For this logic puzzle you have to determine the surnames of four people, their position in a cake-bake competition and what cake they baked.

The first names are: James, Ben, Vicky and Nigel
The surnames are: Jones, Stevens, Andrews and Best
Positions are: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th
Cakes baked are: Chocolate cake, Cheese cake, Fruit cake and Sponge cake.

Clues:
1. James Best beat Vicky by two places.
2. Bens' fruit cake beat Mrs. Stevens' son, who came in 3rd.
3. The sponge cake, despite being a bit bland, got in the top three.
4. The judges obviously had a sweet tooth, as the Chocolate cake came in 2nd place.
5. Jones's mother cried as she watched her son take 1st prize.

What are the full names of the top four, what position did they come and what cake did they bake?

From #1, James Best and Vicky were either 1st and 3rd, or 2nd and 4th; since from #2 the 3rd was a boy, then James Best was 2nd (with a chocolate cake, from #4) and Vicky was 4th.

From #2, Ben was 1st with his fruit cake, and his last name was Jones (from #4).

As the sponge cake was in the top three (from #3) it must have been 3rd, since we already know about the other two places. The cheese cake must have been 4th, since it's the only possibility that remains.

The 3rd must be a boy (from #3) so he's Nigel Stevens, and thus the 4th is Vicky Andrews.

Posted by Federico Kereki on 2003-11-26 09:27:42