Mind Games

The New York Times has won the Anthony Quinn award for best mind games. Why?

SET
I discovered this week that New York Times has a daily challenge for a game called SET. Sharon grew up playing this card game, which we are borrowing from her parents(Thank you), and she always kills me when we play. It is a game of "fun, perception, and challenge" (according to the website). More specifically you look for patterns in the cards laid out. Each card has different characteristics which include:

• one of three shapes (oval, diamond, squiggle)
• one to three of the shape (1,2,3)
• one of three fills (solid, shaded, or empty) and
• one of three colors (red, purple, or green)

I decided to research the game a little and looked it up online. I found out that it was created in 1974 by Marsha Jean Falco, a geneticist. It originated from an idea she had to help her find patterns in genes. You can read all about it at the offical site.

So, while I was doing my research I found that New York Times online has a game section where they have 4 daily set challenges. They don't have a way for me to embed it in my blog so you have to link to it to play. I provided a screen shot of what the game looks like above. I've been going everyday to try and brush up my skills. However, Sharon has still only lost to me once. I guess that is normal, I found on the FAQ page that it is normal for females to do better than males, and younger people to beat older people.

Sudoku
When I ride the metro to work I will usually pick up the free version of the 'Washington Post' called the 'Express'. It's good for a few quick two or three paragraphs on news highlights with some fun random stuff thrown in that make the ride a little nicer. They have a Sudoku in the back. I have never done them before, but I decided to try it out one day. I totally botched it, so I tried the next day and got a better understanding of how to work it. The third day I got it because it was classified as 'hard' and wanted to see if I really got it.
And that is how it goes with Sudoku. You start and you can't stop.


New York Times also has it online. That is why they have won the Anthony Quinn award for best mind games.