Imagine a game app, but in wood. Measures 6” x 3-1/4” x 3/8”, like an iPhone 6-Plus, but you never have to charge it and there’s no glass to break. Has (42) colorful geometric shapes in a wooden frame, and all you have to do is take the shapes out and try to fit them back in again, which is harder than it sounds, but that’s what puzzles are for.

It's nice to know that some things don't change. One is the Jacob's Ladder. Still made with (6) slabs of wood, each about 2" x 2" x 1/2", each a bright combination of colors, and all connected by a contrasting ribbon. Hold one end up and let the string of slabs dangle. When you flop the top block end for end, each lower slab in turn will flop end for end. Fascinating. Particularly if you are about 5 to 9 years old.

Then you might love these Pentomino and Tangram wooden STEM puzzles, or they might drive you mad. You pick the (12)-piece that fits in a 2-3/4” square and will reconfigure into (40) combinations, including a giraffe, elephant and butterfly; or the simple-appearing (7)-piece, also 2-3/4” square, that has (40) solutions including a swan, rabbit and dancing man. To save you from madness, they come with challenge cards that include solutions.

Wee-gee, like the photographer, is the most common way and no, we won’t get into where it comes from, although oui (yes) + ja (yes) is an old wives’ tale, and those are just a bad as old husbands’ tales. Just be grateful that there’s a way to communicate with another dimension, and that you could own a thing called a planchette. So take this 15" x 10" laminated board and the aforementioned 5-3/4" x 4-1/4" planchette and wait for your nervous system to spell out something. Guaranteed to be even more accurate than a magic eight ball and not to lead to demonic possession. For soothsayers 8 years and older.

The draw-it-yourself jigsaw puzzle, just begging to have an invitation written on it, and then be mailed to potential guests as a handful of pieces. But this 28-piece cardboard puzzle also measures a desktop or car-friendly 6-3/4" x 4-3/4" in plain white, so it's also begging to have kids add a picture for the fun of it. It's even suggesting that you mix the 336 blank pieces in a pile, explain it's a dozen pictures of an albino moose in a snowstorm puzzle, which it might very well be for all we know, and award a prize for the first finished puzzle. Note the classroom and party-friendly bulk price.

Put an arcade in your pocket with this tiny pinball game. Has (3) teensy BBs, a plunger, spinners, ledges and variable point scores, all in a 3-3/8” x 2-1/4” x 3/8” thick plastic housing. We’ll pick two different with a jungle hunt, Indy 500, space race or cowboy theme because we’ve played ’em all, from Soho down to Brighton.

Yes, boys and girls, Fluxx, the card game with the rules that keep changing, now adds the Doctor (Who?) version, and they were made for each other. Includes, of course, plenty of time-travel and regenerations of the Doctor, K9, and Gallifreyan technology, but beware of Cybermen, Daleks, Weeping Angels and the Master. Includes the standard 100-card deck, and instructions for 2-6 players ages 8+.

Let’s not call the whole thing off, though, let’s send you this wooden Takuzu puzzle, inspired by computer binary code. Measures 4-3/4" square x 1/2” with a 6 x 6 grid that takes (18) “1” and (18) “0” pegs. Comes with a 21-page booklet with (26) 6 x 6 and (26) 4 x 4 puzzles with solutions. Perfect for perfecting kids’ STEM skills. Best hurry before those kids get any notions about careers in screenwriting or professional skateboarding.

A "Beam-Bending logic game," The Laser Maze™ is from the same madmen who created laser chess. You get a 25-position game-board with (5) target mirrors, (2) beam splitters, a double mirror and a cell blocker. Includes (60) challenge cards with puzzle solutions and a symbols key card, plus instructions. Fosters strategic thinking, problem-solving and logic. For ages 8 to adult--basically anyone who likes to watch beams bounce around trying to hit a target. Runs on (2) button-cell batteries, included.

Fluxx®, the card game with rules that change while you play, has gone chemical. Cards feature your favorite elements, released from their table at last, plus sundry lab items. Includes our new favorite rule: draw the Helium card and you must speak in a falsetto voice. Ages 12+.