A chess tournament is taking place on knock-out terms (the one who loses the match is out of the game).
(a) If 10 matches are played in total, how many players participated?
(b) If 20 players took part in the tournament, how many matches were played?

In a kingdom, King George did not allow any citizen to visit the world outside. Also, only a person with proper paperwork was allowed to enter or he was sent back. A wooden bridge was what connected the kingdom to the world. The king had appointed a sharpshooter who would check the every five minutes on the bridge to check. After checking, he would go back to his hut and return exactly after five minutes again. The bridge took 9 minutes to cross.

A merchant was able to escape the kingdom without harming the shooter. How?

It is a 5 letter word if you take away first letter it is something you get from sun, if you remove second letter you will get something to eat, if you remove third letter you get a word you use in pointing at and if you remove the fourth letter you get something to drink. What is it?

One absent-minded ancient philosopher forgot to wind up his only clock in the house. He had no radio, TV, telephone, internet, or any other means for telling time. So he travelled on foot to his friend's place a few miles down the straight desert road. He stayed at his friend's house for the night and when he came back home, he knew how to set his clock. How did he know?

It's a protector.
It sits on a bridge.
One individual can see directly through it, while others wonder what it hides.

What is it?

A lion and its tamer are standing inside a cage that measures 1 unit in radius. Both of them can effortlessly run at the speed of 1 unit maximum.

1) Suppose the lion is hungry, will he be able to eat up the tamer?
2) If yes, how long can the tamer survive?

Find the next number in the sequence

1, 2, 6, 21, 88, __?

All of the flowers I have are orchids except two. All of the flowers I have are hibiscuses except two. All of the flowers I have are roses except two.

Can you tell me how many flowers I have?

What's a single-digit number with no value?

My first is in chocolate but not in ham. My second is in cake and also in jam. My third at tea time is easily found. Altogether, this is a friend who is often around. What is it?