1000 Playthinks: Puzzles, Paradoxes, Illusions & Games

1000 Playthinks is the most compulsive, head-scratching, and--at 5.08 pounds--gargantuan puzzle book ever. An obsessive collection of 1,000 challenges, puzzles, riddles, illusions-both original as well as must-do classics. Jam-packed on the page and illustrated throughout in full-color, with a visual for each entry, the book, opened anywhere, is like a call to action. And once started it's hard to stop, because at the end of every successfully completed game the puzzle-solver feels smart, successful, and at one with the beauty of mathematics.

Created by Ivan Moscovich, Playthinks is the first and only book where science, math, and art puzzles all come together. Broken down by chapter, Playthinks challenges with 12 basic categories, including games of Geometry; Patterns; Numbers; Logic and Probability; and Perception. A special Bonus Round is included for die-hard puzzlers who, after all that, still haven't had enough. An easy-to-read key at the!top of each game ranks its difficulty on a scale of 1 to 10. The lie-flat spiral binding makes the hefty book completely reader-friendly. So do the answers in the back.

THE MOST WIDE-RANGING, VISUALLY APPEALING, ENTERTAINING, GIGANTIC COLLECTION OF BRAINTEASERS SINE SAM LOYD'S CYCLOPEDIA OF PUZZLES ALMOST A CENTURY AGO. (Will Shortz, Crossword Editor, The New York Times, and NPR's Puzzlemaster

A compulsive, exuberant cornucopia of puzzles, 1000 PlayThinks is like salted peanuts for the brain. Here are mental games, visual challenges, logic posers, riddles and illusions.

Can you cross the IMPOSSIBLE DOMINO BRIDGE? Wield the SICKLE OF ARCHIMEDES? Or figure out how to avoid the booby prizes in GAME SHOW?

Comprised of both original puzzles and mind-boggling adaptations of classic games this book, written by a man Wired magazine called a living inspiration for the rest of us, celebrate that unique place where pure play and problem-solving coexist.

Start solving. And right away you'll feel smart, intuitive, curious, successful and at one with the beauty of mathematics.

Find the Perfect Puzzle

WARM - UPS

249 TUBE ILLUSION 368 PERMUTINO 709 MOBIUS STRIP 835 BOMBS AWAY 913 BIRD IN THE CAGE

CHALLENGING

270 KISSING SPHERES 445 SEPARATING CATS 758 JUMPING DISKS 80 KNIGHTS ATTACK 181 HAMILTONIAN CIRCUIT

PURE GENIUS

172 CRANKSHAFT 242 APOLLONIUS'S PROBLEM 42 HEPTAGON MAGIC 165 MATCH POINT 714 M-PIRE COLORING GAME

Ivan Moscovich is an internationally known and acclaimed inventor, puzzler, and artist. He is cofounder of San Francisco's Exploratorium, has designed award-winning toys for Mattel, Kenner, Childcraft, Ravensburger, Binary Arts, and other companies, and is the author of the MindGames series and other books. Mr. Moscovich lives in The Netherlands.

1. Thinking about PlayThinks 2. Geometry 3. Points and Lines 4. Graphs and Networks 5. Curves and Circles 6. Shapes and Polygons 7. Patterns 8. Dissections 9. Numbers 10. Logic and Probability 11. Topology 12. Science 13. Perception 14. Bonus Round Solutions References Difficulty Index