KoanKey

Zebra puzzle for November 9, 2026

Puzzle #313. Six levels, one solution each.

Mountain Railway Journey

The little red train climbs slowly into the clouds. Travellers sit in a line of window seats, noses pressed to the glass.

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Name
Mateo
Kira
Gustavo
Amara
Language
Portuguese
Italian
Mandarin
Hindi
Book type
nature
adventure
poetry
fantasy
Dream trip
Sydney
Vienna
Hanoi
Kyoto
Collection
rocks
feathers
coins
maps

Facts

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

Puzzle #313 is the Zebra set for Monday, November 9, 2026. It went live at 14:00 UTC that day and holds six separate logic grids, from a 4 by 4 warm-up with 12 facts to a 6 by 7 grid with 29.

The stories in this set are "Neighbourhood Fun Run", "Mountain Railway Journey", "Train Platform Stories", "The Midnight Bakery Line", "The Language Exchange Cafe" and "The Floating Market Boats". 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 109 facts to work with.

The six puzzles for November 9, 2026

Very easy: Neighbourhood Fun Run

The whole street has signed up for a gentle fun run. The runners crowd the starting line, bibs pinned and shoelaces double-knotted.

4 houses, 4 categories, 12 facts, difficulty score 11.

Easy: Mountain Railway Journey

The little red train climbs slowly into the clouds. Travellers sit in a line of window seats, noses pressed to the glass.

4 houses, 5 categories, 12 facts, difficulty score 36.

Medium: Train Platform Stories

The morning express is late, so the passengers stand shoulder to shoulder along the platform. Nothing to do but chat about their plans.

5 houses, 5 categories, 16 facts, difficulty score 76.

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, 6 categories, 20 facts, difficulty score 65.

Very hard: The Language Exchange Cafe

Every Thursday a small cafe turns into a friendly classroom with no teacher. Students sit side by side at one long table and trade words over their drinks.

5 houses, 7 categories, 20 facts, difficulty score 130.

Ultra hard: The Floating Market Boats

Narrow boats packed with goods glide side by side along the canal. Each trader waits in a boat, calling out cheerfully to passers-by.

6 houses, 7 categories, 29 facts, difficulty score 163.

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 categories129–120–2011
Easy4 houses × 5 categories1211–1416–4536
Medium5 houses × 5 categories1614–1830–9076
Hard5 houses × 6 categories2017–2260–14065
Very hard5 houses × 7 categories2020–2690–250130
Ultra hard6 houses × 7 categories2924–30160–700163

Kinds of facts in this set

The six puzzles together give you 109 facts. The most common type is same-house facts, with 44 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: odd-or-even facts (only on the ultra hard puzzle), in-between facts (only on the ultra hard puzzle), position-exclusion facts (only on the ultra hard puzzle).

TypeCountUsed on
same-house facts44very easy, easy, medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
directly-left facts18medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
next-door facts15very easy, easy, medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
fixed-position facts14very easy, easy, medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
somewhere-left facts9medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard
end-of-row facts5very easy, hard, ultra hard
odd-or-even facts2ultra hard
in-between facts1ultra hard
position-exclusion facts1ultra hard

Ways in: how each puzzle tends to go

Here is the style of reasoning that each puzzle for November 9, 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: Neighbourhood Fun Run

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

Easy: Mountain Railway Journey

  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: Train Platform Stories

  1. Start from fixed-position 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

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. Cross-check the grid after each step
  7. Assume one answer, then a second one inside it, and look for a contradiction

Very hard: The Language Exchange Cafe

  1. Start from fixed-position 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

Ultra hard: The Floating Market Boats

  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. Use odd and even positions
  9. Cross-check the grid after each step
  10. Assume one answer, then a second one inside it, and look for a contradiction

Questions about puzzle #313

How many facts do the puzzles for November 9, 2026 give?

The very easy puzzle, "Neighbourhood Fun Run", gives 12 facts on a 4 by 4 grid. The ultra hard puzzle, "The Floating Market Boats", gives 29 facts on a 6 by 7 grid. Across all six levels that is 109 facts.

Which puzzle is the hardest on November 9, 2026?

The ultra hard "The Floating Market Boats" has a difficulty score of 163 and uses 6 houses with 7 categories each. For comparison, the very easy puzzle scores 11. Higher scores mean longer chains of reasoning.

Which kinds of facts show up in puzzle #313?

The most frequent types are same-house facts (44), directly-left facts (18), 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.