PN Product Review: Caesar’s Codex and Minotaur’s Labyrinth

Posted on November 4, 2021 by gmdirect

Puzzles come in many forms, all shapes and sizes, but there’s probably no puzzle genre that offers more variety and range in difficulty than mechanical brain teasers.

The physical element adds so much to the solving experience that cannot be replicated in other puzzle styles. Whether you’re assembling pieces into a given shape, manipulating two pieces to separate them (or put them together), or twisting and turning a puzzle until it becomes the desired shape, mechanical brain teasers offer a world of possibility.

And in today’s product review, we’ve got two different varieties of brain teaser to test out, all courtesy of the creative minds at Project Genius. Both are part of their True Genius line of wooden brain teasers, rated for ages 14 and up, and each has its own ranking on a scale of 1 to 5 in difficulty.

Without further ado, let’s get solving!

First up, we have this 4-out-of-5-star difficulty puzzle box.

One of the most famous encryption techniques in history is named after Julius Caesar, so it’s quite apropos for Project Genius to name a puzzle box covered in symbols after the historical icon.

Caesar’s Codex is a beautiful wooden box with detailed patterns along all four sides. On the front, the box features four slider bars that can move up and down, each bearing eight different symbols and labeled with a different shape (triangle, star, square, circle).

The box also has a grid on the back depicting a host of different letters and characters, leaning heavily on the concept of encryption.

Your goal is seemingly simple: figure out what arrangement of characters on the four slider bars is required to open the box. But you’ll definitely need to keep your eyes open and your wits about you to unravel the secret behind Caesar’s Codex.

I do feel, though, that the difficulty ranking is too high. Perhaps I’m too accustomed to the tricks of puzzle boxes, but this seems more like a 2-out-of-5 difficulty, 3-out-of-5 at the max. This is a delightful mechanical brain teaser that I would absolutely use to introduce solvers to the world of puzzle boxes.

Now, for a proper 4-out-of-5 difficulty brain teaser, look no further than Minotaur’s Labyrinth.

Inspired by the myth of Theseus, the Minotaur, and the Cretan Labyrinth, solvers must spin and maneuver the Minotaur through the maze. But this is far more than simply a matter of choosing the correct path.

Playing around with the Minotaur piece involves figuring out how to navigate both the horns on top and the irregular shape of the peg underneath that you can’t always see. It’s a devious bit of puzzling that requires you to keep respinning and maneuvering the Minotaur in order to escape. The tight angles and variously placed obstacles make the Minotaur’s horns quite a challenge.

But once you do, the challenge is only half over.

You must now flip the piece upside down, reenter the labyrinth, and navigate your way back to the center.

[Yes, I am posting this picture just to prove I did it.]

This involves learning how to navigate the piece in its new arrangement, and the horns are much harder to judge now that they’re sliding around underneath the maze walls. It really does feel like solving a whole new maze, even though you’ve JUST conquered this one.

It’s brutal, but also immensely impressive to make the same maze twice feel like two totally different challenges. The first part of the puzzle is more like a 3-out-of-5 difficulty, but the second half absolutely earns the 4-out-of-5 difficulty rating on the box.

Caesar’s Codex and Minotaur’s Labyrinth are both available through Project Genius as well as certain online retailers.

Whether you’re looking for a deduction puzzle or a mechanical challenge, one of these impressive brain teasers from Project Genius is sure to hit the spot. And both are part of this year’s Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide, coming soon, so be sure to check it out!

[Note: I received a free copy of each brain teaser in exchange for a fair, unbiased review. Due diligence, full disclosure, and all that.]

Trick or treating is over, but there’s no trick here. Treat yourself to some delightful deals on puzzles. You can find them on the Home Screen for Daily POP Crosswords and Daily POP Word Search! Check them out!

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The PN Blog 2020 Countdown!

Posted on December 31, 2020 by gmdirect

It’s the final blog post of the year, so what do you say we revisit all of 2020 with a countdown of my ten favorite blog posts from the past year!

#10 Farewell, Keith

I don’t mean to start off this countdown on a sad note by mentioning the loss of fellow puzzler and Penny Dell colleague Keith Yarbrough. Writing this post was incredibly difficult, but I am proud of how it turned out. It served as a valuable part of my healing process, allowing me to immerse myself in nothing but good memories of my friend. Giving other people the opportunity to know Keith like I did was a worthwhile experience.

#9 Tap Code

Exploring the different ways puzzles have been involved in historical moments, either as anecdotes or key aspects, is one of my favorite parts of writing for PuzzleNation Blog. But it’s rare to have a historical story about puzzles that tugs on your heartstrings like this one. The way the Tap code served to keep the spirits of POWs high — and the way that codes and spycraft helped a husband and wife endure the hardships of separation — made this a post with a lot of depth and humanity.

#8 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide

Every year, one of my favorite activities is putting together our Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide. I get to include the best products sent to me for review by top puzzle and game companies, mix in some of my own favorites, and draw attention to terrific constructors, game designers, and friends of the blog, all in the hopes of introducing solvers (and families of solvers) to quality puzzles and games.

#7 Crossword Commentary

There’s more to writing about crosswords than simply solving puzzles and unraveling clues, and that was especially true this year. The social and cultural aspect of crosswords came up several times, and it’s important to discuss these issues in an open, honest way, even if that means calling out a toxic presence like Timothy Parker, or even questioning the choices of the biggest crossword in the world to hold them accountable.

Whether it was exploring representation in crossword entries and cluing or continuing to debate cultural sensitivity in crossword answers in the major outlets, we took up the torch more than once this year because it was the right thing to do.

#6 Best Puzzle Solvers

Last year, we began a series of posts examining the best puzzle solvers in various realms of pop culture, and I very much enjoyed combing through the worlds of horror movies and television for the sharpest minds and most clever problem solvers.

This series continued in 2020, as we delved into literature (for adult readers, young adult readers, AND younger readers, respectively), as well as compiling a list of the worst puzzle solvers in pop culture. We even graded the skills of different fictional crossword constructors to see who was representing the best and worst in puzzle construction in media!

