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   Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends.   We’ re so glad you could attend,
   Come inside, come inside.
   Step inside, hello! We’ ve the least amazing show.   You’ ll enjoy it some, we know,
   Step inside, step inside.
   Rest assured, you’ ll get your money’s worth.   Easiest puzzles in Heaven or Hell or on Earth.
   If you follow me, to our speciality, real gimmes for you to see,
   Simplicity, simplicity.    — adapted from Karn Evil 9 YouTube by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Step right up to our traveling display case and be dumbstruck by the easiest puzzles you’ll ever see.

These abysmal abominations are so mind-numbingly vapid that we cannot even expose them to air, or they will spontaneously burst into solutions.   Ooo, you could swoon abashedly. Or you could shed all dignity and dare imagine just what it would be like to try and actually solve such crude puzzles, if permitted, quicker than they solve themselves.   Or, you could answer...


             What might each puzzle be anyway?


For instance, the first puzzle might be (though you should think of another)...

  a. World’s easiest paperfolding puzzle:   Divide into two areas by folding the fewest possible times.

Puzzle h has the special condition that its answer cannot also suit puzzle e.   Thus Knight’s Tour, for example, could be an answer only for puzzle e, which would be a 1×1 chessboard with a single white square, even though puzzle h could be perceived as an equivalent black square.

Only puzzles h, i and j are meant to be at all challenging to identify, the rest intended as warm-ups with room for playfulness. Some, certainly puzzle e, can represent countless of the world’s easiest puzzles.   Each puzzle is meant not only as the world’s easiest but also as the simplest, so special instructions should be minimal, or else some simpler puzzle is more likely the one represented.

$\small\sf\color{black}{Hints \! :}$   Some specimens are displayed at deliberately misleading scales.
    One of these sideshow geeks has a family member locked in The trunk of trivial trials.

Easier/simpler/additional samples, as improvements or new mysteries, are more than welcome!

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humn
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6 Answers6

10

Possible answers for the non starred ones:

a.

Symmetry puzzle: Fill in one square so the entire sheet has two lines of symmetry.

You

Fill in the middle square

b.

Its Haisu!

So

Draw a line through every cell from O to X

c.

Alphametic

So

What number could Z be? (Answer 0)

d.

Match puzzle: Move the match once to create a vertical line

e.

Division puzzle: Split the square into two triangles with one line (just draw a diagonal)

f

Its a cryptic clue

So

What the answer? (It's I)

g

Looks like tower of Hanoi

So

How many moves does it take to get the ring from L to R?

Now for the starred ones:

h

Could be a chess puzzle: How many squares can a knight reach from this square (0 as it's the only square)

It was actually:

A crossword. Solved by Gareth.

i

How about a keyboard puzzle? What other symbol is on this key on your keyboard (Answer +)

It was actually:

A maze. Solved by KeyboardWielder

j

Seems like a rebus. Don't know what it could be for though

Or (thanks @Silenus)

It is representative of a Droste effect of a puzzle in a puzzle in a puzzle

It was actually

Puzzle identification. Solved by Marius.

Beastly Gerbil
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  • @humn is this the sort of thing you were looking for? – Beastly Gerbil Feb 28 '17 at 07:49
  • Even better than I was hoping for, Beastly Gerbil, thank you for including solutions! – humn Feb 28 '17 at 07:49
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    @humn yay :) Interesting idea for a puzzle – Beastly Gerbil Feb 28 '17 at 07:50
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    (j) is a rebus depicting a Droste Effect on the case itself, thus representing a puzzle in a puzzle in a puzzle... – DyingIsFun Feb 28 '17 at 14:20
  • @Silenus thanks! I'll add that (credit to you of course) – Beastly Gerbil Feb 28 '17 at 15:55
  • Erm, I don't think that - and = are on the same key. Maybe +, I guess. – Klyzx Feb 28 '17 at 20:43
  • @BazaBaza yeah I wrote that on mobile without a keyboard in site. I need to improve my memory of keyboards, thanks for pointing that out – Beastly Gerbil Feb 28 '17 at 20:45
  • The puzzle statement has been clarified/emphasized regarding h vs e and simplicity. Incidentally, I would enjoy trying to solve something like this too, and would certainly vote approval for a sideshow-like additional post here, or an entirely new puzzle, if you would like to exhibit any unstated or discarded world's-easiest-puzzle ideas. – humn Feb 28 '17 at 21:09
  • @humn, if I put together a knockoff/spinoff, do you mind if I use the image of your case? – DyingIsFun Mar 01 '17 at 05:00
  • Yes, please do both in any form, @Silenus, make a new exhibit and make use of the case. The lock is almost as easy to pick as the puzzles are to solve. (I also hope you recognized that h was inspired by 6 from Cryptic Rebuses Go Meta.) – humn Mar 01 '17 at 13:44
  • Thank you for turning this answer into one that can be $\color{#0c0}{\Large\raise-.1ex\checkmark}\kern-.4em$ed, Beastly Gerbil, you lapped the field on both the first and last laps! (Incidentally, Droske is often spelled Droste.) – humn Mar 21 '17 at 01:53
  • @humn oh I wasn't trying to get the tick, I just was completing the answer! :) And I'll change that, must have been typo – Beastly Gerbil Mar 21 '17 at 07:06
7

