It’s that time of year again! If you’re like me and you’re not super organized about holiday gifts, let these holiday gift guides help you get the process started!
Educational Insights has two great games for solo puzzlers: Slidewise and Kanoodle Sudoqube. These are single player games that engage the mind on multiple levels.
Slidewise is a sliding word puzzle that is so cleverly designed. The game itself is a handheld, manual puzzle that has enough heft that it’s not going to break easily, but is lightweight enough to toss in your handbag or carry-on, if you’re traveling. There are 23 sliding letter tiles. Each tile has its own letter. There are three columns and one row for the tiles to slide around.
The goal is to line the tiles up in the green-arrowed row so that the desired word (from the provided list or any five-letter word you choose that has the required number of provided letters. For example, there is no q tile, so it’s impossible to make a word with a q in it. The same goes for J, X, and Z. There are two Es, so you can make words that have two Es, but there are no other repeat letters.
Educational Insight’s Slidewise is a great game for single parents; single people; and anyone over the age of 7. The motion and sound of the tiles is very soothing and it’s a complicated-enough puzzle that it will pose a challenge. It works great as a fidget device, as well. Buy one for every member of the family and create your own challenges, like racing to beat the clock and/or each other. Buy it here!
Educational Insight’s Kanoodle Sudoqube is also a single player puzzle game. It’s a mash-up of Educational’s Kanoodle games (lining up set pieces to fit in a frame) with sudoku (lining up numbers, shapes, colors, etc. in a grid so that each row and column has a different number, shape, color, etc. Kanoodle Sudoqube has 25 different-colored cubes (five colors total) that can be fitted together to form shapes. The case has a 4×4 grid on one side and a 5×5 grid on the other. All of the cubes fit inside the case, along with the puzzle book, which includes set-ups and solutions for 100 puzzles.
TOP TIP: The case doesn’t have a catch or locking mechanism, so store Kanoodle Sudoqube in the box it came in or keep a rubberband around it to stop the cubes and puzzle book from falling out.
In the puzzle book, there are eight levels of difficulty. The pages are color-coded, so you can see which level you’re on easily. For each side of the case (4×4 or 5×5), the puzzles start simple and get progressively more difficult. At the beginning of each level of difficulty, you’re given the directions for creating the shapes you’ll need to solve the puzzles in that level of difficulty.
Each puzzle then has instructions for setting up the Sudoqube grid and the pieces you’ll need to solve the puzzle. The set pieces change for each level of difficulty, so make sure you remember to reset the cubes when you level up.
TOP TIP: Use a post-it sticker to mark your place in the book, so you don’t forget which level you’re on. If more than one member of the family is solving puzzles, be sure to write the individual names on the post-its, so everyone can keep track of where they are.
Kanoodle Sudoqube is a very challenging version of Kanoodle. It’s for ages 7 and up. The cubes are about 1” square, so could be swallowed by younger littles, so adult supervision is a good idea, no matter who is playing with the game, especially because there are 9 extra cubes when you’re playing the 4×4 grid. Buy it here!
Educational Insights Slidewise and Kanoodle Sudoqube are great holiday gifts and could even be stocking stuffers if your stockings are on the larger size. They’re fun for most ages (both are 7+) and can both be turned into competitive games with one or more sets and/or a timer.
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