Goliath Games' newest board game is currently in the pre-order phase for an expected shipment date of 16 July 2009. Called KenKen, this new board game follows hot on the heels of the maths and logic puzzle trend also called KenKen, a variant of Sudoku but with another layer of challenge.

Invented in 2004 by a Japanese maths teacher, KenKen puzzles have the same goal as a Sudoku puzzle: fill in a grid with digits so that no digit appears more than one time in any row or column. The twist is that instead of having three by three subgrids like in Sudoku, a KenKen puzzle has several heavily outlined "cages" where the numbers within each cage must use a mathematical operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division) to produce a target number. The digits may repeat within a cage, as long as they do not repeat within a single row or column.

KenKen's creator, Tetsuya Miyamoto, intends KenKen to be an instruction-free method of teaching the brain. The puzzles help increase numeric skills, concentration, and perseverance. In the few years since its introduction, KenKen has caught on rapidly with fans of Sudoku who are looking for a greater challenge. The games have been featured in Reader's Digest and The New York Times, and at a recent American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, KenKen puzzles were used to warm up the contestants before the crossword play began.

Goliath Games is currently accepting pre-orders for the game but if you fancy playing Sudoku online right now, simply click here.

Just to prove you really can have a trivia quiz about absolutely anything, on 2 July 2009, the Trading Standards Institute's (TSI's) Young Consumers of the Year trivia competition took place. The title was taken by a team of four students from Boroughmuir High School in Edinburgh who defeated teams from schools in 10 regions across England, Scotland, and Wales and were declared the 2009 champions.

Each year in conjunction with the Consumer Affairs and Trading Standards Conference the TSI holds a trivia competition which involves hundreds of schools in England, Scotland, and Wales to educate young consumers as to their rights and responsibilities. The competition starts in September and progresses through increasingly difficult stages; it is limited to teams of four students between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. The grand prize winners receive the trophy, individual medals, gift vouchers for £50 each, and £1,000 for their school.

Trivia questions from the competition are across topics such as social responsibility, the environment, food/drink, money and finance, and miscellaneous. Sample trivia questions for the student teams included:
What do the letters ASBO stand for? (Answer: Anti-social Behaviour Order)
Which discarded confectionery product is defined by law as litter? (Answer: Chewing Gum)
What is the salted roe of sturgeon called? (Answer: Caviar)
How many digits are there in a bank sort code? (Answer: Six)
What should you do to build a good credit history? (Answer: Pay your bills on time)
Which Government Department is responsible for collecting income taxes? (Answer: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs)

If consumer affairs isn't really your chosen specialist topic, why not try music, travel, maths or general knowledge? You can do them all here on our trivia quizzes.

The UK Rubik’s Cube Masters 2009 will take place this weekend July 11-12th in Swindon, Wiltshire. The UK’s keenest speedcubing competitors will gather together to pit their wits and manual dexterity against one another. A variety of events are scheduled, including blindfold speed-solving and a variety of cube types. They better be ready if they want any hope of beating the world record for solving your classic 3x3x3 Rubik’s cube. It stands at a staggering 7.08 seconds. Further Rubik’s Cube Masters are taking place around the world over the summer. For a full calendar, check out the World Cube Association website.

If puzzles are your thing, but maybe you are not quite ready to break the world speed record for solving a Rubik’s cube, just click here to try one of our many simpler (!) but great fun online puzzles – you can play for free or try and win some cash!

For all you Maths quizzers out there, have you ever thought about Maths Olympics? It might be a bit hardcore, but for 50 years now, young mathematicians from all over the world have met to attend the International Mathematical Olympiad. Some of the world’s most talented school-age students come together to compete in this World Championship Mathematics Competition. This year’s extravaganza marks the 50^th anniversary of the event and takes place from 10^th to 22^nd July in Bremen, Germany. Nearly 100 countries are expected to attend – a tad more than the original Olympiad 50 years ago when only 7 countries attended.

To compete in the International Mathematical Olympiad, these High School mathematicians must have completed a competition in their own country to represent their national team. Former IMO medallists will also attend the event, promising a lively exchange of mathematical conundrums.

If you fancy yourself as a bit of an Einstein, check out their website. If you’d rather just keep to the training for the moment...(!) have a go at our very own Maths quiz here.

US car insurance giant Allstate has been involved in a unique experiment to offer brain training software to certain policyholders. Allstate and Posit Science began a revolutionary joint venture in the autumn of 2008 to ascertain whether brain training software could help to improve the safety of drivers. Based on the results so far, they have decided to extend the trial beyond its original end date of June 2009 to offer the brain training to further customers. The software, which focuses on improving visual alertness and reversing the typical cognitive decline attributed to aging, is an effort to improve driver safety for Allstate's older policyholders. The cost of the brain training programme is covered by Allstate and is provided at no charge to a select group of car insurance policyholders who are aged 50 and over.

