Area Maze Puzzles

A few weeks ago, I saw a tweet from Lisa Bejarano that sparked hours of google searching in addition to oohing in addition to aahing in addition to saving every unmarried puzzle I could teach my hands on.

The puzzles are known every bit "area maze" or "menseki meiro" puzzles.  They are an master copy creation of Naoki Inaba.  A quick google search leads to an article from The Guardian past times Alex Bellos.

Here's what 1 of the puzzles looks like:

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/03/alex-belllos-monday-puzzle-question-area-maze-smarter-than-japanese-schoolchild

The destination of the puzzle is to figure out the value of the query mark.  One caveat: y'all are NOT allowed to operate fractions inwards your solution.  If you're stumped, scroll to the bottom of this post for a hint.  You'll in all likelihood desire to slap your brow afterwards seeing the hint if you're anything similar me.  Remember - y'all shouldn't bring to operate fractions at whatsoever request inwards time!  

If you're forthwith thinking that you'd similar to endeavor closed to of these puzzles amongst your students (as I was past times this point), I'm going to request y'all to closed to costless in addition to paid resources that volition permit y'all create so.  

Sources of Free Puzzles:

• The article inwards The Guardian has a full of v puzzles embedded inwards the article (4 inwards add-on to the 1 above).  

• There is besides a blogpost from the New York Times that features the puzzle.  This blogpost links to 2 pdfs of puzzles that y'all tin strength out download here in addition to here.  And, for the record, these puzzles teach quite large in addition to complex.  Don't believe me?  Just click on that final link!  The bottom of the New York Times Post besides includes a 3D Version!
  
  

  

  Source: http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/naoki-2/?_r=0

• Someone has created a website called AreaMaze.com that features digital versions of these puzzles.  They get-go out tardily in addition to teach progressively harder.
  
• There are besides Area Maze apps for Apple in addition to Android.  I, however, haven't tried either of these out. 

• Naoki Inaba, the creator of the Area Maze puzzles, has besides posted four costless puzzles as a PDF on his website.  The text is inwards Japanese, only this won't proceed y'all from working the puzzles. 

• If you're okay amongst the mass beingness inwards Spanish, at that spot is a free preview of 1 of the Area Maze books on Google Books.  And, hither is the same book (also has a costless preview) except it's inwards French.  And, here's one to a greater extent than Castilian version amongst a costless preview.   

I dearest how these puzzles present how universal of a linguistic communication math is!  Even if the puzzles are published inwards dissimilar languages, nosotros tin strength out soundless operate in addition to empathize them.  How cool is that?!?

Sources of Paid Puzzles:

If these puzzles aren't plenty to satisfy you, y'all tin strength out buy entire books of these puzzles from Amazon: 

Affiliate Link

Affiliate Link

Affiliate Link

I mean value these would brand expert warm-up puzzles inwards the classroom.  They'd besides hold upwards slap-up to stick inwards a unit of measurement on expanse or volume!  Or, y'all could operate them every bit a variety of encephalon break.  Stick 1 of these inwards your slides to give your students a quick challenge in addition to interruption from whatever theme y'all are working on.  In the course of report of my enquiry on these logic puzzles, I ran across quite a few to a greater extent than new-to-me logic puzzles amongst math-y ties.  But, this postal service is already getting long, in addition to thus I'll seat those inwards closed to other post.    

And, to hold upwards honest, I excogitation on printing a laid of these out in addition to solving them myself!  

How create y'all meet yourself using these inwards your classroom?  Leave a comment below! 

Tweet

Subscribe to receive free email updates: