Web Puzzle Compendium – Free Online Puzzles for Everyone

All the best interactive puzzles. Great entertainment for puzzlers old and young

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, the One and Only

Web Puzzle Compendium!

This site is bundled in with my main site, Bosbury History Resource, but puzzles are another interest of mine. My name is Barry Sharples. I began creating these web pages around 2008 when I lived in Bosbury in Herefordshire, England. Since then I have found, adapted and even devised new puzzles. Now, I hope, it is the ultimate puzzle collection.

From the beginning I was determined that the puzzles would be colourful and appeal to all puzzlers, young and old. I have included the history of a lot of the puzzles and solutions so that you know that there is truly an answer.

I have read lots of puzzle books, in particular Sam Loyd and Henry Dudeney. Both written in the early 1900s. I found some good puzzle ideas in them. CodePen helped with useful animations.

To date (August 2026) there are over 100 puzzles with over 250 choices. For example there are eight Sudoku puzzles and ten crossword puzzles.

So there you are. That’s my story (so far). I do hope you enjoy the puzzles.

25 Handbags Puzzle

For a stylish start here is a selection of handbags to puzzle over.

Acorns Puzzle

The squirrel needs help gathering all the acorns in the oak wood.

Akif’s Puzzle

An elegant puzzle to solve in the smallest number of moves.

Alcuin’s River Puzzles

Simple puzzles from possibly the earliest book of puzzles.

All Change Puzzle

A simple puzzle to turn the board from all orange to all blue.

Ancient Greek Puzzles

The oldest arithmetical puzzles from Greece but easy to solve.

Archipelago

Aka “Islands” and “Bridges”. Link all the islands by bridges.

Arrows Maze Puzzle

Follow the arrows around the board until you hit the target.

Ball Push Puzzle

Mix up the balls and then try to put the colours back together.

Ball Tumble Puzzle

This is a classic web puzzle which goes under many different names.

Boris’s Puzzles

Puzzles from the 1954 book by the celebrated Russian master of puzzles.

Bubbles Puzzle

Blowing soap bubbles to build up your score is the challenge.

Button Mania

A number puzzle using buttons to set all the numbers to zero.

Cave Explorer

Explore the cave by torchlight to discover wonders.

Chomsky’s Dream

A bit different. A mind puzzle rather than a board puzzle.

Clive’s Puzzle

A magazine puzzle over 40 years old known to millions of people.

Coconuts Puzzle

How many coconuts were collected? The monkey got five.

Classic Peg Solitaire

The solitaire you know from the well-known, well-loved toy.

Codebreaker

Known for many years as the plastic puzzle ‘Mastermind’

Codeword

The famous crossword puzzle without clues. Several levels to choose.

Coin Puzzle

Put gold coins on the board placing them according to the clues.

Connections Wall

Sort 16 clues into four groups of four related items.

Cross Sticks

A matchsticks puzzle to test on your family on quiet afternoons.

Crossword

We had to have an example of a UK-style crossword.

Diamond Arrows

Just a simple tidying job. Can you clear the arrows without losing your three lives?

Dominosa

So simple, this dominoes puzzle. But can you solve it first time?

Double Slide

A new puzzle that promises to be the most addictive here.

Fifteen Puzzle

A classic sliding puzzle that has been around since 1878.

Firelight Puzzle

A medieval puzzle with braziers to keep lit on a cold night.

Flood It

A colourful, dynamic way to use this computer characteristic.

Froghopper Puzzle

Another classic puzzle with frogs hopping about on lily pads.

G.C.H.Q. Puzzles

Four difficult thinking puzzles set by cryptographic experts.

Gold Chain Puzzle

A simple task to solve involving, yes you guessed it, a gold chain..

Henry’s Puzzles

A small selection of Henry Dudeney’s mathematical puzzles.

Hidden Phrases Puzzle

A simple puzzle you will have met before but worth thinking about.

Hitori

Shade numbers so rest appear once in each row and column.

Hoppity

A simple cross-the-board puzzle which is based on the game, Halma.

Hundred Dots Puzzle

A unique puzzle to test true puzzlers. Not so difficult as it seems.

Hungry Rabbit Puzzle

You need to build a rabbit-proof fence in the field and save the cabbages.

Hymn Board Puzzle

Henry Dudeney’s most difficult puzzle with a full solution.

Ice Maze Puzzles

Three puzzles where you leap between the ice floes to reach solid ground.

Jigsaw

At last a playable webpage jigsaw puzzle completes the compendium.

Kakuro

Another Japanese number puzzle once called “Cross Sums”.

Key Spinout Puzzle

All you do is turn the tumblers to free the key. Simples!

Knight’s Tour

Another classic. A chess knight must visit all the squares on the board.

KuroMasu Puzzle

Not often seen, this is a clever Japanese number puzzle.

Laserlight Puzzle

A very simple puzzle to explain, a mite less easy to solve.

Lawnmower

Mowing the lawn to remove all the daisies is tricky. You’ll see why.

Leaf Fall

Place leaves according to the rules to create a colourful solution.

Letter Slide

A 21st century puzzle which, like Codeword, is a crossword without clues.

Lights Out Puzzle

Switch all the lights off to solve the puzzle. Then you can create your own.

Living World Puzzle

A mesmerising puzzle to create self-sustaining life in a small world.

Locks Puzzle

We like simple puzzles and this is definitely one but still fun.

LT Puzzles

The picture gives you a clue how to solve these puzzles.

