Puzzles

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Around the middle of August every year I start to turn my thoughts to Christmas (yeah, I know, I'm peculiar....) and have begun to do a bit of gift planning and even some Christmas Shopping already.

One thing I want to do is to put together a box of puzzles for a friend of mine, who lubs that sort of thing. Possibly a Rubik's Cube (can you still get those? he insists he used to be brilliant at them years ago), a Sudoku book, some crosswords, maybe a jigsaw..... BUT WHAT ELSE??

What are your favourite puzzles? What's hip and trendy? What's a good brain teaser? What's cheap? :)

ILX Inspiration, please!

― C J (C J), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 13:33 (twenty years ago)

I've just realised I might be able to print some Lateral Thinking puzzles off teh interweb, and comb-bind them into booklet type thing.

― C J (C J), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 13:35 (twenty years ago)

A subscription to Games magazine.

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 13:35 (twenty years ago)

The best jigsaw I ever saw was one that our Edward's girlfriend gave him that was a map of the area they live in. The piece with his house in it was in the shape of a little house. Cuteness.

Also, seeing as you're into advance planning, you could get yourself some crossword software and make crosswords out of in-jokes or other personal stuff.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

Some excllent crosswords:
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/1843542617.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Sub to 1 Across magazine?
http://www.bryson.ltd.uk/wgclubs.html#1across

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

Gravel Puzzleworth to thread. Seriously.

― Laurel, Tuesday, 16 August 2005 14:10 (twenty years ago)

Martin Gardener's spirit to thread! (He used to be the puzzle editor of the magazine Scientific American and was a legend among puzzlers.)

― Aimless (Aimless), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 14:14 (twenty years ago)

I do like the idea of making personalised crossword puzzles! Thanks for that suggestion.

Any other good puzzly ideas?

― C J (C J), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 14:27 (twenty years ago)

Some kind of treasure hunt with clues to follow leading to a gift hidden at the end? Might depend on a) you knowing his house very well and b) being able to get into his house to plant clues and prize.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 14:31 (twenty years ago)

martin gardner is still very much alive and in possession of his spirit! good suggestion though.

― feverdream, Tuesday, 16 August 2005 14:40 (twenty years ago)

you can still get rubiks cubes. in fact there was an anniversary edition out recently.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/seriouspuzzles/rubiks25th.html

(um, they should've replaced the white side with silver given that it was 25th)(lot cheaper than the one i bought in hamleys a couple of year ago too)

― koogs (koogs), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 15:11 (twenty years ago)

get him one of those new rubiks cube with 16 or 20 squares on each side.

ive developed a taste for logic problems which you can usually get in a book at any supermarket or newsagency. more fun than crossword puzzles because its more something you work out rather than something you know or dont know.

― sunny successor (he hates my guts, we had a fight) (katharine), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

Beardy puzzler tries to get girlfriend.
Radio 4 repeated this rather sweet programme yesterday, about puzzle guru Chris Maslanka's search for love. (Go to 'Puzzle Beyond the Panel' and click listen.)

― Archel (Archel), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:43 (twenty years ago)

four years pass...

martin gardner is still very much alive and in possession of his spirit! good suggestion though.

― feverdream, Tuesday, August 16, 2005 9:40 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/us/24gardner.html

― iiiijjjj, Monday, 24 May 2010 03:55 (sixteen years ago)

six years pass...

https://youtu.be/hTWIokjzeH0

― calstars, Friday, 6 January 2017 03:03 (nine years ago)

seven years pass...

the state of this:

https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/js/tracks.html#10x10dh%23568084130704968

normally they are quite sparse but this one is about 90% rails, which doesn't make it any easier

― koogs, Tuesday, 24 September 2024 09:13 (one year ago)

that was a good challenge! adding in the blanks for squares that had to be track, starting with the 10s and 9s, was the way in for me.

there was a mobile game a bit like this that had multiple tracks per board and little trains that ran along them, with very pleasing sound effects. i loved it but i can't remember what it was called :(

― a mysterious, repulsive form of energy that permeates the universe (ledge), Tuesday, 24 September 2024 10:01 (one year ago)

i think the theory is that you should never have to guess in order to finish such a game. but sometimes the logic is a bit obtuse.

i've been bookmarking difficult puzzles and coming back to them (and sometimes forgetting to delete the bookmark when i do solve them). this, for instance, is 'Tricky' rather than 'Hard' and i still struggle with it - https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/js/tracks.html#10x10dh%23644959113987543

― koogs, Tuesday, 24 September 2024 10:32 (one year ago)

from a gui point of view i like the left click swipe to mark a row of Rails and a right click swipe to mark them all as Xs. some of the other implementations of this make you click EVERY SINGLE SQUARE

― koogs, Tuesday, 24 September 2024 10:33 (one year ago)

xp i've got about a third of that one and am now totally stuck.

― a mysterious, repulsive form of energy that permeates the universe (ledge), Tuesday, 24 September 2024 11:23 (one year ago)

did it. like pulling teeth.

― a mysterious, repulsive form of energy that permeates the universe (ledge), Tuesday, 24 September 2024 13:11 (one year ago)

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