The Puzzler

 The Puzzler

By A.J. Jacobs

What makes puzzles—jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus—so satisfying? Be it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight and humor, or their community-building properties, they’re among the fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have made him a better person, A.J. Jacobs—four-time New York Times bestselling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly crossworder—set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost.

In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik’s Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers—The Puzzler will open listeners’ eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration. Whether you’re puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you’ll walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward becoming a better thinker and decision maker—for these are certainly puzzling times.

I'm cheating, I suppose, or at least, bending the rules in myriad ways. Fitting, probably, for a book that is all about solving puzzles by thinking outside the box. Using your creative brain to figure out mind teasers and word benders. As to how I'm bending the rules, well, the book came before the ending lines. I didn't read the book because of the ending, but you have to admit as endings go, it's a pretty good one. And yes, it's not the last line of the book, but I'm considering everything after to be more like... appendixes. The final final line, is the solution to the puzzles that have come before (and one I freely admit to not solving myself).  And finally, it's not one line, but two:

"Only 1,298,074,214,633,706,907,132,624,082,305,018 moves to go.

After that, I promise to quit puzzles."

I'm obviously the target audience but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Typically when someone writes a whole book about puzzles it seems like they try to compensate for the subject matter by taking an ultra scholarly approach to it, which sucks all the fun out of the fun in the first place.  In The Puzzler, Jacobs knows what we're here for: puzzles! Some hard ones, so we have a challenge, some easy ones, so we can feel triumphant.

I appreciated not only the approach but the scope of it. Clearly he can't cover every puzzle type ever but I think within the constraints that he had, there was good coverage. I will however admit to some outrage on the absolute travesty of not including logic problems,  which are both a favorite of mine as well as, I think, a classic in the genre. But of course, jumbles, acrostics, word searches and others (not to even mention Tetris and other video game puzzles) didn't make the cut either. And even the ones that were included couldn't be fully plumbed either. 

I will say that as much as I appreciated the light, personal tone of the book, it was vastly more political than I expected. I wasn't surprised by content of the comments so much that they appeared at all. In a world where it often seems like everyone who is even mildly in the public eye must be sanitized for broad consumption, it offered a little insight on our erstwhile puzzler. And he struck the right balance, I think, of humility and curiosity (of which he mentions the importance of multiple times) and is an engaging guide for those of us interested in the games people play. He reminds us about how much joy there is in solving puzzles for the sheer sake of solving them. Even if, as he admits, we have to bend the rules a bit to do it (like getting someone else with more experience to solve it for you).

I certainly hope that Jacobs has as much fun writing it as I did reading it. As a lifelong puzzle addict myself (although not as dedicated to the wordplay puzzles as Jacobs is, I will admit to already knowing the difference between labyrinths and mazes before picking this up) I'm newly appreciative to the creators and the others who love and support the puzzlers. By coincidence, I'm entering my first speed puzzle competition next week. Fingers crossed I don't come last. 

2: A Book You Want To Read Based On The Last Sentence