list, read on 3 October 2026. Borders were computed on 3 October 2026 from the Census Bureau cartographic boundary files and compared with the bureau's county adjacency file; the five pairs of states that meet only at a point or across water are never used in a clue. A clue compares two figures only when one is at least a fifth larger. The puzzle was generated from a fixed seed and proved to have exactly one solution that can be reached from the given cells by elimination alone.
Last checked October 3, 2026
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