#5 Crossword Bingo

One of the most clever deconstructions of the medium of crosswords I came across this year was a bingo card a solver made, highlighting words and tropes that frequently appear in modern crosswords. It was a smartly visual way of discussing repetition and pet peeves, but also a sly bit of commentary. So naturally, we couldn’t resist making our own Crossword Bingo card and getting in on the fun.

#4 Pitches for Crossword Mysteries

Hallmark’s Crossword Mysteries series was one of the most noteworthy crossovers between puzzles and popular media last year, and that continued into this year with the third Crossword Mysteries film, Abracadaver. But we couldn’t get the idea of a fourth film — still promised on IMDb and other outlets — out of our heads, so we ended up pitching our own ideas for the fourth installment in the franchise. Writing this, no joke, was one of my favorite silly brainstorming sessions of the entire year.

#3 The World of Puzzles Adapts

Even in a post celebrating the best, the most satisfying, the most rewarding, and the most enjoyable entries from 2020, you cannot help but at least mention the prevailing circumstances that shaped the entire year. 2020 will forever be the pandemic year in our memories, but it will also be the year that I remember puzzlers and constructors adapting and creating some of the most memorable puzzle experiences I’ve ever had.

From the initial experiment of Crossword Tournament From Your Couch to the creation of the Boswords Fall Themeless League, from tournaments like Boswords and Lollapuzzoola going virtual to the crew at Club Drosselmeyer creating an interactive puzzly radio show for the ages, I was blown away by the wit, ambition, determination, and puzzle-fueled innovation brought to the fore this year.

#2 Eyes Open

Earlier this year, we made a promise to all of the people standing up for underrepresented and mistreated groups to do our part in helping make the world better for women, for people of color, and for the LGBTQIA+ community. We launched Eyes Open, a puzzle series designed to better educate ourselves and our fellow solvers about important social topics. And that is a promise we will carry into 2021. We hope that, in some small way, we are contributing to a better, more inclusive world.

#1 Fairness

Part of the prevailing mindset of PuzzleNation Blog is that puzzles can and should be for everyone. They should be fun. And they should be fair.

So this year, two posts stood out to me as epitomizing that spirit. The first was a discussion of intuitive vs non-intuitive puzzles, which I feel is very relevant these days, given the proliferation of different puzzle experiences like escape rooms out there.

The second, quite simply, was a response to a friend’s Facebook post where she felt guilty for looking up answers she didn’t know in a crossword, calling it “cheating.” I tried to reassure her there was no such thing as cheating in crosswords.

And since I couldn’t decide between these two posts for the top spot in our countdown, I’m putting them both here, because I feel like they represent a similar spirit. I hope you feel the same.

Thanks for spending 2020 with us, through brain teasers and big ideas, through Hallmark mysteries and Halloween puns, through puzzle launches and landmark moments. We’ll see you in 2021.

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5 Questions for Game Designer Ellie Dix

Posted on December 10, 2020 by gmdirect

Welcome to 5 Questions, our recurring interview series where we reach out to puzzle constructors, game designers, writers, filmmakers, musicians, artists, and puzzle enthusiasts from all walks of life!

It’s all about exploring the vast and intriguing puzzle community by talking to those who make puzzles and those who enjoy them! (Click here to check out previous editions of 5 Questions!)

And we’re excited to welcome Ellie Dix as our latest 5 Questions interviewee!

I first encountered Ellie Dix after stumbling upon the Kickstarter campaign for The Imp Box, a family-friendly game collection designed to look like a Christmas cracker. (Naturally, it immediately made the list of games to include in this year’s Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide.)

I soon discovered that she, much like this intriguing game set, was far more than meets the eye. Ellie Dix is not only the designer of every game under the Dark Imp umbrella, but she’s also the owner of the company. A puzzle designer, game designer, author, and more, Ellie Dix is a self-made dynamo, representing the entrepreneurial spirit that has grown to define the industry during the modern board game renaissance.

With The Imp Box now available for sale worldwide and a new Kickstarter campaign on the horizon, I have no doubt that Ellie Dix is a name we’ll be hearing about for many years to come.

Ellie was gracious enough to take some time out to talk to us, so without further ado, let’s get to the interview!

5 Questions for Ellie Dix

1. How did you get started in the games industry?

I’ve been designing games as a hobby for some time, but when I sold my Education company I decided to focus full time on game design and publishing. Before that I’d used games in teaching and training. I’ve also been a hobby board gamer myself for a long time (and my parents before me). So when I finally made the switch, I just jumped in with both feet. I wrote a book called The Board Game Family: Reclaim your Children from the Screen, which came out in July 2019. My first games were published in November 2019. Since then it’s been a full on schedule of design, development and publication.

How has your experience been as a woman designing games and running a board game company, either in terms of challenges or general insight from your perspective?

Honestly, I expect the challenges have been very similar to those that a person of any other gender would experience. The board gaming community is so inclusive that my own gender seems completely irrelevant. I do, however, realise that I’m in the minority in this industry. I suppose the only thing of note is that I’ve been approached several times by other cis-females who’ve commented that they’re pleased to see the success of another woman in the industry. So clearly it can be helpful to others to see a woman doing what I’m doing.

2. What’s the key to a great family-friendly game?

Getting something that the kids and the adults will all want to play. Family games aren’t children’s games. Family games have to hook in and hold the interest of everyone. For me – complexity isn’t always an issue. Kids can cope with all sorts of levels of complexity. But making sure the game is fairly fast-paced is important. I don’t mean short, necessarily, but minimising downtime is crucial. Games with simultaneous play, actions for passive players or very quick turns work well. The theme has to hook the family in too!

3. We’re currently in the midst of a board game renaissance, with greater exposure than ever for all sorts of games and play styles. What’s one trend in the industry you’d like to see more of and what’s one trend you’d like to see less of?

