Great Puzzles for Christmas

Friday, May 09, 2008

Puzzles of all kinds have amused children of all ages probably since time began. Whether your child's interest is in jigsaw puzzles, 'brain-teaser' puzzles, or books of word puzzles, there are thousands of gift ideas to choose from this year!

Puzzles are one of the most versatile gifts you can give your children - there's something for every age, lifestyle and interest!

	Best Selling #1 Rubik's Cube Brain Teaser Puzzle with Helpful Hints Even if you've been living on Mars since the 1970s, you've probably heard of Rubik's Cube, the bestselling puzzle in history. Just in case, though, here's a recap: it's a 3-by-3-by-3-inch cube with rotating faces made up of nine squares that can be scrambled into (so it's said) 43 quintillion combinations. Getting the cube back to its original position (so that all nine squares of the same color make up each face) is incredibly challenging for most, though it can be mastered and solved. For those not gifted with superhuman spatial intuition, this mindbender comes with a solution hints booklet, which examines the cube's properties and offers clues for solving the puzzle. Whether it's a difficult toy or retro '80s kitsch you're seeking, Rubik's Cube is for you. --Rob Lightner $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours
	Best Selling #2 Scrabble: Classic Edition After all these years, it's still hard to get a triple word score, the tiles are still made of wood, and there's only one "X" in the whole box. The game of Scrabble has sparked feuds and a near-cult following. All the fuss is over a spelling game that hasn't had an upgrade in 50 years. It takes a little luck and a lot of skill to make high-scoring words out of seven little letters, sometimes with an overabundance of vowels and letters that don't go together--sometimes there's Q without U. Two to four players battle it out on the board, and while some players might be proud of impressive words ("I spelled gestalt!"), skilled players know how to use the premium letter and word squares on the 225-square board to their best advantage. This crossword game has strict rules (no names, no slang) and comes with a warning label: "Choose a dictionary first to avoid any ugly word disputes." --Lynne Sampson $14.23 Usually ships in 24 hours
	Best Selling #3 Sorry! Family Game Night Edition This classic game of luck, strategy, and determination is easy to grasp for children as young as 6 years old, yet it's fun for adults and older siblings too. By drawing cards, players move their game pieces around the board, hoping to eventually accumulate all their pieces at the final destination--home sweet home. Sorry is known as the game of "sweet revenge," since players can send each other's pawns back to the starting line, thus forcing one another to lose ground and begin all over again. This kind of frustration may be hard for children under age 8 to handle. In fact, young ones typically crumble into tears of outrage when their pawns are cavalierly sent back. The only recourse is to teach children how to plot their own revenge, which makes them feel as powerful as superheroes. $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours
	Best Selling #4 Heroscape The Heroscape line of toys is like the all-star game of make believe. While other games might focus on a specific era of history, the age of chivalry, perhaps, or the Jurassic period, Heroscape puts everyone together on one enormous madcap battlefield. Vikings, World War II soldiers, ninjas, mutant monsters, samurais, dinosaurs, dragons, they're all there, done up as tiny, highly detailed figure. It would be sort of comic if all the players didn't look so gosh-darn serious. 85 interlocking terrain tiles are also included so you can craft exactly the landscape you wish for all the action to happen on. Multiple dice are featured along with game cards and detailed instructions on how to play. We liked the boundless imagination of this game and the open-minded versatility of its imaginary protagonists. --Charlie Williams $39.48 Usually ships in 3-4 business days
	Best Selling #5 Mousetrap Build a better mousetrap? We dare you. Naturally, the object is to trap mice in the mousetrap, while avoiding getting trapped. By rolling the die, you proceed around the game board, collecting cheese pieces and building a mousetrap bit by bit. Once complete, you set the wheels in motion, as it were, to try to capture the opposition's mice. But this is no ordinary trap. With this contraption you start by turning the crank, that rotates the gears, that push the lever, that moves the shoe, that kicks the bucket, that sends the ball down the stairs and into the gutter, that leads to the rod that releases a second ball, that falls through the bathtub and onto the springboard, that catapults the diver into the washtub, that causes the cage to fall and--whew!--hopefully, capture a mouse. The last "mouse" left uncaptured wins --Alison Golder $17.99 Usually ships in 24 hours
	Best Selling #6 Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords Got Game Boy Advance friends and a Game Link Cable? Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a retelling of the venerable series' first game with a quest for up to four players--all from one cartridge. The game is a mix of action and puzzles where Link must travel between the Light and Dark worlds to rescue Princess Zelda. $18.99 Usually ships in 24 hours
	Best Selling #7 Cootie This classic game has been around for nearly half a century and is just as fun as ever. The bugs' faces are a bit goofier than before, but the object remains the same: to be the first to create your own Cootie. Just arrange the bug parts on the fold-out board and roll the die to win the parts you need. (Roll a 1 and pick a body, roll a 2 and select a head, roll a 3, etc.) Body parts are made of hard plastic and come in various mix-and-match colors. Small pieces are a danger to young children, so supervision is recommended. Instructions in English and Spanish. --Tom Keogh $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours
	Best Selling #8 Super Monkey Ball 2 With 150 new game stages, Super Monkey Ball 2 provides hours of slipping and sliding through colorful environments with the same tricky gameplay moves as before. You still tilt and angle the board to maneuver your ball-encased monkey through courses that range from easy to wildly complex and fraught with peril. Super Monkey Ball 2 provides background info on its characters with a new story mode that includes 10 monkey worlds. You will see what these persevering primates are made of when they are forced to face up to a big ape who steals their bananas. Information about the characters appears throughout the game, so you'll learn more about them as you play. Super Monkey Ball 2 includes six brand-new party games, including Monkey Boat Race, Monkey Shot, Monkey Dog Fight, Monkey Tennis, Monkey Baseball, and Monkey Soccer. One to four players can team up or compete. $17.82 Usually ships in 24 hours
	Best Selling #9 World's Largest Crossword Puzzle Measuring a full 7 feet by 7 feet and containing over 28,000 clues, it's hard to comprehend that a crossword puzzle can get much bigger than this one. Hang this monster on your wall using the included double-sided tape, and then unleash your inner cruciverbalist. The puzzle's challenge lies in its size; you have to consider the big picture, literally. Clues range from easy ("Ludwig ___ Beethoven") to the moderate ("'Whether one is or ___...': Plato"), so it's a great activity for one person, two people, or the whole family. The set includes a clue book, the puzzle grid, an answer grid, and the tape. --Lisa Whipple $25.99 Usually ships in 24 hours
	Best Selling #10 Perfection Even adults will be challenged by attempting to fit all 25 pieces into place before the 60-second alarm sounds. These complex geometric shapes need to be matched with the appropriate hole before the whole tray pops up and sends them flying in an explosion of yellow plastic. Any number of kids can take turns trying to beat the clock, and then to beat each other's best times. For younger children who are still learning to recognize shapes, the game can be played without the time pressure. Kids will soon develop speed and accuracy so much they'll want to take on Mom and Dad. --Lynne Sampson $16.99 This item is currently not available.

Puzzles are sure to provide everyone on your list with hours and hours of post-Holiday Season fun this year!