Logical Thinking

Mind's Eye Geometry

Curious and interesting puzzles to amuse the visual imagination
0 906212 98 7 Ivan Moscovich
Each of the diagrams in this extensive collection poses an ingenious geometrical puzzle which has to be solved simply by looking, thinking and imagining. For instance, what would you see if you look further into that hollow cube? There is also a novel way to check if your solution or your ideas about the puzzle are correct. By making a model or a simple cut-out from the back of the book, you will be able to place it on the page and convince yourself or others that you are right! A most intriguing collection of puzzling notions.

The Puzzle of Symmetry Dice Exploring the significance of symmetry and chirality in chemistry and biology 1 899618 11 2 Gordon Woods

This book includes 34 coloured card dice to cut out and make. All are legal dice but they differ from each other in rather subtle ways. The primary puzzle is to identify which dice are identical and which are not. It is the logical thinking required to solve these puzzles which draws attention to the nature of the symmetries of three dimensional objects. Also included is an extensive minibook which deals with the fascinating consequences of differing symmetries in biological molecules. £3.50 (inc VAT)

Who Tells the Truth?

A collection of logical puzzles to make you think
0 906212 77 4 Adam Case
All the characters in these puzzles make clear statements about themselves and others, but it is not clear whether or not they are telling the truth. Anyone could be lying. As always, a good logical puzzle is one which it is possible to unravel by thinking logically. The problem is to decide which person to believe. Altogether there are 85 original puzzles in this book ranging in standard from fairly easy to quite demanding. There are also some curious paradoxical pictures which raise questions which are rather hard either to answer or to ignore. £1.95

Who Did It? Poster

On this poster there are eight different puzzles, each featuring some red, yellow or blue tubmen. Each character in a scene makes a single statement, which may be true or false. The puzzle is to work out who is telling the truth.

50 Enigmes Mathématiques

These three booksare in French but the language content is not very great. Each contains 50 ingenious puzzles, taken from international mathematical and logical championships. They are arranged by age bands.

50 Enig. Math. (Green) Ages 11-14 Ed. Michel Criton
£5.50

50 Enig. Math. (Orange) Ages 13-16 Ed.

Curious & Interesting Puzzles

0 14 014875 2 David Wells
To puzzle and be puzzled is an enjoyable experience and David Wells has assembled a fine and varied collection here. All of the included puzzles can be solved without too much mathematical knowledge and detailed solutions are given.
£8.99

Mindbenders

Ivan Moscovich has been collecting, inventing and designing intellectual games and puzzles for the greater part of his life. Each of these books is a collection of puzzles and 'thought games', requiring only a pencil, some coins and a lively sense of curiosity. Excellent value
BLUE BOOK Games of Shape £2.95
RED BOOK Games of Chance £2.95

How Amazing 0 521 35672 5 Snape &, Scott £9.50

How Many? 0 521 45953 2 Snape &, Scott £9.50

Each of these books is an attractively designed collection of puzzles, secrets to unravel, mysteries and investigations. Many topics are linked to the historical development of mathematics. Colourful and highly illustrated, they are lively and interesting reads for children of ten and over.

Strategy Games

A collection of 50 games and puzzles to stimulate mathematical thinking. 0 906212 70 7 Sheppard & Wilkinson
These games have been chosen or adapted from games played all over the world. For each there is a photocopiable A4 sheet which gives the 'board' and the rules. Children then try to work out a winning or 'not losing' strategy within those rules. Later, they are encouraged to alter them and to explore the effect such changes have on the strategy of the game. Extensive teacher's notes are included.
£4.50

Michel Criton
£5.50

£2.80 (+ VAT)

Codes & Ciphers

Be a Codebreaker!

0 906212 05 7 Jenkins & Wild
The setting is of ancient maps, lost cities, shipwrecks and buried treasure, All the messages are based on letter frequency. Age 11+
£2.95

Secret Messages

0 906212 78 2 Jeff Hawtin
As a light-hearted dash through the history of cryptography this book presents many different ways of coding and decoding messages. Age 8-13.
£2.95

An interesting extension to class work on statistics is provided by introducing the idea of letter frequency as a means of breaking codes and ciphers. Each of these books offers lots of interesting ideas and examples to use and adapt.

£3.50