Toys, Puzzles & Games Books
Quality Chess Learn from the Legends 2
Book Synopsis
£26.99
Pop-Up Games Ltd The PopUp Chess Set
Book SynopsisThe Pop-Up Chess Set is designed by celebrated paper engineer David Hawcock. AS SEEN BBC DRAGON'S DEN.
£15.29
Continental Sales Opening Repertoire Accelerated Dragon
Book Synopsis
£24.67
The History Press Ltd The Chelsea FC Miscellany
Book SynopsisChelsea FC, as someone once observed, has always done what other clubs have done, but not necessary in the same order. A stone's throw from the King's Road, draped with showbiz connections, and not even based in the borough from which it takes its name, Chelsea is an enigma. Run by the entrepreneurial Mears dynasty, Ken electric fence' Bates and now the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the club has enough entertaining quirks and anecdotes to keep you entertained for ages. It is also a club whose history is filled with glorious games, unique facts, bizarre statistics, larger-than-life players and a special brand of supporter. And, as this book proves, far from being the imposters Kipling suggested, triumph and disaster make for a fantastically entertaining read.
£7.59
Thinkers Publishing The Royal Chess Couple in Action
Book SynopsisThe Royal Chess Couple in Action introduces the dominant leadership of the royal game. The King is its most significant piece while the Queen is its mightiest one. Following a brief historical overview the reader is met with the wealth of tactical abilities characterizing the main heroes, their strengths and weaknesses in attack and defence, while acting on their own or collaborating with other pieces. The authors, both are experienced players and tutors, offer to the improving player a selection of almost 500 instructive positions he may choose to use for training, just as fun read…or both!Trade ReviewThe Royal Chess Couple in Action (Thinkers Publishing 2020, 384 pages, paperback) by International Masters Hans Bohm and Yochanan Afek is an original work that seeks to show the powers of the two most important pieces through over the board examples and endgame studies. The Royal Chess Couple in Action is a good choice for those rated 2000 on up looking to increase their understanding in a pleasurable way. One can easily imagine using these books to develop a daily habit of playing over a game and solving a study while drinking one’s beverage of choice. IM John Donaldson August 2020.
£19.94
Dover Publications Inc. Entertaining Mathematical Puzzles
Book SynopsisOnly an elementary knowledge of math is needed to enjoy this entertaining compilation of brain-teasers. It includes a mixture of old and new riddles covering a variety of mathematical topics: money, speed, plane and solid geometry, probability, topology, tricky puzzles and more. Carefully explained solutions follow each problem. 65 black-and-white illustrations.
£8.07
Rydon Publishing Wales: 2020
Book SynopsisAmazing and Extraordinary Facts: Wales takes you on an absorbing journey around Wales to unearth the adventures, inventions, legends, firsts and birthplaces that have shaped the unique history of Wales. From the ancient mines of the Great Orme to the Severn crossing, the tsunami of the 1600s to the Turlough Lake, from bog snorkelling to Tom Jones' phone box, this intriguing compendium of facts and stories will give you a captivating insight into the Land of Song and the ideas and events that have shaped the individual identity of this remarkable country. Brief, accessible and entertaining pieces on a wide variety of subjects makes it the perfect book to dip in to. The amazing and extraordinary facts series presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.Table of Contents Introduction 08 Archaeology 10 A Cast of Mistaken Identity 10 Pontnewydd Cave 11 Cantre'r Gwaelod 12 A Monumental Neolithic Building Project 14 Architecture 18 The Castle Capital of Europe 18 The Severn Crossing 23 'High'ways 26 The Big Apple 28 Culture and Customs 33 Saint David 33 Welsh Lovespoons 36 The Red Dragon 39 Mari Lwyd 41 National Costume 43 Nicknames 45 Cawl, Welshcakes and Bara Brith 47 Laugharne 50 Wonderland 52 National Parks 52 S.O.S. Save Our Sands 54 Island Life 57 The Great Deluge 62 Going Underground 64 Movers and Shakers 66 The Legend of Madoc 66 The Flying Welshman 68 CQD 70 The Stepney Spare Wheel 74 Robert Recorde 76 Art, Literature and Language 78 Land of Song 78 Cofiwch Drywerin 80 The Mabinogion 82 The Treachery of the Blue Books 84 Art Underground 86 Famous Last Words 88 Salem 90 National Eisteddfod of Wales 92 Hall of Fame 95 Gwyr-Y-Bwelli-Bach 95 Gelert 98 The Life of Brian 100 Hywel Dda 102 Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan 104 Tom Jones' Telephone Box 106 Hub of Industry 112 The Great Orme 112 Roman Occupation 114 Black Gold 116 Little Hell 118 The Penydarren Loco 120 Rebecca and Her Daughters 122 Women's Role in a Dangerous Industry 125 Fun and Games 128 Cnapan, Bando, and Pêl-Law 128 Weird Sports 130 Llanelli 9 - New Zealand 3 131 The Great Orme Tramway 134 Arthur Linton 135 Index 138
£8.99
Headline Publishing Group Mensa's Most Difficult Geometric Puzzles: Tricky
Book SynopsisMensa's Most Difficult Geometric Puzzles provides an exceptional challenge for even the most adept of puzzlers.The high IQ society's most ingenious puzzle setters have created a series of conundrums to stretch your spatial awareness and mathematical dexterity. With 200 puzzles, you will come up against area mazes, trigonometric conundrums and dastardly dissection puzzles. This colourful puzzle book is certain to keep you entertained for hours.Table of Contents200 difficult puzzles of a variety of different types focussing on geometric shapes and mathematics. Questions include area mazes, trigonometry and a variety of puzzles testing your spatial awareness. Puzzle artworks and full-colour illustrations are included throughout.
