Visual puzzles challenge, entertain kids

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Hands on! Tangrams (Storm City Games; Nintendo DS; E for Everyone; ages 5 and up; $14.99; 3.5 stars out of 4)

Originally from China, tangram puzzles are made up of seven flat geometric shapes that can be combined in different ways to represent objects. In Hands on! Tangrams from Storm City Games, kids fit the seven puzzle pieces into a shaded area. when the shaded area is filled, the shape transforms into an object or an animal, which performs a cute animation. for example, the seven geometric shapes may be arranged to create a lion who, when animated, will appear to be roaring.

The game comes with 100 puzzles. Each is timed, so depending on how quickly you solve the puzzle, you will earn different star ratings.

Kids explore the game's puzzles by unlocking 10 themed worlds such as a city zoo, the ocean and a farm.

The puzzles start off simply, with the shaded area revealing where most of the seven pieces should go. but as the puzzles get harder, you have to experiment with the placement of the pieces to complete a puzzle.

All of the pieces can be easily rotated and flipped. at times you can fit all seven pieces into the shaded area with no overlap but you will see that part of the shaded area is not covered. a puzzle is not complete until all of the shaded area is covered with no overlap. you know that you have done it correctly when the puzzle pieces magically disappear and an object is animated.

Since the game presents the easy puzzles first, kids learn how to manipulate the pieces and gain confidence before tackling the harder puzzles. The game doesn't offer any hints when you are stuck, so it's a game that requires perseverance.

But the reward for sticking with it — the discovery of a cute animated object — makes all the work seem worthwhile.

Picross 3D (Nintendo; Nintendo DS; E for Everyone; agest 8 and up; $19.99; 3.5 stars out of 4)

Hidden inside a block of cubes is a treasure just waiting to be found. The question is: how do you release it? That is the premise of Picross 3D, a visual perception game from Nintendo.

To unlock the hidden 3-D object from within the block, you must use logic to determine which of the cubes you can remove, a process that is very satisfying since you tap a cube with the stylus to smash it to smithereens.

The key to solving the puzzle is to follow the rules shown on the cubes. Numbers found on columns and rows designate how many sequential cubes in that row or column are associated with the mystery object. Numbers-within-circles means that the cubes you want to keep are in two groups and are not sequential. Numbers-within-squares means that the cubes you want to keep are arranged into three or more groups.

Picross 3D offers over 350 puzzles arranged by difficulty levels, with the easiest presented with excellent tutorials. you can download additional puzzles via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game comes with a level editor which allows you to design your own puzzles.

Solving these 3-D puzzles is very similar to solving a Sudoku puzzle. you start with the easy, obvious cube removals (like removing a column marked with a "0"), and then apply logical thinking as you move deeper into the puzzle. since you don't know what object you're rescuing, the element of surprise at the end is rewarding. some of the animations are quite cute, like a dragon bopping someone with his tail.

Gudmundsen is the editor of Computing With Kids magazine. Contact her at C1Tech@gannett.com.

Visual puzzles challenge, entertain kids

Tags: city, lion, game, storm city, area