Games World of Puzzles February 2019

I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad that February is a short month. With the holidays behind us and the frigid winter cold firmly settled in, I just want to hunker down and stay warm. Cozy sweaters, warm mittens, and a hot cup of cocoa help—but so does a brand new issue of GAMES WORLD OF PUZZLES.

This February, we have plenty of articles and puzzles to amuse, challenge, and perplex you. In addition to his regular “Game On!” column, Raymond Simon contributes a lighthearted feature for those who like their kisses mixed with comedy: “Love, Hollywood: A Rom-Com Trivia Quiz” (page 36). Be forewarned, film fans, this one includes way more than just When Harry Met Sally…

Simon’s not the only one doing double duty in this issue. Scott Appel, our regular Scrabble correspondent, has two interesting pieces for you, too. First, there’s fishing. No, no, not ice-fishing. Appel is talking about an excellent strategy experienced Scrabble players employ to help win games. If you’re curious to learn more, just turn to “Your Word Against Mine” (page 42). Appel also reviews Oliver Roeder’s recent book of puzzles, The Riddler: Fantastic Puzzles from FiveThirtyEight (page 34). FiveThirtyEight is a website devoted to applying statistical thinking to both everyday problems and national issues, and that extends to the puzzles it publishes. Don’t worry, though. As Appel assures us, you don’t need advanced mathematics to solve these puzzles, just tenacity and a willingness to think outside the box.

Of course, we have some challenging puzzles of our own for you. “Some Assembly Required” (page 64), a thorny crossword variation from expert cruciverbalist Patrick Berry, combines tough clues with jigsaw puzzle pieces. See if you can fit it all together! Andrew Parr also gets into the game of crossword variations with a little twist of his own: “It’s All Relative” (page 44). We liked it so much, we made it this month’s contest.

For those of you who enjoy logic puzzles, there’s the redoubtable Margery Albis, who returns with “Birds of a Feather” (page 29). No binoculars or field guide to birds are necessary, just a sharp pencil.

I’m also pleased to report that we have a new “Dungeon Sudoku” (page 40). Raymond Young debuted this mashup of sudoku and mazes in our May 2018 issue; it returns from the grave with two new monsters for you to battle this February.

Of course, there’s plenty more tucked away inside this issue—certainly enough to keep you busy all 28 days of February.

Happy puzzling!