£9.49
Octopus Publishing Group Sex Snap: A Card Game for Unashamed Adults
Book SynopsisTime: Depends how long you last!Number of players: 2Includes: 52 playing cards, plus an instruction cardAges: 18+Assembly required? NoBatteries required? NoWarning: Not suitable for persons under 18 years. For adult use only.Who cares about winning? In this game, it's the taking part that counts...This X-rated version of the classic game of Snap is all about speed, spontaneity and paying close attention to the sex positions on the cards. It'll leave you and your opponent gagging for more.
£7.97
Thinkers Publishing The Modernized Catalan
Book Synopsis
£33.99
Zeitgeist Word Search Puzzles for Brain Fitness
Book Synopsis
£12.06
The History Press Ltd The Little Book of Galway
Book SynopsisA compendium of historical facts and figures, perfect for dipping into. Full of information that will make you say, ‘I never knew that’
£13.49
Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc 60-Second Brain Teasers Crime Puzzles: Short
Book SynopsisIf you think you've got what it takes to be a crime scene investigator, then buy this book and consider yourself hired! The worst of society is getting away with murder and only your keen sense of logic and sharp eye for suspicious details can stop them. As the chief crime scene investigator, you must correctly determine the answer to the question at the end of each of the 65 crime stories inside the book. In it you will peer over the medical examiner's shoulder as an autopsy is performed, you will listen carefully to the testimony of a toolmark expert, you will evaluate all of the gory details in front of you until you're sure that you can solve the puzzle. Each of the crime stories will test your knowledge of DNA analysis, suspect identification, forensic pathology, toxicology, and more. If you're any good, you'll catch the perpetrator before they can get away with more crimes!Table of ContentsIntroduction 65 Crime Puzzles Solutions About the Author
£9.99
Quality Chess Key Elements of Chess Strategy
Book Synopsis
£20.25
Galison Christmas Market 64 Piece Search Find Puzzle
Book Synopsis64-PIECE PUZZLE – The Christmas Market 64 Piece Search and Find jigsaw puzzle from Mudpuppy is just the right level of challenge for children ages 4 and up. Featuring a scene full of Christmas adventures, the finished puzzle measures 23” x 15.5” so doesn’t require much space to put together. Makes a great gift! BRIGHT AND BOLD ARTWORK – Kids will love the artwork of the Christmas shops and decorations of a quaint animal town getting ready for the holiday season. The storage box shows the completed puzzle artwork and is an ideal place to keep pieces safe and free from damage. PERFECT FOR GIFTING – Putting the Christmas puzzle together is only half the fun! When it’s completed, kids can test their observation skills to find more than 40 Christmas themed animals and things shown on the border around the puzzle image within the puzzle art. SCREEN-FREE FUN: For over 25 years, Mudpuppy has created quality non-digit
£14.39
ALL JIGSAW PUZZLES Lancashire Historical 1610 Map 1000 Piece Puzzle
Book SynopsisOriginally sourced by renowned English cartographer John Speed (1552-1629) who published an atlas called 'The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine' in 1610. His maps themselves were of high quality and gained a great reputation for being among the best county maps. The finished 1000 piece jigsaw measures 66 x 50cm and comes with a Free colour guide print inside the box.
