I have always loved number puzzles. My parents and I were recently conversing about math, and I stated that number puzzles in the Dell Pencil Puzzles and Word Games were my first priority. I may have been a nerdy kid, but those puzzles intrigued and engaged me. Now, in a digital age, a good number puzzle is valuable. Let me suggest Solve Me.

There are 3 types of puzzles, including Mobiles, Who Am I, and Mystery Grid.

Who Am I: These are number puzzles that give clues about the digits as well as the numbers, providing players with information to figure out the identity of the number. This is wonderful for working on place value, odd and even, and characteristics such as square numbers. This is just a sampling of some of the types of concepts, of course, but a great opportunity to reinforce in a puzzle. I have used similar number puzzles with middle schoolers in my past and use such puzzles with my high school math students who struggle due to learning disabilities in math.

Who Am I includes not only the Play mode, but also a Bingo mode and a Build mode. In the Play mode, the clues are given and the number is guessed. In Bingo mode, a grid of options is given, and players must identify the item that matches the clue, aiming to fill in a full row, column, or diagonal of correct responses. In Build mode, the player has the opportunity to work with these concepts to create a puzzle.

Mystery Grid involves correctly placing numbers in a grid such that each number appears exactly once per row and once per column. Clues may be given as to the sum, difference, product, or quotient of a group of numbers. The puzzles begin simply and move to very complicated grids that may involve a lot of position changing. Players can work from simple to complicated or dive right in at the hardest level. Parents can support their youngsters by helping them to backtrack if a puzzle is too hard. The Build mode allows a player to create their own puzzle, again allowing some reversed thinking about how the items must fit together.

Mobiles are excellent for supporting algebraic thought. At times, the mobiles display the full value of the mobile, and at other times, the mobiles are shown to balance without the total being known. Individuals must use algebraic thinking such as removing equal parts from both sides to determine the value of the unknown. The mobiles evolve in difficulty as the player works through the puzzles.