NZWW Word Puzzles product reviews

Ok, so it says 'Woman's Weekly' on the title. That should not put anyone off from buying this little book packed with puzzles to tease the mind. The puzzles are in a vast array from the well-known crosswords to variations on a crossword theme, and a vast number of other word puzzles to addle the brain in frustration and keep the mind occupied away from tasks in hand that really do need doing: Washing up, mowing the lawn, vacuuming the carpets or feeding the child.

This book (despite the 'Woman's Weekly' title!) is well worth buying to while away the unimportant hours or for just a brief interlude from work. This book will appeal to puzzlers and non-puzzlers alike.

Despite an interest in linguistics, and an appreciation of the special patterns buried in words, I am not all that good at word puzzles, so I don't think I enjoyed this as much as a hardened wordsmith would.

Despite that, I was drawn into the book within moments, particularly the Word Windows puzzles where you are presented with a series of letters and a sequence of masks that will obscure certain letters. It's a simple enough taks to test each mask against each set of letters, to see which pair reveal a word, but it's still fun.

The Lexicode puzzles were also quite fun, with a component of knowing little bits of lots of topics required in order to get the answers, then shuffling the letters to make a witty comment or hidden message. Again, the toughest bit of these puzzles seems to be the making of them, so Pam's skills are most impressive. :)

Overall, this book is a great way to pass those dozy days when it's too hot to do anything more than sit back in the shade, sip a cold drink, and while away the hours until it cools down enough to get stuck into the dishes or garden.