KoanKeyZebra puzzle for November 8, 2026
Puzzle #312. Six levels, one solution each.
Bike Repair Co-op
A garage on a back street hosts a free bike repair co-op. Volunteers stand at their workstations in a row, wrenches at the ready.
| Spot | Spot 1 | Spot 2 | Spot 3 | Spot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | ||||
| Malik | ||||
| Carlos | ||||
| Liam | ||||
| Rafael | ||||
| Pet | ||||
| hamsters | ||||
| goldfish | ||||
| hedgehogs | ||||
| ducks | ||||
| Street | ||||
| Maple | ||||
| Hazel | ||||
| Cedar | ||||
| Aspen | ||||
| Hobby | ||||
| hiking | ||||
| beekeeping | ||||
| photography | ||||
| origami | ||||
| Car colour | ||||
| white | ||||
| teal | ||||
| yellow | ||||
| navy | ||||
Facts
Tap a fact to cross it out. Tap again to bring it back.
Puzzle #312 is the Zebra set for Sunday, November 8, 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 "Tea House Afternoon", "Bike Repair Co-op", "Neighbourhood Fun Run", "Museum After Dark Tour", "Train Platform Stories" and "School Trip Bus". 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 8, 2026
Very easy: Tea House Afternoon
Paper screens, quiet music and a long low table greet the afternoon guests. Steam drifts from every cup.
Easy: Bike Repair Co-op
A garage on a back street hosts a free bike repair co-op. Volunteers stand at their workstations in a row, wrenches at the ready.
Medium: 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.
Hard: Museum After Dark Tour
The museum stays open late for a lantern-lit tour. Visitors shuffle through the great hall in single file, whispering as they go.
Very hard: 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.
Ultra hard: 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.
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.
| Level | Grid | Facts | Typical facts | Score band | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very easy | 4 houses × 4 categories | 12 | 9–12 | 0–20 | 12 |
| Easy | 4 houses × 5 categories | 11 | 11–14 | 16–45 | 39 |
| Medium | 5 houses × 5 categories | 14 | 14–18 | 30–90 | 43 |
| Hard | 5 houses × 6 categories | 20 | 17–22 | 60–140 | 95 |
| Very hard | 5 houses × 7 categories | 21 | 20–26 | 90–250 | 123 |
| Ultra hard | 6 houses × 7 categories | 29 | 24–30 | 160–700 | 162 |
Kinds of facts in this set
The six puzzles together give you 107 facts. The most common type is same-house facts, with 35 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), position-exclusion facts (only on the hard puzzle), odd-or-even facts (only on the ultra hard puzzle).
| Type | Count | Used on |
|---|---|---|
| same-house facts | 35 | very easy, easy, medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard |
| next-door facts | 21 | very easy, easy, medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard |
| directly-left facts | 19 | medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard |
| end-of-row facts | 10 | very easy, easy, medium, hard, very hard, ultra hard |
| in-between facts | 7 | very hard, ultra hard |
| somewhere-left facts | 5 | medium, very hard, ultra hard |
| not-the-same facts | 4 | hard, ultra hard |
| fixed-position facts | 3 | very easy, easy |
| either-or facts | 1 | ultra hard |
| position-exclusion facts | 1 | hard |
| odd-or-even facts | 1 | ultra hard |
Ways in: how each puzzle tends to go
Here is the style of reasoning that each puzzle for November 8, 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: Tea House Afternoon
- Start from end facts
- Start from fixed-position facts
- Link same-house facts
- Pair up neighbour facts
- Cross-check the grid after each step
Easy: Bike Repair Co-op
- Start from end facts
- Start from fixed-position facts
- Link same-house facts
- Pair up neighbour facts
- Cross-check the grid after each step
- Assume one answer and test it for a contradiction
Medium: Neighbourhood Fun Run
- Start from end facts
- Link same-house facts
- Pair up neighbour facts
- Chain left-of facts
- Cross-check the grid after each step
- Assume one answer and test it for a contradiction
Hard: Museum After Dark Tour
- Start from end facts
- Link same-house facts
- Pair up neighbour facts
- Chain left-of facts
- Rule out options with negative facts
- Cross-check the grid after each step
- Assume one answer, then a second one inside it, and look for a contradiction
Very hard: Train Platform Stories
- Start from end facts
- Link same-house facts
- Pair up neighbour facts
- Chain left-of facts
- Narrow down with between facts
- Cross-check the grid after each step
- Assume one answer, then a second one inside it, and look for a contradiction
Ultra hard: School Trip Bus
- Start from end facts
- Link same-house facts
- Pair up neighbour facts
- Chain left-of facts
- Narrow down with between facts
- Rule out options with negative facts
- Split either-or facts
- Use odd and even positions
- Cross-check the grid after each step
- Assume one answer, then a second one inside it, and look for a contradiction
Questions about puzzle #312
How many facts do the puzzles for November 8, 2026 give?
The very easy puzzle, "Tea House Afternoon", gives 12 facts on a 4 by 4 grid. The ultra hard puzzle, "School Trip Bus", gives 29 facts on a 6 by 7 grid. Across all six levels that is 107 facts.
Which puzzle is the hardest on November 8, 2026?
The ultra hard "School Trip Bus" has a difficulty score of 162 and uses 6 houses with 7 categories each. For comparison, the very easy puzzle scores 12. Higher scores mean longer chains of reasoning.
Which kinds of facts show up in puzzle #312?
The most frequent types are same-house facts (35), next-door facts (21), directly-left facts (19). 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.