194. Scrambled Words:

125 Brand-New Anagram Puzzles is now available for your solving pleasure.

The difficulty increases and variations are introduced as you go, including illustrated anagrams.

Puzzles by Patrick Merrell • puzzle concept by Stephanie Spadaccini • published by Portable Press • 288 pages • 5 x 7″ • $9.95.

• Read more about it on Amazon.com

193. Ambigram Crossword

BLAST FROM THE PAST DEPT.: This recent talk of ambigrams dredged up memories of a crossword I put together for Scientific American in 2006. It was written before I dabbled in ambigrams, so I hadn’t thought of it in those terms, but that’s what it is.

Sciam‘s website still has it up [CLICK HERE]. Since the crossword appeared on two pages, the grid (“blank puzzle” is how its described) and clues are on separate PDFs.

TIP: Download the PDFs (using the arrow icon in the upper right) rather than printing directly from the site. When I printed directly, the image didn’t rotate and ended up getting cropped.

192. Birdie

What golfer, in different years, has been a runner-up in the Masters Golf Tournament to both Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods? Both his first name and last name are bird-related, to varying degrees.

Answer: [ T O M K I T E in 1986 & 1997]

• Click “first name” to see a visual hint.
• Click “last name” to see another visual hint.
• Highlight the bracketed space with your cursor to reveal the answer.

191. WOW ‘OOH

Ambigrams Revealed, a new book by Nikita Prokhorov, makes a great addition to your ambigram library … or a great start to your ambigram library.

What’s in it? Insightful discussions with top ambigram artists, including John Langdon and Scott Kim. In-depth analysis of selected designs with step-by-step sketches showing how they were created. Helpful advice on creating ambigrams. And a whopping 40-page section showcasing ambigrams from all over the world, over 170 in all.

A few of my favorites: A flowing-metal Ringworld ambigram by Bastian Pinnenberg [page 127], Labyrinth graphically spelled out within the path of a maze by Krysztof Sliwa [page 120], a highly readable Rock n Roll by Kai Hammond [page 138], and a clever variation by Scott Kim, the numbers 1-12 used to spell Schönberg, the composer who invented 12-tone composition [page 32].

• CLICK: An interview with Nikita Prokhorov
• CLICK: Order the book from Peachpit Press
(both the book and ebook look great)

186. Spring Searching

Now available on a newsstand near you, 142 all-new word search puzzles in six variations: regular, jumbo, one-word, clue, quote, and trivia.

Puzzles and interior design by Patrick Merrell; published by Time Home Entertainment.

185. The ACPT in 11 Objects

1. Contestant sticker. 2. Marriott pen. 3. The contestants’ most-dreaded pen (used by the judges to mark incorrect answers). 4. No, wait, this is the contestants’ most-dreaded pen (used to mark correct answers when only a few letters have been entered in the grid). 5. Name tag. 6. Marriott room key. 7. Ophira Eisenberg, from NPR’s Ask Me Another, was in the house (and unofficial best-shod attendee). 8. Dr. Fill returned. 9. Freebie pencil from The New York Times. 10. Freebie pencil sharpener from crosswordtracker.com. 11. And wherever you turned, a circle of people were yelling out answers to Peter Gordon’s Celebrity: Get a Clue iPhone app. (Do you know who Uggie is?)

184. Sneak Peek 2

The first iFlush book (iFlush: Swimming in Science, post 181) isn’t even out yet, but here’s an announcement for its sequel, iFlush: Hurtling thru History.

Coming in September, this 96-page compendium of history, stories, fascinating factoids, amusing anecdotes, unique puzzles and art will be everything you’ll come to expect of the iFlush books.

183. The Maze of Games

You may want to check out this new Kickstarter project, The Maze of Games: “It’s a full-length puzzle novel with over 50 puzzles and a deeply engaging story, all woven together in a ‘solve your own adventure’ style which will keep you jumping from page to page.”

Mazes and puzzles in an illustrated book … and none of it by me. Sounds like a good combination!