£21.59
CLOVER PR Planet Ocean A Ray Troll Puzzle
Book Synopsis
£17.27
Flame Tree Publishing Adult Jigsaw Puzzle Annie Soudain Midsummer
Book Synopsis1000-pieces. Shrink-wrapped, sturdy box (size 10 x 10 x 2 ins). High quality jigsaw puzzle. Finished Jigsaw size 29 x 20 ins.Part of an exciting series of sturdy, square-box 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles from Flame Tree, featuring powerful and popular works of art. This jigsaw will satisfy your need for a challenge, featuring Annie Soudain''s Midsummer Morning. This 1000 piece jigsaw is intended for adults and children over 13 years. Finished Jigsaw size 735 x 510mm/29 x 20 ins. Not suitable for children under 3 years due to small parts. Now includes an A4 poster for reference.Born in Kent, Annie Soudain spent her early childhood years in Truro, Cornwall, where her interest in plants and nature began. Now settled by the sea in Sussex, much of her work continues to be inspired by the beautiful landscapes surrounding her. This colourful linoprint was created using the reduction method, which involves progressively cutting, inking up, and printing f
£14.39
Quality Chess UK LLP Soviet Outcast
Book Synopsis
£17.99
Thinkers Publishing Chess Calculation Training for Kids and Club
Book SynopsisMost tactics and training books are good for boosting your calculation ability, but they do not teach you how to calculate. This is the difference I want to make with my own books, by arranging the exercises in different categories so that the thinking process more closely resembles the one we have during a game. Level 1 of my new series consists of learning how to checkmate your opponent. The first three chapters are a rather classical tactics training, then things get harder. In Chapter 4, you have to trap your opponent’s king; in Chapter 5, you have to win by eliminating the defender in your opponent’s position; in Chapter 6, by using a decisive double threat and in Chapter 7, with an unexpected winning sacrifice. Chapter 8 consists of a few other problems which required short instructions. You should go through the book chapter by chapter. The complexity of the examples increases throughout the book, and you shouldn’t skip a category if you consider it too easy. The book covers the full thinking process you should have when trying to mate your opponent, or when the situation of your opponent’s king may tempt you to look further in a mating direction. As with all training, there is a warm-up, a tough phase, a break, a relaxing phase, then another tough phase, and respecting the pedagogical order of the book will make sure that you derive the maximum benefit from it, and are 100% ready for Level 2. After you have completed all 276 exercises in the book you won’t let your opponent’s king escape when it shouldn’t. Reading it should pay off quickly in terms of results! And this is exactly what I wish you.Trade ReviewEdouard is not shy about visiting the classics and his selection of positions reaches far back into history. This book should appeal to anyone wanting to build up their checkmating skills and with its progressing approach it will enjoy an extended self life too. Sean Marsh - Chess - April 2020.One nicety of Edouard's presentation is chapter four, "Trap Your Opponent's King". While many mate problems, including no small number in Chess Calculation Training for Kids and Club Players, involve flashy sacrifices, it's arguably more useful to solve those where you have a quietly encircle and lasso the king over a series of moves. That Edouard included a set of these type of positions shows good authorial (and editorial!) judgment. John Hartmann - Chess Life - April 2020.As with every recent Thinkers Publishing publication high quality paper is used and the printing is clear. The book can easily be laid flat next to the board and does not require weights to prevent it from “self-closing” (a particular bugbear of ours !). Each diagram is clear and the instructional text is typeset in two column format, which, we find, enables the reader to maintain their place easily. Figurine algebraic notation is used throughout and the diagrams are placed adjacent to the relevant text and each diagram has a “to move” indicator.We have reviewed several tactics books in the last few months and this one from GM Romain Edouard competes in the busy improving juniors and club players market. There is another market sometimes not considered as important which is the adult player who does not play OTB (who does right now?) or even online but does enjoy solving chess problems : this book will satisfy these readers.Noteworthy is the absence of patronizing cartoons which can put off the more serious juniors and adults. For very young players these are fine but for probably 10 year old plus these (IMHO) are not welcome. The presentation is excellent and the solutions clear. As a coach I am looking to unleashing these on my students. I’ve recommended this book to their parents without hesitation and am looking forward to Level 2 and beyond. Chess parents take note ! John Upham, British Chess News, 8th October, 2020
£17.99
Orion Publishing Co Genius TV: Genius Playing Cards
Book SynopsisBring some drama to your card table with 54 of the most influential TV stars and series creators, arranged into four suits:Hearts = Comedy, Clubs = Drama, Diamonds = Crime, Spades = Fantasy & Sci-fiIncludes illustrations of all the big names, from George R. R. Martin and David Simon to Elisabeth Moss and Sarah Jessica Parker.
