Reviews (3)

Ingenious!
Almost exactly ninety years ago, Sam Loyd's 'Cyclopaedia of Puzzles' was published in New York. This was a collection of a very large number of his puzzles which had mostly appeared in the American Press. Many were illustrated with delightful pictures at the head of the page, drawn in Sam's own hand. Barry Clarke's new book has marked similarities in layout with illustrations drawn by the author at the head of many pages and many puzzles had previously appeared in the 'Brain Twister' column in the Daily Telegraph. The drawings are remarkably like Sam Loyd's, but there the similarity stops. Sam Loyd's book was foolscap size and hard bound while Barry's has the typical Dover cover, but the real difference is in the puzzles themselves. Barry's puzzles are graded in difficulty, so that readers who do not wish to be challenged too much can start with the first section and gradually work themselves in. Also, the puzzles are ingenious and well thought out and hints are provided before the full solutions for those who need a bit of steering. This is altogether a very good read, guaranteed to keep the puzzler in the family busy over Christmas. I thoroughly recommend it. The Mathematical Poetry of a Puzzle Artist: Barry R. Clarke
In this most recent adventure into the Puzzling World of Barry R. Clarke, I found my mind quite well entertained. What I enjoy most about logic puzzles is their requirement for little if any prior knowledge, and each of Barry's "puzzlers" is no different. However, what is missing in most logic and mathematical puzzle books is a touch of true creativity and humor. In Brain Busters! I found that while my mathematical mind was challenged to the limit, I was also encouraged to think in new and original ways, moving from basic logic to the simple yet complex world of recreational mathematics. Barry Clarke pushes your mind to the edge with this most recent creation, and holds you there. Mind S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g!
I'm always thrilled when an exciting book of puzzles appears on the bookshelves, especially if it is by Barry Clarke.Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's All Ages - Games    2. Games    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Logic & Brain Teasers    5. Logic, Symbolic and mathematic    6. Logic, Symbolic and mathematical    7. Mathematical recreations    8. Puzzles    9. Recreations & Games    10. Games / Puzzles    11. Puzzles & quizzes   

Reviews (3)

FUN
This book is sooo much fun. If you love puzzles you will love this dot to dot book. I couldn't believe I had so much fun from a silly dot to dot book.

The Greatest Dot To Dot Book In The World Book 3
This series of dot-to-dot books are wonderful.As a child, I loved games and challenges.Dot-to-dots and mazes were my favorites.I had no idea these books even existed until I saw them in a Bits and Pieces catalog several weeks ago.I looked them up on Amazon and found there were four books.I ordered all four books from Amazon even though I thought I would probably be disappointed if they were too simple.Even as an adult, I still work dot-to-dots when I find them in magazines and newspapers, so I figured I had nothing to lose even if these books were for children.I'm in the baby-boomer generation, so I confess I like to revisit my childhood era occasionally. Terrific fun!
I heartily recommend THE GREATEST DOT TO DOT BOOK IN THE WORLD series!The puzzles are challenging and very enjoyable.I'm a 66 year old grandmother and my husband and I enjoy doing the puzzles together and we recommend these well-produced books to people of all ages and abilities.Thanks for the fun, Mr. Kalvitis!Read more

Subjects:  1. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    2. Logic & Brain Teasers    3. Activity Books    4. Activity Books - Coloring Books    5. Activity Books - Dot to Dot    6. Blank books   

Editorial Review

This is not one of those pencil mazes you worked on as a kid. The entire book is one addictivemaze. Each page spread is a room leading to other page/rooms. Your goal is to find the shortest route to thecenter and back while solving the puzzle in the center room--if you can figure out what the puzzle is. Butthen, Read more

Reviews (30)

One of the best puzzles ever, but also one of the toughest
A puzzle not for the faint-of-heart -- there is NO solution available to brute force and you are not expected to solve it in an evening. It's an exciting, detailed trip through a fiendish den of riddles and allusions with an untrustworthy guide, and I've used it as a great conversation piece with smart people. (Somewhere I have whole notebooks filled with sketched maps and riddle notes, the combined efforts of my theatre group ...) Highly recommended for those who love difficult, DIFFICULT puzzles.

