My shelves are filled with board games, stacked in boxes that are about 13 inches square. I have games I’m really proud of, like Concordia with all the fancy upgrades, and others I keep just because they remind me of good times. But they all have one thing in common: they come in a box full of pieces.

Some of these boxes hold clever games made by Steve Finn, also known as Dr. Finn. He’s always been a smart game designer. His game Biblios, for example, has been on many “best of” lists for years.

People have called Steve the “King of Filler Games” because he’s great at creating smart little puzzles that are fun and make you think, all in about 30 to 40 minutes. A good example is Nanga Parbat, a two-player game where you add cute animal figures to a board and use their special powers to earn points.

Making and selling games is a tough business with many different parts. But Dr. Finn is always trying new things, and he has a new project that’s worth checking out. He sent me some free copies of two books he recently published, and another one is coming to a crowdfunding site next month. I’ve been playing one of these books a lot lately.

The book is called Dr. Finn’s Book of Solo Strategy and Word Games. It’s packed with strategy games. Remember those workbooks you used in school that went along with your science or history lessons? This book is kind of like that.

This first book has eight strategy and word game puzzles. Some are inspired by his other popular games, like Cosmic Run and The Little Flower Shop, while others are completely new ideas.

I’ve been playing three of them a lot: Pen Pals, Cosmic Run: Mission One, and Word Wrap. Each one is really well-made and offers a quick, 10-minute puzzle that really gets your brain working.

My friend Jay Bell came over for our stream, which we now do on Thursdays instead of Tuesdays. After we played three two-player games (which I’ll write about later), he saw the book and asked what it was. When I explained it, he seemed interested.

So, I looked through the book, and sure enough, Dr. Finn says you can play most of these games with more than one person. The only exception is Cosmic Run, where you play against a computer opponent.

I took out a sheet for Word Wrap, gave it to Jay, and we had a friendly competition to see who could get the highest score.

Word Wrap is a fast-paced word puzzle. Players have only eight turns to grab 32 letters from a grid and place them into empty word spots at the bottom of the page. It’s like a word search game had a baby with Scrabble, and instead of toys, the parents gave the couple victory points.

The game is very easy to learn. Each round, one player rolls a six-sided die. The number rolled tells you which shape to use to grab letters. You can turn or flip the shapes, but they must be next to where you grabbed letters before, unless that’s not possible, then they just need to be next to any letters you’ve already grabbed. Then, you take the letters you’ve circled. Each letter has a point value. Common letters like ‘S’ and ‘T’ are worth only one point in a finished word, while an ‘X’ can be worth a big seven points if you can use it.

Grabbing the right letters with a shape puzzle is one thing, but moving those letters into word spaces is even more fun. Plus, some of the word spaces give you extra points for the letters or for finishing the word.

My scores haven’t been very high. Good players usually score between 90 and 110 points, but I’ve been in the high sixties. Instead of trying to beat players from all over the world (there’s a chart in the book to help with that), it was more fun playing against Jay. Even though it’s meant to be a game for one person, and we weren’t really affecting each other’s games, it was enjoyable to watch him build his words while I figured out mine. The scores were close, but I managed to beat him with the word “AXE,” which was worth sixteen points.

I haven’t played all eight games yet, but I plan to. It’s a nice way to start my morning while I eat my toast, giving me a good, puzzle-filled start to the day.

Keep an eye out for the crowdfunding project for his newest book next month. You can also buy the two current books on Amazon right now. If you like puzzles and have about ten minutes to spare, this is a great way to spend your time.

Until next time, let the good times roll!
— BJ from Board Game Gumbo

Free copies of the books were provided by the publisher.