Puzzly Suggestions for Valentine’s Day!

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Valentine’s Day is only a few days away, but there’s still plenty of time to whip up a puzzly treat for the special someone in your life!

And naturally we’ve got a few suggestions…

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Jigsaw puzzles are the perfect metaphor for relationships, as they require separate pieces working together to complete the picture.

There are do-it-yourself jigsaw patterns you can utilize at most every art store or hobby shop. You could depict anything from a favorite photo to a specific Valentine’s message in the completed image.

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If jigsaws aren’t their style, you can always start with something simple, like a subscription to a puzzle service like The American Values Club Crossword. New puzzles every week or every month are a great gift.

If they’re more into mechanical puzzles, our friends at Tavern Puzzles offer several brain teasers that incorporate a heart shape.

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But if you’re looking for something more personalized, why not make a crossword for them yourself?

(Yes, you can also commission a top puzzler to do one for you, but you’d usually want to get the ball rolling on something like that well before Valentine’s Day.)

For example, Reddit user peregrinate shared a crossword they constructed for their boyfriend, including the lovely artistic way they rendered their gift!

Now, to be fair, crosswords can be tough and time-intensive to make, so if that feels a little daunting, why not try a Framework puzzle or a crisscross instead? They incorporate the same crossing style, but don’t require you to use every letter.

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It allows you to maintain a terrific word list all about you and your significant other without all the effort of filling in every square crossword-style.

Or you could write the object of your affection a coded love letter! All throughout history, people have employed different tricks and techniques to keep their private messages away from prying eyes, and you could do the same!

Whether it’s a simple letter-shifting cipher or something more complex, make sure your message is worth reading. =)

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Image courtesy of ibookbinding.com

Plus you could learn a bit of letterlocking to add some flair, and a sense of puzzly secrecy and personalization, to your message. It involves a mix of precise folds, interlocking pieces of paper, and sealing wax in order to create a distinctive design or pattern.

Even if you don’t go the encryption route, the unique presentation of a letter-locked message makes a simple card or a heartfelt note feel more precious.

Have you considered a puzzle bouquet? You could grab some newspaper crosswords and origami them into flower shapes for a fun puzzle-fueled spin on a holiday classic.

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Or you could gather flower-themed puzzles and spell out messages in the grids.

Rows Garden immediately comes to mind, as do Daisy and Flower Power, which you can find in Penny Press magazines!

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Or you could hide jigsaw pieces around the house that, when put together, spell out a Valentine’s message or a picture of the two of you.

Put your own spin on the idea. A little bit of effort can go a long way, plus it doesn’t cost anything.

With a little more effort, you could whip up a scavenger hunt! You could leave clues around leading to a gift, or a romantic dinner, or some other grand finale. Maybe offer a rose with each clue. (You can do this without leaving the house, like a reverse escape room!)

Show off how much you know about him or her. You could make each clue (or destination, safety allowing) about your relationship or about your partner, allowing you to show off how well you know them… where you first met, favorite meals, favorite movie…

If you don’t want to leave things around where anyone could nab them, keep a few small tokens on you, giving one for each destination reached or clue solved. Heck, you could enlist a friend to text clues to your special someone once they’ve reached a particular destination!

Or for something less formal, you could make a game of your romantic wanderings and play Valentine’s Day Bingo.

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I found this blank template on Makoodle.com

Maybe go for a walk or take a drive with your loved one, and see if they can get bingo by observing different things. A couple holding hands as they walk, a Valentine’s Day proposal, outrageously priced flowers…

You could even channel-surf and see if you can get bingo from all the Valentine’s Day programming.

The possibilities are endless when you put your mind to it.

Image courtesy of Escape the Room.

What about a couples’ escape room date?

While many escape rooms are geared toward larger groups, you can absolutely find ones tailored to couples or pairs, giving you a more private opportunity to flex your puzzly skills with your significant other!

(Although I wouldn’t recommend surprising someone with an escape room date unless you’re VERY sure they’d like it!)

Or don’t go out, and solve a mystery from home, like the ones offered by our friends at Scarlet Envelope!

Unravel a murder or solve a crime from the comfort of your own space. Set the mood, get the food, and partner up to outwit a devious criminal!


There are any number of ways to add a personalized and puzzly twist to the holiday. Do you have any suggestions, fellow puzzler? Let us know in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you.

PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide: By Price

Welcome to the PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide!

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We’re so excited to be bringing you our biggest ever gift guide! There are so many tremendously fun and puzzly products to share with you this year. We just might be your one-stop shop for all things puzzly!

In this edition of the Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide, we have endeavored to strike a balance between the most affordable price we could find for each product and the most reliable outlet to get your gifts to you in time for the holidays!

Please enjoy this assortment of dice games, puzzle games, brain teasers, card games, puzzle books, group & party games, murder mysteries, escape room games, and board games, all organized in price from lowest to highest. We’re sure you’ll find the right gift for any puzzler on your list!

Any amounts in Pounds have been placed where they’d land roughly when converted to dollars. And please note that shipping is not factored into any of these prices.

Happy puzzling!


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Puzzle Books, Magazines, and Puzzle bundles

Since most of the puzzle books, magazines, and puzzle bundles in this year’s gift guide are between $5 and $15, and most subscription services are between $15 and $30 per year, we figured we’d bundle them all up front before we get into all of the games, puzzles, and other terrific holiday treats!

Pencil-and-paper puzzles are alive and well, and we’re happy to share some of our favorites with you.

Our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles have put together some outstanding holiday collections with puzzles galore to be solved!

Maybe you’re looking for one kind of puzzle, like their Good Time Puzzle Fun Pack ($25.95), the Crossword Extravaganza collection ($9.99), or a value pack of Jumble puzzles ($16.95)! Maybe you’d like the ease of printing puzzles at home with Print N’ Solve Seasonal Crosswords ($2.99). Either way, the folks at Penny Dell Puzzles have got you covered.

And be sure to check out their deals on Facebook and Twitter throughout the holiday season. They’ve got bundles and discounts for days!

And while we’re on the topic of puzzle books, some of the best constructors (and many favorites of the blog) have released their own books for your perusal! And with New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today puzzles to their credit, you’re sure to find some quality puzzlers within these pages!

Puzzmo Crosswords ($24.99 for two copies)

Black Crossword by Juliana Pache ($15.99)

Grids Don’t Lie, edited by Francis Heaney ($11.99)

Crimebits, puzzles by Robin Stears ($24.95)

A24’s 99 TV Crosswords, edited by Brooke Husic and Will Nediger ($34)

A-to-Gen Z Crosswords by Ada Nicolle ($12.99)

CynAcrostics Volume 10: Who, Me? by Cynthia Morris ($11.95)

25 Word Search Puzzles for Classic CHRISTMAS Lovers by Shawn Marie Simmons ($6.99)


In addition to those new collections above, here are some of our favorite puzzle books from previous years!

–Doug Peterson and Jeff Chen’s It’s So Easy Crosswords ($10.93)

–Paolo Pasco’s Crossword Puzzles For Kids ($5.88)

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks: More Than 100 Bite-Size Puzzles for Every Solver ($12.91)

–Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Octopus Crosswords ($3.17)

–Todd McClary’s Fresh Freestyle Crosswords ($5.01)

USA Today’s Crossword Super Challenge 3 ($11.99)

–Frasier Simpson’s Cryptic Crosswords Volume 1Volume 2, and Volume 3 ($11.95 each)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Easy to Medium and Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Hard ($8.99 each)

USA Today’s Sudoku Super Challenge 3 and Sudoku and Variants Super Challenge ($9.99 each)

–Andy Kravis’s Challenge Accepted!: 100 Word Searches ($8.01)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Posh Take Care: Creative Challenge ($12.99)

USA Today’s Word Fill-In Puzzles Super Challenge ($9.99)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for PeaceTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for ClarityTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Tranquility, and Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Balance [featuring crosswords and other puzzles] ($8.99 each)


Email Subscription / Downloadable Puzzles

Many top constructors and organizations market their puzzles directly to solvers, so between email subscriptions and downloadable puzzle bundles, you’ve got plenty of quality choices!

The American Values Crossword (subscription and daily puzzles, $50 for 1 year)

–Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest (starts at $3 per month on Patreon)

–Peter Gordon’s Fireball Crosswords ($32 for 1 year)

–Joon Pahk’s Rows Garden puzzles ($20 for 1 year) and Variety puzzles ($15 for 1 year) OR get both for $30!

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks bundles ($9.99 each)

–Andrew Ries’ Section Eight Puzzle Pack ($8)

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Also, there are some wonderful puzzle bundles available in exchange for donations to worthy causes!

Grids for Good, a 42-puzzle bundle supporting groups fighting systemic racism and coronavirus relief

Puzzles for Palestine, a 22-puzzle bundle for ending the siege of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank

Women of Letters, an 18-crossword bundle by female constructors in support of women’s rights causes

These Puzzles Fund Abortion, a 23-puzzle bundle supporting women’s reproductive rights


Various Prices

Notebooks, Ornaments, and Crafts by DGhandcrafted


Up to $10

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Star Trek Fluxx: The Archer Expansion and The Porthos Expansion (Looney Labs, card game)

Star Trek is an ever-expanding universe of stories, heroes, adventures, and questions to explore, so it’s only fitting that the ever-changing card game Fluxx has a host of Star Trek-themed card decks for you to try out. Whether you’re a fan of The Original Series or Deep Space Nine, there’s a Fluxx deck stacked with your favorite characters, villains, and pivotal moments from each show. ($22 each)

And now you can combine and cross over those decks and play Fluxx like never before with The Archer Expansion and The Porthos Expansion. These small additional decks not only introduce characters from the show Enterprise to the mix, but they allow new rules for mixing up decks and new paths to victory. Plus they add the beloved pets Porthos and Spot to the game! ($5.00 each)

And if Star Trek isn’t your style, maybe you’d enjoy Fantasy FluxxWonderland FluxxAstronomy Fluxx, or any of the other marvelous variations on this classic quick-changing card game! ($20 each)

[Our review for the Porthos and Archer Expansions can be found here!]

