🧩 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.
Three kids picked up their new backpacks for the first day of school, each a different color. Use the clues to work out who has which color — mark ✓ for true and ✗ for false as you go.
Red
Blue
Green
Emma
Jack
Mia
Clues
Emma thought red would clash with her lunchbox, so she skipped it.
Emma already had a green binder picked out, so she didn't want a green backpack to match.
Jack's older brother carried a red backpack for years, so Jack refused to get one just like it.
✂ fold backward along this line to hide the solution ✂
Solution hidden on screen — it prints automatically.
Solution
Red
Blue
Green
Emma
✓
Jack
✓
Mia
✓
How to Solve This Logic Grid Puzzle
Every clue here rules something out rather than telling you the answer directly — that's normal for logic grid puzzles, and it's exactly what the grid is for.
Combine clues on the same row first. Clues 1 and 2 both rule out a color for Emma. Mark an ✗ for each — once a row has only one blank cell left, that cell must be a ✓.
Use what you've placed to work the rest. Once Emma's backpack color is locked in, cross it off for Jack and Mia too — no one can share a color.
Bring in the last clue. Clue 3 rules out red for Jack. Combined with what's already crossed off, only one cell remains open for Jack — and Mia falls into place by elimination.
Notice that no single clue hands you an answer outright — you need all three working together. That's the heart of every logic grid puzzle, no matter how large the grid gets. For the full method, see our complete logic puzzle solving guide.
About This Puzzle
Mr. Puzzle built The New Backpacks for the back-to-school season — a 3×3 grid, the simplest size a logic puzzle can be. All three clues are "not" statements, so nothing is handed to you directly; the fun is in watching the last empty cell in each row and column fall into place. A great puzzle for anyone trying logic grids for the first time.