In the Kingdom of Ingenuity: Mathematical Games

Emelyan Ignatiev is a Russian mathematician, the author of the famous work "In the Kingdom of Ingenuity, or Arithmetic for Everyone". He believes that in order to develop cleverness and sharpness of mind, mathematical knowledge is necessary, but it cannot be "pounded" into a child's head. Mathematical knowledge is easily and naturally absorbed when learning takes place in a fascinating and enjoyable form of play, based on the subjects of the surrounding reality.

This genuine collection presents games, puzzles, tricks, and riddles to the reader, selected from the original three-volume edition. Some of them are published for the first time in a century. Here are collected problems with checkers and chess, dominoes and matches, puzzles with magic squares and crossings, as well as instructions on how to navigate mazes.

These tasks are of varying levels, simple jokes and complex puzzles, and all contribute to the development of ingenuity and cleverness.