nice but ... no answers
The format of this book is interesting:each numbered page is a room.The reader's goal is interesting:find the path from the first room to the 45th room and back.The text follows a person (the narrator) guiding a small group of visitors around the maze-building.The drawings are all pen & ink (no color).The task & setup are fun, but ...
I met them at the gate though I usually wait inside...
This book is truly one of the most amazing creations I've ever held in my two hands. The dialogues, the pictures, the clues, riddles, symbolism, historical references...it's all fantastic. I've been working on this for over three years now with my best friend and several others, and although we solved it over a year ago, we still keep going back to this book. Everytime you open it up, there's something new to discover. And the more research we do, the more incredible it becomes. It truly lives up to its' title as the World's Most Challenging Puzzle. We're still trying to dicipher clues in some of the rooms, although we have theories about nearly all of them, and some hard facts on quite a few.
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Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Puzzles    5. Indoor games    6. Puzzles & quizzes   

Reviews (3)

I predict this book will be aMathematical Recreations classic.
Martin Gardner is the name that always comes to mind when one thinks of Mathematical Recreations. Anyone who ever read Scientific American magazine will remember his column in every issue. He wrote the column for 25 years;and made puzzle lovers of millions of readers. His fans ran the gamut from those with a very elementary background in mathematics to those with a high degree of knowledge. What he did was to make mathematics something to enjoy and use as a recreational pursuit. Over the years, he wrote about 70 books,many that have been popular for a long time.
Gardner's collection of puzzles over the years (from Scientific American)
What a great collection of puzzles.Anyone who likes puzzles SHOULD own this.
THE gift
The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems is going to be THE gift to send to your puzzle-loving friends and family.Gardener is a master and a national treasure.Every math teacher should own this book as a resource, and every puzzle-lover should have it for hours of fun.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Logic & Brain Teasers    3. Mathematical Recreations    4. Mathematics    5. Puzzles    6. Recreations & Games    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Scientific recreations    9. Mathematics / General    10. Puzzles & quizzes   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Indoor Games    5. Logic & Brain Teasers    6. Puzzles    7. GAMES / Logic & Brain Teasers    8. Games / Puzzles   

Editorial Review

This book has been a classic in the former Soviet Union since it was first published in 1956, and it remains just as entertaining today. A master at making math fun for his high school students, Boris Kordemsky loaded this clever collection with a wide variety of math and logic related games and puzzles dealing with magic squares, tricky weights and measures, properties of numbers, mathematical tricks, and more.Number and math game fans are bound to find several new amusements here. Even many of the well-known classics from generations past take on new life with the fresh twists Kordemsky provides. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

An absolutely must have for puzzle lovers.

Wonderful, charming puzzles teach problem solving.
I was thrilled and surprised to see that this book is still in print. I loved puzzles as a child and spent many hours for fun working the problems in this book (which may have paved the way for my PhD in Computer Science). I fished out my old copy recently to show my 11 year old daughter how I spent my spare hours as a child - *not* playing computer games of dubious educational value. I am sure that working the problems in this book helped increase my problem solving skills -in a different and more general way than I was learning in school.
Comprehensive set of math puzzles for various levels
Nice collection of problems which demand some creativity as well as varying degrees of mathematical prowess.Also populated with interesting anedotes regarding mathematicians throughout history.Read more

Subjects:  1. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    2. Games/Puzzles    3. Mathematical recreations    4. Puzzles    5. Recreations & Games    6. Brain teasers    7. Games / Puzzles    8. Indoor games   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Intellect    5. Logic & Brain Teasers    6. Personal Growth - Memory Improvement    7. Problems, exercises, etc    8. Games / Logic & Brain Teasers    9. Intelligence    10. Memory improvement & thinking techniques   

Reviews (3)

The best puzzle book ever!
This book will keep you entertained for days!Besides the Sudoku puzzles, you will greatly enjoy the Bridges (also known as Hashi) and Slitherlink.I've been searching everywhere for more Slitherlink puzzles because they are fantastic!Buy this book, you will not be dissapointed!