Zendo Expansion Packs 1 and 2 (Looney Labs, puzzle game)

Zendo challenges you to arrange Looney pyramids and other shapes into various designs, and then see if those designs conform to a mysterious rule. Essentially, you’re trying to deduce what the secret rule is by building different designs.

And if you need additional rules to spice up your Zendo game, these two expansion packs offer new twists for all difficulty ranks, adding new wrinkles to an already devious game! ($5 each)

[Check out our full review for Zendo here and our review of Expansion Pack #2 here!]

Math Dice (ThinkFun, dice game)

Can you out-think and out-math your opponents when it comes to addition, division, square roots, and more? That’s what awaits players with Math Dice, a deviously fun game of who can get closest to the target with only their math skills and cleverness! ($6.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Coaster Games (The Dark Imp, party/group game)

Coaster Games is a six-pack of games encompassing all sorts of gameplay styles. Counting, word building, deduction, strategy, resource management, and more, and they all fit in your pocket. Perfect for parties or quickplay fun between longer game sessions, you’re guaranteed to find something to enjoy here! (£6.99)

[Find our review of Coaster Games here!]

That’s Not a Hat (Ravensburger, party/group game)

A White Elephant gift exchange is always a fun time, especially watching the gifts getting traded all around. But, if they were still wrapped, could you remember every gift as it moved from person to person? That’s Not a Hat puts your memory to work, asking if you can recall each gift as it is hidden from view and passed around the table. It’s tougher, and more fun, than you think! ($9.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

Pool Party: The Painless Path to Practically Perfect Pool Playing by Robin Stears ($9.99 kindle, $24.99 hardcover)

The Island of Doctor Lucky (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games, board game)

People have been trying to kill Doctor Lucky for over twenty years, and this time around, you’re visiting his exotic island estate to try your murderous luck against the titular Doctor! The Island of Doctor Lucky offers a new gameboard to explore, new movement mechanics, and a very distracting cat. This is the best addition to the series yet! ($10)

[Check out our full review of The Island of Doctor Lucky by clicking here!]


Up to $20

How to Fool Your Parents: 25 Brain-Breaking Magic Tricks by David Kwong ($12.99)

The Abandons (Puzzling Pixel Games, board game)

Can you escape a dangerous labyrinth that changes every time you explore it? The Abandons pits the solver against a random deck, where luck, quick decision making, and puzzly skill all must be on your side if you ever want to see daylight again. ($13)

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]

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Lexicon-GO! (Winning Moves UK)

Are you a word-forming pro? Take your speed-solving skills and try them out with Lexicon-GO!, a Scrabble-style tile game suitable for solvers of all ages! ($13.95)

[Click here for our full review of Lexicon-GO!]

Reflectron (Inverse/Project Genius, brain teaser)

Rubik’s Cubes are a puzzly tradition, but the only thing better is seeing how new solvers can innovate with the same concept. And Reflectron is literally another dimension away from the usual twisty puzzle. With different-sized cubes, Reflectron‘s shape becomes blockier and stranger with every twist! ($14.99)

[Click here for our full review]

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Exit: The Game: Dead Man on the Orient Express (Kosmos, escape room/solve the mystery game)

Exit: The Game products create an escape room experience by combining a deck of cards, a guidebook, a sliding decoder ring, an interactive phone app, and miscellaneous items to be used throughout the game. What sets Dead Man on the Orient Express above and beyond is that there’s a mystery to solve in the background, even as you tackle all the delightful escape room-style puzzles! ($14.99)

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The Oregon Trail (Pressman Toys, card game)

The classic computer game comes to life as you and your fellow players team up to survive the perilous journey along The Oregon Trail. With art evoking old-school computer games, rampant threats and calamities to endure, and a long and challenging road to travel, will any of you will make it to Oregon? ($14.99)

[Check out our full product review of The Oregon Trail by clicking here!]

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Wish You Were Here (The Enigma Emporium, puzzle by mail)

Imagine an entire mystery hidden across a handful of postcards. That’s the multilayered puzzle experience offered by Wish You Were Here, where a series of coded messages awaits you. Unravel all the secrets and discover an exciting tale of danger and spycraft along the way! ($15)

[And if you enjoy Wish You Were Here, there are all sorts of additional puzzle bundles to try out!]

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Cheapass Games in Black and White (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games, board game)

The library of Cheapass Games is expansive, but even diehard fans don’t have the majority of the company’s original game library. Unless, that is, they own Cheapass Games in Black and White, a hardcover compendium of every game from the black-and-white era. Featuring the rulebooks for famous titles like Button Men and Kill Doctor Lucky, alongside more obscure entries like Escape from Elba, this is a terrific resource for any game fan. ($15)

A-Puzzle-A-Day puzzle calendar (Insync Games, fill the frame puzzle)

Eight puzzle pieces, 365 different puzzles. Now that’s value for your money. Can you place these Tetris-like pieces to tell today’s date, or a favorite date, or any date you choose? ($16)

Tenzi (dice game)

All of us have rolled dice in games before, but can you roll what you need as fast as possible? That’s the challenge of Tenzi, a game that pits up to four players against each other in tests of speed and dexterity. Can you roll ten 6’s before everyone else? ($16.95)

Roman Lock Box (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Take the usual gift-giving puzzle box to the next level with the Roman Lock Box. One of the brain teasers from the True Genius collection, the Roman Lock Box combines tile-sliding puzzles with traditional puzzle box elements to create a fun challenge for someone to unlock before receiving their prize! ($17.99)

[Check out our review of Roman Lock Box here!]

Egyptian Triglyph (Project Genius, brain teaser)

It’s hard enough to build a cube out of Tetris-style puzzle block shapes, but imagine trying to disassemble — and then reassemble one — INSIDE a 3-D triangular frame. Egyptian Triglyph bends your brain into new shapes and taxes your spatial awareness in very cool ways. A topnotch reinvention of a puzzly classic! ($17.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

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Enigmas Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards (David Kwong/Dave Shukan, escape room / solve the mystery game)

A puzzle hunt lurking within a normal deck of cards? It sounds impossible, but when you’re dealing with puzzler and magician David Kwong, anything can happen with Enigmas! Can you unravel the mystery hiding amongst these playing cards? ($18)

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Word Nerd Mug by Penny Press ($19)

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Codenames (Czech Games, card game)

It’s a race against time to locate all of your spies before your opponents. But in order to do so, you need to communicate information with a single word. Codenames will put your word association skills to work as you try to find secret agents disguised with code words, while avoiding innocent citizens and dangerous assassins along the way! ($19.94)

[Read our full review of Codenames here!]

Sounds Fishy (Big Potato Games, party/group game)

What’s better than a trivia game? A trivia game with bluffing! Can you convince your fellow players that your fake trivia answer is the correct one? Try your luck and your skill with Sounds Fishy! ($19.99)

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12 Days (Calliope Games, card game)

A proper holiday-themed game for the holidays? You betcha. This wagering game, based on the 12 Days of Christmas, has some of the most beautiful art in the entire card game genre. Plus the two ways to earn points — winning each day of Christmas with the lowest card in the pot vs. keeping as many of a certain value card as possible for the end of the game — offer tons of strategic opportunities in a simple card game. What a treat! ($20)

Fluxx (Looney Labs, card game)

When it comes to the constantly-evolving gameplay of Fluxx, there are all sorts of flavors to choose from! There’s Fantasy FluxxWonderland FluxxAstronomy Fluxx, or any of the other marvelous variations on this classic quick-changing card game! ($20 each)


Up to $30

Slapzi (Tenzi, party/group game)

Slapzi will keep you on your toes. In this quick-reaction game, you’ve got to match your picture cards to the clue cards before your opponents. But with clues like “Not sold in a hardware store” or “Two of the same letter together,” this isn’t as easy as it appears! ($21.95)

[Click here to check out our full review of Slapzi!]

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Alice is Missing (Hunters Entertainment, escape room / solve the mystery game)

Can you and your fellow players solve a mystery without ever saying a word? That’s the challenge offered by the uniquely atmospheric and haunting RPG mystery game Alice Is Missing.

A game played entirely through text messaging, each player takes on the role of a character in the town of Silent Falls, trying to find out what happened to Alice Briarwood. We promise, you’ve never played anything like it. ($21.99)

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Puzzometry (jigsaw puzzle)

For a next-level jigsaw challenge, Puzzometry is tough to top. These beautiful pieces can be combined in seemingly endless combinations, and yet, there’s only one solution. Available in seven different styles — Puzzometry ($22.33), Puzzometry Jr. ($17.58), Puzzometry Squares ($22.33), Puzzometry Hex ($22.33), Puzzometry Steps ($22.33), Puzzometry Six ($22.33), and Puzzometry Jr. 2 ($17.58) — you’ve got distinct challenges appropriate for all different ages!

[Check out the full review of the original Puzzometry by clicking here!]

Athena (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Put your chess skills and tactics to the test with Athena. A puzzle requiring you to think several steps ahead in order to reunite a statue with its pedestal on a busy archaeological dig site, Athena has over 50 challenging patterns for you to solve! ($24.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Decrypto (IELLO, party/group game)

Can you covertly communicate with your teammates without revealing your secret code to the opponent team? That’s the name of the game in Decrypto, a party game all about word association and deduction. The first team to crack the opposing team’s codes twice wins! ($24.99)

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Qwirkle (MindWare, board game)

A wonderful mix of Uno and Mexican Train DominoesQwirkle is a tile-placing game where you try to maximize your points while minimizing the help you give to your opponents. With six bright colors and six different shapes to match up, Qwirkle is endless fun that’s so easy to jump into! ($24.99)

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Cracker Games: The Imp Box (The Dark Imp, party/group game)

Six unique family games in a reusable box that looks like a Christmas cracker? What an idea! Voting, collecting, observation, and trading are among the gameplay styles you’ll find in The Imp Box, and this neat little package packs a lot of variety into a small space! (£19.99)

Escape Room Advent Calendar (Insync Games, escape room / solve the mystery game)

This advent calendar has no numbers on the doors, and solving a daily puzzle is the only way to figure out which door to open! This clever, festive, chocolate-filled treat is a puzzly twist on a holiday classic! ($20 / $26)

Spaceteam (Timber and Bolt, card game)

Can you repair your ship and get the engines up and running before a black hole ends your space adventure forever? That’s the name of the game in Spaceteam, a cooperative, communication-based game where you have to accomplish various tasks with your fellow players while sharing tools. It’s delightful chaos, heightened by the five-minute hourglass timer counting down your dwindling seconds before disaster strikes! A definite favorite around here. ($27.95)

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Gloom (Atlas Games, card game)

Do you enjoy The Addams Family or the art of Edward Gorey? Then Gloom might be a strategy game worth checking out. In this tactical game with a sinister twist, you’re trying to make your Victorian family miserable for points and the lives of your opponents’ families better! Yup, misfortune equals good fortune for you! With gorgeous transparent cards you can lay over each other to track your scores, there’s no storytelling game out there quite like it.

