Danny Calloway and the Puzzle House review
348820
Ahhhh, books such as this one make me long for the days when I had Harry Potter-esque glasses and pigtails with a gap between my two front teeth.

Danny Calloway and The Puzzle House takes us on a whirlwind adventure full of spooky houses, puzzles, and tons of mystery. I laughed out loud more times than I can count while reading the book, enjoying the witty dialogue amongst the characters (I'm actually smiling now as I'm writing this). Even though this book is definitely geared towards the younger audience, adults that have a penchant for YA books will still enjoy it.

I give Danny Calloway and The Puzzle House 5 out of 5 stars and definitely recommend it to those looking for another great kids book!
3428133
So, I bought this for my little brother for xmas because he's into this kind of stuff and thought it would provide a little bit of family fun. It comes in this wooden box, definite plus for packaging-it looks really good! Inside was a nice little variety of the "pull apart" brain teasers (where you have to disconnect the ring and whatnot) as well as a little peg brain teaser, which was fun too.

The only complaint that I have is that it doesn't really provide an objective sheet. For a good 15 my entire family was trying to figure out what needed to be done for each puzzle (peg brain teaser excluded). We new the basic premise was to disconnect a part, but we weren't sure which part. It only comes with a "cheat sheet" which is incredibly similar to the instructions to construct Ikea furniture. It's all pictures and you don't really understand it.
All in all, lots of fun. If you purchase it I'm sure you'll enjoy it but if you're on the fence, keep looking and see if you can find something better.
1112517
Puzzles that are just a tad toy-like are, understandably, our favorite. They give us something to play with, while they, in turn, play with us - driving us to, for example, distraction.

This toy-like kind of puzzle is the veritable mtier of a company called "ThinkFun," and Turnstile is one of their newest contributions to mental fitness - the theory being that what doesn't make you crazy, makes you smarter.

The puzzle board contains nine circular depressions which accommodate up to nine different hour-glass-shaped pieces. Four of these pieces are grey. The rest are each a different color. There are four posts separating the holes. There are also nine barriers of 5 different shapes that fit snugly on the posts. Once placed on a post, these barriers can be turned clockwise, or counter-, however the rules specify that they can only be moved when pushed by an adjacent piece - very much as if it were pushing a revolving door, or, more appropriately (and hence the name of the game) a turnstile. And herein lies the toyetic joys of the puzzle. Pushing those turnstiles around, figuring out which can in fact turn and which is locked into position by an adjacent turnstile or piece, is oddly fun, and often deeply satisfying.

A deck of 40 cards provides 40 different puzzles. The object of each is to get each piece of a different color to its appropriate corner (there are four different corners, each with a color that corresponds to one of the pieces). Depending on which turnstiles are used, and their placement, and how many grey pieces are on the board, solving  a puzzle can require increasingly more moves, and become in like manner increasingly more difficult. A solution is on the back of each card, but there is nothing that says you have to follow that solution precisely. There is apparently no penalty for taking more moves than you absolutely have to. And hence there is an implied permission to explore, push things around, see what happens, and, eventually, with enough patience, discover that you have, in fact, solved the thing. All of which makes playing with the puzzle that much more inviting, and fun.

The board, pieces and deck cards can all be stored in a handy cloth bag, upon which is printed an equally handy inventory of all the various of pieces and turnstiles. Designed by Steve Hayton, Turnstiles is another invitation to major fun.
472831
I liked the book because it was really mysterious. There was a spirit in the house using a doll house. Once I started reading I didn't want to put the book down until I had finished it. It is my favorite mystery book.
3483526
I bought this based on the good reviews and with the idea that my family could solve the puzzles together.  So far this has worked just as planned.  We're probably half way through, and we're having a lot of fun, and having some great family interaction.

My son is 8 and my daughter is 5.  He loves it and has figured out some tricky parts all by himself, which is a great confidence builder.  Most of the puzzles are beyond my daughter, but she loves to put in her two cents when we're discussing possible solutions.

