Mental Fitness Puzzles: A Lateral Thinking Approach

For veterans of lateral thinking puzzles this book needs no introduction, and our only wish would be that we have created a book which will give you many hours of enjoyment. For the neophyte, this short introduction should help to explain what lateral thinking puzzles are about and offers our suggestions as to how you might best enjoy them.

Lateral thinking is the process of freeing your mind of preconceptions and allowing yourself to approach a problem in an unconventional way.

The puzzles given here can be worked on "solo," or one-on-one, or in a small group — whereby one person knows the answer and the others try to guess. The clues section is especially helpful when working alone, as it allows the solver to validate guesses without peeking at the answer. In working lateral thinking puzzles, there is often no set limit on the number of questions that can be asked toward finding the given solution, but responses are always confined to either "Yes," "No," or "Irrelevant."

We realize that some of the puzzles will have more than one plausible answer, but suggest that the solver be encouraged to determine the solution we have provided.

Whether you enjoy these propped up in bed, sitting around the campfire, traveling on a long trip, or entertaining guests in your living room, we hope your adventure into the world of lateral thinking is both challenging and enlightening.