Puzzles have been a popular pastime in cultures all over the world for centuries. The earliest physical puzzle is the Labyrinth of Pharaoh Amenemhet III out of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. Other early puzzles include the Loculus puzzle created by Archimedes around 300 A.D., and the Tangram out of China.
Types of Puzzles
Puzzles come in an amazing variety of forms from tiles, numbers, words, patterns, logic, ciphers, riddles, and others. Puzzles can be simple, such as a child's jigsaw puzzle, to extremely intricate puzzles such as the Chinese puzzle box which involves a complex series of movements that must be duplicated in order to unlock the box and reveal the secret compartment inside.
Mysteries are yet another aspect of puzzle solving, and mystery dinner theater and dinner parties are very popular among some mystery buffs. Participants can become amateur detectives and use clues to piece together and solve the crime in question.
Other puzzles such as codes and ciphers require the solver to first break the code in order to solve the puzzle. These types of puzzles are frequently used by the military to protect important information from falling into the wrong hands.
Another popular puzzle to try is Mahjong, a puzzle played with tiles that are stacked in a layered pattern. Matching tiles are then removed and awarded points in an attempt to remove all of the tiles, a feat that is often much harder than it looks. Mahjong can be played alone or against an opponent.
The Rubik's Cube, which was created in 1974 and debuted in 1980, is still a favorite challenge for some. This is a mechanical puzzle that works along the same lines as a puzzle box's moving features, except instead of revealing a secret compartment, the goal of the Rubik's Cube is to line up the six individual colors on all six sides of the cube in order to solve it. As of 2009 the Rubik's Cube is the world's top selling puzzle.
Puzzle books feature a variety of puzzles from ranging from crosswords, word finds, word jumbles, math puzzles, logic puzzles, and Sudoku just to name a few. Sudoku is a very popular logic puzzle that uses numbers. Sudoku puzzles have varying levels of difficulty making this a good game for beginners to advanced.
Puzzles Improve Mental Health
Puzzles provide health benefits by keeping the mind sharp and active. Some studies suggest that solving puzzles may help people who are susceptible to developing Alzheimers by delaying its onset by exercising the brain. Puzzles also aid coordination and memory. Being healthy has never been easier or more fun. Pick up a puzzle and try one today.
Resources:
- James Madison University Health Center
- Adams, William Lee;."The Rubik's Cube: A Puzzling Success" Time Magazine, Jan, 2009. Web August 2009.
- The Mathematical Association of America
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