Balance (puzzle)

A balance puzzle is a mathematical puzzle which challenges the solver to distribute a subset of numbers so that the several sides of a stylized diagram representing a balance scale are equal.

It consists of a mobile or tree structure, with designated positions where the player must hang specified weights, so that everything balances.

There are usually 8 to 12 consecutive numbers (weights) to place, which makes it much smaller than, for example, sudoku.

Expert puzzlers often prefer puzzles where the rules explicitly states that there is only one solution.

It also makes generating puzzles a bit more difficult.