HomeEverything ElseWill ShortzThe New Yorker Book of Cartoon Puzzles and Games |
|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 12 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 An Ingenious Melding of New Yorker Cartoons and Clever Puzzles May 03, 2006
By Puzzle and Origami Enthusiast
The folks at Puzzability used to be contributors to Games Magazine in its heyday when they published visual puzzles that were both amusing and innovative. Now, they've taken this same approach and applied it to the vast archive of cartoons from the New Yorker. While I was skeptical at first whether the puzzle aspect of this book would be gratuitous, I was won over quickly as I paged through the contents. The puzzle authors have clearly done their homework, finding ways to turn the New Yorker's cartoons into genuine, interesting challenges.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Interesting cartoon and puzzle combo Sep 27, 2006
By Eileen Rieback
Is this a book of New Yorker cartoons or a puzzle book? Well, it's a little of both, and the result is a novel way to laugh and exercise your brain at the same time. Most of the 83 puzzles consist of cartoons that are missing words, captions, or picture components. By figuring out the missing elements and sometimes combining them with acrostics, crossword puzzles, or other word grids, the cartoon humor is revealed.
For the most part, the puzzles are of only moderate difficulty, although there are a few difficult ones (at least for me) that involve matching a cartoon with the decade in which it was created or matching cartoons from early and late in a cartoonist's career. Frequent puzzle solvers will recognize many of the familiar puzzle types from Games Magazine and other media that Puzzability publishes in. The foreword to the book contains a casual and loosely coupled conversation between New Yorker cartoon editor Robert Mankoff and New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz.
This is an entertaining book that you'll hate to throw away when it's been completed because of all the witty cartoons it contains. Enjoy!
Eileen Rieback
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Smart, witty fun Jun 22, 2006
By Judy Weightman
The folks at Puzzability -- Mike Shenk, Amy Goldstein, and Robert Leighton, all "Games" magazine alums and world-class puzzle constructors -- have done an outstanding job of putting together classic "New Yorker" cartoons with an entertaining selection of different kinds of word puzzles. Sometimes you'll work from the cartoon to the puzzle, and sometimes from the puzzle to the cartoon, but you'll end each page with both a smile and a feeling of solving satisfaction. The puzzles are extremely well crafted -- hard enough to be fun and challenging, but well this side of frustrating -- and really enhance the impact of the cartoons.
Strongly recommended.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Good Mental Stroll for cartoon fans & amateur puzzlers Apr 16, 2007
By D. Wade
"Inspector NoClue"
I love word puzzles though I'm not a serious puzzler - I do a few crosswords a week and have owned maybe three puzzle books as an adult. I am, however, a big cartoon fan, though honestly I've been more FoxTrot & Calvin than I am the New Yorker. So, my favorite puzzles are cryptograms with cartoons. Don't find them much - but when I searched specifically for this, I discovered this book.
I enjoy the New Yorker Book of Cartoon Puzzles and Games (and have purchased a second copy for a friend) because the combo of puzzle and cartoon has proven very relaxing - I involve myself in a semi-hard puzzle, but then find a laugh waiting for me once it's solved. New Yorker cartoons do typically contain some of the least expected twists, and I found that here.
However, I don't think a serious puzzle person would be happy with this book, unless he were interested in the New Yorker cartoons. I say this only because the puzzles range from easy to medium difficulty for an adult. (A teen or younger might enjoy more of a challenge.) I still recommend this though - for a more relaxed puzzler like myself it's a good mental stroll.
Though not typically a history buff, I found it a pleasant surprise that the editors included the history of New Yorker cartoons, and with it a history of the U.S, WITHIN quite a few puzzles. Several times you are asked to place the puzzles in the correct time period (and the New Yorker puzzles go back at least to the 1920's) or even with the correct author/cartoonist. The puzzles are just challenging enough to give me a think (similar to a midweek newspaper crossword perhaps) but not overly hard. And there is an ABUNDANCE OF GREAT CARTOONS - usually five or six to each puzzle and often grouped in interesting ways/topics.
But what of those cryptograms? Good news is that they were well done, and with increasing difficulty; Disappointment is that there were only three pages of cryptograms while other types of puzzles were represented more. It does seem that the editors missed out on utilizing the perfect collaboration of crypts and cartoons.
I give it a 4 - enjoyed the cartoon aspect, most puzzles fun but some just too easy for an adult. Still worth the stroll.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Hey,all you puzzle nuts...give this one a look-see! Nov 13, 2006
By J. Guild
I was just cruising through my Big Box Bookstore to see what was appearing on the shelves for the upcoming Christmas season.In the Games section ,between a bunch of Crossword Puzzle books and what is becoming a flood of Sudoku and other number puzzle books,I spotted this little Gem.Most people who do crosswords know of Will Shortz of the NY Times Crossword puzzle fame,Robert Mankoff of Games Magazine and the famous New Yorker Magazine's Cartoons. Well, all these are combined and with some great "Thinking Outside the Box" have come up with a puzzle book that will entertain and challenge you.Some of the other reviewers have made reasonable attempts to describe these puzzles;so I won't try.What I suggest is to search it out in the store and get a feel for them.
This book is just the thing needed for those who have become obsessed with those Sudoku puzzles,have been doing nothing but crosswords for years, or even those who have never done much in the way of puzzles.
I'll tell you one thing;if you like puzzles,and who doesn't,and also like cartoons,and who doesn't;then you'll love this latest addition to the world of puzzles.
See all 12 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
|
|
