*snort*

[yendi]

"The appeal of traditional word-search puzzles has never been apparent to us. Typically, the solver is given a list of words -- 30 varieties of trees for example -- and asked to locate each of the items in a giant block of letters. This is entertaining only to the degree that finding your car in a parking lot is entertaining, and not nearly as much of a challenge. The words are, after all, right there in front of you, and unless you need practice with letter matching, there isn't much these word-search puzzles will do to expand the capacity of your brain."

From the most excellent (and sadly out of print) Nutcrackers: Devilishly Addictive Mind-Twisting Puzzles for the Insatiably Verbivorous, by Jesse Green and Meg Wolitzer

Comments

[terracinque.livejournal.com]

What's that quote from?

[yendi]

The introduction to their "Missing Persons" puzzle section, featuring a combination of cryptic crosswords, word searches, and category puzzles (after getting all of the answers, they in turn lead to a famous person.

[terracinque.livejournal.com]

I asked, because it sounds very similar to an introduction to a non-traditional word search that appeared once in the late, lamented Civilization magazine, so I wonder if the book is drawn partly from that feature.

[yendi]

These puzzles were created for a New York newspaper that's no longer around (can't remember the name, and the book's not near me), but according to Green's web page, they also did the Civilization puzzles.

[terracinque.livejournal.com]

according to Green's web page, they also did the Civilization puzzles.

Aha! I win again!

[mistercrabby.livejournal.com]

The problem with that statement is that it assumes that people do word-search puzzles with the intended goal of expanding the capacity of their brains.

[yendi]

True, I suppose.

[bassfingers.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid and subscribed to Games Magazine, the only reason to do the word-search was to spell a quote with all the left-over letters once you were done.

[yendi]

*nod* I did the same. And at least one issue had the Hidden Contest in the leftover letters.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

I think the point of word-search is similar to the point of the logic puzzles I used to be addicted to: creating order out of chaos when one's life is crashing around one. :)

I find my metals stuff gives me plenty to think about htese days. My current puzzle is how a lever tumbler lock actually functions. :)

[litch.livejournal.com]

I like word searches and I'm pretty smart.

The pleasure is in picking a pattern out of noise