With loads of expansions to add to the creepy world of Gloom — as well as the Gloomier spinoff game — this is hilariously macabre fun! ($27.95)

Tavern Puzzles / Tucker-Jones House Inc. (brain teaser)

These hand-forged beauties are ready to challenge your dexterity and cleverness, as you accept the Tavern Puzzles challenge. Whether you’re trying to remove twice as many pieces in a Collaborative Effort or free the triangle from Tridiculous, you’re sure to put your skills to the test. ($29.95 each)

Archimedes’ Gear (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Not just one of the most beautiful, but one of the most challenging brain teasers I’ve ever come across, Archimedes’ Gear marvels with its simplicity. Can you puzzle out how to separate the two pieces, and then put them back again? This one will keep you guessing! ($29.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

Unlock! Games (Asmodee, escape room / solve the mystery game)

Unlock! games consist of entirely of a deck of cards and your app. The cards provide locations, challenges, helpful items, solutions, and warnings, all identified with numbered or lettered cards in the deck. There are numerous Unlock! escape games to try — covering everything from haunted houses to desert islands — and they’re offered in sets of three! ($29.99)


Up to $40

The Light in the Mist (Allplay, solve the mystery game)

We’ve got puzzles in calendars, puzzle boxes, games, and playing cards, but how about a puzzle AND a story hidden in a tarot deck? The Light in the Mist walks you through the memories of a missing friend and creates a unique puzzle-solving experience! ($32)

Wavelength (Asmodee, party/group game)

Can you get your teammates to pick the exact spot on the dial you want… with a single word? That’s the challenge of Wavelength, a literal game of inches that shows where our opinions differ and where they align. A terrific party game you can learn in seconds! ($34.99)

Castle Panic! (Fireside Games, board game)

Can you and your fellow players repel wave after wave of monsters as a team? Tackle a unique spin on traditional tower defense games in this cooperative game of resource management and tactics! ($35)

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Godzilla: Tokyo Clash (Funko Games, board game)

Choose one of these four iconic monsters and let loose your fury all over Tokyo in Godzilla: Tokyo Clash. This tactical monster-vs.-monster game allows you to smash buildings, vehicles, and your fellow monsters on a game board that’s different every time you play! Will you be King of the Monsters by the time Tokyo is in ruins? ($35)

[Check out our full review of Godzilla: Tokyo Clash here!]

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Gearjits Roller Coaster (Gearjits, marble puzzle)

Bring your puzzle skills to life as you assemble a working roller coaster from these wooden pieces. Assembling handcranks and gears to operate the machine along with the structure of the roller coaster itself makes this 3-D puzzle more exciting and satisfying than the average 3-D puzzle. ($39.95)

Tile Securing Travel Scrabble (Hammacher Schlemmer, board game)

Hammacher Schlemmer has always been home to some intriguing Scrabble variants available — who could forget their World’s Largest Scrabble Game? — but when it comes to travel-friendly puzzle game fun, they’ve got just the thing. Tile Securing Travel Scrabble is perfect for those who want to solve on the go! Take your game anywhere and rest assured not a single tile will have moved! ($39.95)

Sagrada (Floodgate Games, dice game)

One of the most beautiful strategy games on the market today, Sagrada is a singularly peaceful gaming experience. Compete with other players to build the most beautiful stained glass window, but with dice instead of glass! Unique and challenging, Sagrada is something else. ($39.95)

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Tsuro: The Game of the Path (Calliope Games, board game)

A path-laying game with tons of style and historical spirit, Tsuro casts up to eight players as flying dragons, and tasks you with laying out your path with special tiles. Try not to meet any other dragons or fly off the board! It’s a simple mechanic with plenty of replay value, and perfect for quick games with large groups. ($40)

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Cluebox Escape Rooms in a Box (iDventure, brain teaser)

These multi-stage puzzle boxes are completely self-contained. You need to explore every inch of its surface to find clues and tools to unlock each stage of the puzzle box and reveal further challenges. Whether you delve into Davy Jones Locker ($49.99) or try to unravel the mystery of Schrodinger’s Cat ($39.99), you will definitely find your puzzly mettle tested by these devious devices!


Up to $50

Zendo (Looney Labs, puzzle game)

Puzzle games are all about the rules, but what if you don’t know the rules? That’s where Zendo comes in. In this puzzle game, you arrange Looney pyramids and other shapes into various designs, and then see if those designs conform to a mysterious rule. A game of deduction and trial-and-error, Zendo is a very different solving experience. ($44)

Plus there are two expansion packs available for Zendoeach offering additional rules and varying in difficulty! ($5 each)

[Check out our full review for Zendo here and our review of Expansion Pack #2 here!]

Knot Dice Celtic Animals (Black Oak Games, dice game)

Can you twist, turn, and spin these dice to complete beautiful, elaborate patterns inspired by Celtic knots? That’s the name of the game with Knot Dice Celtic Animals, a dice game as challenging as it is gorgeous. With single-player and multi-player puzzles included, you’ll be tying yourself in knots for days! ($45, available in several colors)

And you can add new wrinkles and patterns to your solving with Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared! ($40 and $45, respectively)

[Click here to check out our full review of Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared!]

Chessplus

The first thing you learn in chess is how the pieces move. But what if that could change? What if you could make new pieces that move in unexpected ways? How would that change the game? With Chessplus, you’ll find out, as you mix and match chess pieces in order to capture your opponent’s king. The possibilities really are endless! ($45)

[Click here for our full review of Chessplus!]

Pinbox 3000 (Cardboard Teck Instantute, puzzle game)

How about the chance to build your own game? Is that puzzle enough for you? Pinbox 3000 provides all the pieces you’ll need, plus valuable advice for brainstorming and creating your very own pinball game. It’s endlessly customizable, so you can make your Pinbox pinball game as simple or as complex as you like! ($49.95)

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Cluebox Escape Rooms in a Box: Davy Jones’ Locker (iDventure, brain teaser)

This multi-stage puzzle box (on the left) is completely self-contained. Explore every inch of its surface to unlock each stage of the puzzle box and reveal further puzzles. Delve into Davy Jones Locker and solve these nautically themed challenges! ($49.99)

The Great Dinosaur Rush (APE Games, board game)

Bring the insane real-life rivalry of paleontologists Cope and Marsh to life in The Great Dinosaur Rush! As you collect fossils and discover your own unique dinosaur, you must also steal bones, sabotage other scientists, and more! Show off your cunning and creativity in this game that proves historical truth is weirder than fiction! ($50)


$60 and Over

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Geode Puzzle (Uncommon Goods, jigsaw puzzle)

Forget looking for the edge pieces, because these nature-based puzzles take jigsaws beyond the usual patterning. Geode Puzzle‘s flowing, unusual shapes and vibrant colors create a unique solving experience. ($65)

Lightbox (Eric Clough, brain teaser)

A puzzle box unlike anything you’ve ever seen, Lightbox creates different patterns of shadow and light as you shift and arrange the various plastic plates that make up the box. As you twist and reset them, different electrical connections are made, and different plates light up. As gorgeous as it is challenging, Lightbox is a very eye-catching puzzle that always wows new solvers. ($85)

[Check out our full review of Lightbox by clicking here!]

Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL (Ravensburger, marble puzzle / game)

Simply the coolest marble run builder I’ve ever seen, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL offers hundreds of pieces and a terrific base to build upon. Create ramps, loops, and elaborate patterns with ease! And although there are smaller Gravitrax games to start with, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL is an absolute wonder! ($129.99)

[Click here for our full review!]


Thank you to all of the constructors, designers, and companies taking part in this year’s holiday puzzly gift guide! So great to have so many of you back, and so marvelous to welcome so many new faces and new puzzles and games!

PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide: By Age

Welcome to the PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide!

We’re excited to be bringing you our biggest gift guide ever! There are so many tremendously fun and puzzly products to share with you. We just might be your one-stop shop for all things puzzly!

This guide is broken down by age group, so we’re sure you’ll find the perfect gift for puzzlers of any age on your list!


Quick search links


For Ages 6 and Up

Chessplus

The first thing you learn in chess is how the pieces move. But what if that could change? What if you could make new pieces that move in unexpected ways? How would that change the game? With Chessplus, you’ll find out, as you mix and match chess pieces in order to capture your opponent’s king. The possibilities really are endless! ($45)

[Click here for our full review of Chessplus!]

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Lexicon-GO! (Winning Moves UK)

Are you a word-forming pro? Take your speed-solving skills and try them out with Lexicon-GO!, a Scrabble-style tile game suitable for solvers of all ages! ($13.95)

[Click here for our full review of Lexicon-GO!]