Magic Buttons Puzzle

Choose a button and magically another one changes colour.

Magic Hexagon Puzzle

A puzzle from the past to test your arithmetical brainpower.

Market Challenge

Farmer Giles’ cattle or your sheep. Who will win at the market?

Master SuDoku

Seriously challenging puzzle needing advanced techniques shown.

Match Four

A simple puzzle that needs some clear thinking to solve.

Mazes

The classic maze with some unusual variations for you to try.

Memory Puzzle

A turning card memory puzzle on an animal theme with elephant cards.

Missing Person

Look for the famous missing person in these two amazing pictures.

Monty Hall Problem

A bit different. A quiz show mind puzzle rather than a board puzzle.

Mousetrap

Find the hidden mouse. Choose for him to stay still or move about.

Moving Jigsaw Puzzles

I just thought - why not use moving pictures? Here they are.

Mystic Rose

A beautiful piece of geometry devised by a Spaniard around 1300 C.E.

Oasis Puzzle

As chief water engineer, the irrigation plan depends on you.

Open Sesame!

If magic fails then you must use your wits to open the doors!

Optical Illusions

More baffling and hard to understand than many puzzles.

Parking Lot Puzzle

Aka ”Rush Hour”. Help the red car to leave the parking lot.

Patchwork Puzzle

Sort the patchwork squares to recreate the original quilt.

Peg Jump Puzzle

Two versions of the little wooden jumping puzzle to solve.

Pencils Puzzles

Two puzzles with pencils which change colour and disappear.

Pennant Puzzle

A sliding blocks puzzle which requires patience. It first appeared in 1909.

Percy’s Puzzle

A combination puzzle invented by Percy A. MacMahon in 1921.

Petals Puzzle

A turning pattern puzzle invented by Hoosgang Cohan in Tasmania.

Picture Puzzles

Swap pieces to re-assemble the four pictures. Concentration needed!

Placing Sticks Puzzle

An old puzzle which may still prove hard to solve if it’s new to you.

Plank Puzzle

Not quite a maze, more a jungle adventure — with added peril.

Polar Journey

Your snowmobile has to make it from base camp to the pole.

Presidents Puzzle

A knowledge puzzle with a follow-up English alternative.

Puzzle Boxes

Pack the valuable boxes carefully on the tray so that none slide about.

Ralph’s Puzzle

This puzzle may date back 400 years. It is set in a tavern.

Rebus Puzzle

Discover the hidden words in these easy image puzzles.

Red Donkey Puzzle

An ancient puzzle re-invented several times in different countries.

Rolling Cube

A simple but intriguing puzzle. Rarely seen on the web.

Sam’s Puzzles

A small selection from the large number of Sam Loyd’s brainteaser puzzles.

Scandinavian Crossword

Bamse introduces you to a special type of crossword puzzle.

Sheepdog Puzzle

Help the dog collect the sheep from the field into the pen.

Sliding Doors

Two sliding puzzles with one-way doors to add extra difficulty.

Slide Puzzles

Three interesting picture puzzles to solve by sliding the blocks.

Slider

A new and clever variant on the many sliding puzzles.

Snake Escape

A grassland puzzle to test your observation skills and also dexterity.

Snowflake Puzzle

A new and clever variant on the many sliding puzzles.

Spot The Difference

Simple observation solves these photo puzzles of world cities.

Star Turn Puzzle

A new twist in puzzling involving sliding the piece and turning the board.

States Puzzle

For everyone who finds the United States a puzzling country.

Sticks Puzzle

My curious variation of the well-known matchstick puzzles.

SuDoku Puzzle

Eight ‘Number Place’ puzzles in various different styles.

Squares Puzzle

A puzzle you could make with pins and string. Or draw on the screen here.

Suguru Blank Puzzle

A particular example of a new puzzle from Japan with a twist.

Tangles Puzzle

A connecting puzzle needing all your skill to solve.

Tapa Puzzle

A Turkish games designer created this unusual puzzle in 2007.

The CUBE

Do you remember the world’s best-selling puzzle? Still going strong.

Three Rings Puzzle

Three rings to be re-assembled and three puzzles to choose from.

The Puzzler

Turn the wheels to bring the red wheel together behind the blue.

Tiles Puzzle

Inpired by the beauty of tile patterns here is a creative puzzle.

Tile Solitaire

A tile-matching puzzle using Mah Jongg tiles and ‘famous faces’ tiles.

Tom & Jerry Roller

A different slide puzzle where rows and columns roll up and down.

Tower Blocks

A very simple test of your spatial awareness and reflexes.

Tower of Hanoi Puzzle

A patience puzzle said to be based on a Brahmin creation legend.

Traffic Lights

Even changing traffic lights can be made into a tricky puzzle.

Train Tracks

A favourite newspaper and magazine puzzle ideal for the screen.

Triangles Puzzles

So simple to solve but fascinating to invent more of the same.

Turnstile Puzzle

Turn the discs to rearrange the colours to their starting position.

Two by Two Puzzle

A minimalist but colourful puzzle to exercise the little grey cells.

Water Sort Puzzle

Forgive the name but it is a good puzzle to include here.

Woodland Puzzle

Planting Trees is based on a Sam Loyd puzzle but livened up.

World Countries Puzzle

How well do you know the world we live in? A puzzle for all the family.

Wordled Puzzle

An addictive puzzle created by Josh Wardle in October 2021.

The Zebra Puzzle

One example from a whole host of similar puzzles. Not an easy one.