Find the missing card: three puzzles with answers

To play a missing-card game, study a hand, hide it, then compare it with a second hand containing one fewer card. Name the exact card that disappeared, including its suit. You are finding an absence, not looking for two matching cards.

Try these three original examples in order. Look at “Before”, cover it or scroll it away, then examine “After”. The page does not enforce a viewing time. Use the answer reveal only when you have a guess. These examples are not today’s Vanish hands.

1. Start with distinct ranks

When every rank differs, a short list such as “ace, four, seven, queen” can be a useful starting point. Attach the suit to each item before the hand disappears. Otherwise a multiple-choice answer containing several fours could catch you out.

2. Watch the repeated rank

This is where suit grouping helps: one heart, one club, one spade and two diamonds. After the change there is no heart. That points you towards the missing suit, but you still need the remembered rank to name the card.

3. Separate several similar cards

A practical way to study a hand

Begin with ranks, then check duplicates. Give repeated ranks an explicit suit label: “heart jack, spade jack”. On a larger hand, try grouping by suit and remembering the ranks within each group. Use whichever description is shorter for that particular hand.

When the second hand appears, account for the surviving cards before answering. Do not rely on an empty-looking position, since a missing-card game may rearrange the survivors. The examples above deliberately change the order in puzzles 2 and 3.

You can also play on a table with an ordinary deck: one person lays out distinct cards, the other looks away, and the first removes one. Keep the removed card aside for checking. Agree beforehand whether the remaining cards can be rearranged. That makes the rules clear without requiring scores or a stopwatch.

Missing cards versus matching pairs

In matching pairs, you turn over face-down cards and try to find two that match, often remembering their locations across turns. In missing-card play, you saw a set of identities and must work out which is absent. The same deck can support both games, but the questions differ.

Vanish in Puzzle Lantern uses missing-card rounds with five answer choices. Its product guide explains the Daily, More puzzles and round structure. For a different task, see positions versus order, or compare iPhone memory games by the activity they ask you to perform.