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Qwirkle (MindWare, board game)

A wonderful mix of Uno and Mexican Train DominoesQwirkle is a tile-placing game where you try to maximize your points while minimizing the help you give to your opponents. With six bright colors and six different shapes to match up, Qwirkle is endless fun that’s so easy to jump into! ($24.99)


For Ages 7 and Up

Tenzi (dice game)

All of us have rolled dice in games before, but can you roll what you need as fast as possible? That’s the challenge of Tenzi, a game that pits up to four players against each other in tests of speed and dexterity. Can you roll ten 6’s before everyone else? ($16.95)

Tile Securing Travel Scrabble (Hammacher Schlemmer, board game)

Hammacher Schlemmer has always been home to some intriguing Scrabble variants available — who could forget their World’s Largest Scrabble Game? — but when it comes to travel-friendly puzzle game fun, they’ve got just the thing. Tile Securing Travel Scrabble is perfect for those who want to solve on the go! Take your game anywhere and rest assured not a single tile will have moved! ($39.95)

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Tsuro: The Game of the Path (Calliope Games, board game)

A path-laying game with tons of style and historical spirit, Tsuro casts up to eight players as flying dragons, and tasks you with laying out your path with special tiles. Try not to meet any other dragons or fly off the board! It’s a simple mechanic with plenty of replay value, and perfect for quick games with large groups. ($40)


For Ages 8 and Up

Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL (Ravensburger, marble puzzle / game)

Simply the coolest marble run builder I’ve ever seen, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL offers hundreds of pieces and a terrific base to build upon. Create ramps, loops, and elaborate patterns with ease! And although there are smaller Gravitrax games to start with, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL is an absolute wonder! ($129.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

How to Fool Your Parents: 25 Brain-Breaking Magic Tricks by David Kwong ($12.99)

Egyptian Triglyph (Project Genius, brain teaser)

It’s hard enough to build a cube out of Tetris-style puzzle block shapes, but imagine trying to disassemble — and then reassemble one — INSIDE a 3-D triangular frame. Egyptian Triglyph bends your brain into new shapes and taxes your spatial awareness in very cool ways. A topnotch reinvention of a puzzly classic! ($17.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Coaster Games (The Dark Imp, party/group game)

Coaster Games is a six-pack of games encompassing all sorts of gameplay styles. Counting, word building, deduction, strategy, resource management, and more, and they all fit in your pocket. Perfect for parties or quickplay fun between longer game sessions, you’re guaranteed to find something to enjoy here! (£6.99)

[Find our review of Coaster Games here!]

That’s Not a Hat (Ravensburger, party/group game)

A White Elephant gift exchange is always a fun time, especially watching the gifts getting traded all around. But, if they were still wrapped, could you remember every gift as it moved from person to person? That’s Not a Hat puts your memory to work, asking if you can recall each gift as it is hidden from view and passed around the table. It’s tougher, and more fun, than you think! ($9.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

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Star Trek Fluxx (Looney Labs, card game)

Star Trek is an ever-expanding universe of stories, heroes, adventures, and questions to explore, so it’s only fitting that the ever-changing card game Fluxx has a host of Star Trek-themed card decks for you to try out. Whether you’re a fan of The Original Series or Deep Space Nine, there’s a Fluxx deck stacked with your favorite characters, villains, and pivotal moments from each show. ($22 each)

And you can combine and cross over those decks and play Fluxx like never before with The Archer Expansion and The Porthos Expansion. These small additional decks not only introduce characters from the show Enterprise to the mix, but they allow new rules for mixing up decks and new paths to victory. Plus they add the beloved pets Porthos and Spot to the game! ($5.00 each)

And if Star Trek isn’t your style, maybe you’d enjoy Fantasy FluxxWonderland FluxxAstronomy Fluxx, or any of the other marvelous variations on this classic quick-changing card game! ($20 each)

[Our review for the Porthos and Archer Expansions can be found here. And be sure to check out our full review of Star Trek Fluxx!]

Athena (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Put your chess skills and tactics to the test with Athena. A puzzle requiring you to think several steps ahead in order to reunite a statue with its pedestal on a busy archaeological dig site, Athena has over 50 challenging patterns for you to solve! ($24.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Knot Dice Celtic Animals (Black Oak Games, dice game)

Can you twist, turn, and spin these dice to complete beautiful, elaborate patterns inspired by Celtic knots? That’s the name of the game with Knot Dice Celtic Animals, a dice game as challenging as it is gorgeous. With single-player and multi-player puzzles included, you’ll be tying yourself in knots for days! ($45, available in several colors)

And you can add new wrinkles and patterns to your solving with Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared! ($40 and $45, respectively)

[Click here to check out our full review of Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared!]

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Cracker Games: The Imp Box (The Dark Imp, party/group game)

Six unique family games in a reusable box that looks like a Christmas cracker? What an idea! Voting, collecting, observation, and trading are among the gameplay styles you’ll find in The Imp Box, and this neat little package packs a lot of variety into a small space! (£19.99)

Math Dice (ThinkFun, dice game)

Can you out-think and out-math your opponents when it comes to addition, division, square roots, and more? That’s what awaits players with Math Dice, a deviously fun game of who can get closest to the target with only their math skills and cleverness! ($6.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

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12 Days (Calliope Games, card game)

A proper holiday-themed game for the holidays? You betcha. This wagering game, based on the 12 Days of Christmas, has some of the most beautiful art in the entire card game genre. Plus the two ways to earn points — winning each day of Christmas with the lowest card in the pot vs. keeping as many of a certain value card as possible for the end of the game — offer tons of strategic opportunities in a simple card game. What a treat! ($20)

Reflectron (Inverse/Project Genius, brain teaser)

Rubik’s Cubes are a puzzly tradition, but the only thing better is seeing how new solvers can innovate with the same concept. And Reflectron is literally another dimension away from the usual twisty puzzle. With different-sized cubes, Reflectron‘s shape becomes blockier and stranger with every twist! ($14.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Slapzi (Tenzi, party/group game)

Slapzi will keep you on your toes. In this quick-reaction game, you’ve got to match your picture cards to the clue cards before your opponents. But with clues like “Not sold in a hardware store” or “Two of the same letter together,” this isn’t as easy as it appears! ($21.95)

[Click here to check out our full review of Slapzi!]

Roman Lock Box (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Take the usual gift-giving puzzle box to the next level with the Roman Lock Box. One of the brain teasers from the True Genius collection, the Roman Lock Box combines tile-sliding puzzles with traditional puzzle box elements to create a fun challenge for someone to unlock before receiving their prize! ($17.99)

[Check out our review of Roman Lock Box here!]


For Ages 9-10 and Up

Escape Room Advent Calendar (Insync Games, escape room / solve the mystery game)

This advent calendar has no numbers on the doors, and solving a daily puzzle is the only way to figure out which door to open! This clever, festive, chocolate-filled treat is a puzzly twist on a holiday classic! ($20 / $26)

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Paolo Pasco’s Crossword Puzzles For Kids (puzzle book)

Recommended by several top solvers, this just might be the perfect gateway puzzle book for the young solver in your life. ($5.88)

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Godzilla: Tokyo Clash (Funko Games, board game)

Choose one of these four iconic monsters and let loose your fury all over Tokyo in Godzilla: Tokyo Clash. This tactical monster-vs.-monster game allows you to smash buildings, vehicles, and your fellow monsters on a game board that’s different every time you play! Will you be King of the Monsters by the time Tokyo is in ruins? ($35)

[Check out our full review of Godzilla: Tokyo Clash here!]

Sounds Fishy (Big Potato Games, party/group game)

What’s better than a trivia game? A trivia game with bluffing! Can you convince your fellow players that your fake trivia answer is the correct one? Try your luck and your skill with Sounds Fishy! ($19.99)

Pinbox 3000 (Cardboard Teck Instantute, puzzle game)

How about the chance to build your own game? Is that puzzle enough for you? Pinbox 3000 provides all the pieces you’ll need, plus valuable advice for brainstorming and creating your very own pinball game. It’s endlessly customizable, so you can make your Pinbox pinball game as simple or as complex as you like! ($49.95)

Unlock! Games (Asmodee, escape room / solve the mystery game)

Unlock! games consist of entirely of a deck of cards and your app. The cards provide locations, challenges, helpful items, solutions, and warnings, all identified with numbered or lettered cards in the deck. There are numerous Unlock! escape games to try — covering everything from haunted houses to desert islands — and they’re offered in sets of three! ($29.99)

A-Puzzle-A-Day puzzle calendar (Insync Games, fill the frame puzzle)

Eight puzzle pieces, 365 different puzzles. Now that’s value for your money. Can you place these Tetris-like pieces to tell today’s date, or a favorite date, or any date you choose? ($16)

The Great Dinosaur Rush (APE Games, board game)

Bring the insane real-life rivalry of paleontologists Cope and Marsh to life in The Great Dinosaur Rush! As you collect fossils and discover your own unique dinosaur, you must also steal bones, sabotage other scientists, and more! Show off your cunning and creativity in this game that proves historical truth is weirder than fiction! ($50)

Spaceteam (Timber and Bolt, card game)

Can you repair your ship and get the engines up and running before a black hole ends your space adventure forever? That’s the name of the game in Spaceteam, a cooperative, communication-based game where you have to accomplish various tasks with your fellow players while sharing tools. It’s delightful chaos, heightened by the five-minute hourglass timer counting down your dwindling seconds before disaster strikes! A definite favorite around here. ($27.95)

Castle Panic! (Fireside Games, board game)

Can you and your fellow players repel wave after wave of monsters as a team? Tackle a unique spin on traditional tower defense games in this cooperative game of resource management and tactics! ($35)

Sagrada (Floodgate Games, dice game)

One of the most beautiful strategy games on the market today, Sagrada is a singularly peaceful gaming experience. Compete with other players to build the most beautiful stained glass window, but with dice instead of glass! Unique and challenging, Sagrada is something else. ($39.95)


For Ages 11-12 and Up

ENIGMAS_deck

Enigmas Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards (David Kwong/Dave Shukan, solve the mystery game)

A puzzle hunt lurking within a normal deck of cards? It sounds impossible, but when you’re dealing with puzzler and magician David Kwong, anything can happen with Enigmas! Can you unravel the mystery hiding amongst these playing cards? ($18)

Zendo (Looney Labs, puzzle game)

Puzzle games are all about the rules, but what if you don’t know the rules? That’s where Zendo comes in. In this puzzle game, you arrange Looney pyramids and other shapes into various designs, and then see if those designs conform to a mysterious rule. A game of deduction and trial-and-error, Zendo is a very different solving experience. ($44)

Plus there are two expansion packs available for Zendoeach offering additional rules and varying in difficulty! ($5 each)

[Check out our full review for Zendo here and our review of Expansion Pack #2 here!]

