Circular Seating Arrangement

In a circular seating puzzle, 6–8 people sit around a round table. Because the table is circular, positions are defined only by relationships to other people — there is no fixed "seat 1." Fix one person as an anchor and arrange everyone else relative to that anchor.

Left and right are always from the seated person's own perspective (facing the centre).

1. Draw a circle with the correct number of seats marked.
2. Fix the anchor — place the first person mentioned (or the one with the most clues) at the top of the circle.
3. Place people with direct clues: "B sits immediately to the right of A" → place B one seat clockwise from A.
4. Use negative clues to eliminate seats: "C is not next to D."
5. Fill remaining seats by elimination — if only one seat is left for a person, place them there.
6. Verify all clues after completing the circle.

Example 1: Six people — A, B, C, D, E, F around a round table. Clues:

• A sits opposite D.
• B is immediately to the right of A.
• C is between D and F.
• E is not next to A.

Step 1: Fix A at top. D is opposite → D at bottom. Step 2: B immediately right of A → B at top-right seat. Step 3: C is between D and F. Seats adjacent to D: bottom-left and bottom-right. Place C and F there. Step 4: Remaining seats: top-left and one middle. E is not next to A, so E takes the seat not adjacent to A. Result (clockwise from A): A, B, ?, F, D, C [E fills the remaining gap, not next to A].

Example 2: Four people — P, Q, R, S at a round table. Clues:

• P sits opposite R.
• Q is to the immediate left of P.

Fix P at top → R at bottom. Q immediately left of P → Q at top-left. S takes the remaining seat (top-right). Order (clockwise): P, S, R, Q.

• Mixing up "left" and "right" — always interpret left/right from the perspective of the person sitting there (facing inward).
• Not fixing an anchor first — without anchoring one person, you'll rotate your arrangement and get confused.
• "Opposite" in odd-numbered groups — "opposite" is only well-defined when the number of seats is even (each person has exactly one seat directly across).

1. Five people (A–E) sit in a circle. A is opposite to no one (5 seats). B is immediately right of A. C is two seats to the left of A. Who sits between B and C?
2. Six people sit around a table. X is opposite Y. Z is immediately left of X. Who is immediately right of Y if W sits between Y and Z (going clockwise from Y)?

(Answers: 1 → identify the two seats between B and C, use elimination; 2 → work clockwise: X, Z on X's left; W between Y and Z; the seat immediately right of Y is W)