KoanKey

Zebra puzzle for November 5, 2026

Puzzle #309. Six levels, one solution each.

School Trip Bus

The bus seats are full of chatter on the way to the science park. Students sit in a single row at the back and swap snacks.

00:00Nudges: 0
SpotSpot 1Spot 2Spot 3Spot 4
Name
Dario
Sana
Willa
Emil
Breakfast
porridge
bagels
pancakes
yoghurt
Book type
history
space
nature
travel
Ice cream flavour
strawberry
chocolate
lemon
mint
Favourite game
dominoes
backgammon
bingo
charades

Facts

Tap a fact to cross it out. Tap again to bring it back.

Puzzle #309 is the Zebra set for Thursday, November 5, 2026. It went live at 14:00 UTC that day and holds six separate logic grids, from a 4 by 4 warm-up with 10 facts to a 6 by 7 grid with 27.

The stories in this set are "The Open-Air Cinema Row", "School Trip Bus", "Lakeside Camping Trip", "Mountain Hut Weekend", "The Midnight Bakery Line" and "The Ferry Crossing". Each one is a short story with its own cast and its own list of facts to piece together. Place every trait in the right house and you have solved it.

Every puzzle has exactly one solution. Easier levels fall to straightforward deduction. The hardest ones can ask you to test a what-if and back out when it breaks a fact. In total this set holds 107 facts to work with.

The six puzzles for November 5, 2026

Very easy: The Open-Air Cinema Row

Deck chairs face a big white screen in the park. The guests are settled in one row, popcorn ready, waiting for the lights to fade.

4 houses, 4 categories, 10 facts, difficulty score 10.

Easy: School Trip Bus

The bus seats are full of chatter on the way to the science park. Students sit in a single row at the back and swap snacks.

4 houses, 5 categories, 12 facts, difficulty score 41.

Medium: Lakeside Camping Trip

Tents are pitched in a neat line along the edge of a quiet lake. The campers gather round the stove for supper before the stars come out.

5 houses, 5 categories, 16 facts, difficulty score 43.

Hard: Mountain Hut Weekend

After a long climb, the hikers reach a cosy mountain hut with a row of narrow bunks. Boots are dropped by the door and the stories begin.

5 houses, 6 categories, 18 facts, difficulty score 66.

Very hard: The Midnight Bakery Line

The corner bakery opens its side door for one special hour after dark. A cheerful queue forms on the pavement, and everyone is hoping the warm trays do not run out.

5 houses, 7 categories, 24 facts, difficulty score 94.

Ultra hard: The Ferry Crossing

The small ferry chugs across the bay with passengers lined along the rail. The crossing takes just twenty minutes, but everyone has something to talk about.

6 houses, 7 categories, 27 facts, difficulty score 619.

Difficulty by level

Each level has a target grid size and a typical number of facts. The score is our own measure of how long the chain of reasoning runs; higher means harder.

LevelGridFactsTypical factsScore bandScore
Very easy4 houses × 4 categories109–120–2010
Easy4 houses × 5 categories1211–1416–4541
Medium5 houses × 5 categories1614–1830–9043
Hard5 houses × 6 categories1817–2260–14066
Very hard5 houses × 7 categories2420–2690–25094
Ultra hard6 houses × 7 categories2724–30160–700619

Kinds of facts in this set

The six puzzles together give you 107 facts. The most common type is same-house facts, with 42 of them across the set. Different levels draw on different kinds of fact. Easier levels stick to plain statements about who lives where, while harder ones add comparisons and exclusions that take more steps to use. Types that appear on just one level today: either-or facts (only on the ultra hard puzzle), not-the-same facts (only on the very hard puzzle).

TypeCountUsed on
same-house facts42very easy, easy, medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
directly-left facts17medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
next-door facts15easy, medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
somewhere-left facts10medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
end-of-row facts8very easy, medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
fixed-position facts4very easy, easy, medium, very hard
in-between facts4very hard, ultra hard
either-or facts4ultra hard
not-the-same facts3very hard

Ways in: how each puzzle tends to go

Here is the style of reasoning that each puzzle for November 5, 2026 leans on, listed in the order you would typically use it. These are categories only. They never name a person, a colour or any other value, so you can read them without spoiling anything.

Very easy: The Open-Air Cinema Row

  1. Start from end facts
  2. Start from fixed-position facts
  3. Link same-house facts
  4. Cross-check the grid after each step

Easy: School Trip Bus

  1. Start from fixed-position facts
  2. Link same-house facts
  3. Pair up neighbour facts
  4. Cross-check the grid after each step
  5. Assume one answer and test it for a contradiction

Medium: Lakeside Camping Trip

  1. Start from end facts
  2. Start from fixed-position facts
  3. Link same-house facts
  4. Pair up neighbour facts
  5. Chain left-of facts
  6. Cross-check the grid after each step
  7. Assume one answer and test it for a contradiction

Hard: Mountain Hut Weekend

  1. Start from end facts
  2. Link same-house facts
  3. Pair up neighbour facts
  4. Chain left-of facts
  5. Cross-check the grid after each step
  6. Assume one answer, then a second one inside it, and look for a contradiction

Very hard: The Midnight Bakery Line

  1. Start from end facts
  2. Start from fixed-position facts
  3. Link same-house facts
  4. Pair up neighbour facts
  5. Chain left-of facts
  6. Narrow down with between facts
  7. Rule out options with negative facts
  8. Cross-check the grid after each step
  9. Assume one answer, then a second one inside it, and look for a contradiction

Ultra hard: The Ferry Crossing

  1. Start from end facts
  2. Link same-house facts
  3. Pair up neighbour facts
  4. Chain left-of facts
  5. Narrow down with between facts
  6. Split either-or facts
  7. Cross-check the grid after each step
  8. Assume one answer, then a second one inside it, and look for a contradiction

Questions about puzzle #309

How many facts do the puzzles for November 5, 2026 give?

The very easy puzzle, "The Open-Air Cinema Row", gives 10 facts on a 4 by 4 grid. The ultra hard puzzle, "The Ferry Crossing", gives 27 facts on a 6 by 7 grid. Across all six levels that is 107 facts.

Which puzzle is the hardest on November 5, 2026?

The ultra hard "The Ferry Crossing" has a difficulty score of 619 and uses 6 houses with 7 categories each. For comparison, the very easy puzzle scores 10. Higher scores mean longer chains of reasoning.

Which kinds of facts show up in puzzle #309?

The most frequent types are same-house facts (42), directly-left facts (17), next-door facts (15). The breakdown for every type is listed on this page, level by level.

Can I still play this puzzle after the day has passed?

Yes. A day page stays online and playable for good. Only the live puzzle on the home page and the main Zebra page moves on at 14:00 UTC. Your solved levels are remembered in your browser, so you can pick up where you stopped.

Does it matter which level I start with?

Not at all. The six puzzles in a set are separate stories with their own grids. Many people warm up on the smallest grid and work upwards, but you can jump straight to the hardest one if you like. Each level keeps its own progress.

Why do some levels need a what-if?

On bigger grids, the facts alone may not settle a cell until you test one possibility. You assume it, follow the consequences, and if two facts collide you know the assumption was wrong. The reasoning categories listed on this page show which levels expect that.

Can I share my result without spoiling the puzzle?

Yes. The share text has the puzzle name, the level, your time and whether you used a nudge. It never includes any answer, so it is safe to post anywhere.

More days in November 2026

See the whole November 2026 archive, the full archive, or read how Zebra puzzles work.