Sudoku, Bridges, and Slitherlink
There are a lot of Su Doku book on the market but most of them are aimed at the beginner and novice.I have had a hard time finding harder puzzles.This book has some.
From the Board Games Editor at BellaOnline.com
This book is for serious sudoku-ers only!The puzzles are more difficult than those you'd expect from the sudoku books already on the market, but definitely as much, if not more, fun!
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Subjects:  1. Crosswords - General    2. Games    3. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Logic & Brain Teasers    6. Puzzles    7. Sudoku    8. Games / Puzzles   

Reviews (1)

When my children took the Stanford Achievement Test,
they both scored well above grade level in everything except thinking skills. I heard about 'BTS' from a friend and thought it might help. After working with it just one year, they maxed out the thinking section of thetest at the 99th percentile! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cognitive Psychology    2. Education    3. Logic & Brain Teasers    4. Teaching Methods & Materials - General   

Reviews (2)

It could have been much better...
I tried to like this book - the old series was very good. But in the end it just wasn't very good. Strike one is the lack of evidence before giving the solution. A good mystery should have an solution that is obvious when you reread it. Many of the solutions here rely on information which is never given and only make sense when extra evidence is given in the solution. Strike two is the lack of believability. I realize that Clue mysteries have always been light, but it loses something with the "I killed him because he made a mess of the house" or "Look he's dead - anyone want to go for coffee" style. And strike three is that the stories seem to drone on without really developing the story. Good.But not as good as the old series.
Clue Mysteries is a great book.I love how the character names and motives are the same ones given in their character descriptions on the insert in the game box.But, the comedy falls short to the comedy in the now out-of-print book series created by A.E.Parker.The mysteries are well written, and much longer than those of the original series.I really love the way Cameron describes the discovery of Mr.Boddy's body in each chapter.It's like,"Oh look.Here's John with a big, bloddy dagger sticking out of his back.Let's have some tea."So casual.Plus, at the end of each mystery, one suspect will point to another and accuse them just like in the board game.To make a long story short, too late, I'm looking forward to the sequal due out in September, and will definitely be buying it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Detective and mystery stories,    2. Detective and mystery stories, Canadian    3. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    4. Games    5. Games/Puzzles    6. Logic & Brain Teasers    7. Mystery & Detective - Short Stories    8. Mystery fiction    9. Puzzles    10. Crime & mystery    11. English    12. Indoor games    13. Short stories   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Indoor Games    5. Logic & Brain Teasers    6. Puzzles    7. Recreations & Games    8. Games / Puzzles   

Editorial Review

One of the most popular features of National Public Radio's Read more

Reviews (6)

Puzzles, But No Tricks
If you listen to Will Shortz on Sunday's Weekend Edition, you know what kind of puzzles are in this volume. Half the puzzles are of the type that he conducts with a call-in listener. This usually involves a series of word puzzles with short answers you can come up with on the spot. The other half of the puzzles in The Puzzlemaster Presents are of the sort that he leaves us with to solve during the week. They are harder and have one correct answer. Will Shortz fan
As a fan of Will Shortz's other puzzle books I was eager to try the puzzles in this volume. There is a good variety ranging from fairly easy to extremely challenging puzzles. The topics are varied with both puzzles and answers presented in an easy to use format. Many puzzle books do not provide adequate space to properly fill in your answers but this book does.

AN AMERICAN TREASURE
Will Shortz has delighted puzzle lovers world-wide for years. This collection is another excellent offering from the man who has dedicated his life to the pleasure of solving puzzles.If you have neither listened toWill's radio show nor purchased this book,you're missing out on a greatopportunity to have a good deal of challenging fun. I still get a kick (and feel honored) when Will features one of my puzzles on his show becauseof the way he makes it come to life with his enthusiasm. If you don't knowby now, Will Shortz is the master of wordplay. Do yourself, friends, andfamily a favor. Get this book for hours of good,clean-cut fun and then tunein his show on NPR for more. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crossword puzzles    2. Games    3. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    4. Games/Puzzles    5. Logic & Brain Teasers    6. Puzzles    7. Games / Puzzles   

Reviews (5)

Will Shortz
Will Shortz, need I say more, what he touches turns to gold, he and Carol Vorderman are greatest.

