Brain Benders for Einsteins

Brain Benders for Einsteins is the kind of puzzle book you want if you enjoy the kinds of puzzles that are worked with pen (or pencil) and paper.  Two hundred pages long, excluding the answer section at the end, this is chock-full of puzzles.  A good chunk of the book is comprised of crossword puzzles and sudokus, “old favorites.”  There are fifty-nine crossword puzzles and twenty sudokus.  (Several of these are “hyper-sudokus,” which have additional shaded sections that add to the difficulty.) There are a myriad of others in the mix, though, for variety.

A couple of interesting word puzzles are variations on crossword puzzles.  One is simply a clueless crossword.  The other is a variation on this, called “split decisions,” where two different words are the same except for a two- or three-letter section and you have to figure out what fits.

Six different types of logic puzzles form the bulk of the remainder.  “Find the Ships” is reminiscent of Battleship, but is a one-person logic challenge.  “ABC” is similar to a sudoku.  “Fences” consists of a dot grid with numbers scattered throughout it.  The idea is connect dots at 90-degree angles to form a continuous “loop,” with each numeral bounded on exactly as many sides as the number it represents.  “Number Out” is a 5×5 grid of numbers.  Numbers must be shaded to eliminate them until each row and each column contains no more than one of the same number.  “Star Search” is similar to Minesweeper, requiring that you identify which squares contain stars, based on the numbered squares.  “123” has features similar to a sudoku, but an entirely different layout.  The grid is comprised of 3-square-long tiles, and the numbers 1, 2, and 3 must be filled in according to a certain set of rules.

The remainder of the book is rounded out with visual puzzles and brainteasers.  Visual puzzles may be those that require you move a single “toothpick” to form a different configuration, or other puzzles along those lines.  A variety of mazes are in this category, too, as well as a few assorted puzzles.

Layout

These puzzles are not sectioned off (crosswords, followed by sudokus, followed by brainteasers, etc.).  Rather, the puzzles are mixed together to offer a variety within any four or five pages.  In addition, they increase in difficulty as you proceed toward the end of the book, so they’re easier at the beginning and harder toward the end.

I haven’t worked all the puzzles yet, but from what I’ve seen so far, these are not going to be challenging enough for diehard puzzlers.  They’re a good fit, I think, for casual puzzlers or for very intelligent teens.  The crossword puzzles are 15×15 square, so they’re not some of the biggest I’ve seen.  On the other hand, most of the puzzles are fairly large in design, so they’re easy to read for those with weaker eyesight.  Crossword clues and the instructions for a few of the brainteasers are more of a “normal” type size, but nothing is in tiny print.

This is the kind of book we like to grab for a trip and keep handy for times when we have just a few minutes free.  It would also be a good gift for someone recuperating from illness or injury who’s starting to get a bit bored.  My 13-year-old thinks it looks like a lot of fun and wanted dibs on it when it showed up.

This is also part of a series, so if you like it, you can get more.