The World Domino Day 2008 took place this past Friday on November 14,
in WTC Expo Center in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. "Celebrating 10 years
of Domino Day - Breaking more World Records than ever" was the central
theme of this year's Domino Day.
This is an interesting question indeed. Even more: in the last month
left to the presidential elections of 2008 the question is narrowed to
more controversial one: do crossword puzzles favor OBAMA over MCCAIN
and BIDEN over PALIN? This is what David Levinson Wilk addresses in
his brief article on the issue.
The 17th World Puzzle Championship (WPC) will take place October 27 -
November 1, 2008 in Minsk, Belarus. This will be the first WPC ever
organized in a post-USSR country! A year ago the event had been
planned in one of the three post-USSR Baltic countries, but because of
some technical reason it has been changed for Belarus several months
ago.
Hirokazu Iwasawa's (a.k.a. Iwahiro)
ODD Puzzle became the Puzzle of the Year receiving both Puzzlers'
Award and Jury Grand Prize at The Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design
Competition 2008. The event is held annually since 2001 in conjunction
with IPP. The ODD Puzzle consists of only three pieces two of which
are identical and a box. The goal is just to place all three pieces
into the box so that none of them sticks out.
Thomas Snyder won his third US championship,
finishing 15 minutes before the 2 1/2 hour deadline in Google U.S.
Puzzle Championship which had been held online earlier this summer.
Thomas recorded the first-ever perfect score of all 365 points
available. Of the US contestants Zack Butler placed second with 322 of
365 points, claiming the open spot on the US Puzzle Team to compete at
the 17th
World Puzzle Championship in Minsk, Belarus
later this year. Roger Barkan and Dan Katz finished the third and the
fourth with 303 and 298 points respectively.
MathFest 2008 took place in Madison, WI on July
31 - August 2. Just as usual, it was a great celebration of
mathematics, mathematical biology, and the history of mathematics, a
program rich with varied events and activities for mathematicians,
teachers, students, and everyone who loves mathematics!
US Nationals and Open 2008 will be held on July
19-20, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. The event is organized by Caltech,
Berkeley Rubik's Cube Clubs, and Winning Moves USA.
The 49th International Mathematical Olympiad
(IMO) will take place from July 10th to 22nd, 2008 in Madrid, Spain.
This is for the first time that Spain hosts the event.
The most brilliant young mathematicians of the world will gather in
Madrid to share and exchange ideas as well as establish between each
other enduring ties of friendship.
The 2008 National School SCRABBLE® Championship
took place on May 9-10, 2008 at the Rhode Island Convention Center,
Providence, RI. Logan Rosen and Matt Silver of Westport SCRABBLE Club,
from Westport, CT, became the winners. The 2008 Canadian National
SCRABBLE® Championship took place on April 4–7, 2008 at One King West,
Toronto. Adam Logan successfully defended his title to become the
first ever three-time Canadian National SCRABBLE® Champion.
The 3rd World Sudoku Championship took place
14-17 April 2008, in Goa, India. It was organized by the World Puzzle
Federation's member in India, Novax Media.
This year the traditional 40-hour gaming marathon
with Mensans judging and critiquing games released in the past year
has defined the following top five games eligible to the Mensa Select®
seal: AmuseAmaze™; eye know™; Jumbulaya™; Pixel™; Tiki Topple™.
The 31st American Crossword Puzzle Tournament has
started on February 29 in Brooklyn Marriott, NY and will last till
March 2. The Tournament is directed, as usually, by New York Times
Crossword Puzzle Editor Will Shortz and is the nation's oldest and
largest crossword competition. The contestants are given to solve
eight original crosswords. Scoring is based on accuracy and speed.
Prizes are awarded in more than 20 categories, including a $5,000
grand prize. Evening games, guest speakers, and a wine and cheese
reception allow solvers to meet each other in a relaxed and
entertaining atmosphere.
January 29th is a National Puzzle Day! It honors puzzles of all size,
shape and form. You may celebrate it alone or together with your
friends. Though it still remains a puzzle itself who created this day
and when.
