Mathematical Recreations

While it is a target subject to change over time, recreational mathematics does have some staple subjects. They are: puzzles with numbers, magic squares, geometric dissections, problems with board games such as chess and general games. This book is largely a collection of some of the most commonly encountered problems in these areas. The first chapter is a section of ancient problems and puzzles, some of which are thousands of years old. In general, the problem and solution is given with little or no explanation of how the answer was derived. For the remainder of the problems, detailed explanations of the solutions are given. The range of the problems covers nearly all of recreational mathematics, being challenging without being hard. No mathematics beyond the basics of algebra is required to understand them. Although the book was last updated in 1953, the problems are still of interest. I consider them to be an accurate reflection of the areas of recreational mathematics and believe it could serve as a primer for anyone who is curious as to what recreational mathematics is. If you are a teacher of high school or college algebra, this book could also serve as an excellent source of problems that will pique the interest of your students.