A puzzle undone, which forms a
cube
Puzzle cube; a type of puzzle
A 'puzzle' is a
problem or
enigma that challenges
ingenuity. Puzzles are often contrived as a form of entertainment, but they can also stem from serious mathematical or logistical problems — in such cases, their successful resolution can be a significant contribution to mathematical
research.
Solutions to puzzles may require recognizing
patterns and creating a particular order. People with a high
inductive reasoning aptitude may be better at solving these puzzles than others. Puzzles based on the process of
inquiry and discovery to complete may be solved faster by those with good
deduction skills.
History
The first book of
crossword puzzles appeared in 1924, 11 years after the first crossword puzzle was published.
In the early 1900s, magazines and newspapers found that they could increase their daily subscriptions by publishing
puzzle contests.
Contemporary puzzles
A sample of notable puzzle authors includes
Sam Loyd,
David J. Bodycombe,
Will Shortz,
Martin Gardner and
William Sunners.
There are organizations and events catering puzzle enthusiasts such as the
International Puzzle Party, the
World Puzzle Championship and the
National Puzzlers' League. There are also Puzzlehunts like
Maze of Games.
The
Rubik's Cube and other
magic polyhedrons are
toys based on puzzles that can be stimulating toys for kids and are a recreational activity for adults. Puzzles can be used to hide or obscure objects. A good example is a
puzzle box used to hide
jewelry.
Games are often based on a puzzle. For example there are thousands of
computer puzzle games and many
letter games,
word games and
mathematical games which require solutions to puzzles as part of the gameplay. One of the most popular puzzle games is
Tetris. In video games,
jumping puzzles are common.
Types of puzzles
The large number of puzzles that have been created can be divided into categories, for example a
maze is a type of
tour puzzle. Other categories include
construction puzzles,
stick puzzles,
tiling puzzles,
transport puzzles,
disentanglement puzzles,
sliding puzzles,
logic puzzles,
word puzzles,
picture puzzles,
jigsaw puzzles,
lock puzzles,
folding puzzles, and
mechanical puzzles.
A
meta-puzzle is a puzzle which unites or incorporates elements of other puzzles. It is often found in
puzzlehunts.
Well-known puzzles
Etymology
The 1989 edition of the ''
Oxford English Dictionary'' dates the word ''puzzle'' (as a
verb) to the end of the
16th century. That first documented use comes from a book called ''The Voyage of
Robert Dudley...to the West Indies, 1594-95, narrated by Capt. Wyatt, by himself, and by Abram Kendall, master'' (published circa 1595).
Their research, based on the "chronology of the words, and still more the consideration of their sense-history, seem[s] to make it clear that the verb came first, and that the noun was its derivative."
Related categories
★
★
★
See also
★
List of puzzle topics
★
List of impossible puzzles
★
List of puzzle-based computer and video games
★
Brain teaser
★
Dilemma
★
Optical illusion
★
Paradox
★
Riddle
References
★ ''Creative Puzzles of the World'', 1980, Plenary Publications International
★ ''Denkspiele Der Welt'', München 1977,1981, Heinrich Hugendubel Verlag
External links
★
The puzzle archive of the rec.puzzles newsgroup
★
★
Rubik's Cube. Algorithms, compositions, visual simulator.
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