130:
772:
296:
284:
308:
661:- items in the hunt were usually not rare but could be difficult to locate; others involved finding items meeting specific requirements, requiring interpretation, some puzzle solving, or research. Winners were determined based on the most objects collected that fit the requirements. Another was "Calculatrivia", where a long equation involving approximately 40 variables was given; each variable was associated with a clue that resulted in a numerical value. Many clues were straightforward trivia, but some required research or other calculation to evaluate. When all variables were accounted for, the equation was solved for
320:
332:
380:- has differentiated itself from other puzzle magazines by its creative covers that are themselves puzzles, color sections containing feature articles and games, and a large variety of puzzle types, with wit and humor used throughout. Each issue contained feature articles and puzzles in its introductory color section, the "Pencilwise" puzzle section, board and video game reviews in its closing color section, and "Wild Cards".
36:
622:, in which part of the challenge was to find the concealed puzzle with instructions on how to enter (e.g. "You have found the hidden contest. To enter, send us a chain of paper clips."). The standard contest has since been reinstated, with a $ 100 cash prize for the winner and one-year subscriptions/renewals for five runners-up. Following the merger, the contest was reinstated as a monthly feature.
530:
The last puzzle in "Pencilwise" has generally been "The World's Most Ornery
Crossword," a large standard crossword puzzle which has two sets of clues spanning three pages. One set, which is revealed by folding one page in half to hide the second page, consists of "Hard" clues (three stars), while the
454:
Recent issues have included a multipart puzzle over several pages, where the solution of each sub-puzzle is used to complete the overall puzzle. Recent versions of these have been based on traveling to various locations in the world, though this aspect is only used for the theme of each sub-puzzle.
388:
All puzzles in the magazine are ranked by difficulty: a one-star (one light bulb) puzzle is an "Easy Hike"; two stars is an "Uphill Climb"; three stars means "Proceed at Your Own Risk". Some puzzles are ranked as a "Mixed Bag" denoted by one filled and one unfilled star, meaning that some may find
505:
unique puzzle types such as crossword variations (puzzle variants like "One, Two, Three", where up to three letters can be placed in one square; and "Siamese Twins," with two identical grids and two different sets of clues, forcing the solver to figure out which clue corresponds to which
646:
Earlier in its publishing history, the
Letters page would also include an "Envelope of the Month", typically a highly decorated envelope or postcard sent in by a reader in response to a contest or general correspondence with the magazine. The winner of this would receive a
431:, where several small anecdotes of historical fact are mixed in with made-up stories of the same style, and the reader is challenged to determine the fake stories from the real ones. The April 2000 issue had a "Call Our Bluff" article in which, as an
389:
the puzzle very easy while others will be challenged, that the puzzle may have a range of difficulty with it, or that (like many logic puzzles) it may easily be solved by exhaustive trial and error but requires thinking to solve in a deductive way.
105:
the main puzzle pages, replacing the "feature puzzle" section (they are still full-color, unlike the two-color "Pencilwise" sections.) The recombined title assumed the same 9-issue-per-year publication schedule as the original
352:, debuting with the September/October 1977 issue. It was acquired by PSC Limited Partnership in 1987, briefly out of business in 1990 (after PSC filed for bankruptcy), and brought back to life in 1991 by the
736:
in
November 1978 and edited the magazine from 1989 to 1990 upon PSC's bankruptcy; he returned upon Bits & Pieces' resuming publication in late 1991, and remained until late 1993 when he became editor of
450:
Identification of cities or countries from either postcards (with identifying words stripped from each one) or from sections of road maps. (These have also commonly been used for contests in the magazine.)
618:
Most issues used to feature a puzzle-solving contest, often with cash prizes, though this was no longer a regular feature of the magazine by 2010. In the past, the magazine also ran an occasional
643:
As part of the "Games 100", there is usually a contest to identify selected games featured in that list based on small pictures of the board or playing pieces from the game in a photo montage.
824:
puzzle mystery. Until the July 2009 issue it contained a contest in every issue, most often a variety crossword or trivia quiz, and the contest resumed upon the
1023:
534:
Recent years have seen two pages of "Kid Stuff" puzzles aimed at pre-teen children, as well as a collection of assorted puzzles under the title "Motley Stew."
57:
749:
625:
Readers who write in with mistakes (in a section called "Laundry") or alternate solutions to puzzles (in the "Eureka" section) are often rewarded with a
876:
929:
821:
1013:
1003:
44:
82:
is an
American games and puzzle magazine. Originally the merger of two other puzzle magazines spun off from its parent publication
576:
The magazine regularly features capsule reviews of board/card/video games. Following the 2014 merger, a supplemental feature is
1028:
1008:
568:
among the legitimate ones in an issue; the last one was for the Red Card, a credit card used to pay off other credit cards.
