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First to the berry

Choose the order for three creatures to forage. Each creature takes its nearest remaining berry. Can all three stay within the walking limit?

    The numbered spaces form one straight path from 0 to 9. At a tie, the creature picks the berry with the lower position number.

      Play offline at home or in class

      Save all five rounds and the one-page paper puzzle before you go offline. Download the game and worksheet (ZIP, 66 KiB).

      1. Extract the ZIP into one folder.
      2. Open index.html in a browser to play. Keep berry-order-challenge.pdf beside it to open or print the worksheet.

      The game and worksheet work offline. The optional link to Puffgrove on the App Store needs an internet connection.

      Try a different berry puzzle on paper

      Download the one-page berry order puzzle (PDF). Its QR code opens these five browser rounds.

      On paper, Moss starts at 1, Pip at 8 and Fern at 4. The berries are at 2, 7 and 9. Each creature must reach its nearest remaining berry in three steps or fewer. It takes the lower-numbered berry in a tie. Which creature should go first, second and third?

      Check the paper puzzle solution

      Moss takes 2 (one step), Fern takes 7 (three steps), then Pip takes 9 (one step). If Pip moves before Fern, Pip chooses 7 in a tie and Fern cannot reach 9 within three steps once Moss has taken 2.