Smart Games has long been a favorite. If you’re not familiar with Smart Games, they make logic puzzles for solo game play. They have several lines, including games for children, people with limited dexterity, different sizes, and even a series of two-player games. I especially love the IQ line, which are single-player logic puzzles that are small enough for travel, even everyday commutes.
Smart Games IQ Flow is the newest addition to the IQ line. The game comes in a base that has a lid to keep the pieces in, if you don’t choose to store it solved. The game guide also fits in the lid. IQ Flow has 8 pieces, each of which has a different color and wavy lines that can be oriented horizontally or vertically, depending on how you add them to the form.
The base has a grid that the pieces slide onto, but you have to pay attention, because access is limited. In the game guide, for each puzzle, you’ll see pictures of how the puzzle should look when it’s solved. You have to figure out in which order and from which side the Flow pieces have to be slotted in to match the colors in the puzzle. If you don’t pick the right side to slot the piece into, you’ll have to pull out the pieces and try again. The puzzles begin with the easiest puzzles, so you can learn how to solve as you go through the guide. The puzzles get harder and harder, moving from all pieces in the grid, to just a few pieces in the grid, to black-and-white pictures, where your only clue is the direction of the wavy lines. Good luck!
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.
Smart Games IQ Flow is a very challenging solo game. But it is so rewarding to solve these puzzles. Even taking pieces out to correct the order they’re going into the base is fun. This just might be my favorite IQ game yet. IQ Flow is for ages 7 and up, but it would be helpful if they had some experience already of solving this type of puzzle. The pieces aren’t very small, but two of them have a smaller side, so keep an eye on the littles if they’re playing. There are 120 different puzzles to solve, so you’ll have hours of entertainment with Smart Games IQ Flow.
Smart Games Cats & Boxes is also a single player logic puzzle game. As with IQ Flow, it involves putting pieces into a frame to match the puzzle in the game guide. The box includes the lidded frame, five different cats, and four box pieces (there are two boxes on one piece and three other pieces with a single box), and the game guide. Everything fits into the lidded frame, which is about 6” x 6” x 2”. It’s also travel-sized, but is a little larger than the IQ Flow.
In Cats & Boxes, you’re helping the cats do their favorite thing, play in boxes. Each cat is assigned a location on the grid and each box piece is placed in a particular location, too. Your task is to move the boxes around the grid, without moving the cats, so that when you’re done, each cat is in a box. The game guide starts with easier puzzles, to get you familiar with how the puzzles work. The early puzzles have just one move per cat/box combination to solve, but as you go along, each puzzle will take multiple moves per cat/box combination.
TOP TIP: The game guide gives you the minimum number of moves per puzzle, but if it takes more, you still solved the puzzle.
Smart Games Cats & Boxes is also a challenging solo game. Cats & Boxes is for ages 7 and up. It’s very tactile with large pieces to move. If you want to get your children interested in this type of game, Smart Games also has some logic puzzles for younger players, which would be great experience for Cats & Boxes. While the box pieces are fairly large, the cats are less than an inch on their smallest sides, so be careful when the littles are around. There are 60 different puzzles to solve, from Easy to Expert.
TOP TIP: The cases don’t have catches or locking mechanisms, so, if you’re traveling with them, store your IQ Flow and/or Cats & Boxes in the boxes they came in or keep a rubberband around them.
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