A Brief History of Puzzles

A Brief History of Puzzles PDF Author: William Hartston
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1786494280
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 138

Book Description
From ancient riddles to modern Sudoku, people have been fascinated by puzzles. Whether they are seen as a glorious waste of time, a harmless way to spend a train journey or a valuable way of exercising the mind, the lure of puzzles has been irresistible. By using over a hundred of examples of the most mindbending, the most challenging, the most satisfying, or simply the most humorous of puzzles throughout the ages, William Hartston traces the development of brainteasers of all varieties and the increasing ingenuity of puzzle setters from ancient civilisations to modern puzzle crazes.

The Jigsaw Puzzle

The Jigsaw Puzzle PDF Author: Anne Douglas Williams
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
ISBN: 9780425198209
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Book Description
Originally created as an educational tool for children in the 1700s, jigsaw puzzles developed into a national craze during the Great Depression. A renowned puzzle expert pieces together the origins of this beloved pastime and examine the minds of such famous puzzlers as Queen Elizabeth II, Bill Gates, and Stephen King. Includes illustrations and photos. 0-425-19820-0$22.95 / Penguin Group

The Puzzler

The Puzzler PDF Author: A.J. Jacobs
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0593136721
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 385

Book Description
The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world. “Even though I’ve never attempted the New York Times crossword puzzle or solved the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t put down The Puzzler.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before Look for the author’s new podcast, The Puzzler, based on this book! What makes puzzles—jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus—so satisfying? Be it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight and humor, or their community-building properties, they’re among the fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have made him a better person, A.J. Jacobs—four-time New York Times bestselling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly crossworder—set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost. In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik’s Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers, and a hidden, super-challenging but solvable puzzle—The Puzzler will open readers’ eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration. Whether you’re puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you’ll walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward becoming a better thinker and decision maker—for these are certainly puzzling times.

Master Pieces

Master Pieces PDF Author: Chris McCann
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781888054248
Category : Jigsaw puzzle art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
The Golden Age of puzzle art was a glorious celebration of great art brought home to the kitchen table "Master Pieces" is a rich collection of hundreds of full-color assembled puzzles. Included are artist biographies and a collector's value guide.

The Curious History of the Crossword

The Curious History of the Crossword PDF Author: Ben Tausig
Publisher:
ISBN: 1937994457
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Book Description
Discover the curious history of the world's most addictive game and its unusual upbringing. Celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the beloved crossword puzzle, readers can solve over 100 different puzzles from top constructors.

Games for Your Mind

Games for Your Mind PDF Author: Jason Rosenhouse
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691200343
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 348

Book Description
A lively and engaging look at logic puzzles and their role in mathematics, philosophy, and recreation Logic puzzles were first introduced to the public by Lewis Carroll in the late nineteenth century and have been popular ever since. Games like Sudoku and Mastermind are fun and engrossing recreational activities, but they also share deep foundations in mathematical logic and are worthy of serious intellectual inquiry. Games for Your Mind explores the history and future of logic puzzles while enabling you to test your skill against a variety of puzzles yourself. In this informative and entertaining book, Jason Rosenhouse begins by introducing readers to logic and logic puzzles and goes on to reveal the rich history of these puzzles. He shows how Carroll's puzzles presented Aristotelian logic as a game for children, yet also informed his scholarly work on logic. He reveals how another pioneer of logic puzzles, Raymond Smullyan, drew on classic puzzles about liars and truthtellers to illustrate Kurt Gödel's theorems and illuminate profound questions in mathematical logic. Rosenhouse then presents a new vision for the future of logic puzzles based on nonclassical logic, which is used today in computer science and automated reasoning to manipulate large and sometimes contradictory sets of data. Featuring a wealth of sample puzzles ranging from simple to extremely challenging, this lively and engaging book brings together many of the most ingenious puzzles ever devised, including the "Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever," metapuzzles, paradoxes, and the logic puzzles in detective stories.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw Puzzles PDF Author: Anne Douglas Williams
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780870695377
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Book Description
Bouve collection.

U.S. History Puzzles, Book 2, Grades 5 - 8

U.S. History Puzzles, Book 2, Grades 5 - 8 PDF Author:
Publisher: Mark Twain Media
ISBN: 1622236084
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 52

Book Description
U.S. History Puzzles, Book 2 for grades 5 to 8+ reinforces American history with fun, puzzle-based activities that engage students in the learning process. Filled with crosswords, puzzles, word searches, hidden messages, and more, this series provides a fun way to learn about early North American exploration to U.S. involvement in the Middle East and everything in between! Mark Twain Media Publishing Company specializes in providing engaging supplemental books and decorative resources to complement middle- and upper-grade classrooms. Designed by leading educators, this product line covers a range of subjects including math, science, language arts, social studies, history, government, fine arts, and character.

The Penguin Book of Puzzles

The Penguin Book of Puzzles PDF Author: Gareth Moore
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0718188616
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 506

Book Description
Want to keep your brain active and in trim? Challenge your mind with The Penguin Book of Puzzles . . . From the riddles of the ancients to puzzles that perplex the greatest minds of today, The Penguin Book of Puzzles is a glorious compendium of conundrums from throughout history. These challenges will require all the reader's wits to solve, but range from the easy to the brain-bending and are suitable for novice and veteran puzzlers alike. There is something here to suit every taste, including crosswords, mathematical challenges, word games and logic conundrums, but also some intriguing types of puzzles that have been unearthed from centuries gone by. Hours of fun await you in this timeless and entertaining miscellany of puzzlement. ____________ A Sumerian Riddle (circa 18th Century) There is a house. The blind enter it and then come out seeing. What is that house? ____________ A Charade I have wings, yet never fly - I have sails, yet never go - I cant keep still, if I try, Yet forever stand just so. ____________

Ancient Puzzles

Ancient Puzzles PDF Author: Dominic Olivastro
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Book Description
Comprising the entire brainteasing spectrum from the silly and quirky to the clever and profound and drawing on classic wisdom from around the world and from as far back as 7,000 B.C., this collection features puzzles via Hebrew mystics, medieval Muslims, Benjamin Franklin, Sun Tsu, and more.