LEGO Building Challenge for Kids: Brain Puzzles

LEGO® Brain Puzzles!  This open-ended LEGO® building challenge is perfect for a LEGO® club, class, or group. Or even a family game night!

Challenge:  Build a puzzle that makes a 10 x 10 square.  The pieces can be any shape.  See if others can solve your puzzle.  If they solve it very quickly, change the shape of the pieces to create a more difficult puzzle!

The puzzle pieces are made out of basic bricks, with a layer of flat bricks on top to attach them.  They’re easy to build because you can just add whate

I built the puzzle above.  It took my husband several minutes to solve it, so I knew it was a good one!  The interesting thing was that of all the boys, the one who solved this puzzle the fastest was my 6 year old.  It’s so interesting to watch how kids approach these puzzles. Some naturally try the pieces is several different positions, while others get stuck thinking that a piece should go in one particular place.  It’s a good exercise for the brain whether it’s something that comes naturally or not!

Here’s the solution:

And another view with the pieces separated so that you can see what’s what:

Another puzzle design:

Here’s the solution:

Tips and Ideas for Extending the Learning:

• Trace around the edges of the puzzle on paper so that the person solving it can see what the completed shape should be. Or build a LEGO® frame for your puzzle.
• What other puzzle shapes can you build besides squares?
• Explore – does your puzzle have more than one possible solution?  (Be careful – what may appear to be another solution is just the same solution turned 90 degrees.)  Do all puzzles have the same number of solutions?

This project is included in our LEGO® book, along with 49 more NEW ideas!  You can order it here:  Awesome LEGO Creations with Bricks You Already Have.  The books includes step-by-step instructions and parts lists for building games, animals, robots, dragons, and more.

Need more LEGO building challenge ideas?

• Build a LEGO Mechanical Puzzle

• LEGO Engineering with Water! (Build a working water wheel)

• Build a LEGO Balance

• Build a LEGO Marble Run

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