Customer Reviews

World of Puzzles (1-year auto-renewal)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This bi-monthly GAMES Magazine spin-off offers sixty-plus pages of 'crosswords, word searches, picture puzzles, cryptograms, trivia, logic, double-crostics, cryptics and other pencil puzzles' reminiscent of GAMES' signature Pencilwise section. Most puzzles are rated on the standard one-to-three star scale of difficulty. The center of each issue contains a ten-page 'special section' of related puzzles. Each issue also features a contest with a $500 grand prize (and famed GAMES T-shirts for lucky random runner-ups). These puzzles are better crafted than those of the cheaper Dell or Penny Press competing publications and at $3.25 an issue this still offers good value. I enjoy the crosswords and double-crostics best.
Over my year-long subscription I accumulated a backlog of unread issues and eventually decided to cancel my 'World Of Puzzles' subscription. I'm saving the unused issues for future use. Single issues are highly recommended for airport bookstores and long airplane or train travel.
Amazon's annual rate is currently about $3.50 less than that directly offered by the publishers (each issue is loaded with subscription cards). However, be advised that subscribing through Amazon takes a LONG time to start (Amazon currently estimates 3-4 months between payment and first issue).

This magazine is on the pricey side, but it is packed full of really clever puzzles -- of all kinds. There are the staples: crosswords, paint by numbers, cryptoquotes, battleships -- but also all kinds of original, unique puzzles as well. You get what you pay for with this magazine. It keeps me entertained for many days (and nights). I save the old ones and go back to find a little nugget of a puzzle that I hadn't finished when I first looked at it. Great magazine -- so glad it is on the market.

I have tried the basic crossword and logic puzzle magazines out there, the kind you get at the airport and so on (usually by Penny Press), and the Games Magazine publications, World of Puzzles in particular, are by far the best. The simple physical quality of them is better, the puzzles more interesting and just overall a better buy. I admit I have never finished all the puzzles in it, but it's also great because I can keep them a while and still find puzzles to do! If you do a lot of puzzles, get a subscription. If you're more limited on time and never finish as many of them as you like, you can generally find this at places like Borders and buy every other edition.

For those who love puzzles, Games and World of Games magazines are the ultimate in fun and variety. The crosswords are unique and include different varieties of wordplay. The sudoku has challenging designs, the picture logic I have not seen anywhere else, and the cryptic crosswords are amazing. There is a bit of everything for every kind of puzzle fan, but my personal favorite is Mixed Doubles which is a crossword play on homonyms. I have subscribed to this magazine for years and enjoy each fresh new edition.

Filled with tons of great games and puzzles, this collection is the best on the market.