Already there are thousands of Allstate policyholders who are taking advantage of this unique programme to help develop their brain fitness. The company is currently in the process of collecting the data and performing analysis to confirm the effects of the software programme on participants' driving skills. The initial evaluation of the Allstate drivers' brain training programme is that it can reduce dangerous driving patterns, improve stopping distance, increase driver confidence, and reduce the risk of a crash.

Posit Science is a provider of brain fitness software and has affiliations with over 50 scientists at universities and research institutions. The company's brain training programs have been clinically proven to increase brain processing speed, improve attention, and enhance memory capability.

For a gentle brain workout right now, you can always try our games and puzzles here at BrainDash.

For all you TV quiz show lovers out there, tune in to ITV1 on Monday nights at 5pm. ITV have just launched a brand new quiz show - The Chase - hosted by Bradley Walsh.

4 contestants must compete as a team against a quiz-genius, The Chaser, who is determined to stop them winning the prize pot of thousands of pounds. Combining quick-fire general knowledge questions with game strategy, each contestant must race The Chaser off the game board to have any chance of winning the cash. If The Chaser beats any of the contestants to it then they are out of the game.

Of course you don't need to go on TV to get your dose of quizzing. Have a go right now here at BrainDash. Chose our general knowledge game or go for something more specialist like travel or music. You can play for free or try your chances in a cash game.

Saturday 20 June 2009 saw the annual US Puzzle Championships take place. Contestants must complete a challenging set of puzzles over a 2½ hour period in a bid to get the top score out of a maximum 400 points. This year’s winner was a familiar name to US puzzlers - Thomas Snyder took the title once again with a staggering 360 points! He managed to solve 21 out of the 23 puzzles. The next top 3 contestants did well (although not a patch on Thomas’ score). Roger Barken (265 points), Zack Butler (260 points) and Wei-Hwa Huang (249 points) will join Thomas to make the US team for the World Puzzle Championships to be held in Antalya, Turkey.  Entries were not just from the US. The competition saw contestants from 40 other countries, with high scores from Turkey, Japan and the UK. If you fancy a go at it next year you can already register for the 2010 championships at wpc.puzzles.com and why not get a little bit of light practice in right now, here on our great puzzle games.

Being in a professional world requires us to be professional. Well, that's how everybody see it. But there are just some instances when you'd think and ask, “What does professionalism really mean?”

Hmm, is it like writing a research paper and passing it on the deadline set by your professor? Or perhaps being on time for a school presentation? Well, as for me, professionalism is defined as doing your work irregardless of what time you came in and out. It's about presenting an output at the end of the day without sacrificing the quality of what you've done. Meaning, being competent for the work.

Actually, in the dictionary, the word professional means being skilled or well-trained to do the work. Well I guess it only means that my understanding is right. Now the question would be, am I professional? I'd think about it. How 'bout you? 

Mahjong Zodiac for Linux was released last week (23 June, 2009) by Artex Studios. Users of the Linux operating system now have something to celebrate, as the highly rated game, which combines a beautifully-illustrated story and Chinese zodiac mythology with the challenge of traditional mahjong games, is now available for the Linux platform.

The Mahjong Zodiac experience takes the player on a fascinating journey through the life of Buddha and ancient China. As the player progresses through each level of the game, the story is slowly revealed, which makes this game appealing to puzzle lovers, mahjong aficionados, and casual gamers alike. A demo version of the new game can be downloaded without charge from the link here.

The Linux operating system holds a small share of the operating systems for PCs but is wildly popular with its users. Many of the applications available for MS Windows and Mac OS X systems are now becoming available for Linux systems. The collaborative nature of the free/open source software which is a primary feature of Linux leads computer experts to believe that it will grow rapidly in its share of the market in coming years.

We've found a nice little crossword competition which may take your fancy if you like a good glass of single malt. Isle of Arran Whisky Distillers, makers of The Arran Malt, are offering crossword puzzle enthusiasts of legal drinking age a chance to win a beautiful new Arran cask finish Limited Edition bottle in a monthly online competition.

All answers for the June 2009 competition must be submitted by 30 June 2009. To enter the competition, simply visit the site and solve the crosswords, then unscramble the mystery word. The answers to each across and down word in the crossword puzzle can be found by exploring the Arran Whisky website. After registering with a name, email address, mailing address, and the mystery word solution, sit back and cross your fingers till the winner is selected after the end of the month. A new crossword puzzle is available each month.

Of course, if whisky isn't your cup of tea (!) then just head on to your favourite crosswords on our site right here.