I've not played many of the older PC games which are referenced in the description and reviews, but I'm familiar with the genre enough to know what to expect.  Essentially this is an action puzzle game.  Each level is an environment, limited in size, in which you are trying to recover a treasure chest.  You interact with objects and overcome obstacles in your efforts to ultimately get to the chest.  Some of the puzzles are tricky and take a lot of trial and error, so patience is required, however I don't find this aspect frustrating.  It's all part of the game, and learning from your mistakes is a key to solving the puzzles.

And the solutions or actions you take along the way are generally very logical, so there's none of the "combine the lemon with the boat anchor" arbitrary nonsense which I've encountered with similar puzzle games on the PC in the past.

And one more point - the wii is ideal for this sort of game.  It makes good use of motion controls - which are not perfect, but good enough - and overall this is a very fun, clever game.
476577
Professor Layton and The Curious Village is a simple adventure game for the DS that is driven by abstractly related puzzles and the player's own determination to unravel the "mystery" of the plot.  At its core, this is just a large collection of puzzles that are strung together abstractly by an often unrelated narrative.  However, taken holistically the experience is a positive and refreshing one (at least for its time).

+Professor Layton is a wonderful character to play as, and his gentlemanly ways are an excellent role model in contrast to say violent and dumb roughneck space marines in other games.

+Charming atmosphere that competently invokes the feeling of wandering about some lost European village with cobblestone streets and cozy town houses.

+Very nice art style that effectively rips off the movie "The Triplets of Belleville" in fine form.  The characters all look unique to one another and the backgrounds are well designed.

+About half the puzzles are actually clever and well conceived.  There's some really great logic and sliding block puzzles to be found here.

+Lots of bonuses and hidden extras to find and unlock in the game, plus some mini-games you wouldn't expect.

-Luke has nowhere near the charisma that Layton has.  He just feels tacked on as a conversational outlet, and I really don't care for his voice acting either.  It's obviously a woman doing her best cockney boy accent and it's just grating after a while.

-Music while well composed gets repetitive quickly, and the exact same music box "puzzle tune" is used for every single one of the puzzles in the game!  You'll probably just turn the volume down after a while.  Also the old world instrumentation (accordion, organ, French horn...) could use more variety.

-Too many mathematical problems presented as "puzzles".  Figuring out geometry measurements, liquid quart distribution, total miles driven etc.; If a calculator can find the answer it's not a puzzle, it's just plain mathematics folks.

-There's no back story explained as to who Professor Layton or Luke actually are, or where they even came from.  Nor are we told what Layton is actually a "professor" of exactly.  Also, the main villain of the game couldn't be more cliche. And to top it off, Layton didn't even seem to know why said villain hated him in the first place.  These elements make you feel like you're starting a story in the middle of a narrative rather than the beginning.  Intentional or not, it wasn't fulfilling to have no idea who our heroes or bad guy really are.

-Overall the plot ended up being a bit too nonsensical... and how it made it through production is a puzzle unto itself.  However, I'll admit there were a few pleasant plot twists that were unexpected.

-Through all the conversation the player is never given the option to respond in any sort of variation whatsoever.  It's just tap / read / tap / read / tap / read.  Some input choice in the dialogue from the player would have been a great way to feel more involved in the plot instead of only the puzzles.

Overall, Professor Layton's first game is merely a decent DS adventure, and certainly not in the same league as the likes of Ace Attorney or Hotel Dusk (HD is the best adventure game on the DS btw).