300 puzzles
Okay, I'm hooked! This is the latest puzzle book I picked up. I love doing Sudoku puzzles, and this ones pretty decent.

Not too bad
I agree it's a bit big, but on the other hand you get all the puzzles you'll ever need - maybe even a bit more than you need, but then you can do what we did and rip the puzzles out and split them between family members. I know, it's an awful thing to do to a book, but still... In summary, high quality puzzles, just like we've come to expect. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Logic puzzles    5. Mathematical recreations    6. Puzzles    7. Sudoku    8. Brain teasers   

Reviews (8)

The value of logic, or the illogic of value?
This book, by a well-known poser of puzzles, sets out of the order of a thousand logic puzzles in a format loosely styled upon the presentation of Scheherazade, but in a somewhat less entrancing way.The problem with logic is that there is just so much of it about. Perhaps the axiom 'less is more' might have been applied and some judicious excision of the more mechanical or repetitious examples been performed.The jewels are lost amongst the glass beads. Obviously by its nature mathematical logic eschews value judgements, but in the present case this seems to have been taken rather too literally.

Good book---too much algebra
This book is a good source of riddles, old and new. Unfortunately, a lot of the riddles are just basic algebra problems... and that's not very fun. But if you skip (or quickly work out) the silly algebra riddles, there are still a lot of other interesting riddles. And also there's a neat way to prove Gauss's summing rule in this book.
Better than Sam Loyd!
This is probably the best book on logic puzzles ever written (aside from other Smullyan books, that is).It is witty, challenging, and has problems of all kinds.The first half is framed as a continuation to the Arabian Nights, with ingenious and original puzzles (aside from the occasional oldy snuck in) given an Arabian touch.
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Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Logic & Brain Teasers    5. Logic puzzles    6. Mathematical recreations    7. Puzzles    8. Recreations & Games    9. Brain teasers    10. Mathematics / Recreations & Games   

Reviews (11)

An Excellent Introduction to Limit Hold 'Em
Professing to address both of the most popular forms of hold 'em (limit and no limit), Ed Miller's first solo effort does a terrific job providing useful approaches for the former.The first 35 pages are spent as a cursory review of hand/board reading and rules/regs, which may be necessary for some.However, from page 35, and through the next 80 pages, the limit hold 'em section is absolutely terrific, as Ed takes you through an in-depth analysis of the play of 9 hands from all manner of positions on the table.The best aspect of these hand examples is the marriage of visual (you see a theoretical hand played from deal to river in most cases) applications of such points as:
you'll notice
(Well, you should notice) every 2 + 2 publishing company release receives stunning reviews.Generally, this is due to a confluence of factors, not least among them, the oppurtunity for poker nerds (who spend more time contributing to the twoplustwo website and forums than they do playing poker) to substantiate and footnote their opinions with a number of texts that can be treated as a "canon", and where poker "truth" is enshrined for the would be cognoscenti to reference.But also because they contain solid advice, if not always of a type that lends itself to effective implementation in real life poker.So, to be honest, it is fair to say that some of their poker books warrant the stars they receive, and some do not.Miller's other book, Small Stakes Hold'em, is worth the purchase price, this one ain't.Everything in it, EVERYTHING, can be found in cheaper books, and less pedantically--that is to say, less confusingly--presented.And you will know absolutely nothing about playing hold 'em for money when you are finished reading it.Read Internet Texas Hold Em first, which will present you with a real world strategy sufficient to protect you from too swift a fall into gambler's ruin.Then read Miller's other book.
This book should be titled Getting Started in Limit Holdem
The short: The limit section is 77 pages, the no-limit (NL) section is 33 pages.
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Subjects:  1. Card Games - Poker    2. Gambling    3. Gambling - Table    4. Games    5. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    6. Games/Puzzles    7. Logic & Brain Teasers    8. Poker   