I love asymmetric games and I’d love to see more of them. Games with varying player powers or factions. This increases replayability. I’ve recently created an asymmetric family game – Uranus! – which is currently in the final of the Board Game Workshop’s annual design contest.

For me, I struggle to get into the big campaign games (Pandemic Legacy, The King’s Dilemma, Gloomhaven). I suspect there are too many on the market for the people who are playing them to actually play. They’re often too much work for regular gamers and families to get into.

4. What’s next for Ellie Dix?

I’m developing a range of roll & write PnP games for any number of players. These are all games that can be played by zoom. I’ve got several out already and they’ve been going great guns during the lockdowns. More are coming out before Christmas. Uranus! will be coming to Kickstarter in early March 2021. I’m also working on some exciting school projects next year! It’s going to be another busy year.

5. If you could give the readers, writers, aspiring game designers, and puzzle fans in the audience one piece of advice, what would it be?

It’s easy to get paralysed by perfectionism. Very few great games started out as a great games. Be brave and just put your game out there, as early as you can, with any sort of back-of-the-cereal packet prototype you can. Find a great playtesting group full of other designers (not friends and family) or create one yourself.

The playtesting process is so vital to development. It’s a waste of time to make sure all the cards are perfectly balanced before you get it in front of people. You could spend weeks on a game that ultimately nobody wants to play. A playtesting group will help you to find the fun and ultimately make a better game.

A huge thank you to Ellie for her time. You can follow her on Twitter for updates on all things Dark Imp, and be sure to check out her puzzles and games through Instagram, YouTube, her game blog, and of course, the Dark Imp website. Whatever she cooks up next, you know it’s going to be great.

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PuzzleNation Product Review: Homeworlds

Posted on December 3, 2020 by gmdirect

[Note: I received a free copy of this game in exchange for a fair, unbiased review. Due diligence, full disclosure, and all that.]

One of the coolest moments in a board game player’s life comes when you’re immersed in a game, and someone walks by, stops, and simply must ask, “What is that?” Because you’re showing them something new.

Homeworlds got that reaction the very first time I played it at the office. A coworker walked by, saw what is essentially an array of colorful triangles on the table, and asked the question. They didn’t know what it was, but they were intrigued.

Honest praise doesn’t come much higher than that, does it?

Homeworlds is a difficult game to review, because there’s so much to cover. The rules are expansive and complex, even though the elements are simple. It’s three sets of Looney Pyramids each in four different colors: red, blue, green, and yellow. And yet, it might be the most involved, complicated game we’ve ever reviewed on PN Blog.

And to be fair, we’re going to spend way less time than usual covering the rules. There’s simply too much to explore, and to be frank, throwing a novella of rules at you doesn’t tell you about the game and why it’s worth your time.

So let’s try it a little differently today.

Homeworlds is chess plus Risk set in space. But unlike those games — or basically any strategy games with territory control and resource management elements — which require lots of different pieces and a host of tabletop real estate to enjoy, Homeworlds can easily be toted around and played on any flat surface. And it still manages to encapsulate all the complexity, variety, and tactical planning of those games.

You and your opponent are both playing spacefaring races that are trying to wipe the other player’s influence from the universe. You can do so by eliminating their fleets (through capture or destruction), destroying their Homeworld, or forcing them to leave their Homeworld defenseless.

There are specific rules governing how you build your fleet, how you travel to different star systems, and what you can do when you arrive there. These are all dictated by the colors of the ships in your fleet, which allow you to build new ships, travel, attack, or transform ships (swapping them out for ones with different abilities).

Any pieces not currently in use by the players sit in a communal bank, waiting to be pulled and deployed as either new star systems or new ships. (I love this aspect of the game. It’s like every time you travel to a new star system, you pull that place out of the ether and place it onto the table in front of you. You essentially make each game space you need to use.)

The communal bank adds a third player of sorts to the table, since you must always keep an eye on the bank to not only manage your resources but prevent your opponent from capitalizing on your moves. For instance, you must pull the smallest sized pyramid available for a given color. But size of the pieces does matter. So if you impulsively pull the last small green pyramid, you’ve left the bank open for your opponent to grab a medium or a large pyramid, leaving them with a more powerful ship than you.

Trust me, it’s a lot to take in at once, like the first time you play chess and you’re overwhelmed trying to remember how the little horse-shaped ones move while all the other pieces are doing their own thing. Unless you watch a detailed how-to video, your first few games of Homeworlds are going to be a wash. Because, like chess or Risk, there are important steps you need to take first before you can really get into the game.

But those early learning sessions are still great fun. You slowly drink in all the rules. You figure out choosing your Homeworld can affect the entire scope of the game (by determining how many or how few spaces away your opponent’s homeworld is). You puzzle out devious little tricks like sacrificing one ship in order to take multiple actions, sometimes even undoing that sacrifice in the same term, like you’ve built a perpetual motion machine or found a loophole in the rules.

As the game progresses, what was an overwhelming jumble of complexity becomes an elegantly balanced logic tree of possible options unfolding in front of you.

Catastrophes you might have accidentally caused in earlier games — or studiously avoided in later ones — become tactical moves you intentionally inflict in order to tilt the battle in your favor. Any reader who has sacrificed a piece in chess in order to capture a more important piece from their opponent knows exactly what we mean here.

That fluidity of play, the endless potential to affect the game, makes Homeworlds as exciting and dynamic as possible. In Risk, for example, one country is always the same number of moves from another. But in Homeworlds, an aggressive play can make the trip from your Homeworld to your opponent’s Homeworld perilously quick.

This game will undoubtedly be daunting at first. The instructional booklet alone is two or three times bigger than that of any other Looney Labs game I can think of. But when you get past that, you’ll find a game that is endlessly rich, challenging, and satisfying, one where every new game feels like a positive step forward.

You get to look out at that same eye-catchingly baffling array of colors and shapes that made someone stop and ask you “what is that?” and in an instant, you see moves, countermoves, chances to be taken, and gambits to be foiled.

