Word puzzles are a great way to stimulate the mind and enhance mental consciousness. They aren’t just for older people, though. They are a great way to help everyone, regardless of age, to keep a busy mind working efficiently. These type of puzzles are not terribly hard or complex; in fact they can sometimes be solved while waiting in line, at the airport, on a train, in the doctor’s waiting room etc. Choices range from cryptograms to word searches and logic problems to that old classic, the crossword puzzle.

“Crossword puzzles, anagrams and other word puzzles can build problem-solving skills that are useful both academically and in everyday life”, says Will Shortz, Crossword Editor for The New York Times. The aim of a crossword is to place the correct words in empty black and white squares by solving clues that lead to the answers. Many variations exist but the two most common forms are the ‘straight’ crossword and the ‘cryptic’ crossword. With straight crosswords, the clues are normally very simple definitions for the answers, and are often synonyms. Cryptic crosswords, on the other hand, are typically more difficult than straight crosswords, and can take quite a bit of time to become accustomed to. The clues in cryptic crosswords are also puzzles in themselves, and are often not logical statements.

Godoku is a word puzzle that is derived from the ancient and very popular numbers game ‘Sudoku’. If you have come across sudoku before then you’ll know that it is very much the same and will catch on quickly. It’s an alphabetical variation of the original puzzle and is the same except that, instead of nine numbers, godoku uses nine letters. Word puzzles truly have never ever been as popular as they are now. There are literally hundreds of puzzles, games and various other types of ‘mind-benders’ around that involve people in unscrambling words or phrases where the letters have been jumbled and where the teaser is to put back together the original, or create a new one.

The Big Brain Puzzle Book by Terry Stickels is near the top of the best-seller lists and his puzzle columns, the most famous of which is ‘Stickelers’, are syndicated in some of the largest newspapers in the USA and even feature regularly in the print media of other countries around the world. One of his books (he has written or co-authored more than thirty) was even approved by the Alzheimer’s Association, so useful do they consider his puzzles to be for those so afflicted. He specializes in word puzzles and other brain teasers, such as his ‘frame games’, that also use symbols or pictures in place of words. His wide range of very popular word puzzles are keenly sought after by people of all ages and of both sexes.

Anyone who has spent much time on the Internet has encountered websites that require you to solve a distorted word puzzle to “prove that you’re a human” when filling out a form. These are called ‘captcha’ puzzles (short for Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart) and display a graphic of a scrambled word or words that can be read by a person but not by a web bot (an Internet robot). It occurred to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University that, because people were decoding distorted text every time they solved a captcha puzzle, they could also be used to help digitize books, such as ancient or classic texts. So, believe it or not, we have the scourge of spammers to thank for enlisting people across the globe to unknowingly help in digitizing important historical works nearly every time they solve a simple word puzzle to register at a website or buy something online!

Word puzzles first became widely established in the popular media such as newspapers, magazines and of course, through the publication of puzzle books. Lately they have established a presence on radio and television but the most significant change is their current ubiquity online. Word puzzles are now available to millions of people on the Internet and have undertaken a considerable revival in popularity. This is nothing short of amazing really when you consider their humble start in New York in the early 1900s. Crosswords are still the most popular of the various types available and probably will always remain so. As well as their entertainment value, which is deemed considerable, studies show that they have very useful potential educational benefits too, such as with spelling, augmenting the vocabulary and helping slow learners and the dyslectic.

Young people can benefit enormously from the various different types of word puzzles that are available now, especially those who are having trouble picking up word skills. In fact, according to a recent article in ‘USA today’, they can grow their mental elasticity and build their vocabularies through the repeated use of various different word puzzles. At the same time, most children, once they get accustomed to how they work, really enjoy them and are constantly on the lookout for new and different variations. On the whole then, both for young and old alike, word puzzles are extremely beneficial.

Mike Alexander is a ‘content’ expert, having created and edited a print publication with nation-wide distribution. He has several online interests, among which is ClipCopy Content Solutions, where you will find a number of articles covering topics similar to above. This and other unique content ” articles are available with free reprint rights.

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