Let me tell you why I love doing these puzzles...as opposed to cross word puzzles, Sudoku, word-searches, etc.
I have heard many times that doing puzzle-type things keeps your brain going- healthy, keeps it good at thinking, analytical skills, stuff like that. And we all know that such things are really important especially as we get older and start forgetting stuff. So it'd probably be a good idea to like doing those puzzles. But quite frankly I find them a bit dull. Well that's not entirely true. Word searches and cross-word puzzles are more so that way. Sudoku, unfortunately, is just way beyond me. Someone tried to make math fun, and I applaud that, but it is still way too hard for me, and there is no immediate reward I can see from finishing one.
Pic-a-Pix, on the other hand...
Pic-a-Pix is kind of like Sudoku (as far as I can tell) in that you have to work with numbers. But the math doesn't go beyond addition and subtraction. Deduction skills are developed, which are an excellent thing for anyone to develop, and you have to cross-check yourself constantly, going back to parts you've already worked on over and over to find more clues. It's kinda like repetition, which is one of the best ways to learn. But all that stuff is pretty scholarly... the real reason I love these puzzles are because they keep you hanging--trying to figure out what the picture will be at the end!! I love that! #1 I like art and creating pictures and beautiful things (even if I'm not very good at it), and #2 the suspense is awesome. All the scholarly stuff is really just some awesome side-effects. Pretty good, hey?
Here is one of the first Pic-a-Pix puzzles I did:
So at work today one of my co-workers had the newspaper out doing a sudoku, and I took a closer look... I now know there is no math involved *sheepish grin,* sorry for the discrepancy!
ReplyDeleteI printed out four puzzles and tried them out. Three were smallish ones, 20x20 or smaller. The fourth was 40x40 and took quite awhile. I love that there is a fun picture when it's done, but it is tempting to second-guess the clues and just color in what I think is right.
ReplyDeleteI think the type of logic that the puzzles entail is very similar to sudoku. I felt that the 40x40 picapix puzzle was a lot like a samurai sudoku, but I got a picture when I was done. My toddler definitely prefers me to do picapix over sudoku : )
I'm back for another puzzle today though, so maybe I've caught the bug...
Here's a thought for Diane and other puzzle makers out there. Symmetrical things are just not as cool. When you're wrapping up the puzzle and you already know what it's going to be, it's not fun any more, and your at the end where it's supposed to be the most fun! "Go on Green," one of the free puzzles on the website, was especially boring at the end because not only is it symmetrical, it is three repeated shapes on top of each other. "Fortress" was similar.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, "One Beat" and "Double Bend" kept me guessing till I only had a few squares left. "Cockadoodledoo" was the best one so far, because I worked from left to right and finished with the head/beak, and I was kept guessing right up to the last square, and even considered whether I would change any shapes if I had been the designer of that puzzle. That one has been my favorite so far.
I highly recommend the asymmetrical puzzles.
Thank you for sharing your opinion. I see where you're coming from and I would have to say you are probably a very clever and logical thinker who needs a good challenge. The symmetrical ones are good for beginners though, in fact my 80-year-old Mother prefers them. It's great to have a bug that is good for us!
Delete