"Humans are the only animals who create and solve puzzles--for the sheer pleasure of it--and there is no obvious genetic reason why we would do this. Marcel Danesi explores the psychology of puzzles and puzzling, with scores of classic examples. His pioneering book is both entertaining and enlightening." --Will Shortz, Crossword Editor, The New York Times "... Puzzle fanatics will enjoy the many riddles, illusions, cryptograms and other mind-benders offered for analysis." --Psychology Today "... a bristlingly clear... always intriguing survey of the history and rationale of puzzles.... A] splendid study...." --Knight Ridder Newspapers
The author of five books on games and card games explains more than 30 card games, including classics such as bridge and rummy, international games such as skat, and numerous new and challenging skill testers.
In the small Saskatchewan town of Glenmere, sixteen-year-old Amy Young wants nothing more than to save enough money from her summer jobs to try to build a future for herself somewhere else. Anywhere would be better than living with Jeannie, her aunt by marriage, who took her in when her grandmother Dorothy, who had always taken care of her, dies unexpectedly. Anywhere would be better than Glenmere, a sleepy little town where nothing ever happens.... But that has been changing as of late. The gossip mill is churning with talk of an unusual rash of break-ins and theft and a shady character or two hanging around town, and it has everyone on edge. But Amy just wants to keep her head down and keep plugging away at her jobs, even as she hopes that with the reading of her grandmother’s will, she might get some sort of small inheritance that might help her on her way. It’s taking forever though. The search is on for Amy’s uncle John, Dorothy’s only living child and one of the primary inheritors, a known gambler and addict that no one has seen in years. Unfortunately, the estate lawyers aren’t the only people looking for him. An old “friend” of John’s is in town as well, hoping to cash in on his inheritance before his own past catches up to him and takes him out. And that past is closing in fast. With every answer that comes to light leading only to more questions, Amy’s normally boring small-town life is turned on its head, with secrets, murder, and mystery seemingly around every turn, but the only puzzle that matters to her is the one left to her by her beloved grandmother, with the promise of revealing the secret to everything she’s ever wanted. "With every secret uncovered, more secrets are raised. Time is running out!"
Packs of cards bursting with puzzles and games that will put children's observation skills to the test. Age 8+ Packs of cards bursting with puzzles and games that will put children's observation skills to the test. Age 8+
Say goodbye to boredom forever with The Super Duper Puzzle Book, featuring hundreds of wacky and fun games, puzzles, and riddles for kids 10 and older. Make boredom a thing of the past with The Super Duper Puzzle Book, the ultimate wacky activity book for kids 10 and older. With hundreds of number challenges, riddles to solve, limericks to finish, doodles to draw, word problems, memory games, backward crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and more this wacky activity book guarantees that brains are going to get a workout. With The Super Duper Puzzle Book, kids won’t realize they’re actually learning things –they’ll be too busy laughing and having a good time!
Collected over several years by Peter Winkler, of Bell Labs, dozens of elegant, intriguing challenges are presented in Mathematical Puzzles. The answers are easy to explain, but without this book, devilishly hard to find. Creative reasoning is the key to these puzzles. No involved computation or higher mathematics is necessary.
