🧩 This logic grid puzzle is interactive right here on the page — click a cell to mark it ✗, click again to confirm ✓ (which auto-fills the rest of that row and column), and click a third time to undo. Prefer paper? It also prints on a single page as a blank grid to fill in by hand, with a fold-over answer key at the bottom. Suitable for ages 10+ — no special knowledge needed, just careful deduction.
Five professionals — David the lawyer, Gerry the accountant, Paul the doctor, Cory the roofer, and Francisco the fisherman — each own a different brand of laptop. Use the clues to work out who uses which brand — mark ✓ for true and ✗ for false as you go.
ASUS
Dell
Lenovo
HP
Acer
DavidLawyer
GerryAccountant
PaulDoctor
CoryRoofer
FranciscoFisherman
Clues
The doctor had a Dell die on him mid-appointment once, so he won't touch another one.
Paul's a bit of a cheapskate, so he wouldn't even look at an ASUS.
Cory's cousin had nothing but trouble with an HP, so Cory ruled it out on principle.
The roofer figured an ASUS wouldn't survive a day bouncing around his truck, so he steered clear of it.
Cory heard one too many Dell horror stories, so that brand was off his list as well.
The Acer belongs to either David or Gerry — the receipt confirms it's one of those two.
Same receipt, different line: the Acer also traces back to either Gerry or Paul.
The lawyer needed something sturdy enough for the courtroom, so he passed on the ASUS.
✂ fold backward along this line to hide the solution ✂
Solution hidden on screen — it prints automatically.
Solution
ASUS
Dell
Lnvo
HP
Acer
David
✓
Gerry
✓
Paul
✓
Cory
✓
Francisco
✓
How to Solve This Logic Grid Puzzle
The occupations are given in the setup — you already know who does what for a living. The job titles appear in the clues as an extra layer of language you have to read through: "the doctor" means Paul, "the roofer" means Cory, and so on. Most clues rule something out, but two of them work differently.
Spot the pair that only works together. Clues 6 and 7 don't rule anything out on their own — they're "either/or" statements: either David or Gerry has the Acer, and either Gerry or Paul has the Acer. Try assuming Gerry does not have it: then clue 6 forces David to have it, and clue 7 forces Paul to have it — but only one person can have the Acer. That's a contradiction, so Gerry must be the one with the Acer after all.
Use that one placement to unlock Paul's row. With Gerry's laptop settled, Acer is crossed off for everyone else. Combined with clues 1 and 2 (Paul isn't the Dell or the ASUS), Paul now has only two laptops left open: Lenovo or HP.
Cory's row closes in from four directions. Clues 3, 4, and 5 rule out three laptops for Cory directly, and Acer is now crossed off too (since Gerry has it) — leaving exactly one laptop open for Cory. Once Cory is placed, Paul's remaining option is forced, and clue 8 plus what's already crossed off pins David and Francisco by elimination.
Most of the clues here are "not" statements, but the two "either/or" clues are what make this puzzle different — they don't tell you anything by themselves, only when you test what happens if the "wrong" person had the Acer. That kind of contradiction-testing is a step up from straightforward elimination, and it's a technique worth knowing for harder logic grids. For the full method, see our complete logic puzzle solving guide.
About This Puzzle
Mr. Puzzle built The Laptop Lineup as a twist on the standard 5×5 grid: half the clues refer to people by occupation instead of by name, and two of the clues are "either/or" statements rather than straightforward negatives. Neither "either/or" clue rules anything out on its own — they only resolve when you notice that assuming Gerry doesn't have the Acer forces both David and Paul to have it at once, which is impossible. All eight clues are necessary — remove any single one and more than one solution becomes possible.