OK. Let's get the ball rolling.

a. Creating specific measurements by folding a peice of paper. Example
b. Haisu. Example.
c. Alphametic Example
d. Move a match to make something true or big or small or whatever. Example
e. Chess table puzzle. Example
f. Cryptic clues. Example
g. Hanoi tower Example, but the one in the image looks like one for retards. You have to move one piece only.
h. Nonogram. Example
i. Maybe math. or ciphers.
j. Cutting a paper in half to get the same image but scaled. Still looking for the damn example.. Found my damn example
alternative to j. A Puzzle identification puzzle. Example or this one which is a puzzle identification puzzle about puzzle identification in a puzzle identification challenge.

This was too fun to not come up with a fun alternative answer.
So let's pretend I'm a contestant for Jeopardy.
Me: "Alex, I'll pick puzzle identification for 1000".
Alex: "Here goes..."
Me: My answers are...

a. How can you make a 8.3" measurement out of a standard A4 paper?
b. How can you place a X and an O on a 1x2 board and call it a haisu?
c. What's the "eaZiest" alphametic with "Zero" chance of getting it wrong?
d. What match do you need to move to make a math sign?
e. How can a knight go through all the squares of a 1x1 chess table?
f. What do Scooby Doo and the gang find in their mystery solving adventure
g. How would you call the tallest building in the capital of Vietnam?
h. If White = 1 and Black = 0, what is a No-No-gram? (a nonogram is actually the other way around, but bear with me for the fun of it) i. Pas.
j. What is "puzzle identification for 1000"?

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Marius
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  • Still looking for a damn example, Marius? If you slightly change your answer, you won't have to look far. – humn Feb 28 '17 at 07:52
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    'but the one in the example looks like one for retards' - that's kind of the point of this puzzle :P – Beastly Gerbil Feb 28 '17 at 07:57
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    @humn. I actually had the piece of paper in front of me from when I tried to solve the puzzle I was trying to find (the one in the damn example). I was about to put a picture of it when I saw your comment. Then it hit me. It was your "damn" puzzle. :) – Marius Feb 28 '17 at 07:57
  • @BeastlyGerbil. I know, but I wrote a 10+ line answer without a stupid unrelated comment. I had to add at least one (or 2). "That's how I roll". – Marius Feb 28 '17 at 07:58
  • @humn. I added an alternative for j. Was that what you were thinking about? – Marius Feb 28 '17 at 08:21
  • Great alternative links for j, Marius! And neither example requires knowledge of any other puzzles. Yes, the first is precisely what I had in mind. – humn Feb 28 '17 at 08:24
  • Got me laughing and laughing with your Jeopardy approach, too, Marius.(though h doesn't play along with the condition that it can't apply to e as well) – humn Feb 28 '17 at 08:28
  • Sorry, it might be the case, that I don't get the pun, but is the spelling of 'night' intentional in case of e? – elias Feb 28 '17 at 08:41
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    I once tried to be funny and made 10 puns hoping it will trigger laughter, but "no pun in ten did". Sorry. It was a typo. It should have been "knight". – Marius Feb 28 '17 at 08:44
  • I've edited the answer for h. Am I getting closer? – Marius Feb 28 '17 at 10:17
  • The puzzle statement has been clarified/emphasized regarding h vs e and simplicity. Incidentally, I would enjoy trying to solve something like this too, and would certainly vote approval for a sideshow-like additional post here, or an entirely new puzzle, if you would like to exhibit any unstated or discarded world's-easiest-puzzle ideas. – humn Feb 28 '17 at 21:10
  • I have to be "that guy" and take issue with your answer for H. – feelinferrety Sep 28 '17 at 14:15
7

a.

