Games Magazine Big Book of Games [Paperback]

Ronnie Shushan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 1984

A compendium of the cleverest, toughest, strangest, wildest, prettiest, most elegant and deviant exercises of mental gymnastics around, this bestselling book is a must for anyone who likes puzzles that actually pose a challenge.

Mixing off the wall humor with on-the-ball logical puzzles, here is a thousand hours of brainteasers and word twisters in one giant book. From Think-and-Blink to Eyeball Benders, from Dszquphsbnt! to Sequences, each page is a winner for both aces and amateurs. A special 32-page section in full color presents artistically pleasing and logically enigmatic labyrinthine dilemmas. (Try dodging the hidden cameras in the three-dimensional maze.) Answers are revealed in the back of the book. Selection of the Literary Guild. 356,000 copies in print.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you've played with Games magazine at all, you know what to expect here. It's page after page of the best word, logic, number and observation games and countless unclassifiable brain teasers from the magazine's first few years. Some are simple, many are diabolical, and most are witty as well as challenging. Even if you've subscribed from the beginning, odds are there's plenty you've forgotten and will enjoy playing again. Here's a perfect book to accompany you on a long trip--or to give a bedridden friend.

From the Back Cover

AN ALL-TIME FAVORITE COLLECTION

From the editors of Games magazine, their cleverest, quirkiest, orneriest, most playful and beguiling brain twisters. With 32 pages of puzzles in full color.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (January 10, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0894808060
• ISBN-13: 978-0894808067
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #311,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book to Pass the Time, June 21, 2000

By 

Kelly K DeBurger - See all my reviews

This review is from: Games Magazine Big Book of Games (Paperback)

This is an excellent compilation of puzzles that you would normally find in the magazine. They range from easy to very challenging. Great for travellers, commuters, or just sitting around with nothing to do. The hours fly by as you get sucked into some of the puzzles.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun!, June 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Games Magazine Big Book of Games (Paperback)

If you loved the old Games magazine, this will bring it all back. I bought it as a gift for my Dad, but had to force myself not to write in it myself! From wacky crossword-type puzzles to visual games and more, this has everything the old magazine had. Fun for individuals, groups, pairs.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to pass the time!, February 11, 2010

By 

Jada Petersen "Professional Abecedarian" (Denver-ish, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Games Magazine Big Book of Games (Paperback)

The best way to sum up my opinion of this book is to say that I've now purchased it five times. I first got this book when I was in 7th grade, and I remember spending hours and hours working on the different puzzles. I misplaced the book at some point but purchased it again when I was in college, and again found myself engrossed in the many puzzles. A puzzle I saw recently reminded me of how much fun I'd had with this book, so I picked up a used copy here on Amazon. As I flipped through it, I remembered some of the puzzles from my youth, but others drew me in for the first time, and I realized that I now enjoy very different puzzles than I did as a kid. That makes this book even more wonderful because it encompasses so many different styles and types of puzzles, from vocabulary and word puzzles, math and logic puzzles, to visual teasers and a myriad of puzzles I'd never seen before!

I found another interesting event happened as I dove into this book's puzzles again... my teen daughter heard me giggling and came to investigate, then got pulled into a page of cryptograms (one puzzle I never liked!) She ran for her allowance and promptly begged to purchase it from me. My husband wondered what the fuss was all about and asked to look through the book as well. So, here I am at Amazon again, having just purchased a replacement copy for the one my daughter claimed and an additional one for my husband, since he immediately found several puzzles that caught his eye. So, that now makes five purchases, and something tells me it won't be our last, either, judging by how quickly my daughter grabbed the book and took it with her when her boyfriend called earlier... maybe they'll go do puzzles together. *laugh*

GAMES released at least two other puzzle compilations that are equally good (though I like the starred difficulty ratings in this first book, which are omitted in the others) -- if you can get your hands on a new or lightly used copy, do so! It seems like paper puzzles have gone the way of video games these days, so to find a great compilations of puzzles like this is becoming a rare opportunity. Who knows, maybe you'll reintroduce yourself (or your kids or grandkids) to a new "fad" of puzzles! :D

**One note: some of the puzzles rely on references to then-current media or pop culture icons, so they may be outdated ... or just extra challenging for anyone Gen-X or younger.