Mind Game Express Courier

Seven trucks, seven containers, and far too little space: everything is packed together in the Express Courier loading dock, and you are the only one who can get things moving again. You choose a challenge, set up the trucks and cargo as shown in the booklet, and then slide them along the fixed tracks of the game board until every container is on the correct truck and every truck has made it out through one of the five exits. Containers roll from one loading bay to another along the way, so the path to the exit is rarely obvious.

The devil is in the order. If you send a truck out of the gate too early, it will either miss its cargo or end up blocking all the others, leaving your depot gridlocked. This is why this 3D solo logic puzzle from SmartGames is a real brain-teaser: you have to think three moves ahead before you move anything. The 80 challenges progress neatly from easy to expert and each has exactly one solution, found at the back of the booklet, so you always know if you have truly found it.

With a starting age of 9, Express Courier is among the more challenging titles from this Belgian brand, and you feel it immediately. Teenagers and adults will spend just as much time pondering it as children, so feel free to leave this single-player puzzle game on the kitchen table: the next person to walk by will start playing automatically. A great gift for those who have already completed the IQ series and are ready for something that really puts up a fight.