Every overrated game has its score: 7/10
2314404
Don Davis's score for the high octane remake of William Castle's House on Haunted Hill gets off to an excellent start with the knock your socks off main theme.  What follows that is nice, albeit not particularly special or memorable (with the exception of a cue or three), atmospheric enhancements.  Great haunted house musice for those dark, foggy nights reading Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft.
2192630
This is a great puzzle game for anybody that is into those types of games.  It is clever and weird and a lot of fun.  The visuals in this game are well done (although don't expect anything flashy) and I really loved the music.  This game is simple to learn as you really only point and click/drag the mouse on your "goo" balls.  However, it is deep enough that towards the end it does take a lot of planning to complete your objectives.  The only problem I have with this game is that it is over too soon, it only took a couple hours to complete the entire game.  At only [...] you can't expect much more than that though.  Hopefully they will come out with a sequel soon!  Buy the game, you won't be sorry.
3045994
Forensic psychologist Dr. Sheridan Doyle tries to be nothing like Danny Doyle, the kid who grew up in the town of Lost Creek. Danny was the odd, but super smart kid at school. His mother is a convicted murderer  of his own sister  and his father a hard-drinking and abusive coal miner.  Coal is king in Lost Creek with the family that owns the mines ruling over the town for generations.  Nearly the only bright spot in Dannys childhood was his grandfather Tommy.  Now Tommy is in his 90s and has fallen ill and Danny (a.k.a. Sheridan) needs to return to Lost Creek to care for him.

Lost Creek is a town with gallows hanging in the center of town. Yes, really gallows.  These have been left hanging as a memorial to a group of Irish miners who tried to fight for better working conditions and were hanged by the Dawes family who own the mines.  Nearly every resident of Lost Creek is a descendant of these executed miners and the history weighs heavily over the town.  The dead miners seem almost like active participants in the day to day town life still.  As Danny passes by the gallows on his first day in town he finds a dead body.

At first, Danny is much more concerned with his high fashion label wardrobe than the body he finds, but as the body count grows and Dannys psychological expertise comes into play, he becomes drawn into the mystery.  I did not see the twists coming in this book-nor did I expect to be so entertained by a team of ghost hunters looking to find proof of the doomed miners haunting Lost Creek.  While there was a lot of sadness in this book, it was still a really entertaining and suspenseful thriller.  I really liked the glimpses into Dannys career as a forensic psychologist and I would have liked more about his cases.  My biggest complaint-the label dropping.  There was no need to list every designer known!  That made the characters even more shallow in the end for me. Aside from that this was a really good read, I might have predicted some of ending details but that did not take away from the book for me.

4 stars!

Thank you Gallery Books for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
2682240
I have been waiting for my Library to purchase this book.  It didn't disappoint.  It's a visual approach to storytelling much like Barbara Lehman (exp. The Red Book) or David Wiesner (exp. Sector 7) books that my kids and I also happen to love.  A couple others to check out if you enjoyed this book, Journey by Aaron Becker and Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu.

There is a little dialogue and bits to read but it seems only to enhance the mystery of this thing, the hole, that was noticed in the main character's new apartment.  Although the hole is stationary, bored through the physical center of the book, it's depicted to move about the apartment, seemingly hide, or cause a tripping hazard much like my car keys do on a daily basis.  The hole is then caught and taken to a lab.  On the way to the lab, our guy walks past dozens of other holes without bothering to contemplate them.  Upon inspection a scientist remarks how good this particular hole seems to be, leading you to believe that all those other holes that were passed by just haven't been noticed yet.  Or maybe they are the same tricky little hole.  Whatever the case may be, the scientists run their tests.  The tests are inconclusive, the hole is tagged and stored as a specimen, and the story seems to end rather abruptly because then our guy returns to his apartment and rests easy... Except we can now see the hole again where he first noticed it.  And when the book's been read through, you and your kids do what none of the characters in the book do: Look through the teeny tiny hole with the book pressed against your face.  Its fun and doesn't have to be complicated.
556538
Super fun puzzle. Not too difficult, but challenging enough to be a pleasant distraction. Vibrant colors and fun, ridiculous dragon scene. I mean look at all those dragons swooping in! Awesome. And that it's called a "confabulation" of dragons? Amazing. Are the dragons lying? Or are they just casually chatting? Too good. AND it was super cheap.
504761
I really loved this game. The puzzles were puzzling and the look of it is excellent.  It really holds your attention and pulls you into the spooky story line the way a film or a good book does.  I thought the ending suggested a sequel so that's what I'm searching for now.
149128
These games are very entertaining and fun.  The graphics are superb.  The voice acting was very likeable.  The puzzles in the first game were challenging, and I often needed hints to get through them.  The puzzles in the second game were easier, and I was able to get through it without hints.  The dialogue is full of humor that is laugh out loud funny.  My favorite part of the first game was to ask every character about all of George's items.  Most times they have nothing to do with that character, but there is usually a reply scripted.  (Try asking everyone about the greasy tissue!)  Unfortunately, this is gone from BS2.  The story is excellent and intriguing.  A grand mystery and a search for long lost artifacts really gave me a lot of enjoyment.
647186
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is another 5 star game for the series.  Having played all 3 now,  I found the puzzles in this one to be slightly easier than the first two games.  As always,  the graphics and music were very nice,  and it was great to watch the story unfold so we could get a look into Professor Layton's background history.

