Circular and Square Seating
advanced28 min read
Seating around a round table and around a square or rectangular one: which way is left when you face the centre, how facing outward reverses it, counting positions and opposite seats, and where people sit at corners and mid-sides.
What you will be able to do
- State which circular direction is a person's left when they face the centre.
- Reverse left and right for a person who faces outward.
- Count 'third to the left' and find the opposite seat around a circle.
- Lay out a square table with people at corners and mid-sides.
What is inside this lesson
- 1Round tables and square tables
- 2Left and right when facing the centre
- 3Facing outward reverses left and right
- 4Counting positions and opposite seats
- 5Square and rectangular tables
- 6Worked example: mixed circle
- 7Common mistakes
- 8Quick revision
- 9Practice
Get Pro for full access. This is section 1 of 9; the rest of the lesson opens with Pro at onelystop.in/upgrade.
Round tables and square tables
Two table shapes carry most of these puzzles:
- Round table: people sit evenly around a circle. All may face the centre, all may face outward, or the puzzle may mix the two.
- Square or rectangular table: people sit at the corners and at the middle of each side. Corner people and mid-side people often face different ways.
As with a row, the clues fix exactly one seating. The extra care a circle needs is over left and right, because those depend on which way each person faces.
The lesson itself is for members
Reading the 9 sections above is free. A free account opens the first 2 topics of every subject in full, along with flashcards and private notes.