Review: Everytime Something New
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 22, 2013
I like The Grabarchuk Family puzzlebooks the most because the creators never tire of throwing new things at you with every new edition. Despite building their puzzles around the age old ingredients they sprinkle them with something novel each time. Puzzles are nothing but tools to test someone with a brain teaser by putting forth the incomplete, the hidden, the confusing or the illusory before them, and to find out if the subject can fill up the gap, see the whole picture from the odd angle, make some mental analysis and calculation. No matter how difficult or unsolvable the puzzle may look initially, the resolution always produces the 'wow' response. It is something the subject is aware of and familiar with. The solution does not produce a great wisdom or revelation: it only removes the sheet that had been distracting or confusing the subject.Having said that let me show how the present puzzle book uses the very simple and familiar matters to bring out the specialty of these the puzzles. Take the quiz where two sets of 3D cubes in equal numbers are shown. Apparently they are same in all respects, but due to their configuration, they occupy different surface areas. You will have to apply your mind and find which one has more surface area than the other. Some verbal queries like the one to find the odd man out from the letters K,L,M,N keep you absorbed for sometime. A square shape hides a popular search engine: you have to find out which one. The puzzles have been graded according to the level of difficulty.In the HD version the puzzles come alive with vibrant colors and sharp images. Technology has been put to best use in this puzzle book, which will be enjoyed in equal measures by young and old.