A regular feature in the newspaper everyday, puzzles have a capacity to involve you for hours together, as they can be very addictive. If you are good with English, it is the daily crossword. http://www.oneacross.com is a dedicated website to help you with solving crosswords.

If you have a knack with numbers, then a new game called Sudoku takes some space in the newspaper everyday in the leisure section. According to Wikipedia, Sudoku(meaning’single number’ in Japanese) is a logic-based number-placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 boxes (also called blocks or regions) contains the digits from 1 to 9 only one time each.The puzzle setter provides a partially completed grid. http://sudoku.com will give you more idea on the game,the rules as well as a puzzle daily to occupy you If words and numbers are not your forte, then on the next trip to the bookstore,

pick up an inexpensive Rubik’s Cube. In a typical Cube, each face is covered by nine stickers of one of six solid colours. A pivot mechanism enables each face to turn, thus mixing up the colours. When the puzzle is solved, each face of the Cube is a solid colour. Wikipedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubik’s_cube gives more idea about the permutations in the Rubik’s cube while http://www.puzzlesolver.com/puzzle.php?id=29 gives you step by step method to solve it.

If you do have a companion, whether it is a partner,friend, neighbour, servant, or a grandchild who is willing, playing Ludo, Carrom, chess, Chinese checkers and even cards is a great idea. It would make a lot of sense to set up a time, so that you look forward to it and there is a commitment from the other person, especially if he/she is committed elsewhere.