Meryl Berness

For over fifteen years, I was a guidance counselor in middle school, where I began sharing my puzzle-making strategies with my students to help them deal with every day “ups and downs” in their lives. Not only did I help them create word finds relating to their particular problems (which helped in alleviating stress), I especially loved teaching them the joys of completing my “XYZ-DoKu Puzzles”: yes, Sudoku puzzles with letters instead of numbers, and each with a special mystery message theme. They are indeed a wonderful learning experience — teachers take heed!

For several years, many of my puzzles were enjoyed by friends, acquaintances, and neighbors, as my XYZ-DoKu puzzles were published monthly in community newspapers in central New Jersey.

The theme of this new puzzle book is “The Coronavirus Rage,”and it is complete with tutorial and background information. Each mystery message, when decoded, helps the puzzle-doer understand all about the 21st Century pandemic that traveled the world. These large print puzzles are never difficult. All XYZ-DoKu mystery message puzzle-solvers — from middle school aged students to middle-age (and beyond) — will find them to be challenging, very enjoyable, and most rewarding.