The mini games were pretty fun....one has 3 short story books that are missing people/objects.  As you solve puzzles,  occasionally  you will receive stickers to put into the books to complete them (and you have to figure out which stickers go where).

Another mini-game has a delivery parrot that you have to make platforms for....so he can get from point A to point B. (This is my least favorite mini-game....cause I just STINK at it!!)

There is another car mini-game that is similar to the hamster game in Layton #2.

Out of all 3 games so far....I like #2 (for story and mini-games) the best.  But I enjoyed the puzzles in this one the most.
944861
Good puzzles, relatively easy to solve through pure logic, a good pastime, slightly addictive, pencil to paper fun, I will buy the other editions by this author in the future!
3041359
Like many others have said, this game is truly better as a whole than its parts. Still, some state that the
puzzler is mediocre as well as the action: nothing further from the true. As a platformer, Henry is a very capable title, with a lot off depth: Some jumps require very good timing, others that you stand on the very edge; you can customize the health and several aspects of the gameplay buying upgrades, you acquire several apparels that ease (a bit) the difficulty, given a certain amount of energy, you suit up as a robot, and so on. The puzzler is good, and it gets more difficult as you progress (as well as the action). The first 3 worlds are a breeze, but then difficulty really ramps up, which might turn some people off, but I welcome the challenge. Also, there are some 12 hidden levels (with no enemies, just to do some gem grabbing).

The gameplay is in the same vein as Puzzle Quest 1 and 2 (excellent games, both).

The music is catchy and changes according the action. From level to level there are some variations. Also the graphics are, overall, more than OK. Nothing snazzy, but clear and colorful.

For me it is a solid 8.5 out of 10, specially considering the price (20 new and about 12 used like new).
4485372
EASY TO KILL (1939; originally published in Great Britain as MURDER IS EASY) is a very cleverly written fair-play puzzle story with a couple of bonuses: a fairly good love story and quite a bit of humor (most of it at the expense of a newspaper publisher, Lord Gordon Easterfield).

The detective in this book is neither Poirot nor Miss Marple. Instead, it is Luke Fitzwilliam, a retired colonial policeman who has returned to England and chances to converse on a train with a woman who reminds him of a favorite aunt. She informs him that she is reporting three murders to Scotland Yard and is hoping to prevent a fourth, that of a village doctor. Before she can do so, she is killed by a car, and a short time later the doctor she mentioned is killed. Fitzwilliam decides to investigate these five deaths.

There is a large array of plausible suspects, but readers with their eyes open ought to be able to solve the mystery before Luke Fitzwilliam does. (This novel has 24 chapters, and my own correct solution was arrived at in the middle of Chapter 19.)

I have rated this mystery four-stars (for a letter grade of "B+") and would have rated it higher if its concluding scenes had not depended so very heavily on a series of implausible and lucky coincidences. To say more than this would involve writing a "spoiler."