556:
is the section that typically contains one or two pages of puzzle miscellany, such as word games, trivia, or chess problems.
580:, an extended article discussing the rules, style, and playability of a game first published in the early/mid-20th century.
922:
466:
is the newsprint pencil puzzle section that forms the core of the magazine and contains common puzzle varieties such as:
738:
545:, that describes how readers can make their own puzzles, placed alongside puzzles created by the described techniques.
861:
444:
which requires the reader to determine a common theme for each row, column, and diagonal of a 3×3 matrix of pictures.
129:
97:
The entire magazine interior is now newsprint (as opposed to the part-glossy/part-newsprint format of the original
915:
842:
101:) and the puzzles and articles that originally sandwiched the "Pencilwise" section are now themselves sandwiched
771:
17:
473:(1, 2, and 3 star difficulty levels, and some called "Pencil Pointers", with clues printed in the grid itself)
295:
283:
307:
884:
356:-based mail-order company "Bits & Pieces". Kappa Publishing Group acquired it in 1996 and moved the
816:
in
October 2014. A centerpiece section contained a feature puzzle or puzzles, such as puzzles from the
1018:
960:
817:
752:, with help from Kappa Publishing editor Karen Powell. Graphic designers include Kevin Boone. Former
651:
T-shirt. This feature was phased out when the magazine changed publishers and publication schedules.
598:, and usually includes a contest based on this list. More recent years have also included a separate
435:
joke, the anecdotes were all true (in spite of the fact that many of them were very hard to believe).
319:
397:
Each issue typically has a three to six page article about gaming and hobbies as a broad subject.
49:
789:
246:
228:
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793:
331:
262:
187:
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Another feature of "Pencilwise" in recent years has been a "Puzzlecraft" column, authored by
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clues under this fold are "Easy" (one star); the answers to both sets of clues are the same.
606:
for computer, console, and portable systems. Notable game titles also are introduced into a
8:
514:
432:
348:
178:
588:
The
December issue each year includes a compilation of new and noteworthy games in its
785:
493:
476:
412:
which require identification of common objects based on photos taken from odd angles.
242:
223:
405:
Common puzzles in the color sections (including the magazine cover) have included:
953:
595:
206:
792:) was a puzzle magazine published bimonthly by Games Publications, a division of
866:
658:
721:
has also published a number of books containing "best-of" puzzle collections.
261:
and, until its 2014 merger was published by Games
Publications, a division of
997:
542:
538:
657:
ran two popular contests that recurred many times over the years. One was a
977:
500:
361:
907:
729:
482:
440:
812:
debuted in May 1994 and ran as a separate publication until merged with
837:
603:
487:
847:
590:
470:
353:
900:
796:. Focusing on written puzzles, it was a merger of two spinoffs of
510:
425:
which require the reader to use photos and text to solve a mystery.
250:
756:
Editor-at-Large Thomas L. McDonald handles the review department.
216:
629:
416:
35:
982:
258:
140:
759:
521:
254:
862:"ADVERTISING; Acquisitions and Shifts At PSC Publications"
564:
Until
November 2002, readers were challenged to find the
496:, which uses the answers to clues to assemble a quotation
669:, along with a list of the individual variable values.
447:
Trivia quizzes with both text and pictures as clues.
610:, updated each year along with the Games 100 list.
995:
170:October 2014 (rebranded Games World of Puzzles)
705:(late 1990s). Children's magazines put out by
1024:Game magazines published in the United States
923:
526:variety of other wordplay and visual puzzles
881:Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management
937:
930:
916:
128:
859:
860:Dougherty, Philip H. (January 9, 1987).
770:
60:of all important aspects of the article.
14:
996:
56:Please consider expanding the lead to
911:
874:
672:
415:Identification of objects in picture
748:The current editorial team includes
29:
1014:Magazines published in Pennsylvania
1004:1993 establishments in Pennsylvania
419:of items that share a common theme.
372:Throughout its publishing history,
24:
636:T-shirt by being a runner-up in a
360:office to Kappa's headquarters in
25:
1040:
892:
632:. Readers may otherwise obtain a
583:
400:
168:May 1994 (Games World of Puzzles)
392:
330:
318:
306:
294:
282:
34:
48:may be too short to adequately
677:Bygone sister publications of
277:masthead logos over the years
166:September/October 1977 (Games)
58:provide an accessible overview
13:
1:
1029:Magazines established in 1977
1009:Magazines established in 1993
875:Hovey, Susan (July 1, 1992).