And that’s pretty cool.

I don’t think there’s another game in the expansive Looney Pyramids library that gets so much out every aspect of the pyramids. The color, size, and arrangement of each is absolutely essential to the gameplay, and choosing the wrong pyramid at the wrong moment could be the difference between victory and defeat.

Homeworlds perfectly captures everything great about strategy games, tosses aside extraneous game boards, tokens, and pieces, and delivers a killer play experience at a fraction of the price.

[Homeworlds is available from Looney Labs and select online vendors for $20, and is part of PuzzleNation’s 2020 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide, so be sure to check out this game and other offerings from Looney Labs in this year’s edition of the Gift Guide!]

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Kickstarter Alert! Check Out Fireball Newsflash Crosswords!

Posted on December 1, 2020 by gmdirect

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One of the coolest parts about assembling each year’s Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide is reaching out to crossword constructors I admire and respect. Not only do I get to find out what projects they’ve been working on and would like to promote, but they’re also incredibly giving to fellow constructors, shouting out the subscriptions, puzzle books, and projects that they most enjoyed solving during the year.

The bulk of the puzzle books/subscriptions section of the Gift Guide comes from these constructor interactions and the praise they heap upon each other. Not only is it heartwarming to read, but it’s valuable information for me and the PuzzleNation readership. After all, who better to tell you about great puzzles out there than top-notch constructors who know puzzling inside and out?

There are a host of brilliant recommendations in the Gift Guide, but today I’d like to shout-out one of my favorite yearly puzzle subscriptions. It’s launching on Kickstarter today for a new “season” of topical puzzles, and you should definitely check it out.

It’s Peter Gordon’s 2021 edition of Fireball Newsflash Crosswords.

Now, most crossword solvers probably know Fireball Crosswords by reputation alone. The puzzles are challenging (equivalent to a Friday or Saturday NY Times puzzle), but incredibly fun, inventive, and cleverly clued. Several of my all-time favorite crosswords have been published through Fireball Crosswords.

Fireball Newsflash Crosswords, on the other hand, are not nearly as difficult, so puzzlers who might find traditional Fireball Crosswords daunting can breathe easy.

Plus Fireball Newsflash Crosswords carry their own unique flavor by being as up-to-date and fresh as possible. Each puzzle is absolutely peppered with current references. Important news events, pop culture happenings, celebrity passings, memes, buzzwords, and cultural fads have all appeared in these grids in the past.

For example, after the 2017 Oscars had their snafu with the Best Picture award winner, Gordon mentioned LA LA LAND as Best Picture winner, then “corrected” himself later in the grid with the true winner MOONLIGHT. It was a lovely little playful jab at an awkward and noteworthy moment in time.

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And that sort of quick-turnaround puzzling and topicality simply cannot be matched by the major outlets.

For just $13, you’ll get 20 such puzzles delivered to you by email, one puzzle every 2 or 3 weeks.

And with this Kickstarter, you can pledge for not just the newest season of Fireball Newsflash Crosswords, but hats, keychains, additional puzzles and puzzle magazines, and more.

I cannot say enough good things about this project, and I’m happy to spread the word to my fellow puzzle lovers. Take a moment and check out this worthwhile project. There are even sample puzzles to try out, so you know exactly what you’re signing up for and supporting.

Good luck, Peter! Cannot wait to see what you cook up for us in the coming year!

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PuzzleNation 2020 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide: By Category

Posted on November 24, 2020 by gmdirect

Welcome to the PuzzleNation Blog 2020 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide!

We’re excited to be bringing you our biggest gift guide ever! There are so many tremendously fun and puzzly products to share with you. We just might be your one-stop shop for all things puzzly!

This guide is broken down into categories for ease of searching. We have puzzle books, subscription/downloadable puzzles, puzzles by mail, jigsaw puzzles, brain teasers, puzzle games, board games, card games, dice games, escape room games, party/group games, and miscellaneous puzzle swag.

We’re sure you’ll find the perfect gift for any puzzler on your list!

This year’s Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide is sponsored by Daily POP Crosswords!

Daily POP Crosswords offers a different themed puzzle every single day, spanning everything from TV and film to sports and music!

Available for both Android and iOS users, you get terrific content from some of the world’s top constructors! And the download is free!

Puzzle Books

Pencil-and-paper puzzles are alive and well, and we’re happy to share some of our favorites with you.

Our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles have put together some outstanding holiday collections with puzzles galore to be solved!

Maybe you’re looking for one kind of puzzle, like their Logic Problems Spectacular 3-Pack ($16.95), the Crossword Extravaganza collection ($7.99), or a value pack of Jumble puzzles ($13.95)! Maybe you’d like the ease of printing puzzles at home with Print N’ Solve Seasonal Crosswords ($2.99). Either way, the folks at Penny Dell Puzzles have got you covered.

And be sure to check out their deals on Facebook and Twitter throughout the holiday season. They’ve got bundles and discounts for days!

And while we’re on the topic of puzzle books, some of the best constructors working today have released their own books for your perusal! And with New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today crosswords to their credit, you’re sure to find some quality puzzlers within these pages!

