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Card Tower Challenge

Build the tallest house of cards you can before it falls. Sounds simple. Ask anyone who's tried three storeys.

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Card Tower Challenge

Read the full instructions and gather your supplies before starting.

Step 1 of 5

Lean two cards against each other in an upside-down V. Get the angle right: too steep and it slides, too flat and it collapses.

Somewhere around the angle of a roof. Both cards should touch the table along their whole bottom edge.

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Time20 min
Playersa tower, briefly
DifficultyTricky
SectionGames

This one is all yours

Nothing sharp, nothing hot, nowhere far. Tell someone what you're up to, then go ahead and do it on your own.

How to play

5 steps. Tap one when it's done.

Why it works

A card can't stand up by itself, but two leaning against each other push on each other equally, and that push holds them both up. Each floor spreads the weight above it across every V beneath, which is why a tower with a wide base survives and a skinny one doesn't.