Twin Panels
Read the puzzle
Two panels of 3 rows by 6 tiles. Key: E = upright eight-point star, F = flower, P = four-point star, O = octagon. Unless noted, centres are dots and corner rings mint or cream. Upper panel: row 1: E, F, gold O, P, E, F; row 2: cream O, P, E, F, cream O, P; row 3: E, F, E, P, E, F. Lower panel: row 1: E, F with cross-shaped centre, gold O, P, E tilted, F; row 2: green O, P, E, F with gold corner rings, cream O, P; row 3: E, F, P, P, E, F circled by a ring. How many TILES were changed?
How many TILES were changed?
6
Dot, turn, colour, corners, shape and ring.
How to solve it
Use a grid method so nothing is counted twice or missed. Both panels have 3 rows of 6 tiles, so there are 18 tiles to compare, one pair at a time.
Work row by row, checking each tile for five things: shape, colour, centre, angle and border. Row 1 gives two changes: the second tile's flower centre is no longer a plain dot, and the fifth tile's star has been turned. Row 2 gives two: the first octagon changed colour, and the fourth tile's corner rings changed colour. Row 3 gives two: the third tile swapped an eight-point star for a four-point star, and the sixth tile gained a ring around it.
Add them up: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 tiles changed.
The usual wrong answer is 5. Many solvers treat the ring around the last tile as a highlight added by the puzzle, not as a change, but it is missing from the top panel, so it counts. Others miss the turned star, because a rotated star keeps the same shape and colour. A quick check: every row of this puzzle hides exactly two changes.
Learn the method: How to Solve Spot the Difference Puzzles: The Grid Method
