Puzzle #17: Marks in Only One

Hard · Combination · target time about 28 seconds

Which option completes the pattern?

How to solve it (answer: F)

The rule

The third panel in each row keeps the marks that appear in only one panel.

Step by step

Look at the top row: four marks, then the top side, the bottom left dot, and the bottom right dot, then seven marks.
The middle row follows the same rule.
In the bottom row, the first panel has four lines and the second has four marks, so the answer shows eight marks.

Tip: Compare the first two panels mark by mark, then test each rule on the third panel.

Why the wrong options look right

The wrong options keep most of the pattern and change which marks are kept or an extra mark, so each one looks finished at a glance. Check both before you choose.

Option A: It keeps the first panel's marks that the second panel lacks.
Option B: It keeps the second panel's marks that the first panel lacks.
Option C: It keeps every mark from both panels, and adds a mark neither panel has.
Option D: It keeps the first panel's marks that the second panel lacks, and adds a mark neither panel has.
Option E: It keeps the second panel's marks that the first panel lacks, and adds a mark neither panel has.

About combination puzzles

Two cells combine into the third. Read the guide to combination puzzles for the method and the common traps.

More combination puzzles

This was one combination puzzle

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