“A modern, smart puzzle book, unlike anything I’ve seen before, whose math and logic challenges will stretch your brain in new ways.”—Will Shortz, New York Times crossword editor and NPR puzzlemaster The most mind-bending puzzles on the internet appear weekly in Oliver Roeder’s “The Riddler” column. Presented by Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, this first-ever collection features the column’s most popular problems, along with six never-before-published puzzles, all exploring the math implicit in everyday occurences. The simplest require a mere flash of insight, while the toughest involve deep applications of analysis and probability theory. Designed to appeal to a range of skill levels, The Riddler is a must-have for any math or puzzle enthusiast.

A group biography of seven enduring and beloved games, and the story of why—and how—we play them. Checkers, backgammon, chess, and Go. Poker, Scrabble, and bridge. These seven games, ancient and modern, fascinate millions of people worldwide. In Seven Games, Oliver Roeder charts their origins and historical importance, the delightful arcana of their rules, and the ways their design makes them pleasurable. Roeder introduces thrilling competitors, such as evangelical minister Marion Tinsley, who across forty years lost only three games of checkers; Shusai, the Master, the last Go champion of imperial Japan, defending tradition against “modern rationalism”; and an IBM engineer who created a backgammon program so capable at self-learning that NASA used it on the space shuttle. He delves into the history and lore of each game: backgammon boards in ancient Egypt, the Indian origins of chess, how certain shells from a particular beach in Japan make the finest white Go stones. Beyond the cultural and personal stories, Roeder explores why games, seemingly trivial pastimes, speak so deeply to the human soul. He introduces an early philosopher of games, the aptly named Bernard Suits, and visits an Oxford cosmologist who has perfected a computer that can effectively play bridge, a game as complicated as human language itself. Throughout, Roeder tells the compelling story of how humans, pursuing scientific glory and competitive advantage, have invented AI programs better than any human player, and what that means for the games—and for us. Funny, fascinating, and profound, Seven Games is a story of obsession, psychology, history, and how play makes us human.

Offering ex-smokers new ways to cope with the challenges of remaining smoke-free.

A hilarious reeducation in mathematics-full of joy, jokes, and stick figures-that sheds light on the countless practical and wonderful ways that math structures and shapes our world. In Math With Bad Drawings, Ben Orlin reveals to us what math actually is; its myriad uses, its strange symbols, and the wild leaps of logic and faith that define the usually impenetrable work of the mathematician. Truth and knowledge come in multiple forms: colorful drawings, encouraging jokes, and the stories and insights of an empathetic teacher who believes that math should belong to everyone. Orlin shows us how to think like a mathematician by teaching us a brand-new game of tic-tac-toe, how to understand an economic crises by rolling a pair of dice, and the mathematical headache that ensues when attempting to build a spherical Death Star. Every discussion in the book is illustrated with Orlin's trademark "bad drawings," which convey his message and insights with perfect pitch and clarity. With 24 chapters covering topics from the electoral college to human genetics to the reasons not to trust statistics, Math with Bad Drawings is a life-changing book for the math-estranged and math-enamored alike.

Adulting is hard! But “kidulting”— engaging in nostalgic childhood activities to relieve stress, like playing with your old favorite toys, participating in games and activities from your youth, and even snacking on the foods you enjoyed as a kid— isn’t. Let this book be your guide to indulging your inner child. “Kidulting” is a thing, and it’s growing! Especially popular among millennials, the term “kidulting” refers to engaging in activities from your childhood, sometimes with a grown-up twist. Psychology Today points out that playing like a kid helps you look at the world with fresh eyes—or “beginner’s mind”—which allows you to slow down and focus. The Kidult Handbook is a fun and informative guide to healthy escapism through play. Much like adult coloring books, kidulting is a way of focusing your mind on something fun and creative to relieve stress. But this book goes way beyond just coloring—it includes 160 ideas for fun, from timeless classics like building blanket and pillow forts, to generation-specific ideas, from millennials to boomers. Interspersed throughout are fun facts and trivia about games through the ages. Most activities are unplugged and screen-free, and range from solitary pursuits to ones you can share with a friend or two. Feeling young again has never been so easy!

Perfect for sudoku fans—the rules for these 100 logic puzzles are simple, and the math is easy. But the puzzles get harder and harder! Once you match wits with area mazes, you’ll be hooked! Your quest is to navigate a network of rectangles to find a missing value. Just Remember: Area = length × width Use spatial reasoning to find helpful relationships Whole numbers are all you need. You can always get the answer without using fractions! Originally invented for gifted students, area mazes (menseki meiro), have taken all of Japan by storm. Are you a sudoku fanatic? Do you play brain games to stay sharp? Did you love geometry . . . or would you like to finally show it who’s boss? Feed your brain some area mazes—they could be just what you’re craving!