I like the ones with diagrams; I don’t really know how to handle the ones with tables. I used to do the logic puzzles from my husband’s magazines (he only did the crosswords.) I probably haven’t done one in about two years now, but tonight I ran across two half-finished books when I was looking for something else. Then I got on the SDMB and found this thread. Weird.
The only problem is, I like to do them during a chunk of quiet time when I’m not likely to be interrupted (thinking is such hard work) and how often do I get a chunk of quiet uninterrupted “me time”? Not very.
I’ve done similar a few times while I was taking programmable logic in an EE class…just set up boolean expressions (and, or, not, nand, xor, yada yada) for the logical phrases, set up a truth table or logic map, and let the compiler crank through the tedium of reducing the expressions.
So “Mr. Jones has a green dog on Tuesday except when he needs mustard from the grocery” turns into something like “True = (Male and Jones) and (green and not feline) and (not weekend) and not mustard” then it automagically fills in the logic states for the particular map you’ve set up for it.
But Twickster, my life would be miserable without your magazines… In fact, I’m done with the current one, so could you release the next one early…pretty please…
Buy me lunch, and I’ll see what I can do… 
(Seriously, though, long time no see and all that – “let’s do lunch” – emial me!)
A link to a variety of “pixel logic puzzles” and where Games gets their “Paint by Numbers”.
I love logic and math puzzles - all of those number ones are good. I like the logic problems with some twist to them - a spatial reasoning that you have to use, for instance, or some other variation that means you can’t just put them down on a grid and start marking X’s.
One of my favorites is the number puzzle (NOT sudoku) where it looks like a crossword, but the digits have to add up to the numbers in the clues, but you can’t repeat a digit in any answer.
I usually pick up Games magazine, world of puzzles, and Logic and Math problems.
If you love this kind of puzzle, do yourself a favor and spend $19.95 here:
It’s just the same kind of puzzle as Einstein’s fish, but they do the setup for you in advance.
I would have FAR more interest in even BEGINNING to solve such a puzzle if it didn’t have the ridiculous prologue about how it was written by Einstein, and how Einstein made some statement about what percentage of the world’s population could solve it.
Yeah, that’s the kind of thing he studied. Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure.
Anyhow, as far as my personal preferences, I view that particular kind of logic puzzle as rather boring and mechanical symbol manipulation. Give me lateral-thinking puzzles like this one (albeit, clearly defined ones) any day of the week.
I find the only time I work in any puzzle books is when I’m on an extended trip or vacation, so that’s infrequent enough that I can crank through a large chunk of a Logic Puzzle edition before I’m back home.
Of course, what this means is that I’ve got a ton of half-finished puzzle books in the bookshelf (since, naturally, I never pack them the next time around, but wait untili I’m in the airport to buy a new one).