2nd Puzzle Adventure Omnibus

I used to read these books as a kid and I never forgot them. They're from the UK, so I couldn't find them again - thank God for Amazon! The books are recommended for 8-13 year olds, and I think that's pretty spot on, although some of the puzzles are pretty tough (even for me now!). There's a full list of the books on Wikipedia (search: Usborne Puzzle Adventure Series) - each of the stories were released as a single book, then compiled into 3-book collections, then into massive 7-book "Omnibuses" like the one here. There doesn't appear to be a price difference between buying single books vs. Omnibuses when you buy second-hand, so I fully recommend you just buy the Omnibuses - there are 3 total for this age range, each with 7 stories and that way you don't end up with duplicates. (FYI - there's also another line for younger children called "Usborne Young Puzzle Adventures" and one for older children called "Usborne Advanced Puzzle Adventures". I never read the "Young" ones but I'm sure they're excellent; "Advanced" ones are HARD - I definitely recommend those for people who want more! Additionally, there are 2 "Science Puzzle Adventures"...not up to the standard of the other series, unfortunately).The format is a basic story (~40 pages each) accompanied by cartoon drawings - each page has about 1/2 to 1/4 page of text (or less) plus drawings. You read one or two pages of the story and there's a puzzle to solve - e.g. the characters come across a note written in code, and the reader has to decipher the message before moving on to the next page, OR there's a drawing of a map and based on that and other clues provided in the story, you have to figure out where you are, where you want to be, and possibly even how to get there. There are hint and answer pages, so even if you can't solve a puzzle, you still get to read the answer and move on (and hopefully solve the next one!). Different puzzles require different skills, but clues can come from what's written in the text and from any of the drawings - even from previous pages. Additionally, some of the message decoding puzzles are based on the alphabet - e.g. 5 letter shift, A=E, B=F, and so forth.The stories (looking back on them now) were pretty thin on the plot lines, but the fun was trying to solve the puzzles. Most of the puzzles are great and I remember beaming with joy if I figured them out, or even if I read the answer and learned how to solve it; just the odd one where the answer doesn't make total sense (how did they come to that conclusion??) so if your young reader is having a lot of trouble with a particular puzzle, look at the answer and see if it's actually possible to solve that puzzle.I credit these books for helping me develop my logical thinking, visual, and analytical skills, and encouraging perseverance and attention to detail. I would recommend them for anyone who enjoys solving puzzles like brain teasers or mysteries.

These adventure puzzle books are the absolute best thing Usborne's ever come out with. It's a shame they're not more available in the US. You solve puzzles on every page to try and help the intrepid heroes on their adventure. Puzzles vary from "code" puzzles, to mazes, to logic puzzles, to finding hidden details in the marvelous illustrations. Suitable for ages 8-13 or so. Puzzles can be quite tricky.

Such a shame these went out of print. My 8 year old boy loves doing these puzzle books (admittedly we do them together). Some puzzles are quite hard, other quite tedious (cracking long codes) but generally a lot of fun.

My Son loves it so I love it too.

As described and no complaints from me.

Great book!