–Paolo Pasco’s Crossword Puzzles For Kids ($9.99)

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks: More Than 100 Bite-Size Puzzles for Every Solver ($7.79)

–David Steinberg’s Juicy Crosswords from the Orange County Register ($9.99)

–Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Octopus Crosswords ($6.95)

–Matt Gaffney’s Fast & Fun Mini Crosswords ($7.95)

–Andrew Ries’s Maverick Crosswords ($9.99)

–Todd McClary’s Fresh Freestyle Crosswords ($7.67)

–Erik Agard’s Food for Thought Crosswords ($9.95)

—USA Today’s Crossword Super Challenge 2 ($9.99)

–Cynthia Morris’s CynAcrostics Volume 6: Imagine That! and American Acrostics Volume 8: Puzzling American Authors ($9.95 each)

—USA Today’s Sudoku Super Challenge 2 ($9.99)

–Andy Kravis’s Challenge Accepted!: 100 Word Searches ($6.56)

–Shawn Marie Simmons’s 25 Word Search Puzzles for Classic Literature Lovers and 25 Word Search Puzzles for MODERN Literature Lovers ($6.99 each) [available in a large print bundle as well ($12.99)]

—USA Today’s Logic Super Challenge 2 ($9.99)

–Oliver Roeder’s The Riddler: Fantastic Puzzles from FiveThirtyEight ($14.49)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Peace, Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Clarity, Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Tranquility, and Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Balance [featuring crosswords and other puzzles] ($8.99 each)

—USA Today’s Jumbo Puzzle Book Super Challenge 2 ($12.99)

Email Subscription/Downloadable Puzzles

Many top constructors and organizations market their puzzles directly to solvers, so between email subscriptions and downloadable puzzle bundles, you’ve got plenty of quality choices!

—The American Values Crossword (subscription and daily puzzles) ($22 for 1 year)

—The Inkubator, edited by Laura Braunstein and Tracy Bennett (crossword puzzles constructed exclusively by women, twice a month, $25 for 1 year)

–Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest (starts at $3 per month on Patreon)

–Peter Gordon’s Fireball Crosswords ($31 for 1 year)

–Andrew Ries’ Aries Freestyle themeless crosswords ($15 per year), and Aries Rows Garden ($30 per year) [available as a bundle together for $40]

–Joon Pahk’s Rows Garden puzzles ($20 for 1 year) and Variety puzzles ($15 for 1 year) OR get both for $30!

–Will Nediger’s Bewilderingly weekly themed and themeless crosswords ($25 for 1 year)

–Paolo Pasco’s Expansion Pack crossword suite (pay what you want for the base set, $10 for the XL version)

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks puzzles ($3 per month) and Puzzlesnacks Plus bundle ($7.99)

—Crossword LA 2018 puzzle pack ($5)

–Bryant Park 2018 tournament puzzle pack ($5) and 2016/2017 bundle ($10)

—Boswords 2020 Fall Puzzle Packet ($10) and previous puzzle packets ($5 each)

—Topple puzzle magazine ($1 per issue)

Also, there are some wonderful puzzle bundles available in exchange for donations to worthy causes!

—Grids for Good, a 42-puzzle bundle supporting coronavirus relief and groups fighting systemic racism

—Queer Qrosswords 2, a 32-crossword bundle supporting LGBTQ+ charities and organizations

–Enrique Henestroza Anguiano’s Mexican Midis, a 5-puzzle bundle supporting COVID relief

Puzzles by Mail

The Crosswords Club

A monthly publication with six Sunday-sized crosswords, The Crosswords Club utilizes some of the sharpest crossword constructors in the business today, and the puzzles are all edited by top constructor Patti Varol. Each bundle is as fun as it is challenging, plus each monthly bundle has an extra word game printed right on the envelope! ($40.95 for 12 issues)

Wish You Were Here (The Enigma Emporium)

Imagine an entire mystery hidden across a handful of postcards. That’s the multilayered puzzle experience offered by Wish You Were Here, where a series of coded messages awaits you. Unravel all the secrets and discover an exciting tale of danger and spycraft along the way! ($15)

[And if you enjoy Wish You Were Here, there are all sorts of additional puzzle bundles to try out!]

Cryptogram Puzzle Post (Jack Fallows)

A combination of different puzzles and encrypted messages interwoven together with bits of narrative, each edition of the Cryptogram Puzzle Post is a standalone story steeped in mystery and supernatural elements. But solve them all together, and a grand universe of storytelling unfolds. Sold in seasonal bundles and annual subscriptions, this episodic puzzly adventure is quite unique. (£5 for digital downloads, £20 for seasonal bundles)

Jigsaw Puzzles

Enigma (The Enigmatist)

A jigsaw puzzle that’s more than meets the eye, Enigma combines traditional jigsaw puzzle solving with hidden codes and a crash course in the history of encryption. Based on David Kwong’s hit interactive puzzle show The Enigmatist, this puzzle teaches you while you solve ($39)

Puzzometry

For a next-level jigsaw challenge, Puzzometry is tough to top. These beautiful pieces can be combined in seemingly endless combinations, and yet, there’s only one solution. Available in seven different styles — Puzzometry ($18.50), Puzzometry Jr. ($14), Puzzometry Squares ($18.50), Puzzometry Hex ($18.50), Puzzometry Steps ($18.50), Puzzometry Six ($18.50), and Puzzometry Jr. 2 ($14) — you’ve got distinct challenges appropriate for all different ages!

[Check out the full review of the original Puzzometry by clicking here!]

Cathedral Door (Project Genius)

Straddling the line between brain teaser and jigsaw puzzle, Cathedral Door challenges solvers to reassemble this beautiful door by placing all of the pieces of wooden adornment into the stained glass pattern. But the mix of peculiar shapes and colored clues create a more difficult solve than you might expect! ($14.99)

[Check out our review of Cathedral Door here!]

Geode Puzzle (Uncommon Goods)

Forget looking for the edge pieces, because these nature-based puzzles take jigsaws beyond the usual patterning. Geode Puzzle‘s flowing, unusual shapes and vibrant colors create a unique solving experience. ($65)

Gearjits Roller Coaster (Gearjits)

Bring your puzzle skills to life as you assemble a working roller coaster from these wooden pieces. Assembling handcranks and gears to operate the machine along with the structure of the roller coaster itself makes this 3-D puzzle more exciting and satisfying than the average 3-D puzzle. ($40.95)

Wooden Fractal Tray Puzzles (Martin Raynsford)

Laser-cut precision and patterns built on fractal designs make these wooden tray puzzles as maddening as they are beautiful. The pieces fall so seamlessly into place that they practically vanish… that is, if you can puzzle out how to place them all into the tray. ($35.99)

Brain Teasers

Sword in Stone (Project Genius)

Just twist and turn the sword until it slips from the stone. Sounds simple, right? When you’re talking about one of the brain teasers from the Constantin Puzzle series, what appears simple quickly becomes a proper puzzly challenge. ($15.99)

[Check out our review of Sword in Stone here!]