853:
548:
458:
301:September-October 1978 issue
86:magazine in the early 1990s,
594:list, similar to the German
479:(with some variety cryptics)
346:was originally published by
313:January-February 1980 issue
289:January-February 1978 issue
7:
831:
613:
509:visual logic puzzles like "
185:Bits & Pieces (1991–95)
10:
1045:
724:
571:
559:
383:
268:
183:PSC Publications (1987–90)
970:
961:Pro Wrestling Illustrated
945:
818:World Puzzle Championship
703:Games World of Crosswords
687:Games: The Video Edition"
222:
212:
202:
194:
174:
162:
154:
146:
136:
127:
367:
217:gamesmagazine-online.com
113:
939:Kappa Publishing Group
810:Games World of Puzzles
794:Kappa Publishing Group
781:Games World of Puzzles
776:
761:Games World of Puzzles
713:(1987–1990) and
378:Games World of Puzzles
376:- and continuing with
263:Kappa Publishing Group
122:Games World of Puzzles
88:Games World of Puzzles
79:Games World of Puzzles
806:Games Premium Puzzles
774:
699:Games Premium Puzzles
691:Games Special Edition
683:The Four-Star Puzzler
325:September 1985 issue
877:"Second time around"
685:(1981–1983), "
600:Electronic Games 100
775:May 1994 debut logo
693:(late 1980s-1990),
278:
124:
887:on March 22, 2007.
777:
750:Jennifer Orehowsky
673:Other publications
608:Games Hall of Fame
566:fake advertisement
477:cryptic crosswords
273:
158:Games Publications
120:
90:was reunited with
991:
990:
701:(1993-1994), and
665:and submitted to
341:
340:
234:
233:
94:in October 2014.
75:
74:
16:(Redirected from
1036:
1019:Puzzle magazines
932:
925:
918:
909:
908:
904:
903:
901:Official website
888:
883:. Archived from
871:
843:Game of the Year
802:Pencilwise Extra
743:crossword puzzle
695:Pencilwise Extra
596:Spiel des Jahres
511:Paint by Numbers
433:April Fool's Day
337:July 1991 issue
334:
322:
310:
298:
286:
279:
272:
188:Kappa Publishing
132:
125:
119:
70:
67:
61:
38:
30:
21:
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856:
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492:"Double Cross"
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423:Photo-mysteries
410:Eyeball Benders
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43:This article's
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27:Puzzle magazine
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893:External links
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867:New York Times
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852:
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840:
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820:or the annual
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741:New York Times
726:
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659:scavenger hunt
620:hidden contest
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612:
602:, focusing on
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584:December issue
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429:Call Our Bluff
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401:Color sections
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52:the key points
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18:Games Magazine
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717:(mid-1990s).
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697:(1992-1994),
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578:This Old Game
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543:Thomas Snyder
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539:Mike Selinker
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501:logic puzzles
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483:word searches
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393:Major article
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978:Hagstrom Map
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885:the original
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711:Games Junior
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362:Pennsylvania
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66:January 2020
63:
47:
45:lead section
822:Lt. Nodumbo
732:started at
730:Will Shortz
604:video games
515:Battleships
488:cryptograms
441:Tic-Tac-Toe
253:devoted to
163:First issue
998:Categories
854:References
838:Cross sums
554:Wild Cards
549:Wild Cards
471:crosswords
464:Pencilwise
459:Pencilwise
137:Categories
946:Magazines
848:Games 100
790:1074-4355
640:contest.
591:Games 100
499:math and
354:Manhattan
247:0199-9788
229:1074-4355
181:(1977–86)
155:Publisher
147:Frequency
50:summarize
832:See also
828:merger.
689:(1987),
681:include
614:Contests
520:cartoon
494:acrostic
439:Picture
417:collages
251:magazine
249:) was a
203:Language
763:before
725:Editors
630:T-shirt
572:Reviews
560:Fake Ad
522:rebuses
513:" and "
384:Content
349:Playboy
269:History
259:puzzles
213:Website
207:English
195:Country
190:(1996–)
179:Playboy
175:Company
150:Monthly
983:Mapsco
788:
767:merger
715:Zigzag
245:
141:Puzzle
954:Games
826:Games
814:Games
798:Games
765:Games
754:Games
734:Games
719:Games
709:were
707:Games
679:Games
667:Games
655:Games
649:Games
638:Games
634:Games
627:Games
374:Games
368:Style
358:Games
344:Games
275:Games
255:games
238:Games
115:Games
108:Games
99:Games
92:Games
84:Games
971:Maps
804:and
786:ISSN
739:The
541:and
506:grid
257:and
243:ISSN
224:ISSN
1000::
879:.
864:.
808:.
800:,
745:.
364:.
265:.
110:.
103:by
931:e
924:t
917:v
870:.
784:(
663:X
517:"
241:(
68:)
64:(
54:.
20:)
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