Peepsock Press and NuFun Games Announce Joint Venture in New Line of Tangram Fury eBooks

CEDAR HILLS, Utah - June 3, 2013 - PRLog -- Today online, the NuFun Games division of Peepsock Press, LLC announced a collaborative effort with Peepsock Press to create a new line of tangram puzzle ebooks based off of the Tangram Fury Tangram Packs currently furnished by NuFun Games.  These ebooks are based on the unique Tangram Packs that NuFun Games launched in 2012.

This new series of tangram puzzle books groups tangrams by theme and makes them accessible for those who like to read books on hand-held devices, laptops, PCs, or other electronic devices.

When asked how this is a joint venture, Doug Nufer, the inventor of Tangram Fury, replied, “Peepsock Press is the publishing arm of Peepsock Press, LLC.  NuFun Games is focused on games, not books.  We’ve taken many of the tangram puzzles that are available in the Tangram Packs that NuFun Games created, and have used them as the basis of the tangrams in these new ebooks that Peepsock Press is publishing.  The vast majority of these tangrams were created from scratch for NuFun Games’ Tangram Packs.”

The format for the books is straightforward.  Each book has an introduction to tangrams and the theme for the given book.  The main section provides a series of tangrams.  In each case, the tangram is presented as a silhouetted puzzle to solve, followed by its solution.

Following the tangram section, is a collection of interesting facts, trivia, and information about tangrams as a whole.  This section of information remains largely the same across each book.  The hope is that it will be of interest both to those who are avid tangram fans, those being introduced to tangrams, as well as those who have used tangrams as teaching tools or puzzles to solve, for quite some time.

“Tangrams have a rather interesting and yet hidden history,” Nufer said.  “On the one hand, we know that they’re an ancient Chinese puzzle.  We know that Capt. Donnaldson is credited with introducing them to the US in the early 1800’s.  We also know that at that time, the Chinese already considered them to be of ‘ancient’ origin.  But, because they considered them to be basically a ‘kids’ game’, they didn’t pay much attention to their history or origin.  Some sites claim to break down the word ‘tangram’ to figure out its original meaning and origin, but even that is best-guess work.”

The information contained in the books ranges from samples of tangrams, to tips and tricks for solving tangram puzzles, to famous people who are known to have experimented with tangram puzzles.

“Included in the book are a few puzzles that Lewis Carroll is rumored to have designed.  There’s the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, and the Queen of Hearts.  I’ve solved those myself, and included the solutions in the books,” Nufer added.  “The one that eludes me is the Mad Hatter puzzle.  I don’t know if it even has a solution.  It doesn’t seem to.  It’s in the books.  If someone solves it, I’d love to hear from them.”

The tangram books are designed for enthusiasts and teachers alike.

“It is hoped that these books will help with homeschooling efforts.  It seems every kid these days has an iPod, iPad, or smart phone or some such on which they could upload these books.  But, the intent is not to have them fiddle with these electronically.  We hope that this will become a bridge of sorts between the electronic world and the physical world,” Nufer pointed out.

“We’ve included a pattern of a tangram for them to print out.  They can then cut out a tangram from paper, felt, foam, wood, or whatever and physically manipulate the tans to solve the puzzles.  Digital puzzles are great, but there’s an entire step in the learning centers of the brain that is skipped unless the student touches and moves the pieces around.  It’s not just an opportunity to increase dexteriety, but a way to engage and challenge the brain that is missed by simply strumming a finger across an electronic screen.”

“For those who want physical puzzles to play with, without having to cut them out themselves, our Tangram Fury site has them for sale, along with several other products.”

http://www.tangramfury.com/product-games.php

Tangrams have been grouped with other thinking games that have been reported to help engage the brain in ways that some believe can help stave off the effects of such things as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.  

The main website http://www.tangramfury.com, contains a great number of free educational and entertainment materials ranging from activity sheets to videos.  It also contains a tangram library as well as access to hundreds of tangram puzzles, all of which can be solved by the same seven tans of the original tangram puzzle.

Peepsock Press, LLC. was founded in 2003 as an assisted-publication service provider. Peepsock Press' goal is to assist new authors with getting their works into publication. Peepsock Press believes that many new authors are denied the opportunity to share their great works with the world merely because they have not yet been able to make a name for themselves. By assisting authors in finding printing houses and distributors, Peepsock Press is pleased to aid in fulfilling the goals and dreams of those authors. With NuFun Games, Peepsock Press seeks to provide family-friendly and competitive games to a broad market.