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Puzzometry (jigsaw puzzle)

For a next-level jigsaw challenge, Puzzometry is tough to top. These beautiful pieces can be combined in seemingly endless combinations, and yet, there’s only one solution. Available in seven different styles — Puzzometry ($22.33), Puzzometry Jr. ($17.58), Puzzometry Squares ($22.33), Puzzometry Hex ($22.33), Puzzometry Steps ($22.33), Puzzometry Six ($22.33), and Puzzometry Jr. 2 ($17.58) — you’ve got distinct challenges appropriate for all different ages!

[Check out the full review of the original Puzzometry by clicking here!]

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Exit: The Game: Dead Man on the Orient Express (Kosmos, escape room / solve the mystery game)

Exit: The Game products create an escape room experience by combining a deck of cards, a guidebook, a sliding decoder ring, an interactive phone app, and miscellaneous items to be used throughout the game. What sets Dead Man on the Orient Express above and beyond is that there’s a mystery to solve in the background, even as you tackle all the delightful escape room-style puzzles! ($14.99)

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Cheapass Games in Black and White (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games, board game)

The library of Cheapass Games is expansive, but even diehard fans don’t have the majority of the company’s original game library. Unless, that is, they own Cheapass Games in Black and White, a hardcover compendium of every game from the black-and-white era. Featuring the rulebooks for famous titles like Button Men and Kill Doctor Lucky, alongside more obscure entries like Escape from Elba, this is a terrific resource for any game fan. ($15)

Decrypto (IELLO, party/group game)

Can you covertly communicate with your teammates without revealing your secret code to the opponent team? That’s the name of the game in Decrypto, a party game all about word association and deduction. The first team to crack the opposing team’s codes twice wins! ($24.99)

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The Oregon Trail (Pressman Toys, card game)

The classic computer game comes to life as you and your fellow players team up to survive the perilous journey along The Oregon Trail. With art evoking old-school computer games, rampant threats and calamities to endure, and a long and challenging road to travel, will any of you will make it to Oregon? ($14.99)

[Check out our full product review of The Oregon Trail by clicking here!]

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Gearjits Roller Coaster (Gearjits, marble puzzle)

Bring your puzzle skills to life as you assemble a working roller coaster from these wooden pieces. Assembling handcranks and gears to operate the machine along with the structure of the roller coaster itself makes this 3-D puzzle more exciting and satisfying than the average 3-D puzzle. ($39.95)

The Island of Doctor Lucky (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games, board game)

People have been trying to kill Doctor Lucky for over twenty years, and this time around, you’re visiting his exotic island estate to try your murderous luck against the titular Doctor! The Island of Doctor Lucky offers a new gameboard to explore, new movement mechanics, and a very distracting cat. This is the best addition to the series yet! ($10)

[Check out our full review of The Island of Doctor Lucky by clicking here!]


For Ages 13-14 and Up

Archimedes’ Gear (Project Genius, brain teaser)

Not just one of the most beautiful, but one of the most challenging brain teasers I’ve ever come across, Archimedes’ Gear marvels with its simplicity. Can you puzzle out how to separate the two pieces, and then put them back again? This one will keep you guessing! ($29.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

The Light in the Mist (Allplay, solve the mystery game)

We’ve got puzzles in calendars, puzzle boxes, games, and playing cards, but how about a puzzle AND a story hidden in a tarot deck? The Light in the Mist walks you through the memories of a missing friend and creates a unique puzzle-solving experience! ($32)

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Gloom (Atlas Games, card game)

Do you enjoy The Addams Family or the art of Edward Gorey? Then Gloom might be a strategy game worth checking out. In this tactical game with a sinister twist, you’re trying to make your Victorian family miserable for points and the lives of your opponents’ families better! Yup, misfortune equals good fortune for you! With gorgeous transparent cards you can lay over each other to track your scores, there’s no storytelling game out there quite like it.

With loads of expansions to add to the creepy world of Gloom — as well as the Gloomier spinoff game — this is hilariously macabre fun! ($27.95)

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Cluebox Escape Rooms in a Box (iDventure, brain teaser)

These multi-stage puzzle boxes are completely self-contained. You need to explore every inch of its surface to find clues and tools to unlock each stage of the puzzle box and reveal further challenges. Whether you delve into Davy Jones Locker ($49.99) or try to unravel the mystery of Schrodinger’s Cat ($39.99), you will definitely find your puzzly mettle tested by these devious devices!

Wavelength (Asmodee, party/group game)

Can you get your teammates to pick the exact spot on the dial you want… with a single word? That’s the challenge of Wavelength, a literal game of inches that shows where our opinions differ and where they align. A terrific party game you can learn in seconds! ($34.99)

Tavern Puzzles / Tucker-Jones House Inc. (brain teaser)

These hand-forged beauties are ready to challenge your dexterity and cleverness, as you accept the Tavern Puzzles challenge. Whether you’re trying to remove twice as many pieces in a Collaborative Effort or free the triangle from Tridiculous, you’re sure to put your skills to the test. ($29.95 each)

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Codenames (Czech Games, card game)

It’s a race against time to locate all of your spies before your opponents. But in order to do so, you need to communicate information with a single word. Codenames will put your word association skills to work as you try to find secret agents disguised with code words, while avoiding innocent citizens and dangerous assassins along the way! ($19.94)

[Read our full review of Codenames here!]

Lightbox (Eric Clough, brain teaser)

A puzzle box unlike anything you’ve ever seen, Lightbox creates different patterns of shadow and light as you shift and arrange the various plastic plates that make up the box. As you twist and reset them, different electrical connections are made, and different plates light up. As gorgeous as it is challenging, Lightbox is a very eye-catching puzzle that always wows new solvers. ($85)

[Check out our full review of Lightbox by clicking here!]

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Geode Puzzle (Uncommon Goods, jigsaw puzzle)

Forget looking for the edge pieces, because these nature-based puzzles take jigsaws beyond the usual patterning. Geode Puzzle‘s flowing, unusual shapes and vibrant colors create a unique solving experience. ($65)

The Abandons (Puzzling Pixel Games, board game)

Can you escape a dangerous labyrinth that changes every time you explore it? The Abandons pits the solver against a random deck, where luck, quick decision making, and puzzly skill all must be on your side if you ever want to see daylight again. ($13)

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]


For Ages 16 and Up

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Alice is Missing (Hunters Entertainment, solve the mystery game)

Can you and your fellow players solve a mystery without ever saying a word? That’s the challenge offered by the uniquely atmospheric and haunting RPG mystery game Alice Is Missing.

A game played entirely through text messaging, each player takes on the role of a character in the town of Silent Falls, trying to find out what happened to Alice Briarwood. We promise, you’ve never played anything like it. ($21.99)


For Ages 18 and Up

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Wish You Were Here (The Enigma Emporium, solve the mystery game)

Imagine an entire mystery hidden across a handful of postcards. That’s the multilayered puzzle experience offered by Wish You Were Here, where a series of coded messages awaits you. Unravel all the secrets and discover an exciting tale of danger and spycraft along the way! ($15)

[And if you enjoy Wish You Were Here, there are all sorts of additional puzzle bundles to try out!]

Notebooks, Ornaments, and Crafts by DGhandcrafted

Pool Party: The Painless Path to Practically Perfect Pool Playing by Robin Stears ($9.99 kindle, $24.99 hardcover)

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Word Nerd Mug by Penny Press ($19)


Most puzzle books would probably fall in the Age 9-10 and Up range, but oftentimes, the cluing is geared toward an older audience, so to avoid confusion, I’ve bundled the majority of the puzzle books here.

Our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles have put together some outstanding holiday collections with puzzles galore to be solved!

Maybe you’re looking for one kind of puzzle, like their Good Time Puzzle Fun Pack ($25.95), the Crossword Extravaganza collection ($9.99), or a value pack of Jumble puzzles ($16.95)! Maybe you’d like the ease of printing puzzles at home with Print N’ Solve Seasonal Crosswords ($2.99). Either way, the folks at Penny Dell Puzzles have got you covered.

And be sure to check out their deals on Facebook and Twitter throughout the holiday season. They’ve got bundles and discounts for days!

And while we’re on the topic of puzzle books, some of the best constructors (and many favorites of the blog) have released their own books for your perusal! And with New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today puzzles to their credit, you’re sure to find some quality puzzlers within these pages!

Puzzmo Crosswords ($24.99 for two copies)

Black Crossword by Juliana Pache ($15.99)

Grids Don’t Lie, edited by Francis Heaney ($11.99)

Crimebits, puzzles by Robin Stears ($24.95)

A24’s 99 TV Crosswords, edited by Brooke Husic and Will Nediger ($34)

A-to-Gen Z Crosswords by Ada Nicolle ($12.99)

CynAcrostics Volume 10: Who, Me? by Cynthia Morris ($11.95)

25 Word Search Puzzles for Classic CHRISTMAS Lovers by Shawn Marie Simmons ($6.99)


In addition to those new collections above, here are some of our favorite puzzle books from previous years!

–Doug Peterson and Jeff Chen’s It’s So Easy Crosswords ($10.93)

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks: More Than 100 Bite-Size Puzzles for Every Solver ($12.91)

–Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Octopus Crosswords ($3.17)

–Todd McClary’s Fresh Freestyle Crosswords ($5.01)

USA Today’s Crossword Super Challenge 3 ($11.99)

–Frasier Simpson’s Cryptic Crosswords Volume 1Volume 2, and Volume 3 ($11.95 each)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Easy to Medium and Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Hard ($8.99 each)

USA Today’s Sudoku Super Challenge 3 and Sudoku and Variants Super Challenge ($9.99 each)

–Andy Kravis’s Challenge Accepted!: 100 Word Searches ($8.01)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Posh Take Care: Creative Challenge ($12.99)

USA Today’s Word Fill-In Puzzles Super Challenge ($9.99)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for PeaceTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for ClarityTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Tranquility, and Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Balance [featuring crosswords and other puzzles] ($8.99 each)


Email Subscription / Downloadable Puzzles

Many top constructors and organizations market their puzzles directly to solvers, so between email subscriptions and downloadable puzzle bundles, you’ve got plenty of quality choices!

The American Values Crossword (subscription and daily puzzles, $50 for 1 year)

–Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest (starts at $3 per month on Patreon)

–Peter Gordon’s Fireball Crosswords ($32 for 1 year)

–Joon Pahk’s Rows Garden puzzles ($20 for 1 year) and Variety puzzles ($15 for 1 year) OR get both for $30!

