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Why are games expensive? Here are the best puzzle + activity books

//  by Educational Game Reviewer//  1 Comment

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We had a little game cabinet growing up and inside sat a small copy of Hoyle’s Card Game Rules full of ways to play numerous games with a standard deck of cards. It was a cheap an easy way to stay entertained. There are a lot of other game, activity, and puzzle books online for free. In fact, if your library has a Hoopla subscription, you have access to so many game books! If not, it’s still a very inexpensive way to access a vast collection of activity and game books.

Whether you’re a classroom teacher or homeschooler, both want fun a creative ways to educate without breaking the bank. So online activity books help fill this need.

Table of Contents: Educational Game and Puzzle Books
  1. How to access game books online
    • Where to find riddles, activity books, and brainteasers
  2. Puzzles, Riddles, and Brainteaser ebooks
  3. Mathematical Puzzles and Curiosities
  4. Mind-boggling Word Puzzles
  5. Lateral Thinking
  6. Matchstick Puzzles
  7. 101 Amazing Brainteasers
  8. Puzzles Games and Tricks
  9. Can you Solve My Problems?
  10. Perplexing Picture Puzzles
  11. Ocean Puzzles + Brain Game Treasure Hunts Series
  12. Puzzles and Paradoxes
  13. Origami and other Activity ebooks
  14. Amazing Origami Gifts + Series
  15. Awesome LEGO creations with bricks you already have + SERIES
  16. Earth Friendly Math Crafts
  17. Origami Arts and Crafts
  18. Board Game Guidebooks
  19. Hoyle’s Games Modernized
  20. The Mathematics of Games
  21. Card Games Properly Explained
  22. The Modern Nerd’s Guide to Tabletop and Card Games
  23. The Pocket Guide to Dice and Dice Games
  24. Games Are Fun
  25. Cracking the Cube
  26. Sudoku, Crosswords, and other number and word games
  27. The Original Area Mazes
  28. Cross Number Puzzle
  29. The Pocket Book of Frame Games
  30. Mystifying Mathematical Puzzles
  31. Books full of indoor and outdoor games for children
  32. 101 Games to Play Before You Grow Up
  33. Children’s Games Around the World
  34. Cool Board Games [to make]
  35. Game Logic
  36. Indoor Vintage Games for Children
  37. More Resources
    • The very best Audiobooks for home and classroom
    • Learning Objectives when using My First Bananagrams
    • Like S.T.E.M.? You’ll love the T.H.I.S. model.

How to access game books online

Need to know how to play without a big budget? Here are the best puzzle books online via Hoopla and other online resources.

Where to find riddles, activity books, and brainteasers

Some, but not all of the links below are affiliate links. This means we earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Amazon – try a free 30-day trial on Audible
  • ThriftBooks.com
  • Hoopla – we get a few free from our local library + we have a plan for fifty per month
  • Overdrive – we also get some free books via our library
  • Your Local Library – a bit redundant here, but maybe yours has other options.
  • eBay – a great place to buy used books, CDs, and more

A few notes:

  1. This list has ebooks and audiobooks included.
  2. Please understand some books go in multiple categories, but we tried to split them up in a way that best suits them.
  3. If you have a great game resource book, let us know! You can comment on this post or email checkmate@boardgamesforlearning.com so we can consider adding it to our list.
  4. We have no affiliation with Hoopla – our family simply uses and loves their service. Any Amazon buttons are affiliate links and we earn from qualifying purchases.
  5. If listening to audiobooks, we highly recommend the speaker below:

Puzzles, Riddles, and Brainteaser ebooks

Mathematical Puzzles and Curiosities

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Mathematical Puzzles and Curiosities

Mind-boggling Word Puzzles

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Mind-boggling Word Puzzles

Lateral Thinking

Find on Hoopla
Lateral Thinking

Matchstick Puzzles

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Matchstick Puzzles

101 Amazing Brainteasers

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
101 Amazing Brainteasers

Puzzles Games and Tricks

Find on Hoopla
Puzzles Games and Tricks

Can you Solve My Problems?

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Can you Solve My Problems?

