Arts and Crafts Books

In Points of View, Valerie outdoes her first book, Beyond the Horizon. She includes many more techniques and hints, along with gorgeous pictures of her work and that of others. It's a book to get lost in. Easy to translate the written word into real life works and be pleased with the results!

If you love making quilted landscapes or are interested in learning how to make them, this is a great book. You learn easy as well as a little more advanced ways to make them. You learn how to look at fabric and see possiblilites in it that you had never seen before. Follow the patterns and techniques to make your own piece of art and then check out the gallery in the back of the book. Amazing! I had made landscapes before getting this book, but I have learned so much more from it.
Kay S.

As a quilt teacher this is a must have tool. This book is one of the best landscape book out there, it so simple to use that a first timer can use it with their eyes closed. If you ever wanted to give it a try this is the way to go it has it all from the very simple to wow!!!!

This is an excellent book for a beginner to practice landscape quilting.
The simple techniques that you can try will encourage you to then design and make your own landscape quilt.

Points of View is a wonderful book, rich in detail and information, and gorgeous photos of Valerie Hearder's quilts. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to do landscape quilting. Valerie's "viewfinder" idea for finding your correct section of fabric is great, the instructions are clear and easy to follow to make your version of each type of quilt.

Populuxe describes the postwar era from 1955-1964 when American consumerism reached its fullest expression. Since that time we have just recycled and re-invented that period's concepts and trends. Mr. Hines points to the product launch of the 1955 Chevy as marking the beginning, as it was the first mid-price car with tailfins, terminating with the staleness of the "future" presented at the 1964 World's Fair that came in the months after the crushing blow of JFK's assassination.

Thomas Hine describes the era as one that simultaneously looked back to the old west and to a space age future. The old west was a useful paradigm because it brought to mind the pioneer spirit; the sense of self-invention involved and the space age came with the atom bomb, sputnik and the astronauts. Fueled by sudden prosperity, shaped by sophisticated advertising and product marketing, embraced by an American middle class rich with dollars and plenty of leisure, it was the time of ever-growing tail fins on cars, the latest kitchen gadget and exuberant roadside architecture.

While the book would be highly enjoyable just for the descriptions of the products and trends of those times as well as the treasure trove of classic photos, Mr. Hines does more than that. He shows how the tenets of consumerism were laid out in this time; from feeding people a readymade identity through the products they purchased to creating new markets by fulfilling consumers desires rather than their needs. A toaster was no longer a machine that grilled bread. It was a space aged accessory that told its purchaser that he or she was pioneer in the land of tomorrow.

Hine's book is a meticulously researched, wonderfully illustrated work on how the American mindset of the 1950s and 1960s created both the consumer culture and the physical environment in which it thrives. All of this is masquerading as an enjoyable, nostalgic, amusement park ride through the world of split-level houses, tail finned cars, and orange Naugahyde-upholstered furniture. It's a fun read for all baby boomers as well as for any of their children who are trying to figure out why their parents think pink and green go together. By the way, I also recommend this book to any Europeans trying to understand American culture. Read this and the short story "The Concrete Mixer" by Ray Bradbury and you'll understand why McDonalds and Wal-Mart can't be stopped.

While the colorful plastic and steel designs of the '50's and '60's lacked the beauty of the bronze and silk Art Deco styles of the '20' s and '30's, they are still full of a spirit of fun and excitement.

Before Thomas Hine invented the term "Populuxe," the hopeful designs found in '50's and '60's fashion, furniture, architecture and automobiles were linked with the Space Age, the mighty atom, Rock 'n' Roll, and a nation in love with its wheels. Looking toward a bright future helped the Western world bear the reality of the shadow of Communism. As a guy with dim memories of this era I can say that this book is great fun to read with plenty of vintage pictures and insight into how the Space Age came to be and what it all meant.

I found this book in college, used as a text for the Industrial Design dept. I was a Criminal Justice major myself, but found this a great look at American culture.

This book could be a blueprint for the whimsical looks at the 50's seen on History Channel documentaries.

