Puzzles 101: A Puzzlemaster's Challenge (Paperback)

by Nobuyuki Yoshigahara (Author) "Let's look at a square of side-length 1..." (more)
Key Phrases: palindrome times, tatami mats

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This latest collection of puzzles from the internationally acclaimed puzzlemaster Nob Yoshigahara covers a wide variety of puzzles from physical to visual, conceptual to mathematical.

Solutions are provided in a separate section, which will help novices get on the right track, and will give seasoned aficionados a chance to check their work.

About the Author
NOB Yoshigahara has authored more than 80 puzzle-related books. He graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology with a specialty in applied chemistry. Following a career as a high-polymer engineer he became a chemistry teacher in a senior high school. Now retired, NOB spends his time designing, solving, and writing about puzzles.

In 2003 he received the Loyd Award from the Association of GAme and Puzzle Collectors.

Product Details

• Paperback: 85 pages
• Publisher: A K Peters Ltd (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156881206X
• ISBN-13: 978-1568812069
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #991,286 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good collection of addictive puzzlets, April 25, 2004

By	pete "pete" - See all my reviews

Nob is a revered Japanese puzzlist so the publisher (AK Peters) ought to be commended for giving us the first English translation of his many excellent puzzle books - this was long overdue.

As far as content is concerned, this book has mostly penny&matches and cut-up&reassemble type puzzles - so in a sense,it is a variation on an already known theme.

However, most of the puzzles have a fresh twist which makes them thoroughly engaging -- but quite a few are blood-letting head scratchers!

The book is well illustrated and has a nice introduction by Nob.

Let's hope for more of Nob's puzzle books from AK Peters!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can see why the author is so highly regarded as a puzzle maker, April 23, 2006

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Nob Yoshigahara is an internationally known puzzle master and from the 101 puzzles in this book, it is easy to see why he is so highly regarded. Most of the staple genres appear somewhere in the book. Some of those forms are:

*) What is the next number in the sequence?
*) Given a figure made from objects, move a small number to create a different figure.
*) Given a figure, cut it into pieces and rearrange them into another figure.
*) Place numbers into positions in a figure so that arithmetic combinations match a specific pattern.
*) Rearrange numbers so that a pattern forms.

Solutions to all of the puzzles are in a separate section after the puzzles and this will reduce your aggravation, although you should try very hard before you peek at the solution.
I found approximately 20 of the puzzles to be solvable within a minute or two. If you approach them the right way, the solution is obvious. I was able to solve another 20 after several minutes, generally after thinking for a while, putting it away and then coming back to it. Of the remaining sixty, there are about 20 that I don't think I would have ever solved, although the solution in the back of the book was easy to follow. Many of these were dissection problems, which I always seem to have trouble with.
For some of the problems, I don't see how you could solve them without making the appropriate manipulatives, and the author hints when that is the case. Fortunately, they are all quite simple, a few coins or pieces of paper generally suffice. If you like to stimulate your brain cells by solving puzzles, then this book is one you must examine.

1.0 out of 5 stars A few gems but most of them are pure BS, January 17, 2009

By	W. WEI "WW" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even for the few really interesting ones(eg digital clock palindrome), the author only gave the answer without explaining how he arrived at those answers. In short there is no insight into the thought process.

As an example of how ridiculous his puzzles can be, see if you can figure this one out: Move the minus sign in -101010 to get "nine fifty".

I spent about ten mins and decided there could be no serious answer to it. Indeed, was i glad i didn't waste more time on this stupid puzzle. His "answer" is 10T010 (i.e move the - to above the second 1 from left, to form the letter T). But what the heck is this? He shamelessly claimed that it means "10 to 10", or the time 9:50. I don't know about you, maybe you think this guy is a genius, but i won't waste time on another book by him ever again.