Tavern Puzzles / Tucker-Jones House Inc.

These hand-forged beauties are ready to challenge your dexterity and cleverness, as you accept the Tavern Puzzles challenge. Whether you’re trying to remove twice as many pieces in a Collaborative Effort or free the triangle from Tridiculous, you’re sure to put your skills to the test. ($26.50 each)

Pocket Brainteasers (ThinkFun)

How good is your spatial awareness? You’re about to find out with this quartet of puzzlers, each its own obstacle for you to overcome. Can you reposition the four pieces into a smaller space in 4-T Puzzle or the wi-fi bars of Rec-Tangle into a new arrangement? Can you separate the 4-Piece Jigsaw, or combine the four chairs into The Fifth Chair? These bite-sized brain teasers will certainly keep you guessing. ($6.99 each)

[Click here to check out our review of all four Pocket Brainteasers!]

Lightbox (Eric Clough)

A puzzle box unlike anything you’ve ever seen, Lightbox creates different patterns of shadow and light as you shift and arrange the various plastic plates that make up the box. As you twist and reset them, different electrical connections are made, and different plates light up. As gorgeous as it is challenging, Lightbox is a very eye-catching puzzle that always wows new solvers. ($85)

[Check out our full review of Lightbox by clicking here!]

Grecian Computer (Project Genius)

Can you crack this wooden brain teaser? That’s the question posed by Grecian Computer, a twisty puzzle where the correct solution requires all twelve columns to add up to 42 at the same time. Ready your puzzle skills and your math know-how for this one, or it’ll leave twisted and all turned around! ($14.99)

[Check out our review of Grecian Computer here!]

Puzzle Games

Mystic Market (ThinkFun)

It’s a tough market out there, even for a skilled potion master. So you’ll have to be a wiz or a whiz at buying and selling magical ingredients at the right time to take advantage of the Mystic Market. This bright and cerebral game will require you to react to both your opponents’ actions and the ever-shifting demands of the game moment-by-moment in order to achieve victory. Can you find the winning recipe? ($19.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

Zendo (Looney Labs)

Puzzle games are all about the rules, but what if you don’t know the rules? That’s where Zendo comes in. In this puzzle game, you arrange Looney pyramids and other shapes into various designs, and then see if those designs conform to a mysterious rule. A game of deduction and trial-and-error, Zendo is a very different solving experience. ($40)

Plus there are two expansion packs available for Zendo, each offering additional rules and varying in difficulty! ($5 each)

[Check out our full review for Zendo here!]

Lexicon-GO! (Winning Moves UK)

Are you a word-forming pro? Take your speed-solving skills and try them out with Lexicon-GO!, a Scrabble-style tile game suitable for solvers of all ages. And those very distinctive letter tiles are available in more ways than ever! You can enjoy Lexicon-GO! in its classic form, in Harry Potter style, or in famous Jumble style! ($14.95 in classic form)

[Click here for our full review of Lexicon-GO!]

Minecraft Magnetic Travel Puzzle (ThinkFun)

Minecraft Magnetic Travel Puzzle pits the player against devious deduction puzzles with elements of the Minecraft universe included. Can you arrange three swords, pickaxes, and pieces of armor — all different colors — on the 3×3 crafting table to fit each challenge card? It’s Sudoku plus Minecraft in this travel-friendly puzzler! ($14.99)

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]

Pinbox 3000 (Cardboard Teck Instantute)

How about the chance to build your own game? Is that puzzle enough for you? Pinbox 3000 provides all the pieces you’ll need, plus valuable advice for brainstorming and creating your very own pinball game. It’s endlessly customizable, so you can make your Pinbox pinball game as simple or as complex as you like! ($49.95)

Board Games

Some of the puzzliest games on the market today are being made by top-flight board game companies, and we’ve got some marvelous games that will appeal to puzzlers of all ages!

Martian Chess (Looney Labs)

Easy to learn but hard to master, Martian Chess reimagines a game we all know, and transforms it into one that challenges you in unexpected ways, like getting rid of checkmates and players losing control of pieces if you cross into your opponent’s territory! Can you outmaneuver your opponent and rack up enough captured pieces to win? Try chess from another world with Martian Chess! ($20)

[Check out our full review of Martian Chess here!]

Catch the Moon (Bombyx Games)

Balance games like Jenga are all well and good, but none of them elicit the same mix of charm and tension as Catch the Moon. In this game, players take turns adding ladders to a ramshackle structure according to the roll of a die. But be careful! If you cause any ladders to fall, you’ll make the moon cry! This beautiful game is fun, elegant, and stressful all at once, and has quickly become a favorite. ($14.95)

The Island of Doctor Lucky (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games)

People have been trying to kill Doctor Lucky for over twenty years, and this time around, you’re visiting his exotic island estate to try your murderous luck against the titular Doctor! The Island of Doctor Lucky offers a new gameboard to explore, new movement mechanics, and a very distracting cat. This is the best addition to the series yet! ($10)

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]

Castellan (Steve Jackson Games)

Build a castle and then occupy it in Castellan, a game of strategy and opportunity. With great modeled pieces that really add to the aesthetic, Castellan has style and substance. ($34.95)

[Check out our full product review here!]

Chicken War (ThinkFun)

To win Chicken War, you’ll need to be more observant and more devious than the other players to either complete your army or be the last player standing. And it all hinges on your ability to observe your opponents’ moves while hiding your own. It’s deduction meets strategy in the barnyard! ($20.77)

[Read our full review of Chicken War here!]