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks bundles ($9.99 each)

–Andrew Ries’ Section Eight Puzzle Pack ($8)

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Also, there are some wonderful puzzle bundles available in exchange for donations to worthy causes!

Grids for Good, a 42-puzzle bundle supporting groups fighting systemic racism and coronavirus relief

Puzzles for Palestine, a 22-puzzle bundle for ending the siege of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank

Women of Letters, an 18-crossword bundle by female constructors in support of women’s rights causes

These Puzzles Fund Abortion, a 23-puzzle bundle supporting women’s reproductive rights


Thank you to all of the constructors, designers, and companies taking part in this year’s holiday puzzly gift guide! So great to have so many of you back, and so marvelous to welcome so many new faces and new puzzles and games!

PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide: By Category

Welcome to the PuzzCulture 2024 Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide!

We’re excited to be bringing you our biggest gift guide ever! There are so many tremendously fun and puzzly products to share with you. We just might be your one-stop shop for all things puzzly!

We’re sure you’ll find the perfect gift for any puzzler on your list!


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Puzzle Books

Pencil-and-paper puzzles are alive and well, and we’re happy to share some of our favorites with you.

Our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles have put together some outstanding holiday collections with puzzles galore to be solved!

Maybe you’re looking for one kind of puzzle, like their Good Time Puzzle Fun Pack ($25.95), the Crossword Extravaganza collection ($9.99), or a value pack of Jumble puzzles ($16.95)! Maybe you’d like the ease of printing puzzles at home with Print N’ Solve Seasonal Crosswords ($2.99). Either way, the folks at Penny Dell Puzzles have got you covered.

And be sure to check out their deals on Facebook and Twitter throughout the holiday season. They’ve got bundles and discounts for days!

And while we’re on the topic of puzzle books, some of the best constructors (and many favorites of the blog) have released their own books for your perusal! And with New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today puzzles to their credit, you’re sure to find some quality puzzlers within these pages!

Puzzmo Crosswords ($24.99 for two copies)

Black Crossword by Juliana Pache ($15.99)

Grids Don’t Lie, edited by Francis Heaney ($11.99)

Crimebits, puzzles by Robin Stears ($24.95)

A24’s 99 TV Crosswords, edited by Brooke Husic and Will Nediger ($34)

A-to-Gen Z Crosswords by Ada Nicolle ($12.99)

CynAcrostics Volume 10: Who, Me? by Cynthia Morris ($11.95)

25 Word Search Puzzles for Classic CHRISTMAS Lovers by Shawn Marie Simmons ($6.99)


In addition to those new collections above, here are some of our favorite puzzle books from previous years!

–Doug Peterson and Jeff Chen’s It’s So Easy Crosswords ($10.93)

–Paolo Pasco’s Crossword Puzzles For Kids ($5.88)

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks: More Than 100 Bite-Size Puzzles for Every Solver ($12.91)

–Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Octopus Crosswords ($3.17)

–Todd McClary’s Fresh Freestyle Crosswords ($5.01)

USA Today’s Crossword Super Challenge 3 ($11.99)

–Frasier Simpson’s Cryptic Crosswords Volume 1Volume 2, and Volume 3 ($11.95 each)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Easy to Medium and Pocket Posh Sixy Sudoku Hard ($8.99 each)

USA Today’s Sudoku Super Challenge 3 and Sudoku and Variants Super Challenge ($9.99 each)

–Andy Kravis’s Challenge Accepted!: 100 Word Searches ($8.01)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Posh Take Care: Creative Challenge ($12.99)

USA Today’s Word Fill-In Puzzles Super Challenge ($9.99)

–Andrews McMeel Publishing’s Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for PeaceTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for ClarityTake Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Tranquility, and Take Care by Posh: Inspired Activities for Balance [featuring crosswords and other puzzles] ($8.99 each)


Email Subscription / Downloadable Puzzles

Many top constructors and organizations market their puzzles directly to solvers, so between email subscriptions and downloadable puzzle bundles, you’ve got plenty of quality choices!

The American Values Crossword (subscription and daily puzzles, $50 for 1 year)

–Matt Gaffney’s Weekly Crossword Contest (starts at $3 per month on Patreon)

–Peter Gordon’s Fireball Crosswords ($32 for 1 year)

–Joon Pahk’s Rows Garden puzzles ($20 for 1 year) and Variety puzzles ($15 for 1 year) OR get both for $30!

–Eric Berlin’s Puzzlesnacks bundles ($9.99 each)

–Andrew Ries’ Section Eight Puzzle Pack ($8)

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Also, there are some wonderful puzzle bundles available in exchange for donations to worthy causes!

Grids for Good, a 42-puzzle bundle supporting groups fighting systemic racism and coronavirus relief

Puzzles for Palestine, a 22-puzzle bundle for ending the siege of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank

Women of Letters, an 18-crossword bundle by female constructors in support of women’s rights causes

These Puzzles Fund Abortion, a 23-puzzle bundle supporting women’s reproductive rights


Jigsaw Puzzles / Fill the Frame Puzzles

A-Puzzle-A-Day puzzle calendar (Insync Games)

Eight puzzle pieces, 365 different puzzles. Now that’s value for your money. Can you place these Tetris-like pieces to tell today’s date, or a favorite date, or any date you choose? ($16)

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Puzzometry

For a next-level jigsaw challenge, Puzzometry is tough to top. These beautiful pieces can be combined in seemingly endless combinations, and yet, there’s only one solution. Available in seven different styles — Puzzometry ($22.33), Puzzometry Jr. ($17.58), Puzzometry Squares ($22.33), Puzzometry Hex ($22.33), Puzzometry Steps ($22.33), Puzzometry Six ($22.33), and Puzzometry Jr. 2 ($17.58) — you’ve got distinct challenges appropriate for all different ages!

[Check out the full review of the original Puzzometry by clicking here!]

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Geode Puzzle (Uncommon Goods)

Forget looking for the edge pieces, because these nature-based puzzles take jigsaws beyond the usual patterning. Geode Puzzle‘s flowing, unusual shapes and vibrant colors create a unique solving experience. ($65)


Brain Teasers

Roman Lock Box (Project Genius)

Take the usual gift-giving puzzle box to the next level with the Roman Lock Box. One of the brain teasers from the True Genius collection, the Roman Lock Box combines tile-sliding puzzles with traditional puzzle box elements to create a fun challenge for someone to unlock before receiving their prize! ($17.99)

[Check out our review of Roman Lock Box here!]

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Cluebox Escape Rooms in a Box (iDventure)

These multi-stage puzzle boxes are completely self-contained. You need to explore every inch of its surface to find clues and tools to unlock each stage of the puzzle box and reveal further challenges. Whether you delve into Davy Jones Locker ($49.99) or try to unravel the mystery of Schrodinger’s Cat ($39.99), you will definitely find your puzzly mettle tested by these devious devices!

Reflectron (Inverse/Project Genius)

Rubik’s Cubes are a puzzly tradition, but the only thing better is seeing how new solvers can innovate with the same concept. And Reflectron is literally another dimension away from the usual twisty puzzle. With different-sized cubes, Reflectron‘s shape becomes blockier and stranger with every twist! ($14.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Archimedes’ Gear (Project Genius)

Not just one of the most beautiful, but one of the most challenging brain teasers I’ve ever come across, Archimedes’ Gear marvels with its simplicity. Can you puzzle out how to separate the two pieces, and then put them back again? This one will keep you guessing! ($29.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

Tavern Puzzles / Tucker-Jones House Inc.

These hand-forged beauties are ready to challenge your dexterity and cleverness, as you accept the Tavern Puzzles challenge. Whether you’re trying to remove twice as many pieces in a Collaborative Effort or free the triangle from Tridiculous, you’re sure to put your skills to the test. ($29.95 each)

Athena (Project Genius)

Put your chess skills and tactics to the test with Athena. A puzzle requiring you to think several steps ahead in order to reunite a statue with its pedestal on a busy archaeological dig site, Athena has over 50 challenging patterns for you to solve! ($24.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Lightbox (Eric Clough)

A puzzle box unlike anything you’ve ever seen, Lightbox creates different patterns of shadow and light as you shift and arrange the various plastic plates that make up the box. As you twist and reset them, different electrical connections are made, and different plates light up. As gorgeous as it is challenging, Lightbox is a very eye-catching puzzle that always wows new solvers. ($85)

[Check out our full review of Lightbox by clicking here!]

Egyptian Triglyph (Project Genius)

It’s hard enough to build a cube out of Tetris-style puzzle block shapes, but imagine trying to disassemble — and then reassemble one — INSIDE a 3-D triangular frame. Egyptian Triglyph bends your brain into new shapes and taxes your spatial awareness in very cool ways. A topnotch reinvention of a puzzly classic! ($17.99)

[Click here for our full review!]


Puzzle Games

Zendo (Looney Labs)

Puzzle games are all about the rules, but what if you don’t know the rules? That’s where Zendo comes in. In this puzzle game, you arrange Looney pyramids and other shapes into various designs, and then see if those designs conform to a mysterious rule. A game of deduction and trial-and-error, Zendo is a very different solving experience. ($44)

Plus there are two expansion packs available for Zendoeach offering additional rules and varying in difficulty! ($5 each)

[Check out our full review for Zendo here and our review of Expansion Pack #2 here!]

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Lexicon-GO! (Winning Moves UK)

Are you a word-forming pro? Take your speed-solving skills and try them out with Lexicon-GO!, a Scrabble-style tile game suitable for solvers of all ages! ($13.95)

[Click here for our full review of Lexicon-GO!]

Pinbox 3000 (Cardboard Teck Instantute)

How about the chance to build your own game? Is that puzzle enough for you? Pinbox 3000 provides all the pieces you’ll need, plus valuable advice for brainstorming and creating your very own pinball game. It’s endlessly customizable, so you can make your Pinbox pinball game as simple or as complex as you like! ($49.95)


Board Games

Some of the puzzliest games on the market today are being made by top-flight board game companies, and we’ve got some marvelous games that will appeal to puzzlers of all ages!

