Books: Local hopes puzzle book will start trend
Dec 14, 2011 06:00 am | By Tanya Kostiw

An Okotoks puzzle enthusiast has taken her hobby to the next level with her recently published Pic-a-Pix book.

After growing tired of Sudoku puzzles a couple of years ago Diane Baher discovered Pic-a-Pix. Pic-a-Pix puzzles are popular in Japan, but are just starting to catch on in North America. Finding more puzzle books soon became difficult for Baher, so she started to create her own puzzles.

“I was just searching for something new and I came across it and once I got onto it, I was really hooked,” she said. “Then before I know it, I had so many, I thought, ‘I should do something with these.’”

Baher’s “Pic-a-Pix” features 100 puzzles, which are fun for people of all ages, 12 years old and up, she explained.

Pic-a-Pix features a grid similar to a Sudoku game and each column and row indicates the number of squares that need to be coloured in groupings. The player must determine which squares are to be shaded. The shaded squares must match up per row and column and once complete, reveal an image.

“Instead of numbers or words, you end up with an image,” Baher explained.

Based on logic, players start with what they know to be certain and one correct move will lead to another, she said.

Baher said her background in computer drafting helps her to create Pic-a-Pix puzzles. She starts with a grid on the computer, sketches in an image and then matches the numbers to the rows and columns. She said it usually takes her a day or two to create a puzzle. Although she designed the images, Baher said she can play her own puzzles because she still has to go through the steps to solve them.

Pic-a-Pix puzzles serve as good brain exercises, as learning new things can help generate new brain cells, Baher explained. She will donate $1 from every book sold to the Alzheimer Society of Calgary.

In an email statement, society spokesperson Rebecca Geddes said the society was grateful for the donation, which will help people affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias in Calgary and the surrounding areas.

“Puzzles, books and crosswords are examples of cognitive activities that people can do to improve their brain health,” she said. “The Alzheimer Society of Calgary believes that taking care of your brain health is as important as your physical health.

Read full article on Pic-A-Pix the Latest Puzzling Fix online at the Western Wheel.