The Abandons (Puzzling Pixel Games)

Can you escape a dangerous labyrinth that changes every time you explore it? The Abandons pits the solver against a random deck, where luck, quick decision making, and puzzly skill all must be on your side if you ever want to see daylight again. ($15)

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]

Bunny Kingdom (IELLO)

There are plenty of board games where you control resources, build cities, and achieve glory. But how many of them let you do that while being BUNNIES? In Bunny Kingdom, a game combining drafting and area control mechanics, each player builds a fiefdom and tries to outmaneuver their fellow players in managing territory, materials, and trade. The most cunning bunny wins with the most points wins and captures the title “Big Ears!” ($39.45)

The Great Dinosaur Rush (APE Games)

Bring the insane real-life rivalry of paleontologists Cope and Marsh to life in The Great Dinosaur Rush! As you collect fossils and discover your own unique dinosaur, you must also steal bones, sabotage other scientists, and more! Show off your cunning and creativity in this game that proves historical truth is weirder than fiction! ($50)

Homeworlds (Looney Labs)

Let’s take to the stars in this complex space game where survival is the name of the game! In Homeworlds, each player is the leader of a galactic empire, and you must protect your homeworld while striking out against your opponent’s fleet. This marvelously intricate game offers a huge amount of gameplay in a tiny package and feels like epic space opera the whole time! ($20)

[Review coming soon!]

Walk-By Scrabble Board, Tile Securing Travel Scrabble, and Drawing Room Scrabble (Hammacher Schlemmer)

Hammacher Schlemmer has several Scrabble variants available, including Tile Securing Travel Scrabble for those who want to solve on the go ($39.95) and Drawing Room Scrabble for those with swankier taste ($249.95), but few are as clever or as convenient as the Walk-By Scrabble Board! Designed as a family game for people on the go, it’s a perfect way to bring back Board Game Night for busy families! ($29.95)

[Check out our full product review of the Walk-By Scrabble Board here!]

Tak: A Beautiful Game (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games)

Many new games build off of classic mechanics, but very few new games truly feel like they could have been played centuries ago. Tak definitely fits that mold, using simple wooden pieces to create a game that feels both fresh and ancient all at once. Inspired by the eponymous game in Patrick Rothfuss’s KingKiller Chronicles series, Tak is a wonderful two-player game that quickly grows addictive. ($30)

[Click here for our full review of Tak!]

Tsuro: The Game of the Path (Calliope Games)

A path-laying game with tons of style and historical spirit, Tsuro casts up to eight players as flying dragons, and tasks you with laying out your path with special tiles. Try not to meet any other dragons or fly off the board! It’s a simple mechanic with plenty of replay value, and perfect for quick games with large groups. ($30)

Chessplus

The first thing you learn in chess is how the pieces move. But what if that could change? What if you could make new pieces that move in unexpected ways? How would that change the game? With Chessplus, you’ll find out, as you mix and match chess pieces in order to capture your opponent’s king. The possibilities really are endless! ($44.95)

[Click here for our full review of Chessplus!]

Qwirkle (MindWare)

A wonderful mix of Uno and Mexican Train Dominoes, Qwirkle is a tile-placing game where you try to maximize your points while minimizing the help you give to your opponents. With six bright colors and six different shapes to match up, Qwirkle is endless fun that’s so easy to jump into! ($14.99)

Cheapass Games in Black and White (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games)

Yes, we’ve got a book in the Board Game section. Allow us to explain.

The library of Cheapass Games is expansive, but even diehard fans don’t have the majority of the company’s original game library. Unless, that is, they own Cheapass Games in Black and White, a hardcover compendium of every game from the black-and-white era. Featuring the rulebooks for famous titles like Button Men and Kill Doctor Lucky, alongside more obscure entries like Escape from Elba, this is a terrific resource for any game fan. ($50)

Card Games

Top Trumps Pub Quiz (Winning Moves UK)

Bar trivia has come home with Top Trumps Pub Quiz, a sharply packaged game of question-fueled competition. Each team opens their drawer on the carrying case and removes five cards, each with a different topic. Will your team triumph or will the other team’s trivia smarts win the day? ($14.95)

[Check out our full review here!]

Star Trek: Voyager Fluxx (Looney Labs)

The chaos and ever-changing rules of Fluxx venture farther than ever before as they tackle the crew of far-flung Federation starship Voyager. Work with Janeway and her team to outwit the Kazon, the Borg, time travelers, and more, all in a card game that boldly goes where only a few other versions of Fluxx have gone before! ($20)

And if Star Trek isn’t your style, maybe you’d enjoy Astronomy Fluxx, Spongebob Fluxx, or any of the other marvelous variations on this classic quick-changing card game!

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]

Codenames (Czech Games)

It’s a race against time to locate all of your spies before your opponents. But in order to do so, you need to communicate information with a single word. Codenames will put your word association skills to work as you try to find secret agents disguised with code words, while avoiding innocent citizens and dangerous assassins along the way! ($19.95)

[Read our full review of Codenames here!]

Deluxe Pairs (Hip Pocket Games/Greater Than Games)

Building on the legacy already established by the bar-friendly series of Pairs decks available, Deluxe Pairs offers a new artistic spin on the classic Pairs “Fruit Deck,” as well as a companion booklet with rules for numerous Pairs variants you can play with the deck! This isn’t just one card game, it’s dozens! ($5)

[Click here for our full review of Deluxe Pairs!]

Spaceteam (Timber and Bolt)

Can you repair your ship and get the engines up and running before a black hole ends your space adventure forever? That’s the name of the game in Spaceteam, a cooperative, communication-based game where you have to accomplish various tasks with your fellow players while sharing tools. It’s delightful chaos, heightened by the five-minute hourglass timer counting down your dwindling seconds before disaster strikes! A definite favorite around here. ($26.95)

Constellations (Xtronaut Enterprises)

Sometimes, we can move heaven and earth! Constellations is all about collecting stars and building famous constellations, then placing them in the night sky! The more effective your constellation-building, the higher your score! ($30)

[Check out our full review of Constellations here!]