The Island of Doctor Lucky (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games)

People have been trying to kill Doctor Lucky for over twenty years, and this time around, you’re visiting his exotic island estate to try your murderous luck against the titular Doctor! The Island of Doctor Lucky offers a new gameboard to explore, new movement mechanics, and a very distracting cat. This is the best addition to the series yet! ($10)

[Check out our full review of The Island of Doctor Lucky by clicking here!]

Castle Panic! (Fireside Games)

Can you and your fellow players repel wave after wave of monsters as a team? Tackle a unique spin on traditional tower defense games in this cooperative game of resource management and tactics! ($35)

The Abandons (Puzzling Pixel Games)

Can you escape a dangerous labyrinth that changes every time you explore it? The Abandons pits the solver against a random deck, where luck, quick decision making, and puzzly skill all must be on your side if you ever want to see daylight again.  ($13)

[Check out our full review by clicking here!]

The Great Dinosaur Rush (APE Games)

Bring the insane real-life rivalry of paleontologists Cope and Marsh to life in The Great Dinosaur Rush! As you collect fossils and discover your own unique dinosaur, you must also steal bones, sabotage other scientists, and more! Show off your cunning and creativity in this game that proves historical truth is weirder than fiction! ($50)

Tile Securing Travel Scrabble (Hammacher Schlemmer)

Hammacher Schlemmer has always been home to some intriguing Scrabble variants available — who could forget their World’s Largest Scrabble Game? — but when it comes to travel-friendly puzzle game fun, they’ve got just the thing. Tile Securing Travel Scrabble is perfect for those who want to solve on the go! Take your game anywhere and rest assured not a single tile will have moved! ($39.95)

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Godzilla: Tokyo Clash (Funko Games)

Choose one of these four iconic monsters and let loose your fury all over Tokyo in Godzilla: Tokyo Clash. This tactical monster-vs.-monster game allows you to smash buildings, vehicles, and your fellow monsters on a game board that’s different every time you play! Will you be King of the Monsters by the time Tokyo is in ruins? ($35)

[Check out our full review of Godzilla: Tokyo Clash here!]

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Tsuro: The Game of the Path (Calliope Games)

A path-laying game with tons of style and historical spirit, Tsuro casts up to eight players as flying dragons, and tasks you with laying out your path with special tiles. Try not to meet any other dragons or fly off the board! It’s a simple mechanic with plenty of replay value, and perfect for quick games with large groups. ($40)

Chessplus

The first thing you learn in chess is how the pieces move. But what if that could change? What if you could make new pieces that move in unexpected ways? How would that change the game? With Chessplus, you’ll find out, as you mix and match chess pieces in order to capture your opponent’s king. The possibilities really are endless! ($45)

[Click here for our full review of Chessplus!]

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Qwirkle (MindWare)

A wonderful mix of Uno and Mexican Train DominoesQwirkle is a tile-placing game where you try to maximize your points while minimizing the help you give to your opponents. With six bright colors and six different shapes to match up, Qwirkle is endless fun that’s so easy to jump into! ($24.99)

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Cheapass Games in Black and White (Cheapass Games/Greater Than Games)

Yes, we’ve got a book in the Board Game section. Allow us to explain.

The library of Cheapass Games is expansive, but even diehard fans don’t have the majority of the company’s original game library. Unless, that is, they own Cheapass Games in Black and White, a hardcover compendium of every game from the black-and-white era. Featuring the rulebooks for famous titles like Button Men and Kill Doctor Lucky, alongside more obscure entries like Escape from Elba, this is a terrific resource for any game fan. ($15)


Card Games

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12 Days (Calliope Games)

A proper holiday-themed game for the holidays? You betcha. This wagering game, based on the 12 Days of Christmas, has some of the most beautiful art in the entire card game genre. Plus the two ways to earn points — winning each day of Christmas with the lowest card in the pot vs. keeping as many of a certain value card as possible for the end of the game — offer tons of strategic opportunities in a simple card game. What a treat! ($20)

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Star Trek Fluxx (Looney Labs)

Star Trek is an ever-expanding universe of stories, heroes, adventures, and questions to explore, so it’s only fitting that the ever-changing card game Fluxx has a host of Star Trek-themed card decks for you to try out. Whether you’re a fan of The Original Series or Deep Space Nine, there’s a Fluxx deck stacked with your favorite characters, villains, and pivotal moments from each show. ($22 each)

And you can combine and cross over those decks and play Fluxx like never before with The Archer Expansion and The Porthos Expansion. These small additional decks not only introduce characters from the show Enterprise to the mix, but they allow new rules for mixing up decks and new paths to victory. Plus they add the beloved pets Porthos and Spot to the game! ($5.00 each)

And if Star Trek isn’t your style, maybe you’d enjoy Fantasy FluxxWonderland FluxxAstronomy Fluxx, or any of the other marvelous variations on this classic quick-changing card game! ($20 each)

[Our review for the Porthos and Archer Expansions can be found here. And be sure to check out our full review of Star Trek Fluxx!]

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Gloom (Atlas Games)

Do you enjoy The Addams Family or the art of Edward Gorey? Then Gloom might be a strategy game worth checking out. In this tactical game with a sinister twist, you’re trying to make your Victorian family miserable for points and the lives of your opponents’ families better! Yup, misfortune equals good fortune for you! With gorgeous transparent cards you can lay over each other to track your scores, there’s no storytelling game out there quite like it.

With loads of expansions to add to the creepy world of Gloom — as well as the Gloomier spinoff game — this is hilariously macabre fun! ($27.95)

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Codenames (Czech Games)

It’s a race against time to locate all of your spies before your opponents. But in order to do so, you need to communicate information with a single word. Codenames will put your word association skills to work as you try to find secret agents disguised with code words, while avoiding innocent citizens and dangerous assassins along the way! ($19.94)

[Read our full review of Codenames here!]

Spaceteam (Timber and Bolt)

Can you repair your ship and get the engines up and running before a black hole ends your space adventure forever? That’s the name of the game in Spaceteam, a cooperative, communication-based game where you have to accomplish various tasks with your fellow players while sharing tools. It’s delightful chaos, heightened by the five-minute hourglass timer counting down your dwindling seconds before disaster strikes! A definite favorite around here. ($27.95)

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The Oregon Trail (Pressman Toys)

The classic computer game comes to life as you and your fellow players team up to survive the perilous journey along The Oregon Trail. With art evoking old-school computer games, rampant threats and calamities to endure, and a long and challenging road to travel, will any of you will make it to Oregon? ($14.99)

[Check out our full product review of The Oregon Trail by clicking here!]


Dice Games

Knot Dice Celtic Animals (Black Oak Games)

Can you twist, turn, and spin these dice to complete beautiful, elaborate patterns inspired by Celtic knots? That’s the name of the game with Knot Dice Celtic Animals, a dice game as challenging as it is gorgeous. With single-player and multi-player puzzles included, you’ll be tying yourself in knots for days! ($45, available in several colors)

And you can add new wrinkles and patterns to your solving with Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared! ($40 and $45, respectively)

[Click here to check out our full review of Knot Dice and Knot Dice Squared!]

Math Dice (ThinkFun)

Can you out-think and out-math your opponents when it comes to addition, division, square roots, and more? That’s what awaits players with Math Dice, a deviously fun game of who can get closest to the target with only their math skills and cleverness! ($6.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

Sagrada (Floodgate Games)

One of the most beautiful strategy games on the market today, Sagrada is a singularly peaceful gaming experience. Compete with other players to build the most beautiful stained glass window, but with dice instead of glass! Unique and challenging, Sagrada is something else. ($39.95)

Tenzi

All of us have rolled dice in games before, but can you roll what you need as fast as possible? That’s the challenge of Tenzi, a game that pits up to four players against each other in tests of speed and dexterity. Can you roll ten 6’s before everyone else? ($16.95)


Marble Puzzles / Games

Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL (Ravensburger)

Simply the coolest marble run builder I’ve ever seen, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL offers hundreds of pieces and a terrific base to build upon. Create ramps, loops, and elaborate patterns with ease! And although there are smaller Gravitrax games to start with, the Gravitrax Starter-Set XXL is an absolute wonder! ($129.99)

[Click here for our full review!]

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Gearjits Roller Coaster (Gearjits)

Bring your puzzle skills to life as you assemble a working roller coaster from these wooden pieces. Assembling handcranks and gears to operate the machine along with the structure of the roller coaster itself makes this 3-D puzzle more exciting and satisfying than the average 3-D puzzle. ($39.95)


Escape Room / Solve the Mystery Games

Escape Room Advent Calendar (Insync Games)

This advent calendar has no numbers on the doors, and solving a daily puzzle is the only way to figure out which door to open! This clever, festive, chocolate-filled treat is a puzzly twist on a holiday classic! ($20 / $26)

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Wish You Were Here (The Enigma Emporium)

Imagine an entire mystery hidden across a handful of postcards. That’s the multilayered puzzle experience offered by Wish You Were Here, where a series of coded messages awaits you. Unravel all the secrets and discover an exciting tale of danger and spycraft along the way! ($15)

[And if you enjoy Wish You Were Here, there are all sorts of additional puzzle bundles to try out!]

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Exit: The Game: Dead Man on the Orient Express (Kosmos)

Exit: The Game products create an escape room experience by combining a deck of cards, a guidebook, a sliding decoder ring, an interactive phone app, and miscellaneous items to be used throughout the game. What sets Dead Man on the Orient Express above and beyond is that there’s a mystery to solve in the background, even as you tackle all the delightful escape room-style puzzles! ($14.99)

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Alice is Missing (Hunters Entertainment)

Can you and your fellow players solve a mystery without ever saying a word? That’s the challenge offered by the uniquely atmospheric and haunting RPG mystery game Alice Is Missing.

