JUNE SITE OF THE MONTH

You have absolutely GOT to try this new game I found - it's the most addictive thing I've found in years.

Some of you will remember 24 - the math game that became very popular, both as a teaching tool, and because it's fun to play. Eventually, educational uses of the games led to tournaments.

This game is even better. Many of the puzzles can be completed in 10-30 minutes, so it's nice to have some puzzles available in the classroom for those students who finish a lab or project early. It doesn't require a partner, although students can team up to solve more challenging puzzles, so it lends itself to use in home schooling as well as classrooms.

According to the developers of the software version (pictured above),

Lots of puzzles and games teach you some kind of math. Such as simple arithmetic in parchisi, calculating the odds in backgammon, or combinatorial theory in poker.

Sudoku is different. It's not mathematical. It's one of the few puzzles and games that rewards Applied Logic. It encourages you to apply principles of deduction and induction – skills which you don't often get to exercise. It sharpens your powers of concentration and reasoning.

I'm not a player of most math games. I've never been very proficient at mental math, preferring to use pencil & paper to solve problems. I'm more of a visual processor, and need to literally see the problem laid out to get a handle on it.

But, this number game, I'm good at. Because it doesn't require me to juggle numbers in my head, it works with the way I think.