KS.

[Illustration]

The illustration represents a box containing thirty-six letter-blocks.
The puzzle is to rearrange these blocks so that no A shall be in a line
vertically, horizontally, or diagonally with another A, no B with
another B, no C with another C, and so on. You will find it impossible
to get all the letters into the box under these conditions, but the
point is to place as many as possible. Of course no letters other than
those shown may be used.

306.--THE CROWDED CHESSBOARD.

[Illustration]

The puzzle is to rearrange the fifty-one pieces on the chessboard so
that no queen shall attack another queen, no rook attack another rook,
no bishop attack another bishop, and no knight attack another knight. No
notice is to be taken of the intervention of pieces of another type from
that under consideration--that is, two queens will be considered to
attack one another although there may be, say, a rook, a bishop, and a
knight between them. And so with the rooks and bishops. It is not
difficult to dispose of each type of piece separately; the difficulty
comes in when you have to find room for all the arrangements on the
board simultaneously.

307.--THE COLOURED COUNTERS.

[Illustration]

The diagram represents twenty-five coloured counters, Red, Blue, Yellow,
Orange, and Green (indicated by their initials), and there are five of
each colour, numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The problem is so to place them
in a square that neither colour nor number shall be found repeated in
any one of the five rows, five columns, and two diagonals. Can you so
rearrange them?

308.--THE GENTLE ART OF STAMP-LICKING.

The Insurance Act is a most prolific source of entertaining puzzles,
particularly entertaining if you happen to be among the exempt. One's
initiation into the gentle art of stamp-licking suggests the following
little poser: If you have a card divided into sixteen spaces (4 x 4),
and are provided with plenty of stamps of the values 1d., 2d., 3d., 4d.,
and 5d., what is the greatest value that you can stick on the card if
the Chancellor of the Exchequer forbids you to place any stamp in a
straight line (that is, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) with
another stamp of similar value? Of course, only one stamp can be affixed
in a space. The reader will probably find, when he sees the solution,
that, like the stamps themselves, he is licked He will most likely be
twopence short of the maximum. A friend aske