Double-Row Seating Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — 6 Jul 2026
The puzzle
Rahul, Lata, Geeta, Sneha, Nikhil, Manish — sit in two rows facing each other — Row 1 faces south, Row 2 faces north, with 3 seats per row. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.
- Geeta sits immediately to the left of Sneha (both facing north).
- Sneha sits directly opposite Manish (they face each other).
- Exactly 1 person sits between Lata and Geeta in the same row.
- Rahul sits directly opposite Lata (they face each other).
- Lata faces north.
- Nikhil sits at an extreme end of their row.
Question: Determine the arrangement.
Reveal the answer
Answer: Row 1 (facing south): Geeta, Sneha, Lata. Row 2 (facing north): Nikhil, Manish, Rahul.
- Start: 720 ways to seat 6 people in two facing rows of 3.
- Clue 5 — "Lata faces north." narrows it to 360 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
- Clue 6 — "Nikhil sits at an extreme end of their row." narrows it to 240 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
- Clue 2 — "Sneha sits directly opposite Manish (they face each other)." narrows it to 48 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
- Clue 4 — "Rahul sits directly opposite Lata (they face each other)." narrows it to 16 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
- Clue 1 — "Geeta sits immediately to the left of Sneha (both facing north)." narrows it to 2 possibilities. Board — North (W→E): _ · _ · _ | South (W→E): _ · _ · _
- Clue 3 — "Exactly 1 person sits between Lata and Geeta in the same row." ⇒ Rahul → the south-facing row, column 3 (1 = west), Lata → the north-facing row, column 3 (1 = west), Geeta → the north-facing row, column 1 (1 = west), Sneha → the north-facing row, column 2 (1 = west), Nikhil → the south-facing row, column 1 (1 = west), Manish → the south-facing row, column 2 (1 = west) (1 possibility left). Board — North (W→E): Geeta · Sneha · Lata | South (W→E): Nikhil · Manish · Rahul
- Exactly one seating survives every clue — north row: Geeta, Sneha, Lata; south row: Nikhil, Manish, Rahul.
How to crack double-row seating puzzles faster
- Treat each row as an independent linear arrangement, then apply the cross-row clues last.
- "Faces" means the person opposite — use these clues as cross-row constraints to lock both rows at once.
- Draw two parallel rows on paper, fill each row independently, then check which cross-row pairs satisfy the remaining clues.
- "Immediately to the left/right of" applies within the same row only — cross-row facing is a different relationship.
FAQ
Who sits in the first seat of each row?
Geeta, Sneha, Lata sit in Row 1, and Nikhil, Manish, Rahul sit in Row 2. Cross-reference with the facing clues to validate.
How do you solve double-row seating arrangement puzzles?
Solve each row independently first using linear-seating techniques, then apply cross-row constraints (facing, diagonally opposite) to find valid pairs. Draw two parallel rows and eliminate combinations that violate any clue.
Learn the method for this puzzle type
This post is one worked example. The topic page for double-row seating carries the full method, the clue-wording table, the mistakes that cost marks and more practice questions.
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