What is it
Brain Bashers is a collection of free logic puzzles updated every day.
The puzzles come in easy, medium, and hard varieties and are implemented in JavaScript so can be played on any computer or smart phone.
Puzzles include: Sudoku, 3-In-A-Row, ABC Path, ABC View, Battleships, Bridges, CalcuDoku, Fillomino, Futoshiki, Hitori, Kakurasu, Killer Sudoku, Light Up, MathemaGrid, Neighbours, Net Slide, Network, Nonogrids, Nurikabe, Range, Skyscrapers, Slants, Slitherlink, Sudoku, Tents, Tracks, and Web Words.
Most of these are so-called Japanese-style paper-and-pencil logic puzzles that you see in many newspapers.
Who is it for
Anyone who likes puzzles will like the site. Kids need to be old enough to think abstractly so I would say 7+ for some of the easier variants of the simpler types of puzzles.
What Kids Like
Puzzles are fun, and kids like mini-challenges that don’t take much time but make them feel smart.
Web Words is fun. The New York Times has a similar (and slicker) version of this, called Spelling Bee.
Nonogrids is like a paint-by-number puzzle.
The site also has various brain teasers, optical illusions, and word puzzles.
The site also saves your progress, if you want, without requiring an account.
What Parents Like
It’s free! And there is a huge amount of content. You could spend hours every single day on the site since it’s updated daily. I have to assume the creator has a program that generates all the puzzles automatically.
Logic puzzles are a great way of exercising the brain and I’m happy to let my kids spend as much time as they like on it.
Many sites have logic puzzles on them, but require you to print them out. Brain Bashers let you play right on the screen
Concerns/Flaws
The interface has not changed all that much since it was started and it now seems a bit clunky, and not quite as mobile-friendly as other sites. This site really ought to be an app at this point.
Who Made it / History
The site began as Puzzles4U way back in 1997 by Kevin Stone