A travelling fair arrived close to Quizmaster Shop Towers, and we all went there one evening after work. One stall with piles of tin cans intrigued us all.
There were nine tin cans in total in three towers of three, and each tin can had a number painted on it. The lefthand tower had an eight on top of a ten on top of a seven. The middle tower had a ten on top of a seven on top of a nine. The righthand tower had a seven on top of a nine on top of an eight.
(To help you solve this puzzle it might help to get nine tin cans, paint numbers on them and then put them in the correct towers - or you could draw them on paper, which is easier but less fun.)
You are allowed three balls, and each throw must knock over a single tin can - if more than one tin can falls the tin cans are replaced and the throw is taken again. On the first throw you score the number on the tin can that falls; on the second throw you score twice the number on the tin can that falls; on the third throw you score three times the number on the tin can that falls.
To win you have to score exactly 50.
Which three tin cans in what order do you dislodge?
First hit the seven on the righthand tower, next the eight on the lefthand tower, and finally the now-exposed nine on the righthand tower.
7 + (2 x 8) + (3 x 9) = 7 + 16 + 27 = 50