Kids' Puzzle Games

If you thought kids' puzzle games were just fun, you're in for welcome surprise. Puzzle games foster skills such as hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, problem-solving ability, logic and reasoning, and fundamentals of geometry and spatial awareness.

What's more, some puzzle games are designed to help kids in the areas of concept awareness, such as recognizing opposites, spelling, and math skills.

Kids' puzzle games come in a variety of forms. Since 1767, when John Spilsbury invented the jigsaw puzzle, this puzzle game has become a classic that never went out of style. A picture or scene backed by heavy cardboard is divided into random pieces. The higher the piece count, the more difficult the puzzle.

Board game puzzles are mental challenges anjoyed by children of many ages. Some board game puzzles available are:

• Educational Learning Games' Spell-a-Puzzle, Puzzle Rhymes, Tricky Triangle Puzzle Game, and One Tough Puzzle
• Milton Bradley's Simon and Simon2
• eBoo's Puzzle Oppposites Game
• ThinkFun's RailRoad Rush Hour and Raging Rapids puzzle games
• Scrabble
• Boggle

In addition to the classic Rubik's Cube, you can also purchase the Rubik's 5X5 Brain Teaser, Rubik's Tangle Puzzle, Rubik's Magic Puzzle, Rubik's Twist Unlimited, and more.

There are dozens of tricky wooden and metal puzzle games available. Many of these are more suited to older elementary age children. Puzzle Master, a Canadian puzzle game retailer sells, over 90 different wooden and metal brain teaser puzzle games with skill ratings, from 'easy' to 'mind-boggling,' for each game. Jenga or similiar wooden tower games are great for groups of kids.

Number, color, and picture slider puzzle games can also be fun and challenging for kids. Slider kids' puzzle games are good for traveling because there are no pieces to lose. You can also find a number of slider games online.

There are a number of kids' puzzle games available online for various ages on children's websites. Make sure you have an appropriate Internet filter or parental control software to block inappropriate content for your child's safety.

Also be aware of excessive advertising and potential spyware in your online searches for children's puzzle games.

• Preschoolers might be interested in Lego.com's Jumbly Jigsaws, where a pile of virtual puzzle pieces must be sorted and placed in the right positions. Older kids can choose from a number of Lego's online puzzle games like Clickitz and Junkbot.

• The Kidz Page offers 850 jigsaw puzzle games for kids to choose from, as well as a number of other learning games.

• Kids Quiz Hub has a number of online word search puzzles, crossword puzzles, riddles, and more.

• Scholastic's web site has about a dozen different puzzle and problem solving games for children.

Word puzzle games are popular with kids. These are good classroom activities and quiet party games. They include:

• Word searches
• Crossword searches
• Riddles
• Brain Teasers
• Word Fill-ins
• Word Scrambles or Jumbles
• Crypto Puzzles

• The ancient tangram, a Chinese puzzle consisting of five triangles, a square, and a rhomboid, is still popular around the world today. The shapes are then reassembled into other designated shapes. The puzzle is challenging as a solitary game, but it can also be played as a race. The winner is the one who finishes the puzzle correctly first.

• The game Tangoes is a favorite game derived from the tangram.

• Sudoku puzzles have their roots going back as far as 990 AD. There are many variations of this numeric puzzle game. Kids' versions are available as board games, paper based games, and online and digital games.

• Gordian Knot games are derived from a complicated knot tied by King Gordius of Phyrgia. Today the puzzle takes on the form of plastic or wooden interlocking pieces that the player must disassemble.

Buying children's items like puzzle games is easier than ever. They are available at mass retailers like Wal-mart, K-mart, and Target.

Many online gaming and puzzle retailers also have extensive selections. Educational stores like Holcomb's and book stores like Barnes and Noble also carry kids' puzzle games.

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