Reviews (20)

Sudoku Fever
Sudoku!Even the name is redolent of an island paradise far from the traditional workaday rat race!Did you know that, as Michael Mepham confesses, the game is an American one which the Japanese picked up and gave it their own translation for its name?It's true: "Su" means "number," while "doku" means bachelor.And In English, "sudo" means "pseudo," that is, ersatz or fake, while "ku" means, well, in English we have the expression "cuckoo," as in "I'm nuts about Sudoku!"
not so "gentle"
I got interested in Sudoku puzzles through the newspaper, and I felt I had the grasp of it and could solve them fairly quickly when I received this book as a gift.While the introduction to Sudoku was helpful and much more thorough than other books, I was very nearly put off by what they consider "gentle" puzzles.I found them quite difficult compared to what I had encountered in the newspaper and on the internet.So I would not consider this the book for a very casual sudoku puzzler but rather someone who wants more of a challenge.Assuming I ever get through the "gentle" ones, I imagine the moderate and tough part of the book will go untouched.

This book has a great introduction. Solid sudoku book overall.
Sudoku really is addictive. My first real experience with sudoku (outside of US Weekly or some other magazine that was on the coffee table at my sister's house) was this book. I struggled a little bit at first even on the easy ones, but once I figured out the basics (and help from the tutorial examples in the introduction) I was at home with this book.
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Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Indoor Games    5. Logic & Brain Teasers    6. Puzzles    7. Sudoku    8. Games / Puzzles   

Reviews (21)

Sudoku for the truly addicted...
Started doing Sudoku in Sunday paper.First one was the Samari style, and I was hooked.Purchased this along with several other Sudoku puzzle books from Amazon, including one for my 13 year old daughter who is also getting hooked.Only complaint about this book is that I wish the puzzle boxes were larger!

NO challenge
I was very disappointed in this book - great if you have 5 minutes to kill, I suppose, but the puzzles are distressingly easy - I much prefer at least a LITTLE challenge.Don't waste your money on this one - go for something a bit more interesting!

Good for Beginers
This book would be great for a beginer to Sudoku.But if you have any experince you would find these puzzles lack challenge. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Indoor Games    5. Logic & Brain Teasers    6. Puzzles    7. Sudoku    8. Games / Puzzles   

Subjects:  1. Activity Books - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 4-8 Nonfiction    3. Children: Grades 3-4    4. Interactive Adventure    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Logic & Brain Teasers    7. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    8. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Reviews (4)

One of many Sudoku books
This book contains many puzzles with multiple skill levels. The author has other books and I find the puzzles very stimulating.

More from Carol Vorderman!
Of all the sudoku books I've bought, my favorite has been Master Sudoku by Carol Vorderman.Its hundreds of puzzles have kept me happily sudoku-ing since last summer, and it's nice to have 4 levels of difficulty to go back and forth between--sometimes you feel like a quick & easy one and sometimes you feel like one that will take some work and concentration to crack.She also has one of the best and lengthiest explanations of sudoku strategies to have yet appeared in any of the books.
From the Board Games Editor at BellaOnline.com
This is a great follow-up to "Master Sudoku", Vorderman's first sudoku book.That book is an ideal starting point for both new and advanced sudoku-ers, and this book is no exception.
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Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Indoor Games    5. Logic & Brain Teasers    6. Puzzles    7. Sudoku    8. Games / Puzzles   

Reviews (2)

GM Sudoku
I bought this as a gift, so cannot give a fair review as it is going to someone else.

From the Board Games Editor at BellaOnline.com
This is simply another great collection of sudoku puzzles.This one will make a great holiday gift as it was very recently released and it's likely that your favorite puzzler will not yet own it.
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Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Indoor Games    5. Logic & Brain Teasers    6. Puzzles    7. Games / Puzzles