A game played entirely through text messaging, each player takes on the role of a character in the town of Silent Falls, trying to find out what happened to Alice Briarwood. We promise, you’ve never played anything like it. ($21.99)

The Light in the Mist (Allplay)

We’ve got puzzles in calendars, puzzle boxes, games, and playing cards, but how about a puzzle AND a story hidden in a tarot deck? The Light in the Mist walks you through the memories of a missing friend and creates a unique puzzle-solving experience! ($32)

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Enigmas Puzzle Hunt Playing Cards (David Kwong/Dave Shukan)

A puzzle hunt lurking within a normal deck of cards? It sounds impossible, but when you’re dealing with puzzler and magician David Kwong, anything can happen with Enigmas! Can you unravel the mystery hiding amongst these playing cards? ($18)

Unlock! Games (Asmodee)

Unlock! games consist of entirely of a deck of cards and your app. The cards provide locations, challenges, helpful items, solutions, and warnings, all identified with numbered or lettered cards in the deck. There are numerous Unlock! escape games to try — covering everything from haunted houses to desert islands — and they’re offered in sets of three! ($29.99)


Party/Group Games

That’s Not a Hat (Ravensburger)

A White Elephant gift exchange is always a fun time, especially watching the gifts getting traded all around. But, if they were still wrapped, could you remember every gift as it moved from person to person? That’s Not a Hat puts your memory to work, asking if you can recall each gift as it is hidden from view and passed around the table. It’s tougher, and more fun, than you think! ($9.99)

[Click here to check out our full review!]

Coaster Games (The Dark Imp)

Coaster Games is a six-pack of games encompassing all sorts of gameplay styles. Counting, word building, deduction, strategy, resource management, and more, and they all fit in your pocket. Perfect for parties or quickplay fun between longer game sessions, you’re guaranteed to find something to enjoy here! (£6.99)

[Find our review of Coaster Games here!]

Sounds Fishy (Big Potato Games)

What’s better than a trivia game? A trivia game with bluffing! Can you convince your fellow players that your fake trivia answer is the correct one? Try your luck and your skill with Sounds Fishy! ($19.99)

Wavelength (Asmodee)

Can you get your teammates to pick the exact spot on the dial you want… with a single word? That’s the challenge of Wavelength, a literal game of inches that shows where our opinions differ and where they align. A terrific party game you can learn in seconds! ($34.99)

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Cracker Games: The Imp Box (The Dark Imp)

Six unique family games in a reusable box that looks like a Christmas cracker? What an idea! Voting, collecting, observation, and trading are among the gameplay styles you’ll find in The Imp Box, and this neat little package packs a lot of variety into a small space! (£19.99)

Slapzi (Tenzi)

Slapzi will keep you on your toes. In this quick-reaction game, you’ve got to match your picture cards to the clue cards before your opponents. But with clues like “Not sold in a hardware store” or “Two of the same letter together,” this isn’t as easy as it appears! ($21.95)

[Click here to check out our full review of Slapzi!]

Decrypto (IELLO)

Can you covertly communicate with your teammates without revealing your secret code to the opponent team? That’s the name of the game in Decrypto, a party game all about word association and deduction. The first team to crack the opposing team’s codes twice wins! ($24.99)


Items By Puzzly People

Notebooks, Ornaments, and Crafts by DGhandcrafted

How to Fool Your Parents: 25 Brain-Breaking Magic Tricks by David Kwong ($12.99)

Pool Party: The Painless Path to Practically Perfect Pool Playing by Robin Stears ($9.99 kindle, $24.99 hardcover)

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Word Nerd Mug by Penny Press ($19)


Thank you to all of the constructors, designers, and companies taking part in this year’s holiday puzzly gift guide! So great to have so many of you back, and so marvelous to welcome so many new faces and new puzzles and games!

Puzzling Bodies

My eye was recently caught by the headline, “Retired Professor Builds Wooden Anatomy Puzzles.” The article in question is a human-interest piece detailing the woodworking career of former biology professor Roman Miller. AP Journalist Jillian Lynch writes, “Of interest to both oddity-seekers and students, Miller’s anatomy puzzles are a unique offering that blends his love of woodworking and understanding [of] the functions of organs in the human body.”

Interestingly, anatomy puzzles appear to make up only a small percentage of Miller’s recent artistic output. His website features several animal puzzles, a handful of numerically or alphabetically themed puzzles, two abstract shape puzzles, and—among the other miscellaneous wares—a single puzzle showing off the insides of a human head and torso. Yet the article chose to shine the spotlight on the anatomy puzzles, noting that Miller has made twenty such works over the course of his time operating a scroll saw. Lynch clearly knows that there is an allure to what lies inside of us, likely to reel in readers. Human anatomy is, after all, puzzling in real life, much more so than the alphabet or shapes.

An EMT’s worst enemy.

Several years ago, I trained to be an EMT. A regular class exercise was “trauma assessment,” during which a teaching assistant would invent a gruesomely injured patient. Students would evaluate this fictional character and then determine how best to treat them. One T.A. favored mythical creatures gone rogue—unicorn-horn stabbings and vampiric exsanguination. The assessment that stuck most clearly in my head revolved around an imaginary man’s evisceration-by-werewolf. I clearly remember concluding that a cool, damp cloth should be placed over the patient’s abdomen. The T.A. agreed, reminding us all never to try placing a patient’s intestines back inside their body. “Internal organs are a complex puzzle,” he said. “You do not have the training to put that puzzle back together correctly.”

Miller’s motivation for making those twenty puzzles was a desire to help young children learn the basics of anatomy, preparing them for further education in biology. Maybe those children would go on to become surgeons—those who do have the training to put the puzzle of the organs back together in the wake of a werewolf attack. While Miller is quoted in the article as saying, “Nobody makes anatomy puzzles,” the use of puzzles to teach anatomy is actually a very old concept, dating at least back to the 18th century. Dissectible wax models known as “anatomical venuses” provided medical students with an alternative to illustrations or cadavers when learning the body’s workings.

An ivory obstetrical model.

Although these models were strangely idealized in their femininity as compared to a bare-bones wooden rendering like Miller’s, they were undeniably puzzles—one essay opines, “18th century obstetrical models represent women simultaneously as ideals of graceful femininity and as puzzle boxes of removable parts.” Here in the 21st century, three-dimensional models representing humans as puzzle boxes of removable parts are readily available online, luckily with fewer misogynist undertones; for a lower price, you can download a digital human anatomy puzzle with timed challenges. Between models, computer games, and jigsaw puzzles, anatomical knowledge today is much more accessible than it would have been in the 18th century.

Still, there is perhaps no better manifestation of the theory that the map is not the territory. If you know how to put an alphabet puzzle in order, then we can likely say that you know the alphabet. A talent for piecing together a representational puzzle of a human’s internal organs, however, does not indicate that you’re equipped to put a real human’s intestines back where they belong. Unless you’re a surgeon—AKA a next-level puzzler—if you’re ever in the company of someone who has been eviscerated by a werewolf, I don’t recommend trying to transfer your skills to a flesh-and-blood context. Miller presents his jigsaw puzzles as a simple starting point for biological education. Ahead of that starting point lies a long and winding path, infinitely more complex than any map of the path could ever be.


You can find delightful deals on puzzles on the Home Screen for Daily POP Crosswords and Daily POP Word Search! Check them out!

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Piecing the Language Together

New Girl’s Winston Bishop doesn’t let his colorblindness get in the way of his passion for jigsaw puzzles. Should you take a page out of his book?

In January, I came across a tweet from poet NM Esc, also known as Neon Mashurov, reading, “I think translating activates the same part of my brain as doing jigsaw puzzles, which, for anyone who has never seen the absolutely obsessive way I tackle jigsaw puzzles, means I might have a new favorite project genre.” As a monolingual writer, I lack the tools necessary to fully immerse myself in the jigsaw experience of transforming, from scratch, one language into another. As someone who has assisted a former classmate with the process of editing poetry translations, however, I see exactly why a jigsaw puzzle would be an obvious point of non-linguistic comparison.

Each word in a translated poem should accurately evoke the meaning of the original; that much is obvious. Less obviously, depending on the poem and its style and artistic or ideological goals, a translated word might also need to evoke the original’s shape, its sound, its rhythm, its rhyme. It might need to carry a whole world of connotations on its back. There is rarely just one option for the right word in a translation, so the translating poet must shift through a mess of word-pieces, seeking whichever will lock into place exactly with the others, fitting comfortably and bringing the desired larger image to life.

There are limitations to this metaphor. Mainly, because as Willis Barnstone explained in the 2001 piece, “An ABC of Translating Poetry,” “A translation is an x-ray, not a xerox.” The poetry translator’s goal is not to perfectly recreate the image on a box. Rather, it is as though the translator is looking at the image on a box and then imagining what lies just beneath. The skin is stripped away and a skeleton is constructed for the image, from deduction and imagination, in a kind of cryptozoological (cryptopaleontological?) act of artistry. We see not what readers of the original language see, but we see what made the original language work. What made it stand up and move. This might not be the work of a jigsaw-solver, but it certainly presents a puzzle.

Barnstone’s work also tells us, “A good translation is a good joke. Reader, you are fooled.” A successful pun considers, transforms, and makes art from a word’s multiple meanings and dimensions, and a successful translation does the same. Translating poetry is fundamentally an act of wordplay. One must play with the words as if with Lincoln Logs or Play-Doh—or jigsaw pieces! In an earlier post on poetry, I featured the above comic strip, in which Nancy takes a creative, boundary-breaking approach to solving the jigsaw puzzle of her surroundings, and perhaps that is the most accurate metaphor for translation.

In a 2018 conversation with NPR, translator and poet Aaron Coleman posits, “The language lapses that inhibit an ideal interpretation can ultimately be ‘a creative, productive failure.’” Coleman goes on to say, “Maybe it can open up a new way for us to see what can happen in English and what can happen in Spanish, for me, or whatever the original language is.” Nancy, in switching around the puzzle pieces, has engaged in creative, productive failure, opening up a new way for us to see what can happen in the language of the puzzle. I love this perspective on translation, as someone who would not typically be considered to have the language skills necessary to translate from one language to another.

If you too are hesitant to try poetry translation because of the limits of your language, I’d like to invite you to go ahead and try anyway, even if you have to lean on Google Translate every step of the way. Even if you resort to marking some sections entirely untranslatable. In the words of The Magic School Bus’ Ms. Frizzle, “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy,” this National Poetry Month! Find some creative, productive failures that open up new ways for you to look at language. Maybe your finished product will be the verbal equivalent of Winston’s jumble of a jigsaw puzzle at the top of this post; that doesn’t mean you can’t call it a masterpiece.


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