Paper folding puzzles
Follow folds, punches and edge cuts, then choose the fully opened sheet.
Example
Example
Example
The original small-sheet puzzles.
2 folds · 1–2 punches
6 questions · Explanation after each answer
6 questions · No time limit
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Try six questions.
Follow the folds, then imagine where the holes will appear when the paper opens.
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Example
Example
Follow the fold, then punch through the stacked layers.
Where will the holes be when the sheet is open?
Show the answer
Each punch pierces only the layers beneath it. Undo folds in reverse order, reflecting the holes on each moving layer.
Eight levels with diagonal folds, mixed folds and punches through overlapping layers.
One straight fold · One punch
6 questions · No time limit
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Example
Example
Punch at the marked positions after the final fold, then unfold.
Trace one hidden fold from the final pattern.
6 questions · No time limit
Explore the method
Undo the last fold first and mirror each hole across the crease you open.
On by default unless you turn it off. Saved choices are kept. Shares starts, completions, replays and error categories. For ChatGPT visits, starts and completions may include the first QuickenBrain page and country. No answers, drawings or names.
How this data is usedHelp
Read the diagrams from left to right. A punch or cut affects only the paper layers directly beneath it. Open the folds in reverse, following each affected layer. Unequal or diagonal folds can leave different numbers of layers beneath each punch. Cut halves that meet at a crease form one opening.
Choose an answer, then select Check. You can change your choice before checking. Read the explanation before continuing. Keyboard: Tab to the answers and use the arrow keys to change your choice.
Solving time excludes setup, explanations and background tabs. Only Classic offers an optional two-minute challenge for all six questions; unanswered questions count as incorrect when time runs out. The other formats have no time limit. Formats and timed or untimed results stay separate.
The browser loads a complete six-question round from the server when you start or restart. Completed rounds and timed-out challenges are saved when browser storage is available; ending early is not saved. Your individual answers are not uploaded.
This is a practice activity, not a standardized or diagnostic assessment. Results describe only this activity.
Keyboard: press an answer's letter or number to choose it, Enter to check, and Enter again to continue.
About this practice
How it works
Follow the folds and punches. Choose how the holes look when the paper is completely open.
Only a completed round is saved.
These practice levels describe puzzle complexity. They are not a calibrated measure of intelligence.
Follow a sheet through folds, punches or edge cuts, then work out where the openings will be when it unfolds. Each round has six questions scored by correct answers, with no time limit except an optional two-minute mode in Classic.
Follow the folds, then work backward to find the holes or cuts on the open sheet. A punch affects only the paper directly beneath it. Choose the sheet whose openings match, including their positions.
Choose a format
- Classic: a 4 × 4 sheet, three difficulty levels and four choices. Folds run horizontally or vertically. Play untimed or with the optional two-minute challenge.
- Extended: eight levels with straight and diagonal folds on larger sheets, and five choices. There is no time limit. This is the starting format unless you have chosen another.
- Unequal folds and edge cuts: eight levels with off-center folds, round punches and notches cut from an edge. There are five choices and no time limit.
Every format has six questions per round. Open the last fold first. Keep track of which parts of the sheet actually overlap before reflecting a hole or cut.
What it measures, and what it does not
The task asks you to follow flat paper through a sequence of folds and reverse those steps. Rotating a solid and slicing through a solid are separate practices. A six-question score describes this round, not your general ability or an exam result.
What each level changes
Classic has three difficulty levels. A left fold moves the right half over the left half. An up fold moves the bottom half over the top half.
- Easy: one fold, right to left or bottom to top, or two crossing folds. Always one punch.
- Standard: two folds the same way with one punch, or two crossing folds with two punches.
- Challenge: three folds, two one way and one the other, with one punch, or two crossing folds with two punches.
A Classic worked example
From Classic, Standard. Fold the bottom half up, then the right half over to the left. Then punch at row 1, column 2 and at row 2, column 1.
The four choices
Open the folds, last fold first
The punched stack, with two holes.
Open the fold from drawing 3. Mirror each hole across the crease between columns 2 and 3: two holes become four.
Open the fold from drawing 2. Mirror each hole across the crease between rows 2 and 3: four holes become eight.
The answer is C. The eight holes are in row 1, columns 2 and 3; row 2, columns 1 and 4; row 3, columns 1 and 4; row 4, columns 2 and 3. Both punches pass through four layers here, making eight holes.
Extended: eight levels
The grid grows from 6 × 6 to 16 × 16. Diagonal folds can leave only part of a layer over another. A straight fold below means a horizontal or vertical fold.
- Level 1: One straight fold · One punch. 6 × 6 sheet.
- Level 2: One diagonal fold · One punch. 8 × 8 sheet.
- Level 3: One diagonal and one straight fold · One punch. 8 × 8 sheet.
- Level 4: Two straight folds and one diagonal fold · One punch. 12 × 12 sheet.
- Level 5: One diagonal and two straight folds · Two punches. 12 × 12 sheet.
- Level 6: Four mixed folds · Two punches. 16 × 16 sheet.
- Level 7: Four mixed folds · Three punches. 16 × 16 sheet.
- Level 8: Four mixed folds · Four punches. 16 × 16 sheet.
Unequal folds and edge cuts: eight levels
- Levels 1 and 2: one off-center fold on an 8 × 8 sheet, one edge cut and one or two punches.
- Levels 3 to 5: two folds on a 12 × 12 sheet. Level 3 has one punch and one cut; level 4 adds a second punch; level 5 uses one punch and two cuts.
- Levels 6 to 8: three folds on a 16 × 16 sheet. Level 6 has one punch and one cut; level 7 adds a second punch; level 8 has two punches and two cuts.
Check the layers under each punch separately. For an edge cut, follow the whole cut outline. Two cut halves that meet along a crease form one opening when the sheet opens.
Why two punches do not always make four holes
Use an 8 × 8 sheet. Count rows from the top and columns from the left, keeping the original grid throughout.
Fold columns 1 and 2 right along the dashed line. They cover columns 4 and 3. Columns 5 to 8 still have one layer.
Punch row 3, columns 3 and 5. Cut a triangular notch at the folded edge.
Open the fold. Row 3 has round holes in columns 2, 3 and 5. The notch opens into one diamond.
Two punches make 3 round holes. Column 3 has two layers, so that punch appears in columns 2 and 3 after unfolding. Column 5 has one layer, so its punch stays in column 5. Doubling both punches would add a hole where no folded layer was present.
The edge cut is separate from those round holes. Its two triangular halves join across the crease into one diamond-shaped opening. Count the joined opening once.
What your result means
The score is the number right out of six, with an explanation after each answer. Solving time counts only while you are solving: setup, explanations and background tabs are left out. Classic's optional two-minute challenge counts unanswered questions as wrong. Timed and untimed results, formats and difficulty levels are kept separate.
For four more Classic worked examples and common mistakes, read Paper folding test: how to unfold the holes. For the selected format's method, open the paper folding lesson.
Report a problem
On by default unless you turn it off. Saved choices are kept. Shares starts, completions, replays and error categories. For ChatGPT visits, starts and completions may include the first QuickenBrain page and country. No answers, drawings or names.
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