Welcome

This is the ``digital flyer’’ for the SUMS Math Puzzles Reading Group SP26. This is slightly different from other reading groups in two ways:

1. We have no single official text.
2. The puzzles and techniques studied may change dramatically from week to week, and each session will be self-contained.

Texts

We will refer to a large selection of texts, some general puzzle books and others very specialized. Examples of general texts include:

1. Mathematical Puzzles, by Peter Winkler.
2. The Moscow Puzzles, by Boris A. Kordemsky.
3. My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles, by Martin Gardner.
4. Math Puzzles Volume 1,2, and 3, by Presh Talwalkar.

Some more specialized texts include:

1. Games, Puzzles, and Computation, by Robert Hearn and Erik Demaine.
2. Algorithmic Puzzles, by Anany Levitin and Maria Levitin.
3. Taking Sudoku Seriously, by Jason Rosenhouse and Laura Taalman.
4. Polyominoes, by Solomon Golomb.

Logistics

Prerequisites: None, besides an interest in math puzzles.

Time: 2 hour in-person sessions weekly, on weeks 1-9 of Spring 2026.
Specific meeting time TBD by when2meet after interest form closes.

Interest form: Please see the UCSD SUMS discord. If you cannot access this, please email sums [ at ] ucsd [ dot ] edu .
Communication: Discord server link will be sent to those who filled the interest form and/or sent an email of interest.

Credit: None. It’s very hard to get credit for an informal topic like this.

Purpose

The #1 goal of this reading group is to have fun! We think math puzzles are very fun, and they’re even better when you share them with friends.

Syllabus

Meeting structure: Meetings are very flexible. We will start by solving a series of puzzles in small groups. Then, we will discuss some techniques we discovered while solving, and will review some techniques from the literature. Finally, we will try to solve puzzles together using the techniques discussed.

Outline: This reading group’s topics are very flexible. Since each session is self-contained, we can change the order and topics as we go. We are very open to suggestions for topics and puzzles.

That said, session 1 is fixed and will be a “puzzle marathon.” These are similar to puzzle contests, where participants are given a large number of different puzzle types, and solving puzzles wins you prizes. You may work in teams (and split prizes) so please bring friends!

Thank you!

Thank you for having some interest in this reading group. We are new to hosting reading groups, so any advice / feedback / ideas are appreciated. Feel free to email us at sums [ at ] ucsd [ dot ] edu .