# Square Seating Reasoning Puzzle for IBPS PO — 24 Sep 2026

> 8-person square table seating arrangement (corners and side-middles) (2026-09-24). 8 logic clues, one provable answer. Free IBPS PO & SSC practice.

Source: https://deducepuzzles.com/blog/2026-09-24-square-seating-puzzle

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Published: 2026-09-24 · Difficulty: hard · 8 clues · 8 people
Exams: IBPS PO · SBI PO · RBI Grade B

## The puzzle

Varun, Jaya, Tanvi, Uma, Neha, Farhan, Kiran, Harsh — sit around a square table — 4 at the corners, 4 at the middle of the sides; each clue states its own facing convention — work out the seating order clockwise. Using the clues below, work out the arrangement.

1. Harsh sits 2nd to the left of Farhan (all facing the centre).
2. Varun sits immediately to the left of Harsh (all facing the centre).
3. Farhan sits 2nd to the left of Kiran (all facing the centre).
4. Harsh sits immediately to the left of Jaya (all facing the centre).
5. Tanvi sits at one of the corners of the table.
6. Jaya sits at one of the corners of the table.
7. Kiran sits immediately to the right of Neha (all facing the centre).
8. Varun sits immediately to the right of Uma (all facing the centre).

## Answer

Neha, Farhan, Jaya, Harsh, Varun, Uma, Tanvi, Kiran (clockwise; position 1 is a corner, so odd positions are corners and even positions are side-middles).

Corner 1: Neha · Side 2: Farhan · Corner 3: Jaya · Side 4: Harsh · Corner 5: Varun · Side 6: Uma · Corner 7: Tanvi · Side 8: Kiran

## Step-by-step solution

1. Start: 10080 distinct seatings (up to rotating the square frame) of 8 people — 4 at corners, 4 at the middle of the sides. Numbering clockwise from a corner, seats 1, 3, 5, 7 are the corners and 2, 4, 6, 8 the side-middles.
2. Clue 5 — "Tanvi sits at one of the corners of the table." narrows it to 5040 possibilities. Frame (clockwise from corner seat 1): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
3. Clue 6 — "Jaya sits at one of the corners of the table." narrows it to 2160 possibilities. Frame (clockwise from corner seat 1): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
4. Clue 1 — "Harsh sits 2nd to the left of Farhan (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 336 possibilities. Frame (clockwise from corner seat 1): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
5. Clue 2 — "Varun sits immediately to the left of Harsh (all facing the centre)." narrows it to 48 possibilities. Frame (clockwise from corner seat 1): _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _ · _
6. Clue 3 — "Farhan sits 2nd to the left of Kiran (all facing the centre)." ⇒ Varun → seat 5 (a corner), Farhan → seat 2 (a side-middle), Kiran → seat 8 (a side-middle), Harsh → seat 4 (a side-middle) (12 possibilities left). Frame (clockwise from corner seat 1): _ · Farhan · _ · Harsh · Varun · _ · _ · Kiran
7. Clue 4 — "Harsh sits immediately to the left of Jaya (all facing the centre)." ⇒ Jaya → seat 3 (a corner) (4 possibilities left). Frame (clockwise from corner seat 1): _ · Farhan · Jaya · Harsh · Varun · _ · _ · Kiran
8. Clue 7 — "Kiran sits immediately to the right of Neha (all facing the centre)." ⇒ Tanvi → seat 7 (a corner), Uma → seat 6 (a side-middle), Neha → seat 1 (a corner) (1 possibility left). Frame (clockwise from corner seat 1): Neha · Farhan · Jaya · Harsh · Varun · Uma · Tanvi · Kiran
9. Exactly one seating (up to rotation) survives every clue: Neha, Farhan, Jaya, Harsh, Varun, Uma, Tanvi, Kiran clockwise, seat 1 being a corner.

## How to crack square seating puzzles faster

- Draw the square with **8 marked seats** — 4 corners, 4 side-middles — before reading a single clue.
- Place every "**sits at a corner / middle of a side**" clue first: each one halves the possibilities.
- Check WHO faces which way before any left/right clue — for an **outward-facing** sitter, left and right reverse.
- "Directly opposite" is always **4 seats away** and never depends on facing — corner faces corner, middle faces middle.

## FAQ

### What is the seating order around this square table?

The order clockwise is: Neha, Farhan, Jaya, Harsh, Varun, Uma, Tanvi, Kiran, starting from a corner. Relative positions are what matter — any rotation of the square that keeps corners on corners is the same answer.

### How do you solve square table seating arrangement puzzles?

Mark the 8 seats (4 corners, 4 side-middles) and place the corner/middle clues first. Then apply left/right clues, checking each person's facing direction — a person facing outward has left and right reversed compared to someone facing the centre.

## Learn the method

This post is one worked example. The topic page for circular and square seating carries the full method,
the clue-wording table and the mistakes that cost marks: https://deducepuzzles.com/reasoning/circular-seating-arrangement

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