Hines book is a fun, unpretentious look at the times that led to the designs. It is refreshing that the author didn't take the easy route and simply churn out a tome laundry listing trends simply to make fun of them. The book shows a great understanding and admiration of the industrial art of the era without any pretense or hubris

Hine's work is a meticulously researched, wonderfully illustrated work on how the American mindset of the 1950s and 1960s created both the consumer culture and the physical environment in which it thrives. All of this is masquerading as an enjoyable, nostalgic, amusement park ride through the world of split-level houses, tail finned cars, and orange Naugahyde-upholstered furniture. It's a fun read for all baby boomers as well as for any of their children who are trying to figure out why their parents think pink and green go together. By the way, I also recommend this book to any Europeans trying to understand American culture. Read this and the short story "The Concrete Mixer" by Ray Bradbury and you'll understand while McDonalds and Wal-Mart can't be stopped.

A great book for paper enthusiasists. No matter you're a novice or an expert, you'll find challenges in this wonderful book. Mr Montroll is really brilliant in this book, the illustration and step-by-step explaination is easy to follow and yet challenging. Take out a piece of square paper and begin folding to appreciate his creation. It's not simply origami, it's truly paper engineering.

This book contains some wonderful models. Being a dinosaur enthusiast (what kid isn't?) in my younger years, this book provided a great amount of fun and challenge.

My sole complaint with these models are their relatively dated perspective on dinosaurs. These greatly resemble older views of dinosaurs where sluggish lizards lumber through swamps and marshes with their tails dragging on the ground. Of course, this gave me ample opportunity to try diversifying my skills by "improving" the final result.

I would highly recommend this book to both beginner and advanced folders. While the models might not be as challenging as those produced by Lang and Brill, the final results are well worth it.

I had the honor of proof reading the diagrams in this book before it went to print. (I'm the second Mark in the dedication). John Montroll is a brilliant author. His style is amazing, achieving maximum model size from the paper. This is a great book for everyone who enjoys dinosaurs and origami.

When i saw a dinosaur origami book i didn't think twice before buying it! I was bored with simple books making kitties and ducks, but these designs are very ORIGINAL! They are tricky and i often get frustrated with the complicated folds, but when i get a folded dinosaur all of my own in the end, I am so happy!! (No, I'm not a child either i just love dinosaurs!) I own a few origami books and have found this one is a favorite pick, besides the dinosaurs, i just love complicated folds! If you love dinosdaurs, origami, and a stiff challenge this book is for YOU!

A book about dinosaurs folded from paper, a simple idea, really. But take a deeper look, and this is one of the most engaging origami books on the subject ever-for that matter, perhaps it is one of the best origami books ever. I know it is one of my top ten books. Enough praise, you want to know what's in it. Well, as Montroll usually does, the beginning models are so easy, I think you could fold them from sheet metal...an egg, mountain, and tree. Soon though, the dinosaurs begin, and slowly but surely the difficulty rises, until culminating with a Stegosaurus. Other dinosaurs include, T-rex, a bunch of gliding dinos, and others such as Dimetrodon and Spinosaurus. I would recommend this to any Dinosaur fan, and/or origami fan. However, a true beginner would find this book to be boring, because after the three 'sheet metal' models, the difficulty rises 2 or 3 fold. If you can make the first 4 or 5, you can probably learn to make them all. In short, a great buy!

This book comes with some great patterns, ideas, and how-to skills.

This is a wonderful book for thoses who love fairies and applique. Linda's techniques are easy for the beginner who has always wanted to applique but has been hesitant to start. In addition to that it is a fun book that can get your creativity flowing.

Since purchasing this book 6 months ago, I have been in 7th heaven. Although not your usual "quilting" book (Miss Poole assumes that you already know how to make a quilt... and most of us DO) this book is a vast resource for Fantasy Images and Backgrounds. I found the fairie stories to be wonderful too. I used a clear self-adhesive plastic to re-inforce the cover to preserve it's beauty and extend it's life.

63 pages featuring the "how to" for eleven fairie tale applique quilts. At the end of this book are seven pages showing photos of completed fairie quilts and the fairies' stories. Author Linda M. Poole has done an exceptional job of showing through words and pictures the "how to" of the applique technique. And then there are the fairies themselves: Rainbow Fairie, Painter of Color, Hopes and Dreams; Honey, the Bee Keeper; Fairie Wing Flyer (teaching birds to fly); Ladybug Fairie in charge of putting the spots on little lady bugs; and many more. Seeing these quilts in person is breathtaking. Having this book is the next best thing.

