The Original Area Mazes

I just started the book today and I've been tearing through the puzzles. They're really engrossing and not like other puzzles I've seen. It's pretty much what the description says - you get several rectangles with some of the measurements provided, then you have to solve it for length or area. To make it more challenging, the puzzles aren't drawn to scale, so you can't just eyeball it - you have to really use the numbers. There's one puzzle to a page, and step-by-step answers in the back. The instructions and answers are clearly written. It's a nice small book, good quality paper, would make a nice gift or throw it in your bag for when you go out.There are 5 levels of difficulty, from 1 to 5 stars - 20 of each. Some of them can be solved intuitively - literally as fast as you can write it down - where others require more thought. The beginner ones were easy enough for me to do by just scribbling my calculations in the book. Now I've reached the 50s (Medium) and II'm going to need scrap paper soon, LOL.You don't need skills beyond pretty basic math (add, subtract, multiply, divide, plus your multiplication tables). There's no geometry involved - the only formula you need is "length times width equals area" but it's surprising how many variables there are even with these simple rules! Oh, and they say all the puzzles can be solved with whole numbers, no fractions or decimals. I'm no math whiz by any stretch, but I enjoy doing math puzzles. I'm definitely getting the second book. Recommended!

Fabulous, challenging problems that you can solve if you really think about them. The brain rush is so wonderful, I can hardly put the book down. No hard math required, just clear thinking. Very much recommended!

Although this new type of puzzle is a little more "mathy" than most, it is super fun. They start off relatively straightforward (as do most puzzles) and then slowly start to increase in difficulty. It really does help if you have a mathematical mind as you are obviously dealing with some basic geometry concepts.But, when the solution becomes clear, it is extremely satisfying to see how elegant it really is. As the instructions state, you should not have the need to use a calculator. So you have to change your way of thinking and go outside the box as they say.Sometimes, you just have to stare at the diagram for a while or just put the book down and return later. I found that often, something that you have stared at for an hour becomes obvious when you set the book down for a day and return to it.Great little diversion and well worth the price.

I have just completed the last of the 100 puzzles in “The Original Area Mazes”. I enjoyed these puzzles more than any book of puzzles I’d ever before encountered. The puzzle difficulty goes from one-star all the way to five-star (more difficult) puzzles. Solutions (including explanations for the solutions) are given for all puzzles. I always solved the puzzles by using my own strategies – sometimes being less proficient strategies than what I found in the book’s solutions. These puzzles encourage a great deal of creativity.Having a good sense of geometry is very helpful. Even though I’m tolerably competent in mathematics, I do not perform all so well in geometry. Some of the puzzles in this book were really tough for me. Nevertheless, by working a few puzzles on most days since I received the book, I solved the 100 puzzles in about 42 days. Most of the puzzles up to 4-or-5-stars were fairly easy. I often used some elementary (high school) algebra in order to solve certain puzzles, but pure geometrical manipulation and insight are simply indispensable for some of the puzzles.I highly recommend this book for any puzzle lovers. I’ve done lots of Sudoku puzzles, but these puzzles were more interesting and more logically taxing than Sudoku is. These puzzles DEMAND logical thinking.

I got this for my 3rd grade child to practice basic multiplication in a fun way. The beginner level puzzles are great for children. The advanced puzzles are fun for me! They are trivially solvable by writing out the algebra of the system of equations, but it's fun to find ways of getting the answer without the brute force of algebra. They are well designed so lots of different mental tricks can be used to find the answer. Simple idea, good execution, highly recommended!

I like that this is a new challenge to my brain. For sure I rarely use this sort of math (figuring out areas over and over). I more or less bought this on a whim for myself as I am always looking to add to my "activity basket". I like doing puzzles of various sorts, and this was just different over the usual offerings. It didnt look too complicated/frustrating, just looked like it would make my brain think differently simply because the problem is presented differently. I mean, its just basic math, but it needs to be employed differently, and therefore I am sure I am firing up parts of my brain that I dont normally use, haha.I will say that I have to be in the mood for this, and I need a scratch pad and mechanical pencil when I work them out. Some I have eye balled and figured out, but I really need to keep track my of process with some paper and pencil. Answers and explanations are actually helpful. So even if totally dont get it, there is opportunity to learn too. Which of course is also brain stimulation.

I've never seen this type of puzzle before, but as soon as I saw these I knew I would enjoy them.These puzzles are a lot of fun, and just taxing enough on the brain to make them interesting but not annoyingly difficult. They do get more difficult as you progress through the book, but you build on the knowledge gained from the prior puzzles.At first, you might think these puzzles involve fractions, but they don't. Every puzzle uses only whole numbers to solve each step of the puzzle. Knowing this, it helped me to figure out new approaches to arrive at the solution.

Starts easy but then challenges your brain. Love it.

Good quality book with a good range of area mazes that steadily get more difficult

The puzzles are excellent and really work up the brain.My 10 yr old son loved it.

Me ha gustado.

My students really like this one