Q. Find the area of the given rectangle in units of little blue squares.
A. 165; but you can't post the answer, because the puzzle's been VTC'd as off-topic citing Are math-textbook-style problems on topic?

b.

Q. Spot at least 6 differences between the 2 images.
A. 1. NW spike is missing 2. NE spike is missing 3. SW spike is missing 4. SE spike is missing 5. Central circle is larger 6. Outline is drawn for central circle

d.

Q. Without moving any matches, can you create a symbol that is both a character of punctuation and a mathematical operator?
A. Yes. Look at the match (being careful not to touch any matches), and you will see a hyphen / minus sign.

e.

Q. Can you draw the shape below without lifting your pencil from the paper?
A. Sure. Optimal strategy: Starting at any corner, for example the bottom-left, move your pencil in appropriate directions till you reach the starting point. Pro tip: One could also start at the middle of an edge, but experts have found this harder to execute for the same speed and precision.

OR

Q. In the 1x1 game of Noughts and Crosses shown below, is there a guaranteed winning strategy?
A. Yes, the first player can always force a win. Strategy in detail: X places his/her mark in the square. O has no option but to concede defeat.

g.

Q.
A. The first one: It's the only one that has this pink thing on it.

OR

Q.
A. All 3 look like little brown poles.

h. (but not e.)

Q.
A. Black Square

OR

Q.
A. The Dark Knight

OR

Q. (which traditionally has minimal instructions)
A. Sleep
- Explanation: This puzzle consists of , a , a and .
* The square consists of several black pixels. Each pixel has an RGB value of 000000, giving us a long sequence of 000000000000000000000000000000...
* Viewing each '0' as an 'O' instead, we get OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...
* This is rot-15 of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..., which is commonly used to depict a sleeping entity.
* Most said entities sleep at night, which is usually dark, as depicted in the original image, thereby reinforcing the correctness of this solution.

i.

Q. Can you find your way through this maze?
A. Hmmm, let's see: Enter from the left, then walk for a bit and ... Whoa! Hey! Where did the maze go?

j.

Q. Count the number of rectangles in this image.
A. Two times infinity (counting the inner and outer rectangle of each frame separately).

KeyboardWielder
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  • The puzzles now seem almost simpler than possible, in comparison to some of these solutions, congratulations! And thank you for advising care with d. Some fool mounted flammable graph paper right above it. – humn Mar 01 '17 at 14:46
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    i. had me stumped; but after seeing that trunk yesterday, I thought I had the answer... uh... I mean question. Your updated hint seems to confirm it. Maybe. – KeyboardWielder Mar 02 '17 at 18:58
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    Your third explanation for h. is a tour de force of postmodern puzzling. – DyingIsFun Mar 03 '17 at 15:04
4

Some alternatives.

a.

Minesweeper. Bomb count: 0

d.

Suppose this match takes 1 hour to burn. How would you measure 1 hour?

e.

1-SAT

g.

Mechanical disassembly puzzle. Simply separate the ring from the base. L/R provided for easy reset.

h.

Who's that PSE user!? But who could it be???

But on a more serious note... (have to make things simpler!)
Tangram with 1 piece (Square block)

Wesley Situ
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  • There goes my next matchstick puzzle secret idea, up in flames! (Not far from the truth.) But I was already lahahahaughing too hard from answer a to mind. – humn Mar 09 '17 at 01:12
4

The only sub-puzzle with which OP isn't yet satisfied with the solutions posted (I think) is h, the single black square. I propose:

it's a crossword, with a single filled square and therefore no clues.

Gareth McCaughan
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1

Wiki answer from poser because different solvers first / best identified starred puzzles h, i and j.   Please view these breakthrough answers, listed chronologically, to appreciate their “simple” delights.
•  Beastly Gerbil identified most puzzles and solved them
•  Marius identified j
•  KeyboardWielder identified i
•  Wesley Situ presolved a secret puzzle idea
•  Gareth McCaughan identified h

Identifications here are what were in mind at pose time. Those starred are considered essential to the puzzle as a whole. Differing posted answers have been excellent and deserve votes of approval.

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