11 actual patterns + a number of fairy variations to encourage your own creativity. This book is not what I expected - it is different to any other patchwork book I have. Basically, using well documented steps and glue-stick turn-over technique, Poole shows how to create a stunning fairy picture Any fairy-lover would be thrilled with one of these quilts. The fairies (and their backgrounds) are of the Daisy Meadows Rainbow Fairies style - that is, they are more young girls or ladies with wings in an idealised environment (surrounded by butterflies, on a moon, etc). There is, however, a standard fairy + dragon design for those fantasy lovers. Poole includes her own poems or stories to match the quilt.

The patterns and guides are for the fairy pictures only - this s not a quilting book. However, many of the example quilts demonstrate how the pictures can be incorporated into a more complicated pieced quilt as a dramatic feature square.

Would I make one of these quilts? Probably not. There is a tendency for them to be fiddly and time-consuming. As a working Mum with two young children, I do not have the time nor patience. But it is one of those books I'll have in my collection to read every so often and wonder "Do I have the time?", choosing a new design I'll definitely do one day, each time. Right now, I would be choosing
1. "Tippy Toes" - night-time, standing on a moon (simple yet effective)
2. "Rainbow Fairie" - sitting on a cloud and painting a rainbow (the quilt tells a lovely story)
3. "Fire Fairie" - teaching a dragon to blow fire (my niece loves dragons)

I first encountered this book in its original hardback form when rather young -- around 11 years old. It provides a very rich diversity of models and covers a wide range of difficulty levels (although none are as hard as in some "enthusiast" books such as some by Montroll). Many of the models convey a sense of simple beauty. I had lost track of the book over the years, and was very pleased to recently discover that it was republished. I just bought another copy and folded a pigeon (but folding the head according to one of the other bird models since the suggested pigeon head is a little simplistic). It brings back many fond memories of my first encounters with this wonderful craft. To me, this book is a classic.

My Great-Aunt introduced me to many things - astronomy, biology, and origami. This was in her personal library and when I'd visit we would always pull it out and make at least one of the figures in the book. She had already managed to do nearly every figure but she was patient and I would try my best to keep up. When she died, I looked for the book but it had mysteriously disappeared. I saw that it was back in print and I snatched a copy up right away. This is the best folding book that I have ever run across. It has models that range from the very simple to the VERY difficult. You can fold out of this book for a lifetime and never fail to learn something or see something new. A great book... grab it while you can and fold your heart out!

I really like this book, but you need to have a little experience with origami to use it. I could make cranes, boxes and water bombs before I bought this book. I've learned a lot from it but there have been a number of folds that I couldn't understand until I saw them demonstrated. And there are still lots of things I can't figure out, especially pieces that have to be turned inside out. If you've never folded, this is not the book for you.

The book which launch my interest in origami in the late 60s. If not for the discovery of this book, my interest in origami would have been lost.

The models are still very fresh even for the origamist of today. There is a very good range from traditional models, simple models to the intermediate stage. An excellent first introduction to origami.

It contains works of experts who are not around today. Among my favourites are those by Ligia Montoya. Simple but extremely effective.

Nowadays origami experts tend to concentrate on details making folding the models extremely difficult for a beginner. I prefer to concentrate on representing the subject just right with just the sufficient details to differentiate the model and avoiding the complexity of folding it.

There are also models with sufficient difficulty to challenge the slightly more experienced.

A must for all enthusiasts.

Rejoice, origami lovers of the world: Harbin's "Secrets of Origami" is back on the shelves. One of the first of my 40+ origami books, the old, battered, early 70s hardcover still holds a place of honor on my shelf. This is one of the best origami books EVER published. For the beginner, it opens the door to a wonderful array of simple to complex models, for the advanced folder, it provides a survey of the best Western folding from that formative period of 1960s. Fred Rohm, Adolfo Cerceda, Ligia Montoya - these are names that must NEVER fade from the annals of origami. Buy this book. Use this book. Treasure this book. Very few like this have been printed before or since.

This is a fabulous book for the person who loves the warm country style of quilting and Kim Diehl has excelled herself in the use of her colour palette in her fabric choice. Simple through to something more challenging, you will be sure to find something appealing here. Her use of colour and applique has turned traditional blocks into works of art and the photography is to die for! If you're a beginner, there are lots of tips and the patterns are very easy to follow and for those who love to collect scraps or smaller cuts of fabric, this book is a 'must have'! I treasure mine!

