Bottom Line -- Dell's Math Puzzles and Logic Problems is a fantastic collection of some of the most popular number puzzles around, having brought Sudoku and Kakuro to fans long before they entered the pop culture mainstream. Every issue of this magazine is page after page of quality puzzles. There are plenty of logic problems, ranging from one-star (fairly easy) to five-star (practically evil). There are Figure Logics -- crossword puzzles consisting entirely of mathematic clues. There's also the standard collection of Number Places (Sudoku), Cross Sums (Kakuro), Word Arithmetic (long division problems with numbers replaced by letters), and Trigons (a puzzle game of fitting number trios into an interweaving grid of triangles). The puzzles get more difficult as the magazine goes along, providing a challenge for puzzlers at virtually every level. But since every puzzle is based on numbers and logic, they're all solvable by puzzlers at any level -- providing you have the time and patience! The cover price may be a turn-off for casual solvers. However, each issue has a coupon that allows you to order a bulk assortment of back issues. These value packs can sometimes work out to less than $1 an issue -- over 75% off the cover price! And since the content is purely mathematics, the puzzles are timeless. The one quibble I have is that, while the variety is exceptional for each issue, the features almost never change. If you've seen one issue, you've pretty much seen them all. Other magazines offer new twists on popular games (there are dozens of Sudoku variations that this magazine has never featured) and inventive puzzles that offer new ways to test your reasoning and deduction. However, Math Puzzles and Logic Games seems rooted in tradition and sticks to the familiar. The good news is that the familiar is still fun and challenging, and the magazine is one of the few that can live up to the claim, "hours of fun."  

Cosci

Babylon, NY