Pattern Puzzles for Kids: 30 What-Comes-Next Puzzles on Riddlepedia
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Pattern Puzzles for Kids: 30 What-Comes-Next Puzzles

30 riddles · tap Hint or Answer to reveal

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A pattern puzzle shows you a few pieces of a sequence and asks one question: what comes next? To answer it, you have to find the rule hiding underneath. Maybe each number is 3 more than the one before, maybe the shapes repeat in a loop, or maybe the letters are secretly the first letters of the months.

These 30 pattern puzzles for kids start with simple counting and repeating shapes, then move to letter patterns, times and days, and finish with sequences that make grown-ups think twice. Each one has a single clear rule, explained in the answer, so kids can check their thinking and not just their guess.

Easy Pattern Puzzles

What comes next? 3, 6, 9, 12, ?

Hint
Look at how much bigger each number gets.
Answer
  1. Each number is 3 more than the one before.

What comes next? 40, 36, 32, 28, ?

Hint
The numbers are going down by the same amount each time.
Answer
  1. Each number is 4 less than the one before.

What comes next? ▲ ■ ● ▲ ■ ● ▲ ?

Hint
Find the group of shapes that repeats.
Answer
■ (a square). The pattern triangle, square, circle repeats, and a square always follows a triangle.

What comes next? 🌞 🌙 🌞 🌙 🌞 ?

Hint
Think about what follows every day.
Answer
🌙 (the moon). The sun and moon take turns.

What comes next? 1, 11, 21, 31, ?

Hint
Look only at the tens digit.
Answer
  1. Each number is 10 more than the one before, so the ones digit stays 1.

What comes next? 🐣 / 🐣🐣 / 🐣🐣🐣 / ?

Hint
Count the chicks in each group.
Answer
Four chicks (🐣🐣🐣🐣). Each group has one more chick than the one before.

What comes next? Spring, Summer, Fall, ?

Hint
Think of the year going round.
Answer
Winter. These are the four seasons in order.

What letter comes next? A, E, I, O, ?

Hint
These letters are special. You’ll find at least one of them in almost every word.
Answer
U. These are the vowels in alphabet order.

What comes next? Friday, Thursday, Wednesday, ?

Hint
Is the week moving forward or backward?
Answer
Tuesday. The days of the week are going backward, one at a time.

What comes next? ⬆️ ➡️ ⬇️ ⬅️ ⬆️ ➡️ ?

Hint
Picture a clock hand turning.
Answer
⬇️ (down). The arrow turns a quarter turn clockwise each time: up, right, down, left, and around again.

Medium Pattern Puzzles

What comes next? 2, 6, 18, 54, ?

Hint
Adding won’t work here. Try multiplying.
Answer
  1. Each number is 3 times the one before: 54 × 3 = 162.

What comes next? 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, ?

Hint
The jumps aren’t all the same, but they take turns.
Answer
  1. The pattern adds 1, then 2, then 1, then 2. After 10 comes +2.

What letter comes next? B, E, H, K, ?

Hint
Count the letters you skip each time.
Answer
N. Each letter is 3 places after the one before in the alphabet (K, L, M, N).

What comes next? January, March, May, July, ?

Hint
Some months are missing. How many each time?
Answer
September. The pattern skips one month every time: July, (August), September.

What time comes next? 12:00, 12:15, 12:30, ?

Hint
How many minutes are added each time?
Answer
12:45. Each time is 15 minutes (a quarter of an hour) later.

What comes next? AB, CD, EF, ?

Hint
Say the letters out loud in order.
Answer
GH. Each pair is the next two letters of the alphabet.

What comes next? 10, 14, 12, 16, 14, ?

Hint
The numbers go up, then down, then up. By how much each time?
Answer
  1. The rule is +4, then −2, over and over. After 14 comes +4.

What comes next? ⭐ / ⭐⭐⭐ / ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / ?

Hint
Count the stars in each group. Are they even or odd?
Answer
Seven stars. Each group has 2 more stars than the one before: 1, 3, 5, 7.

What comes next? I, II, III, IV, ?

Hint
These are numbers the ancient Romans used.
Answer
V. These are Roman numerals for 1, 2, 3, 4, and V means 5.

What comes next? Triangle, square, pentagon, ?

Hint
Count the sides of each shape.
Answer
Hexagon. The shapes have 3, 4, 5 and then 6 sides.

Tricky Pattern Puzzles

What comes next? 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ?

Hint
Look at the two numbers just before each one.
Answer
  1. Each number is the sum of the two before it: 5 + 8 = 13. This is the famous Fibonacci sequence.

What comes next? 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ?

Hint
Each of these numbers can only be divided evenly by 1 and by itself.
Answer
  1. These are the prime numbers, which can only be divided evenly by 1 and themselves.

What comes next? 1, 8, 27, 64, ?

Hint
Try 1 × 1 × 1, then 2 × 2 × 2.
Answer
  1. These are cube numbers: 5 × 5 × 5 = 125.

What letter comes next? A, B, D, G, K, ?

Hint
The gaps between the letters keep growing.
Answer
P. The jumps are 1, 2, 3, 4 and then 5 letters: K, (L, M, N, O), P.

What letter comes next? J, F, M, A, M, J, ?

Hint
Think about the calendar on your wall.
Answer
J. They’re the first letters of the months: January to June, and next is July.

What comes next? 2, 4, 8, 14, 22, ?

Hint
Write the jumps between the numbers. Do you see a pattern in them?
Answer
  1. The jumps are 2, 4, 6, 8 and then 10: 22 + 10 = 32.

What comes next? AZ, BY, CX, ?

Hint
The first letters go one way through the alphabet, and the second letters go the other way.
Answer
DW. The first letter moves forward (A, B, C, D), and the second moves backward from Z (Z, Y, X, W).

What comes next? 1, 4, 13, 40, ?

Hint
Multiply each number by 3, then add a little.
Answer
  1. Each number is 3 times the one before, plus 1: 40 × 3 + 1 = 121.

What comes next? 31, 28, 31, 30, 31, ?

Hint
These numbers aren’t counting anything you can see. Think about a calendar.
Answer
  1. These are the days in each month: January (31), February (28), March (31), April (30), May (31), and June has 30.

What comes next? 1, 10, 11, 100, 101, ?

Hint
Every number is made only of 1s and 0s. Find the next one in order.
Answer
  1. These are the smallest numbers you can write with only 1s and 0s, in order. (They’re also 1 to 6 written in binary, the counting system computers use.)

Pattern Puzzle Tips for Class and Home

  • Find the rule first: before guessing, ask kids to say the rule out loud (“add 3 each time”). If the rule works for every step in the puzzle, the answer is right.
  • Write the jumps: for number puzzles, write the difference between each pair of numbers underneath. Many tricky patterns turn into easy ones once you see the jumps.
  • Build it: use blocks, beads or colored pencils for the shape and emoji patterns. Younger kids can extend the pattern three more steps, not just one.
  • Make your own: have students invent a pattern with one clear rule and swap it with a partner. If the partner finds a different rule that also works, the puzzle needs one more clue.

Want more puzzles? Try our number riddles, these math brain teasers or our logic puzzles for kids.