Puzzle
Encyclopedia : P : PU : PUZ : Puzzle
- For the character in the Chronicles of Narnia series, see Puzzle (Narnia).
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that challenges ingenuity. People often contrive such problems as a form of entertainment, but they can also stem from serious mathematical or logistical problems — in such cases, their successful resolution can be a significant contribution to mathematical research.
Solutions to puzzle may require recognizing patterns and creating a particular order. People with a high inductive reasoning aptitude may be better at solving these puzzles than others. Puzzles based on the process of inquiry and discovery to complete, may be solved faster by those with good deduction skills.
The history of puzzles goes back many thousands of years, a tangram being one of the earliest and still one of the most popular. [[Citing sources citation needed]] In certain temples of Japan monks used to write mathematical puzzles on temple walls.
Contemporary Puzzling
A sample of notable puzzle authors includes David J. Bodycombe, Will Shortz and Martin Gardner.
There are organisations and events catering puzzle enthusiasts such as the International Puzzle Party, the World Puzzle Championship and the National Puzzlers' League. There are also puzzlehunts like Maze of Games.
The Rubik's Cube and other magic polyhedrons are toys based on puzzles that can be stimulating toys for kids and are a recreational activity for adults. Puzzles can used to hide or obscure objects. A good example is a puzzle box used to hide jewelry.
Games are often based on a puzzle. For example there are thousands of computer puzzle games and many letter games, word games and mathematical games which require solutions to puzzles as part of the gameplay. Of of the most popular puzzle games is Tetris.
Types of Puzzles
The large number of puzzles that have been created can be divided into categories, for example a maze is tour puzzle. Other types include the following; construction puzzle, stick puzzle, tiling puzzle, transport puzzle, disentanglement puzzle, interlocking puzzle, tanglement puzzle, logic puzzle, lock puzzle and a mechanical puzzle.
A meta-puzzle is a group of puzzles one inside the other.
