09/19/97

Riddle Me This

Which English word has all six vowels in alphabetical order?" "What dries and dries and keeps getter wetter?" "How much dirt is in a hole four feet by two feet?" If you enjoy a challenge, then today's mind bending sites are for you.

Eric's Puzzle Page

Your youngest riddlers should go directly to the Easy Puzzle page, where they'll find a large collection of riddles (and answers) submitted by readers. Additional easy puzzles (as well as those rated medium and difficult) can be found on the Ejooat Mystique page. There is also a page of This Equals That with equations such as "26=L of the A" and "4=Q in a D." A similar list of equations landed on my fax machine a few months back, so I assume they have been floating around cyberspace for a while. By the way, those answers are "Letters of the Alphabet" and "Quarters in a Dime.".

Grey Labyrinth

The Grey Labyrinth is a playground of mental calisthenics for curious minds. Visually stunning, it was created to showcase the talents of a group of graphic-designing puzzle enthusiasts. Current problems are posted without their solutions. About once a month, a new question is posed along with the answer to the previous puzzle. The authors encourage feedback from readers who disagree with their solutions, or those who propose alternative answers. This month's puzzler digresses from their usual format as it is a collection of twelve mini-puzzlers ending with "Name the seven wonders of the ancient world."

Mind Breakers

The Mind Breakers want to "brighten up your grey brain-cells" with the best in puzzles and riddles. Each of their listed puzzles is rated for "coolness" and complexity on a scale of one to four. Call me uncool, but I couldn't tell what made one riddle cooler than another. Temperature aside, navigation around the site is simple, and answers are supplied. Be warned, however, some of the riddles have trick answers.

Puzzlemaker

Not another page of riddles, but this site is so much fun I had to include it. When your mind has melted from too many puzzles, don't quit, fight back! Create your own puzzles to share with friends, family and students. Mazes in all shapes and sizes, word searches of varying complexity, number blocks and math squares are among the choices. Input your parameters, and press "Create." Your ready-to-print puzzle is created in seconds and you are granted permission to use it as long as you credit the Puzzlemaker Web site.

Ultimate Puzzle Site

Welcome to the Ultimate Puzzle Site, where three Dutch students "guarantee that all puzzles and riddles on our site are interesting." The puzzles are rated by complexity, and divided into categories from Basic to Complex. In addition to the puzzles, I recommend both of the Java- based quizzes. Let me know if you were able to answer the last question (of either quiz) correctly!

The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!

David's Puzzle Page

Java and Puzzle World

Olympiad Math Madness: Kids' Stuff

Strawberry Macaw's Puzzle Page

Please send questions or comments to feldman@surfnetkids.com.