How Many Squares Are There? |10 Puzzles with Answers
How Many Squares Are There? How Many Squares Do You See?
The puzzles below challenge you to figure out the number of squares in each picture or diagram. I’m sure you’ve come across these types of puzzles before. Most people enjoy them because they sit in that perfect sweet spot between simplicity and challenge.
At first glance, they almost seem too easy. Just count the squares… how hard can that be? But don’t be fooled. They are not as straightforward as many people assume, and that’s exactly why we’ve included them in our puzzle collection.
What we know, and what makes them so enjoyable, is this: while they may look like quick visual scans, some of them are actually a real test of attention and patience. Hidden within the diagrams are overlapping shapes, nested squares, and patterns that are surprisingly easy to miss if you rush.
So, it’s not just about counting but noticing the small details most people tend to overlook. Every intersection matters, every angle can reveal something new, and the final answer is rarely as obvious as it first appears.
Ready to challenge your eyes and your brain? Dive in and see if you can uncover every single square hiding in plain sight.
HINT: A square is a four-sided shape (quadrilateral) with all sides equal in length and all four angles equal to 90 degrees. So any four-sided shape that doesn’t have all equal sides (such as rectangles) shouldn’t be included in your count.
Puzzle #1
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Answer: 14 Squares
Explanation:
1. Small 1×1 squares
There are 9 individual colored squares.
→ 9 squares
2. Medium 2×2 squares
These are squares made by combining four small squares.
In a 3×3 grid, you can form 4 of these:
(top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right)
→ 4 squares
3. One large 3×3 square
The entire grid counts as one big square.
→ 1 square
Total:
9 (small) + 4 (medium) + 1 (large) = 14 squares
Puzzle # 2
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Answer: 40
Puzzles # 3
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Answer: 11
Puzzle # 4
Puzzle #5
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Answer: 10 squares
Puzzle # 6
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Answer: 15 squares
Puzzle # 7
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Answer: 30 squares
1×1 squares:
There are 4 rows and 4 columns, which gives 4 × 4 = 16 small squares.
2×2 squares:
You can place a 2×2 square in 3 positions across and 3 positions down, giving 3 × 3 = 9 medium squares.
3×3 squares:
A 3×3 square fits in 2 positions horizontally and 2 vertically, so 2 × 2 = 4 large squares.
4×4 square:
The entire grid itself forms one big square.
Now add them all together:
16 + 9 + 4 + 1 = 30 squares in total.
Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed working out the number of squares in each puzzle. Is there a solution you don’t agree with? You may have found more or fewer squares than shown. Share your answer in the comments below, along with a clear explanation of how you got it.