Some great thinking has no school subject.

Play: Ask yes-or-no questions. Shrink the animal grid. Guess before the score falls too far.

Builds: asking better questions and using the answers.

Play: Several clues point to one suspect. Put them together and rule out anything that clashes.

Builds: combining clues instead of reading each one alone.

Play: Guess a hidden 4-symbol code. Every try tells you what is right, close or in the wrong place.

Builds: using feedback to make the next guess better.

Play: Objects pass or fail a hidden rule. Test examples until you can say what the rule is.

Builds: forming an idea, testing it, then changing it if it fails.

Play: A treasure is hidden. Ask questions that cut down the possible places quickly.

Builds: deciding which information is worth asking for.

Play: Arrange parts so a ball gets from the start to the goal. Run it, watch it, change the build.

Builds: cause and effect before trial and error takes over.

Play: Watch what goes into the factory and what comes out. Work out the hidden change.

Builds: finding a rule from examples.

Play: A robot follows a set of instructions. One step is wrong. Find it and repair the route.

Builds: tracing a mistake back to where it started.

Play: Set the right conditions so the correct signal fires. Change a condition and see what changes.

Builds: holding more than one rule in mind.

Play: Choose supplies with a limited budget. Then the trip changes and the plan has to change with it.

Builds: planning with limits and uncertainty.

Play: Move vehicles in the right order to free the ambulance in as few moves as possible.

Builds: thinking ahead before making the first move.

Play: Choose stock and prices, see how demand reacts, then decide whether to stick or change.

Builds: making decisions when the answer is not certain.

Play: Hold a sequence, then repeat it under a rule: same order, reverse order or only the items that match.

Builds: keeping information while doing something with it.

Play: Answer by one rule. Then the rule changes. Drop the old one and respond to the new one.

Builds: changing approach without getting stuck.

Play: Hear a short pitch pattern, hold it in mind, then choose the pattern that matches.

Builds: careful listening and working memory.

Play: Hear a word, then build it from the right chunks.

Builds: hearing how words are put together.