Scrimish (Nexci)

Combine the card game War with elements of Chess and Memory, and you’ve got something approximating Scrimish, a card game that’s effortless to learn, but offers endless possibilities. Can you protect your crown card while hunting down your opponent’s? With cards for both defense and offense, there’s a lot packed into just 25 cards apiece! ($9.99)

[Check out our full product review of Scrimish by clicking here!]

Timeline (Zygomatic Games)

Timeline pits your knowledge of history against a growing timeline of important events, inventions, and historical moments. You don’t have to know exact dates; you just need to know if something happened before or after something else. Was the toothbrush invented before or after the syringe? Which came first, language or agriculture? Timeline is a fast, fun way of learning (or relearning) history! ($14.99)

The Oregon Trail (Pressman Toys)

The classic computer game comes to life as you and your fellow players team up to survive the perilous journey along The Oregon Trail. With art evoking old-school computer games, rampant threats and calamities to endure, and a long and challenging road to travel, will any of you will make it to Oregon? ($12.79)

[Check out our full product review of The Oregon Trail by clicking here!]

Dice Games

Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared (Black Oak Games)

Can you twist, turn, and spin these dice to complete beautiful, elaborate patterns inspired by Celtic knots? That’s the name of the game with Knot Dice, a dice game as challenging as it is gorgeous. With single-player and multi-player puzzles included, you’ll be tying yourself in knots for days! ($34.99, available in green or blue)

And you can add new wrinkles and patterns to your solving with Knot Dice Squared, an expansion set with 26 additional dice, new rules, and more! ($44.99)

[Click here to check out our full review of both games!]

Bananagrams Duel (Bananagrams)

Bananagrams specializes in crossword-inspired fun for groups, but what if you’re looking for a head-to-head challenge? Well then, Bananagrams Duel might be what you’re looking for. Utilizing letter cubes instead of tiles, you’ll have to build a grid of related words fitting a given theme before your opponent can! It’s a new twist on an old classic! ($8.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Sagrada (Floodgate Games)

One of the most beautiful strategy games on the market today, Sagrada is a singularly peaceful gaming experience. Compete with other players to build the most beautiful stained glass window, but with dice instead of glass! Unique and challenging, Sagrada is something else. ($39.95)

Tenzi

All of us have rolled dice in games before, but can you roll what you need as fast as possible? That’s the challenge of Tenzi, a game that pits up to four players against each other in tests of speed and dexterity. Can you roll ten 6’s before everyone else? ($14.95)

Escape Room Games

Escape the Room: The Cursed Dollhouse (ThinkFun)

Can you construct and then escape one of the most fully realized home escape room games on the market today? The Cursed Dollhouse is a diabolical and immersive puzzly experience, encompassing five rooms and a host of different puzzles to unravel in the hopes of escaping a horrible fate! ($42.99)

[Check out our spoiler-free review here!]

Exit: The Game: Dead Man on the Orient Express (Kosmos)

Exit: The Game products create an escape room experience by combining a deck of cards, a guidebook, a sliding decoder ring, an interactive phone app, and miscellaneous items to be used throughout the game. What sets Dead Man on the Orient Express above and beyond is that there’s a mystery to solve in the background, even as you tackle all the delightful escape room-style puzzles! ($10.59)

Unlock!: Squeek and Sausage (Asmodee)

Unlock! games consist of entirely of a deck of cards and your app. The cards provide locations, challenges, helpful items, solutions, and warnings, all identified with numbered or lettered cards in the deck. And while there are numerous Unlock! escape games to try — covering everything from haunted houses to desert islands — we recommend the mad scientist-fueled Squeek and Sausage, which is enjoyably silly and still a satisfying challenge! ($11.99)

Party/Group Games

Cracker Games: The Imp Box (The Dark Imp)

Six unique family games in a reusable box that looks like a Christmas cracker? What an idea! Voting, collecting, observation, and trading are among the gameplay styles you’ll find in The Imp Box, and this neat little package packs a lot of variety into a small space! (£19.99)

Smart10 (Bananagrams)

Can you pick one correct answer from a field of possibilities? Smart10 challenges you and a group of friends to do just that by selecting correct answers from a list of possible responses. It’s tougher than it sounds, and it’ll test your trivia skills and your ability to think under pressure. ($19.99)

[Check out our full review here!]

GolfWords (David L. Hoyt)

Combining the skill of golf with a love of wordplay, GolfWords takes puzzles off the page and into your home, testing you both mentally and physically! Complete with the letter mat, putters, golf balls, scoring pads, and other accessories, this unique combination of puzzle and sport can be played solo or by the whole family! ($299.99)

Slapzi (Tenzi)

Slapzi will keep you on your toes. In this quick-reaction game, you’ve got to match your picture cards to the clue cards before your opponents. But with clues like “Not sold in a hardware store” or “Two of the same letter together,” this isn’t as easy as it appears! ($19.95)

[Click here to check out our full review of Slapzi!]

Schmovie (Galactic Sneeze)

Are you the funniest, punniest one in your group of friends? Find out by playing Schmovie, the party game that pushes you to scribble down the best name for an imaginary movie created on the spot! Now redesigned in a sleeker box and playable by all ages, this is the movie game for everyone. ($16.99)

[Check out our full product review of the original version of Schmovie here!]

Decrypto (IELLO)

Can you covertly communicate with your teammates without revealing your secret code to the opponent team? That’s the name of the game in Decrypto, a party game all about word association and deduction. The first team to crack the opposing team’s codes twice wins! ($22.68)

Miscellaneous Puzzle Swag

Flying Colors coloring book (Penny Press)

Our puzzly pals at Penny Press know that sometimes, you need a break from puzzles, so why not unwind with their Flying Colors coloring book ($6.99).

All of the Things

If you’re looking for puzzly coasters, pins, earrings, teddy bears, and more, the team at All of the Things have puzzle treats for you! Their table has been a highlight of the marketplace at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for several years now, and we’re happy to welcome them back to the Gift Guide this year!

Thank you to all of the constructors, designers, and companies taking part in this year’s holiday puzzly gift guide!

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Tag Archives: Puzzly Gift Guide

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