I love this book! The combination of applique and simple piecing offers the quilter warm,colorful projects to follow. I made one of the wall hangings in my own colors,and intend to make more.Kim Diehl's projects are so doable.The templet patterns are full size-no enlarging! The directions are clear and easy to understand.If you like a country flavor to your quilts,you must buy this book!

I enjoyed this book trememdously, I also have Kim Diehl's book, Simple Traditions, as she is a fabulous quilter and author. I highly recommend her books to anyone who loves the warmth of home,quilting and decorating.

Simple Blessings: 14 Quilts to Grace Your Home
For anyone who loves pieced and appliqued quilts, in glorious fabrics, this is the book for them. There are 14 quilts to make, and I want to make all of them!

The photography is stunning and gives one all sorts of ideas on how to display quilts, colours to use. And there is an article on Fabric Selection and Preparation and another on Patchwork Principles. This article covers everything from beginning to end, even how to press seams and pressing triangle units.

Then there is Completing the Quilt Top; followed by Finishing Techniques. Of particular interest to me is Kim's method of Machine Applique.

And then it is on to the stunning quilts. I am gathering my fabric and just about to start my first project and it is called Cobblestones and Cartwheels Lap Quilt - 72 1/2" x 72 1/2". Can't wait to get started!

Kim Diehl always produces wonderful patterns with colors for every desire. Her patterns are always precise.

The photos were helpful, although when I began spindle spinning, I did not have a top whorl as pictured in the book. I then purchased a spinning wheel and the photos and descriptions in the book were very adequate.

Great book. I just need to get a wheel so I can try everything.

Loved this book as a new spinner. Lots of photos and how to find a wheel thats right for you was very helpful, This book is informative with out talking down to the reader and also helped me with my overspinning problem and how to trouble shoot difficulties. Photos were great and it covers all the bases. A+++

I feel like there is enough information in this book to actually begin spinning. It is very well illustrated, and explains many things that a beginner needs to know. The tone is not patronizing, and the book is easy to read. I am still a beginner, so I have read very few spinning books, but so far I think this is the one I will have by my side as I start.

I'm a new spinner and felt overwhelmed with the technical aspects of it when I decided to learn. What I needed was a "just the facts" kind of guide that would let me get started and not overwhelm me with nerdy technical stuff that passionate and experienced practitioners love to talk about. Start Spinning is definitely it!

Based on the reviews here, I bought a copy and agree completely with the 5-stars that most of the reviewers gave it.

It's like a teacher in a box. Great illustrations. Clear definitions of terms that you really need to know Does not overwhelm you with jargon that you will pick up later if you get seduced by the craft. Covers everything from basic spinning, plying and using your handspun to choosing a wheel, planning a project, buying and evaluating fleece for spinning. SIMPLE and CLEAR. And not too much information.

I love this book and would recommend it to anyone curious about the craft of spinning and wanting a good reference guide.

This book provides a resource for teachers of phonics or struggling readers. The presentation is user friendly so busy teachers will want to use it. This has excellent information on phonemic instruction. It has great resources like lists of prefixes, words, roots etc. This book is a tremendous time saver.

This book is an excellent resource for teachers who teach reading to all readers, but especially those who are struggling to understand "the code."
Word lists are very helpful, as are the activities and teaching strategies presented. Only wish there was an index!

As a first year fourth grade teacher I have found this to be an EXCELLENT teaching resource. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to use phonics to improve reading and spelling - it has helped me both on a personal and a professional level. The information is in-depth and yet presented in a very user friendly format which has been logical and easy for me to build upon and REALLY USE!

Teaching Phonics And Word Study In The Intermediate Grades by WILLY BLEVINS

Author Willy Blevins has created a very sophisticated introduction to Phonics, but this books is also a WORD STUDY TEXT, emphasizing:

p. 51 Most Frequently Used Words in English Language.
p. The Dolch Word list (250 words)
as well as words classified according to suffix, prefix and word types, and Greek and Latin word Roots.

The Phonics instruction is in the first 50 pages and it is very complete. The entire book is designed with large pages and there are a number of exercises in the book that can be cut out or photocopied.

