PictoMazes

Book excerpt: The next big—and challenging!—idea for the adult activity market from Nikoli, the creators of the original Sudoku puzzles and author of Workman’s bestselling Original Sudoku series, with 1.2 million copies in print. So what is a pictomaze? Created by master puzzle maker Kazuyuki Yuzawa (aka “Mr. King,” for how he sits atop the Japanese puzzle maker’s throne), each pictomaze is an intricate maze that, when solved, reveals an image of an animal. It’s a mental workout, requiring a brain-stretching amount of focus and concentration while testing one’s problem-solving ability and short-term memory. And it’s fun! As the line of your pencil twists and turns, a picture of an animal is slowly revealed. There’s a chimpanzee. A tiger chameleon. A great horned owl. A red panda—and more. Once the animal is complete, the puzzle is solved. Now, color in the path to bring the creature to life, and try the next mystery maze. Problem-solving. Surprise. Mindfulness. This entertaining and engaging activity exercises different parts of the brain at once—allowing players to keep their minds sharp, imaginative, and ever curious.