Number Puzzles
The world of logic puzzles is one of the best forms of entertainment to help us relax and pass the time. The way a puzzle challenges and "tickles" the mind but at the same time entertaining us is a great way to take it easy and let your brain let the stress of the day go by. It’s a funny thing about our brains. We do our work by thinking and solving problems. Then when its time to relax, there is nothing like a puzzle or game that has us thinking and solving problems to cool down.
The great thing about the world of puzzles and games is you don’t have the problem of getting bored because there is such a wide variety of games you can switch to so you always have variety and new challenges. You can always switch between crosswords, word search puzzles, cryptiquotes and many other kinds of word puzzles. But if you really want to make a leap to a completely new kind of challenge, trying a number puzzle on for size is just the thing.
The perfect number puzzle will be similar to a word puzzle in that it is portable and something you can pick up anytime and tinker with. It should be a challenge so you don’t just finish it off like an exercise and you occasionally lose because they are just hard enough to give you some fight but still it is possible to win if you are clever enough. It also should be a puzzle that has enough substance that you can continue it over many playings and that you can stop and start again from time to time so you extend the enjoyment of that puzzle over hours or days.
A puzzle that fits that description is Sudoku, which is essentially a number puzzle equivalent of a crossword puzzle. It is both elegant in its simplicity and utterly baffling sometimes so that combination makes for a good puzzle. Because Sudoku calls on your to use the same problem solving skills that word based puzzles do but to do so with numbers, you learn to think numerically which is a powerful intellectual capacity.
This is why if you are looking for great mind building puzzles for young people, getting them good and addicted to games like Sudoku is a very clever move on your part. To them, you are just introducing them to another great game. But you know you are also getting them involved with a mental exercise that will expand their concentration, build their problem solving skills and make logical manipulation of numbers and solving number problems a natural part of how they think. What a great gift to give to kids as they start their school careers. And you will have given those skills to them when they weren’t paying attention but just having a great time playing number puzzles.