| Puzzles are problems intentionally designed to | | | | been teasing minds all over the world for |
| stimulate the brain into devising solutions. Puzzles | | | | thousands of year. Humans have been known to |
| can be differentiated from games as the latter | | | | devise oral puzzles since the advent of languages. |
| are aimed primarily at entertainment, although | | | | Riddles have been integral part of ancient |
| games like chess, checkers, and solitaire are made | | | | scriptures and religious literature, including the |
| up of many puzzles. | | | | Koran, Bible, Sanskrit scriptures, and Greek |
| Puzzles are broadly categorized into riddles and | | | | mythology. |
| word plays, logic and mathematical puzzles, and | | | | The development of arithmetic in Egypt resulted |
| physical puzzles. Some of the popular riddles are | | | | in birth of mathematical puzzles. The interest in |
| conundrums, charades, crosswords, and | | | | mathematical puzzles grew from the fifth century |
| anagrams. Paradoxes and magic squares are two | | | | to the fifteenth century. The popular mechanical |
| of the popular mathematical puzzles, which include | | | | puzzle labyrinth was incorporated in the floor |
| a wide array of puzzles including geometric | | | | designs of many churches in France and Italy in |
| puzzles, decision puzzles, number sequences, | | | | the twelfth century. Sam Loyd of the United |
| action sequences, analytical puzzles, and logic | | | | States and Henry Dudeney from Britain are |
| puzzles. Jigsaws, labyrinths, and mazes are some | | | | considered greatest puzzle inventors in their |
| of the examples of physical and mechanical | | | | countries. The duo devised numerous puzzles in |
| puzzles. | | | | nineteenth century. |
| Puzzles have been ingrained into the human | | | | The extent to which puzzles have become part |
| culture since the very beginning. One of the oldest | | | | of daily life can be gauged from the popularity of |
| and most popular puzzles is Tangram, which has | | | | crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, and Sudoku. |