Need a very clever puzzle(s).

November 17, 2008 12:06 PM

Need a clever puzzle for someone recovering from heart surgery.

I don't just want basic sudoku puzzle type games... I'm looking for a website or two++ that sells puzzles... something very clever & will give him something to do... as he has several weeks of recovery.

Background.... he is 45, an executive in the scrap metal industry.... So i was thinking of somekind of puzzle with a heart theme or scrap metal theme.... just an idea... Perhaps I could put a care package together with many different puzzles?

I don't know much about what he likes or dislikes, but he is rather a spiritual person... recently re-married... has 2 grown kids (1 fighting in Afghanistan, 1 in military school)... however, he is a bit of a tequila connoisseur.... (btw he can't drink now, obviously)

posted by foodybat to sports, hobbies, & recreation (6 comments total)

How about a heart puzzle? Not a human heart . . but he'll get the idea.
posted by Sassyfras at 12:18 PM on November 17, 2008

They are likely to be too difficult/esoteric, but Panda Magazine is a bimonthly PDF publication that always has about a dozen different puzzles, usually word puzzles and logic puzzles, that all funnel into a big meta puzzle, so you can actually definitively solve the issue.
posted by aubilenon at 12:28 PM on November 17, 2008

I just love the Games Magazine anthologies, The Big Book of Games I and II. The puzzles are so creative, challenging and varied. Looks like the books are out of print new on Amazon, but still available from other sellers.
posted by changeling at 12:35 PM on November 17, 2008

Not to be a wet blanket, but after my husband had heart surgery, he was on some pretty major pain meds and unable to do anything at all for at least 5 weeks--right up until the time he went back to work, actually. He didn't have any complications or infections, just a recovery that was very painful and very difficult. The best gift that was given to him was Netflix, which we were able to use to rent only tv-length shows - was all he had the attention span for.

Also - everyone's recovery is different, and I love your idea, but if he's having a hard time with the whole idea of this surgery and is concerned about a new self-image because of it (mnay men suffer depression after having this surgery), an inability to perform well on a formerly loved activity might make things hard.
posted by dreamphone at 12:52 PM on November 17, 2008

Games magazine has puzzles of various kinds and skill levels (some very easy, some very very hard). You could pick up a copy at your newsstand and also start a subscription for him.

Funagain is an online game and puzzle store -that's a link to their puzzles. Rush Hour is a nice one, a set of plastic cars that comes with 40 different puzzles to solve (with answers) - this one is nice if he's not going to be mobile enough to use a tabletop puzzle, as it's a pretty self-contained thing. (River Crossing is similar, but the pieces are a little easier to lose.) They also have wood and metal single solution puzzle-toys (eg, "get the ring off the rope" type puzzles), and Rubik's cube and related toys.

If this is a bigger-ticket puzzle, you could think about getting him a Game boy Advance with the game Brain Age. My older relatives all enjoyed it a lot last Christmas. Again, it's small and doesn't require him to sit up or reach for pieces.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:18 PM on November 17, 2008

An update for anyone still reading: Panda Magazine's URL now needs a www. They're not defunct.
posted by aubilenon at 12:27 AM on December 14, 2008