There’s no way I couldn’t be a puzzle-lover. My one grandmother always had a crossword puzzle going. Somewhere we still have her old crossword puzzle dictionary with its peeling, worn-out spine. (Did you know that crossword puzzle dictionaries aren’t like regular dictionaries? It’s true. She was also notorious for throwing out words none of us had ever heard before thanks to that.) My other grandmother loves those jumble puzzles where you have to unscramble a set of words and then use those words to come up with another word. (I’ve never been particularly good with those). I remember learning how to do logic puzzles with my dad. Funny that neither of us really liked algebra in school, but love those puzzles. They’re essentially the same thing but with less math. Train A leaves from Charley Station on a Monday. Train D does not ever go to Alpha Station. The train starting with the same letter as the station where it departed did not travel on Thursday. On which day did which train depart from which station? Love those things!
When I turned 16 my grandmother took me on a trip to Europe. I still laugh thinking about the two of us boarding the train with wind suits (Hey! They were in style!) and a bag with a few reading books, a whole box of pencils, and a puzzle book for each of us. We worked on those the whole flight over and every morning we’d eat breakfast in silence while we both did puzzles. The only puzzle books you could find at that time were the magazine-style ones. The little ones were too little to scribble notes to yourself in the margin. The big ones were too big and didn’t fit nicely in your bag. And both of them had paper so thin you could nearly see through it. Forget trying to erase anything! It’d never hold up against an eraser.
But a few years ago I ran across Pocket Posh puzzle books and we love them! We always give a new one to my Nana each year. The pages are nice and sturdy. The print is bold enough to see easily. And the covers are all so pretty! They even have a little rubber band attached to hold the pages together when you aren’t using it. If I’m out and about, I almost always have a Pocket Posh with me. It might be easier to scroll through Facebook one more time on your phone, but there’s something satisfying about solving a puzzle. Plus I feel like I’m exercising mental muscles that aren’t getting used as much these days.
One of the newest releases from Pocket Posh is Quick Thinking. It has a variety of unique puzzles to really stretch your thinking. It is specifically designed to help your brain learn to find creative ways to solve seemingly unsolvable puzzles. In doing so, you are training yourself to think critically and work around obstacles not just in puzzles but in real life. By using these puzzles to exercise your brain, you’ll be ready to think productively and perform well under pressure. Each exercise begins by giving you the facts you’ll need to solve the problem. There’s a handy little clock icon on the side to tell you how long it should take you to solve the problem. On the opposite side of the page is an image to help you figure out the solution. (So far, it’s taken me more time than they’ve suggested but after even just a few pages, I’m getting the hang of it. And if you get stuck? The answers are in the back. Not that you’ll need them or anything. 🙂
Pocket Posh Quick Thinking  :: $7.99
Pocket Posh puzzles are created by The Puzzle Society and published by Andrews McMeel.
Connect with Andrews McMeel Publishing ::
Like them on Facebook
Follow them on Twitter
