Puzzles & Seating Arrangement: Build a Grid, Eliminate Cases
The one repeatable method to crack every IBPS and SBI seating and puzzle set: draw a grid, anchor the fixed clues, split into cases, and let the clues eliminate the wrong ones. Includes a fully worked 7-person linear puzzle, a puzzle-type cheat sheet, and the circular-direction trap that quietly costs students five marks.
By the PadhoDost Team · 📖 8 min read · Updated 4 August 2026
Part of Banking (IBPS / SBI) prep🧠 The wedding-hall seating chart
Picture a big Indian wedding. The planner has no final seating list, only hints from the family: 'Dadaji must sit at the head of the table', 'the bride's college friends want to sit together', 'Uncle Sharma will NOT sit next to Uncle Verma'. One hint at a time, guests get locked into chairs until only one arrangement survives. A seating puzzle is exactly this. You are the wedding planner, the clues are the family's demands, and your job is to find the single seating that keeps everyone happy.
Why these puzzles decide your prelims fate
In IBPS and SBI prelims, Puzzles and Seating Arrangement are the biggest chunk of the reasoning section. Often 15 to 20 of the 35 questions arrive as 3-4 puzzle 'sets', each set carrying 5 linked questions. Crack one grid and you pocket all 5 marks together. But the section is tight (roughly 20-25 minutes) and every wrong tick costs 0.25 due to negative marking. So the skill is two-fold: solve accurately, and choose the right set to attempt. Guessing on a half-built grid is how good students quietly lose 2-3 marks.
The master method: build a grid, eliminate cases
Grid + elimination in 6 steps
- 1Read the whole puzzle once. Note the frame (row, circle, floors, boxes, or a day/month schedule), how many people or items there are, and every extra variable (age, city, colour).
- 2Draw an empty grid or diagram with numbered seats, floors, or slots. Leave space to pencil in options.
- 3Pick up the MOST definite clue (a fixed seat, an extreme end, a specific floor) and place it first. This becomes your anchor.
- 4Add clues that connect to what is already placed, building outward from the anchor step by step.
- 5When a clue allows two or more positions, open parallel cases (Case 1, Case 2...) and carry each one forward instead of guessing.
- 6Test every remaining clue against each case. A clue that contradicts a case kills it. Keep the case where all clues fit — that is your answer.
Know the main puzzle types
| Puzzle type | How to draw it | Watch-for clue words |
|---|---|---|
| Linear (single row) | A line of numbered seats; note the facing (north or south) | 'left of', 'right of', 'extreme end', 'exactly between' |
| Linear (two rows) | Two parallel rows facing each other; opposite pairs line up | 'faces', 'opposite to', 'diagonally opposite' |
| Circular / rectangular | A circle or table; mark whether people face the centre or outside | 'clockwise', 'immediate left', 'faces the centre' |
| Floor / box puzzle | A vertical stack (top = highest floor / box) | 'above', 'below', 'lowest floor', 'gap of two floors' |
| Scheduling (day / month) | A column of days or months in fixed order | 'earlier than', 'immediately after', 'same week' |
📝 Worked example — a 7-person linear puzzle
Setup: A, B, C, D, E, F, G sit in a row, all facing north. Number the seats 1 (far left / west) to 7 (far right / east). Since they face north, west is each person's left and east is each person's right, so 'right' means a higher seat number.
Clues: (1) D sits at an extreme end. (2) Three persons sit between D and B. (3) A is second to the right of B. (4) C is third to the left of G. (5) E is an immediate neighbour of A.
Start with the most fixed clue. Clue 1 fixes D at seat 1 OR seat 7 — two cases.
Case 1 (D = seat 1): Clue 2 puts B at seat 5 (three people between = gap of 4). Clue 3 puts A at seat 7; Clue 5 puts E at seat 6. Now C = G − 3 must fit into leftover seats 2, 3, 4 — but the widest gap there is only 2, so a gap of 3 cannot fit. Case 1 dies on its own.
Case 2 (D = seat 7): Clue 2 puts B at seat 3. Clue 3 puts A at seat 5. The leftover seats are 1, 2, 4, 6. Clue 4 needs C three seats left of G; only G = 4, C = 1 fits.
Clue 5: E next to A(5) must be seat 6, since seat 4 is taken by G. The last leftover seat 2 = F.
Final row (west to east): C(1) F(2) B(3) G(4) A(5) E(6) D(7). Every clue checks out.
Now any question is instant. 'Who is 4th from the left?' → G. 'Who sits exactly between B and A?' → G. One grid, five marks.
Notice what did the heavy lifting: we never guessed. Clue 1 handed us two cases, and Case 1 simply could not satisfy Clue 4, so it collapsed by itself. That is the whole game — set up honest cases, then let the clues eliminate the wrong ones for you. The moment a case breaks, you delete it and move on without regret.
Quick revision
- ✓Always draw the diagram. Never try to hold a puzzle in your head.
- ✓Rank the clues: lock in definite (fixed) clues first, keep floating clues aside.
- ✓When a clue gives two options, split into cases and test each — wrong cases collapse fast.
- ✓In circular puzzles, decide the facing (centre or outside) BEFORE reading any left / right.
- ✓Count 'persons between' as gaps: n persons between X and Y means their seats differ by n + 1.
- ✓One completed grid usually answers all 5 questions — five marks from a single solve.
⚡ Quick check
Eight people sit around a circular table, all facing the centre. If you move in the clockwise direction, you move towards each person's —
Ready to test yourself? 🎯
Lock it in with the practice test for this chapter.
Take the practice test →Keep studying
7 min read
Syllogism & Inequality: Your Easiest Guaranteed Marks in Bank Prelims
8 min read
Coding-Decoding & Blood Relations: Crack the Code, Draw the Tree
7 min read
Simplification & Approximation: Your Fastest Marks in Bank Prelims
7 min read
Data Interpretation for Bank Exams: Read Any Table, Graph or Caselet Fast