Perplexing Picture Puzzles

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Perplexing Picture Puzzles

Ocean Puzzles + Brain Game Treasure Hunts Series

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Ocean Puzzles + Brain Game Treasure Hunts Series

Puzzles and Paradoxes

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Puzzles and Paradoxes

Origami and other Activity ebooks

We have found that Origami challenges our children to persevere and also adjust their expectations. So often our girls will think that doing a certain origami creation will be easy, only to find it much harder than expected. Therefore, we love doing game-like activities such as origami as a joint way to creatively learn and have fun.

Amazing Origami Gifts + Series

Rob Ives actually has a whole series that’s really great!
Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Amazing Origami Gifts

Awesome LEGO creations with bricks you already have + SERIES

We own multiple books in the series and love them! Such a great way to learn and play without investing in more LEGO.

Find on Amazon
Awesome LEGO creations with bricks you already have + SERIES

Earth Friendly Math Crafts

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Earth Friendly Math Crafts

Origami Arts and Crafts

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Origami Arts and Crafts

Want more idea on how to save money on games? Never pay full price for board games again!

Board Game Guidebooks

Sometimes the best way to learn through play is to read more about the game mechanics and strategy behind a board game such as Chess, Go, or even the Rubik’s cube!

Hoyle’s Games Modernized

There are a lot of other versions of Hoyle’s card games in the Amazon link! It’s a great way to get the most out of a deck of cards.

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Hoyle's Games Modernized

The Mathematics of Games

Find on Hoopla
The Mathematics of Games

Card Games Properly Explained

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Card Games Properly Explained

The Modern Nerd’s Guide to Tabletop and Card Games

Find on Hoopla
The Modern Nerd's Guide to Tabletop and Card Games

The Pocket Guide to Dice and Dice Games

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
The Pocket Guide to Dice and Dice Games

Games Are Fun

Help kids discover patterns in everyday games!

Find on Hoopla
Games Are Fun

Cracking the Cube

Find on Hoopla
Cracking the Cube

Sudoku, Crosswords, and other number and word games

We started teaching our kids sudoku at around the age of 3 and they all love it. It’s a great way to introduce some logic and reasoning with a 3×3 grid. In fact, read more about how to teach children sudoku here.

The Original Area Mazes

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
The Original Area Mazes

Cross Number Puzzle

Find on Hoopla
Cross Number Puzzle

The Pocket Book of Frame Games

Find on Hoopla
The Pocket Book of Frame Games

Mystifying Mathematical Puzzles

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Mystifying Mathematical Puzzles

Books full of indoor and outdoor games for children

101 Games to Play Before You Grow Up

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
101 Games to Play Before You Grow Up

Children’s Games Around the World

Find on Hoopla
Children's Games Around the World

Cool Board Games [to make]

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Cool Board Games [to make]

Game Logic

Find on HooplaFind on Amazon
Game Logic

Indoor Vintage Games for Children

Find on Hoopla
Indoor Vintage Games for Children

More Resources

The very best Audiobooks for home and classroom
The very best Audiobooks for home and classroom
Read More
Learning Objectives when using My First Bananagrams
Learning Objectives when using My First Bananagrams
Read More
Like S.T.E.M.? You'll love the T.H.I.S. model.
Like S.T.E.M.? You’ll love the T.H.I.S. model.
Read More

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Category: Book Lists and Other Resources, Play Based Learning ActivitiesTag: Art Education, Budget Friendly games, Featured, Roadschool, Solitary Play, Vacation and Travel GamesType of Resource: Game List, OtherType of Game: Board Games, Card Games, Crafts and Project Ideas, Printable and DIY Learning Games, Puzzles, Travel GamesSchool Subject: Art, Logic and Reasoning, Math, STEMAge of Student: 10, 11, 12, 13, 6, 7, 8, 9, Adults, Mixed age or Family Game, Teens and TweensGrade Level: 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, Adult and Continuing Education, College, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Kids, High School, Kindergarten, Middle School, Mixed Learning Level Appropriate

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Comments

  1. Peter Riggs

    at

    I also enjoy some of the Print and Play options to keep price down.

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