Official Mensa® Challenge – February 2026

Love a Challenge? Impress your valentine with your wits. Solve this Mensa quiz!

Questions

1. Stephanie bought some small souvenirs for a Mardi Gras party. At the first store, she spent half of what she had, plus $10 for bead strings. At the second store, she bought colorful beads for half of what she had left, plus $10. On the way home, she bought some postcards with half of what she had left. She ended up with $5. How much money did Stephanie start out with?

2. What simple step can you take to make each of these groups of letters into words?

     LBM  VRST  VLFY

3. Fill in the blanks to complete the names of four famous British writers.

     _ O _ R _ D
     _ I _ _ E _ S
     _ H _ _ E _ P _ _ R _
     T _ _ C _ _ R _ _

4. Julian bought a large number of stamps to give as presents to two of his collecting friends. One friend received half of the stamps, plus 5. The second friend received half of what was left, plus 10. In the end, Julian kept 10 for himself. How many stamps did Julian start out with?

5. A simple substitution code has been used to conceal a “quote.” Work out the code to decipher the original words. 

Little Bo Peep:
QMFBTF   EPOU   CSJOH   UIFN   IPNF.   J’N   DPOTJEFSJOH  B   DBSFFS   DIBOHF.

Answers

1. $100 (1/2 of 100 = $50; $50 + $10 = $60; leaving $40; 1/2 of $40 = $20; $20 +$10 = $30, leaving $10; 1/2 of $10 =$5, leaving $5)

2. Add vowels (the same vowel for each word): ALABAMA, EVEREST, VILIFY

3. CONRAD, DICKENS, SHAKESPEARE, THACKERAY

4. 90 (1/2 of 90 = 45; 45 + 5 = 50, leaving 40; 1/2 of 40 = 20; 20 + 10 = 30, leaving 10)

5. Please don’t bring them home. I’m considering a career change. (Code: A = B, B = C, C = D, etc.)

Just for LocalLife readers: Take the Mensa Practice Test for just $5! Visit americanmensa.org/mht and use offer code: Local21. Quiz © 2018 Dr. Abbie F. Salny. Mensa provides official tests and answers to LOCAL Life as part of an exclusive license agreement.