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How Scientists Are Using Games to Unlock the Body’s Mysteries
They’re not just for kids anymore
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Challenge Yourself With Ken Jennings’ Latest “Playful” Puzzle
Can you figure out this exclusive new brain teaser from the “Jeopardy!” champion?
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Behind the Unceasing Allure of the Rubik’s Cube
The 80’s fad should’ve fallen into obscurity—somehow it didn’t
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The National Spelling Bee Ended With a Tie For the First Time in Half a Century
One champion later said he and his co-winner were competing against the dictionary, not each other
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Google Doodle Celebrates Rubik’s Cube 40th Birthday
For its 40th Birthday, the cube goes digital
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Architects Give the Classic Chess Set a Radical Makeover
The designer behind the traditional kings and queens would resign if he saw these avant-garde game boards
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Mathematicians Say Candy Crush Really Is Hard
You can feel better about your obsession with Candy Crush. The game isn’t just mindless swiping; it’s an actually difficult math problem.
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How Merv Griffin Came Up With That Weird Question/Answer Format for Jeopardy!
Champion Ken Jennings delves into what gives the virtually unchanged game show its lasting power
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What is Garry Kasparov’s Next Move?
The great chess champion brings his knowledge to the games of Sochi, global politics and computer intelligence
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What’s a 9-Letter Word for a 100-Year-Old Puzzle?
The crossword puzzle turns 100 this week — here’s how it rose to popularity
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Disney Kills LucasArts, My Childhood
When LucasArts was first starting out in the 1980s, the future of video games included holograms, virtual reality headsets and worldwide networking
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What Does Citizen Kane Have to Do With Mass Effect 2?
Modern games find inspiration in the techniques of classic film noir
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How did the tabletop game get from parlor halls in 19th-century Europe to the basements of American homes?
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Gamblers Take Note: The Odds in a Coin Flip Aren’t Quite 50/50
And the odds of spinning a penny are even more skewed in one direction, but which way?
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Crockford’s Club: How a Fishmonger Built a Gambling Hall and Bankrupted the British Aristocracy
A working-class Londoner operated the most exclusive gambling club the world has ever seen
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Post Script: How I Constructed the Great American History Puzzle
Post Script: How I Constructed the Great American History Puzzle
The Great American History Puzzle lives on! Now complete with helpful hints and full explanations of answers! Plus, our Honor Roll of solvers
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Congratulations to (drum roll…) Jeffrey Davidson!
I’m pleased to announce the winner of the Smithsonian’s Great American History Puzzle
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The contest part of the Great American History Puzzle is officially over! I think the ninth puzzle was a lot of fun, however, so I hope you take a shot at it even if there’s no grand prize on the table anymore.
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