The fates of nations, outcomes of wars and general sweep of history have often hinged upon the deciphering of devilishly difficult codes and devious deceptions by spymasters.

In Spydle, The National Archives and Britain’s leading puzzle masterminds, Dr Gareth Moore and Laura Jayne Ayres, have drawn on five centuries of British spycraft and cryptography to compile an unputdownable history of real-life codebreaking and espionage through a series of addictive puzzles.

Using original documents, maps, ciphers, plans, letters and telegrams from plots and espionage relating to Mary, Queen of Scots, the Gunpowder Plot, Mata Hari, Agent Zigzag and dozens more, Spydle’s puzzles are based on real codes and conundrums.

Packed with fiendish puzzles covering over 500 years of espionage, could you be a code-cracking spymaster and untangle history’s most cryptic mysteries?

Play Spydle to find out . . .

The Game of Logic is a recreational activity devised by author Lewis Carroll - this edition contains all of his original and vitally demonstrative illustrations. Although Carroll is best known for his short stories and novels for children, he also harbored a great passion for mathematics and logic puzzles, which he felt held great facility for developing the minds of young and old. He designed a game of logic which attained popularity following his enormously successful stories for children. Although old fashioned and dated by today's standards, Carroll's game offers profound insight into the recreational mathematics and number games of the late 19th century. This book contains a set of detailed instructions for playing Carroll's game, which requires sheets of paper, a ruler and pencil for drawing the tables, and a set of counters. This edition contains all the diagrams and tables crucial for understanding what the author describes.

Dearest Gentle Reader, you are cordially invited to colour in all of your favourite scenes and characters from the Emmy-nominated global phenomenon from Shondaland and Netflix.

Featuring more than 75 original intricately-drawn illustrations on thick paper stock, this coloring book offers you a way to explore the Regency era world of Bridgerton: from the budding romances of the Bridgerton children, to the Queen's diamond season, to the mysterious Lady Whistledown, and, of course all, the wonderful costuming and tasty treats that have everyone talking at the ton.

As the only official Bridgerton coloring book, this will cover the first two seasons from the original show.

Jane Austen's novels portray a leisured society of gentlemen and ladies who do not need to work. Even the men with professions, such as sailors and soldiers, are almost never seen working; though leisure was not meant to be an excuse for idleness. The proper uses of leisure are to fulfill duties, to read and think, and to pursue social relations in a world where family and marriage for the propertied were of central importance. The activities pursued in Jane Austen's novels, and the way they apply themselves to them, are significant to the understanding of her characters and the roles they play. The working of society depended on a round of visits, dinners and evening parties. Bath and other spas were active centres of entertainment of all kinds; and the seaside resorts were growing in importance. Jane Austen experienced these and put them to use in her novels; but she also registered the fact that quiet, solitary pursuits such as reading, walking or needlwork might be more to the taste of a Fanny Price or Anne Elliot. Male characters enjoy their leisure in a number of sports, often glimpsed off stage - John Thorpe drives his gig wildly through Bath and Tom Bertram is nearly killed by a fall at Newmarket. This text identifies leisure and its use as a central characteristic of Austen's work.

A total of 196 wonderful chess games played by great female chess players are illustrated in this book. They have been specifically selected to demonstrate chess openings, middle games and end games weaknesses and strengths. 160 carefully selected chess games of the current and past great female chess players in the World are included in this book. 8 fantastic games have been chosen from each of the modern greatest female chess champions. The remaining 36 games are games that include both previous and current female chess pioneers such as Vera Menchik and Susan Polgar. Each game comes with excellent instructional analysis by our Grand Chess Expert. This book is full of history and it is an excellent book for studying openings, middle games, end games and solving problems. Our Grand Chess Expert has spent quality time looking at all the different variations of all the top quality games played by our Greatest Chess Queens.

75 games for families to play at the beach, mostly aimed at children ages 2 to 10, with some for teenagers. Most of the games require nothing more than items found naturally on the beach.

-Family sand silhouettes Draw an outline of each person lying down in the sand. Use seaweed for hair, clamshells for glasses, pink shells for fingernails, etc. Take pictures - Beach blanket bingo Find similar pairs of items such as shells, driftwood, rocks. Put one of each into two different piles. Player 1 draws two grids with a shell and places items from one pile into each square of one of the grids. Player 2 gets a quick look at the grid with the items before Player 1 covers it with a beach blanket. Player 2 then has to try to replicate the item placement into the second grid. He gets a point for each one correctly placed.

With hundreds of books dedicated to conventional sports and activities, this encyclopedia on the weirdest and wackiest games offers a fresh and entertaining read for any audience. Weird Sports and Wacky Games around the World: From Buzkashi to Zorbing focuses on what many would consider abnormal activities from across the globe. Spanning subjects that include individual games, team sports, games for men and women, and contests involving animal competitors, there is something for every reader. Whether researching a particular country or region's traditions or wanting an interesting read for pleasure, this book offers an array of uses and benefits. Though the book focuses on games and sporting activities, the examination of these topics gives readers insight into unfamiliar places and peoples through their recreation-an essential part of the human experience that occurs in all cultures. Such activities are not only embedded in everyday life but also indelibly interconnected with social customs, war, politics, commerce, education, and national identity, making the whimsical topic of the book an appealing gateway to insightful, highly relevant information. Presents interesting information on a wide variety of culturally significant activities, from the ancient to the ultra-modern Contains entries that are detailed yet accessible for general readers Covers British pub games and similar activities in other countries seldom featured in reference books Frames each entry within a global context Features a list of Further Reading suggestions