Update: A bonus puzzle by Deb Amlen, puzzlemaker, humorist, and writer for the New York Times crossword blog Wordplay, will be included if a fast-approaching subscriber goal is met (it was).

182. pArtiCiPaTe

The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) is fast approaching and promises to be another epic event with games, guest speakers, wine and cheese, a talent competition, puzzling camaraderie, stuff to buy, and some of the year’s best puzzles. It takes place March 8-10 in beautiful downtown Brooklyn. ALL THE INFO IS HERE.

The tournament crosswords vary from easy, breezy puzzles (#1, 4, and usually 6) to the infamous puzzle #5 that ferrets out the top contenders.

If you’d like to try a sample, here’s puzzle #2 I wrote for last year’s tournament. It’s tricky, but not a real killer. One thing to remember is that all of the tournament puzzles have titles and subtitles, which can sometimes be very helpful. This one is called “Boustrophedon.”

Download a pdf: PUZZLE #2
Download the answer pdf: ANSWER

181: Sneak Peek

Coming this spring: iFlush: Swimming in Science, the first book in a surprising new series for kids. Edgy, absorbing, refreshing, fun … and tons of real science!

Written, illustrated, and designed by Patrick Merrell from a concept by the big brains at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute, Gordon Javna and Kim T. Griswell. Published by Portable Press (96 pages, hardcover $10.36).

179. Search Me

Thou shalt have fun. Jumbo Word Search: Bible Edition hits newsstands Feb. 15, with a super-sized 240-page trade version coming to bookstores in March.

Eight puzzle variations and tons of themes: foods of the Bible, Mary, scrambled books, Psalms and Proverbs quotes, Bible creatures, miracles, Moses, Bible locales, Passover, words that appear just once in the Bible, even Ben-Hur.

Puzzles and interior design by Patrick Merrell. Published by Time Home Entertainment.

177. Not Much Afoot

A number of birds have little or no ability to walk.

• Hummingbirds use their feet only to perch or scratch themselves. Moving even a few feet is done by flying.
• Swifts’ legs are almost nonexistent and their tiny clawed feet are suited for little more than clinging to vertical surfaces.
• The legs of some water birds, such as grebes and loons, are set so far back for diving and swimming that walking or even taking off from land isn’t possible.

From Bird Brainteasers

168. Keep That Resolution

Available January 1 [now, December 18]. Forget The Honeymooners reruns and bowl games. Remember your “more exercise” resolution by running to the store first thing on New Year’s Day to pick up your copy of Chicken Games & Puzzles.

“This collection of 100 chicken-themed challenges is really something to cluck about! Kids ages 6 to 9 will love these amusingly illustrated mazes, codes, brainteasers, logic puzzles, word searches, jokes and riddles, tongue twisters, and picture puzzles.”

Puzzles by Patrick Merrell and Helene Hovanec; illustration and design by Patrick Merrell; edited by Lisa Hiley.

Click on the cover to find out more on amazon.com ($9.95). 144 pages. From Storey Publishing.

166. Puzzler!

Available now. An extra-festive holiday section plus Rooney, Clooney, London (the city, that is), The Avengers, U.S. presidents, Kate, Bradley, Adele, daytime TV, fashion designers, Hamm, Depp, White (Betty, that is), goodbye Desperate Housewives, hello The Hunger Games, Gosling, Deschanel, Vergara, and on and on and on.

Puzzles (70 pages, 7 varieties) and art direction by Patrick Merrell; edited by the two and only Cutler Durkee and Lisa Russell; tons of photos via Linda Pacheco. But, wait, there’s more — trivia, quizzes, celebrity fun-fact pages, “Second Look” picture puzzles, and 10 classic crosswords from the pages of People magazine. 128 pages.

Click on the cover to find out more on amazon.com, including a look inside ($8.64—cheap!). From Time Home Entertainment.

165. Beginner Mazes

Available this fall exclusively on Scholastic’s book clubs. Illustrated mazes in the form of a story. Written, illustrated, designed by Patrick Merrell; edited by Roy Wandelmaier, Steve Metzger. Pre-K, K, 1; 32 pages each.