The book is directed at the elementary school student between the Third Grade and Eighth Grade. I got my copy to use in tutoring a single adult male from Mongolia.

I looked at nearly 20 books on this subject in the store, and bought several. This is the best of all the books I found. It is a complete course within itself.

This book is GREAT for anyone who has a difficult time teaching phonics. It is very easy to understand and gives the teacher in depth knowledge of phonemic elements.
I highly recommend this book!!!

Reading The Way of Story is like having a talk with a trusted, intelligent and interesting friend. The writing style is friendly, easy to read, and inspiring.

The personal anecdotes and quotations Jones uses to illustrate her points are brilliantly chosen.

In The Way of Story, Catherine A. Jones shares lessons learned in becoming an award-winning writer.

The script is the first basic building block of any film, theatre, or television project. "The Way Of Story: The Craft & Soul Of Writing" by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Catherine Ann Jones offers aspiring authors an integrative approach to writing all the various forms of narrative storytelling. Laced with anecdotal stories and personal insights from her own professional experiences as a writer of scripts, Catherine Ann Jones persuasively argues that craft alone is not enough for success in this highly competitive, highly volatile business. There must be an effective integration of storytelling technique and experiential inner discovery as a writer in order to produce scripts that are commercially viable and persuasive when it comes time to pitch them to producers. Of special note are the wealth of practical tips for writing a successful script whether it is for a play, a movie, or a television show. "The Way of Story" is especially recommended reading for anyone who aspires to writing a screenplay, and will provide invaluable insights into both the process and the marketplace.

Catherine Ann Jones work puts all the elements of good writing in perspective, especially the importance of theme in producing a good story.

It was the subtitle of this book about writing that drew me to it: The Craft and Soul of Writing. The use of the word "soul" in connection with writing stopped me in my tracks. I too believe that good writing comes from the soul, yet my writing always has sounded more like a lawyer's brief than a soulful memoir or story. And so I wondered... Might this book free me from my mental prison? My hopes soared when on the first page, I read, "The whole of life can be a meditation, even writing." Clearly, I was in the hands of a philosopher as well as a writer. Here was a book which combined practical guidelines with spiritual experience.

I left the bookstore, looking at the book's unusual cover--a picture of an elderly fellow seated in a large old rowboat, its empty space in the rear crowded with colorful flowers. He uses a single wooden oar to paddle through the wide open sea as sprays of watery foam hit his face and obstruct his view. I see this as a metaphor for the obstacles and endlessly murky situations humans encounter as they row their way through each and every day, experiencing both the beauty they enjoy and the unpredictable vicissitudes that inevitably become obstacles along the way.

Numerous brilliant, relevant quotes by famous people appear on every page of The Way of Story. They remind the reader of the importance of soul to writing, of the path that writing must take in order to include the elusive soul. I read the profound and unique philosophies of such luminaries as Winston Churchill, Rimbaud, Harold Clurman, Lao Tzu, and many more, all of whom guide us to honor the soul. And we honor the soul by listening, by being still, by believing passionately in ourselves. "Passion," Jones writes, "must come first, then craft. The essence of Art is to use the outer form to convey an inner experience. This sacred thread, your innermost being or Soul, binds you emotionally to what you write, and if given respect, will lead you on to the desired end. Stories written from this center will move mountains--and even create livelihoods. Years ago, when interviewed by the New York Times about my approach to teaching, I was quoted as saying, 'We've become lopsided living only in our heads. Writing, in order to serve the Soul, must integrate outer craft with the inner world of intuition and feeling.'"

This book has become my bible because I am among those who are lopsided. And for all those writers who believe they are lopsided, Jones offers excellent guidance. Among the numerous suggestions she offers is a remarkable exercise called Soul Dialogue, in which she guides us to envision our soul, to learn from it what it wants, what it truly wants, and sincerely wishes to communicate to others. This message pervades her book. One of the many quotes I will always remember comes from another spiritual teacher--Butoh, a famous Japanese dancer: "The Soul is the important thing. Form will follow."