£10.79
New In Chess Zlotniks Middlegame Manual: Typical Structures
Book SynopsisIf you want to improve your middlegame play, you will have to develop a FEEL for positions. Thats what Boris Zlotnik has been stressing during his long and rich trainers career. Clicking through concrete variations (a popular pastime in the computer era) is not enough. To guide your thinking during a game you should be able to fall back on a reservoir of typical ideas and methods. That is exactly what this book offers you: Zlotniks legendary study material about the middlegame, modernized, greatly extended and published in the English language for the first time. As you familiarize yourself with the most important strategic ideas and manoeuvres in important basic opening structures, you will need less time to discover the clues in middlegame positions. You will find it so much easier to steer your game in the right direction after the opening has ended. Zlotniks Middlegame Manual is accessible to a wide range of post-beginners and club players. It is your passport to a body of instructive material of unparalleled quality, collected during a lifetime of training and coaching chess. A large collection of exercises, carefully chosen and didactically tuned, will help you drill what you have learned. With a foreword by Fabiano Caruana.Trade ReviewA must-have for all serious players. -- From the foreword by Fabiano Caruana
£22.46
Chronicle Books Puzzling Mysteries of the 80s Dognapped 500Piece
Book Synopsis Jigsaw puzzle meets whodunnit with a retro twist!Join private investigator Joan St. James as she heads to the biggest charity event of the season to solve a mystery: Gregory, the chihuahua, has been dognapped! Owner Victoria Talbot is distraught. After all, he’s the face of the dog-food business that has made her a millionaire. Who committed this crime? Darren Brewster, the angry ex-husband? Maurice Beauvais, the obsessive dog groomer? With this special mystery puzzle format, you must complete the jigsaw to reveal the visual clues that solve the case. A nifty VHS-shaped box and highly detailed artwork make this the perfect analog activity for parties and cozy nights in. Get ready for a caper full of wacky high jinks and memorable characters, all wrapped up in a fabulous 1980s atmosphere.Perfect for: Jigsaw puzzlers Fans of mystery novels, games, and TV shows Adults nostalgic for their youth or for the mystery puzzles of their childhood Young people captivated by retro trends Gift-givers seeking 80s-themed presents Logic game enthusiasts Fans of Sally Nixon's retro seek-and-find book Let's Go to the Mall
£17.95
Thinkers Publishing Double Fianchetto: The Modern Chess Lifestyle
Book SynopsisThis is the first book fully devoted to the double fianchetto for both colors, White and Black. GM Daniel Hausrath draws upon his vast experience to provide guidance on how to use the different kinds of set-ups the double fianchetto has available for White and Black. In a clear manner, Daniel explains the many subtle move orders, the critical resulting middle game structures and typical endgame positions. His guidance through the presented games will bring you an immediate gain in the understanding of the benefits of the ‘Double Fianchetto’. This is an ideal book for all club players and is written by one of the leading experts on the ‘Double Fianchetto’.Trade ReviewToday chess theory is exploding and entire books are written on single variations. The idea of solving all of one’s opening problems for both White and Black with just one volume seems to be too good to be true, but German Grandmaster Daniel Hausrath begs to differ. His first book Double- Fianchetto: The Modern Chess Lifestyle offers ideas on how to build a repertoire after the moves b2-b3, g2-g3, …b7-b6 and …g7-g6. Unlike most Thinkers Publishing efforts, which are arranged like standard opening book, Hausrath’s work is arranged around 62 model games. This works well for the subject matter under discussion which is based more around ideas and strategies than long concrete variations.As White the repertoire typically begins with 1.Nf3 and 2.g3, meeting the King’s Indian/Grunfeld with 3.b3, a variation Vladimir Kramnik started to play near the end of his career. The double fianchetto also works well against the Dutch, certain lines of the Queen’s Gambit (the Tarrasch for example) and various variations in the Reti. It’s also possible to transpose into some line Hausrath covers via 1.g3 or 1.c4.The heart of this book are Hausrath’s insightful annotations, primarily prose, which cover all parts of the game (opening, middlegame and endgame). If you are interested in double fianchetto setups with either color, or if you only want to improve your positional understanding, Double- Fianchetto: The Modern Chess Lifestyle is the book for you. IM John Donaldson - USA September 2020.A new author and a novel subject, but the two-word title is sufficient to give you a good idea as what it's all about. It turns out that the 'Double Fianchetto' examines the relevant scenarios in several openings, but the main area of struggle is generally later on. It's an opening book where theory is kept to a minimum. A decent selection with a great deal of fighting chess, general principles, practical advice and some psychology, can be found, but no real theory at all! The annotations are light but with plenty of instructive text in straightforward English, as if a school teacher is showing a pupil how it works. GM G.Flear NIC YB 136-2020.
£21.24
New in Chess Rock Solid Chess Volume 3
Book Synopsis
£21.21
Quality Chess UK LLP Magic Chess Moves
Book SynopsisMagic Chess Moves is a book that will enthral you while also testing and improving your chess abilities. You will be invited to solve a collection of exercise positions, but the accompanying text contains far more than simply the solutions. The author offers his reflections on all manner of other fascinating topics, such as how tactics can be coached, and details of the composer's life story. Magic Chess Moves contains the condensed wisdom of an experienced chess trainer with an emphasis on practical improvement. The 317 positions in this book are of mixed difficulty levels, with examples from over-the-board play and from chess compositions. Each and every exercise has been carefully selected for its instructive value to the practical player.
£26.55
