"We never grow tired of good news how come' mysteries of this kind....These story brainteasers are often solved in groups...with solvers asking yes-or-no questions of the puzzle poser (the one holding this book, perhaps). A novel feature of this volume is a Clues' section containing sample questions and answers, allowing you to play along solitaire."--Games World of Puzzles. 96 pages, 24 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.
The latest in the hugely popular series of think-out-of-the box brainteasers, including Classic Lateral Thinking Challenges and Colorful Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Here's how you play the game and figure out these perplexing puzzles: take one of the scenarios, and with the help of a friend who looks at the answer, pose a series of yes and no questions until, by a process of elimination and deduction, you arrive at the solution. If you get stuck--and everyone does from time to time--there are additional clues to push you along. Keep trying and you will reach that glorious "aha!" moment when everything becomes crystal clear. In no time at all you'll have sharpened your wits...and become an accomplished lateral thinker.
Learn to "think laterally" and you'll solve pesky puzzles. These 110 puzzles start out fairly easy and the clues get more and more tantalizingly hard to figure out. They come in five sections: Dangerous and Deadly, Easy and Elementary, Interesting and Intriguing, Chastening and Challenging, and Fascinating and Fiendish. Just when you're on a roll, here comes a "Wally Test," a series of rapid-fire questions to make sure you're paying attention. 96 pages, 25 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.
Stand out from the pack--don't think conventionally, think laterally! And, you can start developing well-honed mental skills with more than 80 braintwisting puzzles that test your creativity and smarts. At first it might not seem as if there's enough information to solve them, but if you just persist, you'll come up with the logical answers. Some of the conundrums come from real life: try to figure out how the Greek playwright Aeschylus could have been killed by a tortoise or how the truth about Mary Queen of Scots' baldness was finally revealed. Or, give this a shot: A runner was awarded a prize for winning a marathon. But, the judges disqualified him when they saw a picture of his wristwatch. Why? Happy puzzling! Answer: A picture of the runner early in the race showed him wearing his watch on his right wrist. When he crossed the finishing line it was on his left wrist. The judges investigated and found that one man had run the first half and his identical twin brother ran the second half of the race.
A man writes the same number, and nothing else, on 20 sheets of paper. Why? To figure this out--and hundreds of other mind-bending lateral puzzles, too--you'll have to really fire up your brain and imagination. At first, it may not seem as if there's enough information to come up with a solution. But look more closely; there's always more than meets the eye. Check your assumptions, ask good questions, retune your mind, separate the facts from the red herrings, and the answers will come.
"A man writes the same number, and nothing else, on 20 sheets of paper. Why?" "A man went around the world in a ship. Yet he was always in sight of land. How come?" These are examples of lateral thinking puzzles. You're given a statement about a situation that you have to use as a starting point to arrive at a particular explanation or solution. Often there can be many possible scenarios to explain the puzzle, but the challenge is that you have to find the "right" answer. Typically the puzzles contain insufficient information for you to immediately figure out the solution (clues are provided). When you get stuck, attack the problem from a new direction--think laterally! Not only are these puzzles fun, they also help to develop skills in questioning, deduction, logic, and, of course, lateral thinking. Answers: It's January and he is writing the date of the year on all the checks in his checkbook to avoid putting last year's date by mistake; He was an astronaut in a space ship. 96 pages, 25 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.
A selection of thought-provoking, mind-bending puzzles designed to get your synapses sizzling. Each mental teaser presents a mini-scenario, and it's up to you to tease out the secret twist.
The noted expert selects 70 of his favorite "short" puzzles, including such mind-bogglers as The Returning Explorer, The Mutilated Chessboard, Scrambled Box Tops, and dozens more involving logic and basic math. Solutions included.