Form is the craft; soul, the art and passion. The author insists that the goal of writing is to reach the essence of feeling. She shares stories revealing how she has achieved this. An example was a day when Jones was in an acting class with the famous teacher, Uta Hagen. Jones was playing Ophelia. Having already played Shakespearean roles for a well known director in England, she felt confident that her improvisation was a good one. Until Ms. Hagen shouted, "I want you to play an Ophelia I believe goes to the bathroom!" At the time, she was stunned by her failure, but she carries this lesson over to writing. "Characters," she reminds us, "must be three-dimensional, grounded, and not just an extension of the writer's projected aesthetic imagination."

The essence of the author's advice is to dare to be personal. Jones reminds us that how we remember is how we give meaning to our lives. Lao Tzu asks, "How do I know about the world?" His answer: "By what is within me"--five important words I have placed on my mirror where I can see them each morning before I begin my day.

Catherine Ann Jones does not overlook the supreme importance of craft, and she is nothing less than inspiring in her chapters delineating the various genres. She covers the more obvious and less interesting ones (to me) such as structure, rewrites, outlines and dialogue. But her book is about so much more--about the voice of character and how to convey it, the unexpected synchronicities of writing, the resource of memory, the writer's voice, discovering your personal myth, one woman's remarkable story. She believes we must pay no attention to what will happen to the work, whether it will succeed in the marketplace, whether it will even reach the marketplace, quoting Robert Frost... "All the great things are done for their own sake."

There is no way to do this book justice in a brief review. Like most things in life, this book must be experienced to be fully known and appreciated. I can promise any student of writing, experienced writers, and anyone merely interested in learning more about the craft that this book will make you glad you did not leave it behind in the bookstore.

by Duffie Bart
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

The Way of Story may appear as a deceptively simple memoir/manual, but it is not. Catherine rockets you into the essentials of craft, as well as urging you to dig deep into yourself and transmit your emotions to the page, and the story.

Few books simultaneously pay equal attention to both the architecture AND the soul of the story. Finally, I think the book offers gems to both novice and experienced writers, including advice and a bounty of challenging exercises to get the ideas out of your head and onto the page. I wish I'd had this book when I started!

This is a wonderful book. I bought a couple of how-to books awhile back and was disappointed that those books didn't offer more inspiration photographs. This book fits satisfies that need exceptionally well. Just page and after page of beautiful woodwork.

When I first got the book, I started reading it page-by-page. It took at least an hour to get through the first half. All of the boxes are wonderful to look at and contemplate.

There is no style depicted. It covers everything from the small trinket holder, to jewelry boxes to turned boxes to the "Well, I guess someone would like that".

All of the photos are in color and are captioned with the artist's name, dimensions of the object and types of wood used to create it. An index is in the back of the book that provides the city and state of each artist.

There is absolutely no discussion of technique.

Time to head back to the shop...I've got a couple of board feet of absolutely stunning bastogne walnut that needs my attention.

If you, like I, can make whatever you see, this is the book for you. It is approx 400 pages of photos. All of which are fantastic boxes (works of art). This book is a must for when you don't know what to make next. It oozes originality. One of the boxes was my inspiration for new kitchen cabinets!

Great collection to make you think and to inspire you to "build out of the box".

Very nice book, lots of great looking boxes. Great for new ideas (woodworker) or if you are looking for something special. Only downfall, is most do not offer a picture of the inside of box.

I have always been fascinated by boxes.An avid puzzle enthusiast,I am always on the lookout for what I call puzzle boxes.These are boxes that have a secret method required to open.They are designed with hidden panels,magnets,bars,bearings,and everything imaginable that keeps them from being opened until the "Puzzle" is figured out.Unfortunately, there are no boxes of this sort in the book;though there are many that could be adapted to include a locking device or mechanism.Design wise these boxes are beautiful artistic objects and a joy to behold.It would be an even greater thrill to be able to pick them up and open them.
All the other reviews are very good and warn that what you get with this book is a picture of the box ,its overall dimensions ,color,some info on the material;but no construction methods.Not that there is any suggestion that construction methods or details are provided,one might think they are.In other words;what you see is what you get.
Anyone who designs and makes interesting boxes should find this book a real gem,and a storehouse of design ideas.
To someone who is interested in buying boxes like these,but not really interested in making them,you might have some success in contacting the artists.In addition to that,I attend a lot of Art and Craft Shows and without fail there are always a few artists who are selling wooden boxes similar to these.Common are inlaids,stacking,burls,sectionals,jewellery,chess,games,and at times I come across "puzzle boxes".