Apuzzle is agame,problem, ortoy that tests a person's ingenuity orknowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are different genres of puzzles, such ascrossword puzzles, word-search puzzles, number puzzles, relational puzzles, and logic puzzles. The academic study of puzzles is calledenigmatology.
Puzzles are often created to be a form of entertainment but they can also arise from seriousmathematical orlogical problems. In such cases, their solution may be a significant contribution to mathematical research.[1]
TheOxford English Dictionary dates the wordpuzzle (as averb) to the 16th century. Its earliest use documented in theOED was in a book titledThe Voyage ofRobert Dudley...to the West Indies, 1594–95, narrated by Capt. Wyatt, by himself, and by Abram Kendall, master (published circa 1595). The word later came to be used as anoun, first as anabstract noun meaning 'the state or condition of being puzzled', and later developing the meaning of 'a perplexing problem'. TheOED's earliest clear citation in the sense of 'a toy that tests the player's ingenuity' is from SirWalter Scott's 1814 novelWaverley, referring to a toy known as a "reel in a bottle".[2]
The etymology of the verbpuzzle is described byOED as "unknown"; unproven hypotheses regarding its origin include an Old English verbpuslian meaning 'pick out', and a derivation of the verbpose.[3]
Solutions of puzzles often require the recognition ofpatterns and the adherence to a particular kind of order. People with a high level ofinductive reasoning aptitude may be better at solving such puzzles compared to others. But puzzles based uponinquiry anddiscovery may be solved more easily by those with gooddeduction skills. Deductive reasoning improves with practice. Mathematical puzzles often involve BODMAS.BODMAS is an acronym which stands for Bracket, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction. In certain regions, PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction) is the synonym of BODMAS. It explains the order of operations to solve an expression. Some mathematical puzzles require top to bottom convention to avoid theambiguity in the order of operations. It is an elegantly simple idea that relies, assudoku does, on the requirement that numbers appear only once starting from top to bottom as coming along.[4]
The nine linked-rings puzzle, an advanced puzzle device that requires mathematical calculation to solve, was invented in China during theWarring States period (475-221 BCE).[5]Jigsaw puzzles were invented around 1760, whenJohn Spilsbury, a British engraver andcartographer, mounted a map on a sheet of wood, which he then sawed around the outline of each individual country on the map. He then used the resulting pieces as an aid for the teaching of geography.[6]
After becoming popular among the public, this kind of teaching aid remained the primary use of jigsaw puzzles until about 1820.[7]
The largest puzzle (40,320 pieces) is made by a German game companyRavensburger.[8] The smallest puzzle ever made was created at LaserZentrum Hannover. It is only five square millimeters, the size of a sand grain.
The puzzles that were first documented areriddles. In Europe, Greek mythology produced riddles like theriddle of the Sphinx. Many riddles were produced during the Middle Ages, as well.[9]
By the early 20th century, magazines and newspapers found that they could increase their readership by publishingpuzzle contests, beginning withcrosswords and in modern dayssudoku.
^Guo, Li; Eyman, Douglas; Sun, Hongmei (2024). "Introduction". In Guo, Li; Eyman, Douglas; Sun, Hongmei (eds.).Games & Play in Chinese & Sinophone Cultures. Seattle, WA:University of Washington Press. p. 6.ISBN9780295752402.
^Anne D. Williams.THE JIGSAW PUZZLE PIECING TOGETHER A HISTORY.ASINB000H2ND6E.
