Problem story

A problem story is one in which much of the story is set up to place the protagonist in a difficult situation, which requires some key insight to resolve or to recognize that there is no resolution.  Many science fiction stories are of this type, and part of the enjoyment of reading them is trying to see the solution before the protagonist does.  Examples of this kind of story are:

• “Omnilingual” by H. Beam Piper, in which the problem is translating an alien language for which there is (apparently) no Rosetta stone.
• “The Warriors” by Larry Niven, in which the human protagonists are disadvantaged in a space battle by having an inferior ship, facing an incredibly war-like species, and having no concept that civilized species are capable of warfare.
• “Belief” by Isaac Asimov, in which the protagonist needs to get help dealing with his mysterious ability to levitate, without being forcibly placed in a mental hospital.
• “The Cold Equations” by Tom Godwin, in which the protagonist (an emergency ship’s pilot) needs to find a way to save a stowaway’s life without jeopardizing his mission to save many lives on a colony world.