Parents' Guide to Nikoli's Pencil Puzzle

Game Nintendo 3DS 2011
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Common Sense Media Review

Mark Raby By Mark Raby , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 8+

Creative number puzzles offer limited mind-bending fun.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 8+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's It About?

NIKOLI'S PENCIL PUZZLE is a collection of five number-themed puzzles, ranging from the well-known Sudoku puzzle to more creative, and at times, more challenging exercises like getting from point A to point B down a winding path using a certain number of steps. Although numbers play a key role in every puzzle mini-game, players do not need anything more advanced than a basic understanding of addition and subtraction to understand them. The puzzles are more about testing cognitive thinking, trial-and-error, and logical reasoning skills.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

Nikoli's Pencil Puzzle stands strongly as a fun, creative puzzle game. The puzzles presented to players are not the typical fare, and as such provide a fun and captivating experience to even the most veteran puzzle gamers. That being said, the selection of puzzles is limited and because many of them have specific and distinct solutions, once the puzzles are done, they're done.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the use of math and numbers in this game. When do you use your math skills in real life?

  • Which puzzle is your favorite and why? Which puzzle do you struggle with the most?

  • Does playing math games like this one make learning more fun?

Game Details

  • Platform : Nintendo 3DS
  • Pricing structure :
  • Available online? : Not available online
  • Publisher : Konami
  • Release date : October 25, 2011
  • Genre : Puzzle
  • ESRB rating : E for No Descriptors
  • Last updated : February 15, 2023

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