Three challenge levels of Hiss! from Thinktank Games had me struggling with serpent segments. Stretching them out to the maximum length possible, coiling them into a tight ball and finally trying to get the tail in the mouth. I didn’t make much headway then, and didn’t do any better months later with Round Up either.

It was Sunday Soul Sante in Bengaluru. Despite reviewing the other wares on offer with a decidedly prejudiced eye (courtesy a daughter who was exhibiting her hand painted tees), there was much to marvel at.

Jump & Slide is a strategy game from thinktank games, retailing at Rs 399. The double-sided play pieces and the basic rules remind me of Karo and Spy Sight, both games from Dr Wood.

After reading Night Circus, I was thoroughly enchanted by the magical world that Erin Morgenstern described; everything suddenly seemed ordinary in comparison. I needed a worthy pause, before I could plunge into whatever the new day would offer. Helpless, I found myself drawn back to a familiar url — www.wordgames.com.

After a particularly intense work week there’s nothing quite as welcoming as a beautifully crafted online word games site, such as www.wordgames.com. How exactly do these incredibly well done games come to be online, completely free, and so easily accessible?

I had it figured in under 10 minutes! It all happened so suddenly that I fear it was more about my stumbling onto the solution, than a cerebral spark of spatial genius. Volume 4 of the Mind Challenge Classics Series, features Tease Your Mind for just Rs 109.

Bank Or Bust features Marks & Spencer branding, so I assume it’s from a collection of games, sourced and labelled as part of their large and varied product mix in the UK.

Bigfishgames.com offers a generous 14 genres to choose from. Word Zen promised relaxing soothing visuals and sounds, and an “all new word-forming, tile-clearing sensation” with a mahjong twist! The longer the words, the more the points.

There is no instruction sheet. You’re completely on your own. The back of the box ominously intones - “just two pieces”. All you have to do is put them together to make a free standing pyramid. The box dares you to solve it in five minutes.

At Rs 749, this is a dubious Hasbro indulgence peddled in India by Funskool. Cuponk is Tiddlywinks in a generous sized electronic cup. Thirty challenge cards have you jumping on one leg while trying to dunk the ball in the cup. Bouncing it off the wall, on to the table, and into the cup on the floor and more!