1,000 Play Thinks: Puzzles, Paradoxes, Illusions & Games

by Ivan Moscovich, Ian Stewart (Foreword)

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Puzzles, Reference, Games

420 pages, Spiral-bound

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Obied Alahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

جميل

يمكن استخدامه لتنشيط العضلات المخية بين فترة وآخرى

أنصح به الآباء والامهات لاختيار تمارين للأطفال فهو جيد وخاصة أنه يتضمن مستويات عديدة من الصعوبة

و على فكرة مفيد للأمهات يلي ما عبيلاقو وقت للقراءة بسبب الأولاد ... فورطي أولادك بشي لغز وعيري مستوى الصعوبة على حسب طول الرواية أو الكتاب اللي ناوية تقرأيه وحتشوفيهن انشغلو عنك عدة ساعات

[Ali Alghanim · Rating 4 out of 5]

إذا كنت من محبي الألغاز ، ألعاب الذكاء، الجبر ، الرياضيات، المفارقات، علم الهندسة ، الرسوم البيانية و الشبكات ، الأشكال و المضلعات، الأنماط، الأعداد ، المنطق و الاحتمالات.. فهذا الكتاب يفي بالغرض.

[Ragheb · Rating 4 out of 5]

الكتاب رائع ومسلٍ
لكن الترجمة للعربية سيئة
ورد في مقدمة الترجمة أنّ الكتاب موجّه للأطفال وهذا أيضًا خطأ آخر
ليس المحتوى ما يشير إلى أن الألعاب والألغاز التي يحويها الكتاب موجّهة للبالغين فقط بل ورد في مقدمة المؤلف أنّه يوجّه كتابه هذا للبالغين وقد حان الوقت لتطبيق مبدأ التعليم باللعب على البالغين بعد الإجماع حول هذه الفكرة بالنسبة للأطفال
لذا أظن أنّ المترجم غير مختصّ بالرياضيّات وهذا ما أوقعه في الكثير من الأخطاء

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun - but some of the problems are unfair. After spending a lot of time stubbornly trying to figure out a solution, I gave up and consulted the answers - only to discover there is no solution. It makes it far less fun to try to work puzzles that may have no solution. Don't waste my time! This happened multiple times, so after a while, I lost interest in trying to do every puzzle as I would with a normal puzzle book.

Just to add insult to injury - every puzzle contains a place to write the amount of time you spent on it.

Also - there are definitely some errors. Some are simply a problem with the definition of the problem. Some of the problem statements are a bit too sparse, so his solution makes sense from his point of view, but not mine. Some may be my error - hard to tell when his answers often contain little or no explanation of how he got there. And some are definitely mistakes.

I don't know if the other editions have this problem: I have the spiral-bound book. The pages are glossy, so can't be scribbled on with pencil. They smudge badly with pen, which would not have been ideal in any case when trying to solve puzzles. And as I discovered in a puzzle which required crossing out pairs of matching patterns - pen creates marks on the opposing page.

So - a really nice concept; some of the puzzles are very fun, but I can't recommend the book unless you enjoy giving up on puzzles and checking the answers, because they may not have answers and you don't want to waste more time.

[Belle Meade School]

793.73

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️

[Bryan]

Review of review?: I apologize - this may be more of a review of a review than a review of the book itself, but it MAY help your decisions. I've learned enough about the book from these reviews to realize there are some sloppy mistakes and things to watch for.

On the other hand, the review of KC Carrel below (Dec 29, 2003) ALSO contains some SERIOUS mistakes. His/her 2nd paragraph is flat out WRONG. The probability in the problem referred IS 18/36, not 12/21, and her/his discussion of "outcomes" is misleading at best. (By KC's reasoning, a two child family would have a child of each gender one third of the time, instead of 1/2 of the time, as is the case.)

You may choose not to buy the book, but DO NOT make that choice on the strength of this review alone. (I notice that everyone found it helpful and that's scary.)

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY FAVOURITE BOOK OF ALL TIME!