Problematics I Let the puzzles, games begin - Hindustan Times
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Problematics I Let the puzzles, games begin

Sep 05, 2022 12:26 PM IST

Every week, we bring you one or more mildly challenging puzzles, which means they are neither too easy nor too hard

What do you prefer: word games or numbers? Word puzzles have always been the more popular of the two, which is also why we see more of them, from daily crosswords to Wordle today. But this column will not be about words alone.

We launch today with both kinds of puzzles, with more to follow in the weeks to come. (iStock Photo) PREMIUM
We launch today with both kinds of puzzles, with more to follow in the weeks to come. (iStock Photo)

We launch today with both kinds of puzzles, with more to follow in the weeks to come. In the mix-and-match regime that I hope to follow, I shall also bring you logic puzzles from time to time.

But why puzzles? For the same reason that we play Wordle and other games derived from it: because it is fun. In fact, there are health benefits to puzzle-solving too, as research over the years has shown. For example, a UK study three years ago found that people who solve puzzles have brain function equivalent to people several years younger. But that is the icing on the cake when the basic idea remains simply to enjoy ourselves.

And how does this column work? The old-fashioned way, in the tradition of Lewis Carroll, Martin Gardner and Mukul Sharma. Every week, I bring you one or more mildly challenging puzzles, which means they are neither too easy nor too hard. You write back with the answers, and if you get them right, I acknowledge you the following week.

That is the format I have followed whenever I have written about puzzles over the decades, starting 1993. Of course, things were different back then: readers would send their answers by post, and there was no Internet where they could look up the solutions. In this time and age, I shall try and bring you puzzles that are as original or as obscure as possible. So, here we go:

Do write back with comments, along with your answers to either the mathematical puzzle, or the anagrams, or both. And if you have any puzzles you would like to share with other readers and me, be sure to offer those too.

Send in your replies to problematics@hindustantimes.com

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Puzzles Editor Kabir Firaque is the author of the weekly column Problematics. A journalist for three decades, he also writes about science and mathematics.

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