Comment fonctionne Dingbats

Mar 13 2012

C'est un bloc d'imprimerie, une police électronique et un surnom peu flatteur - alors comment Dingbats est-il devenu une série de jeux de mots aussi ?

Pouvez-vous résoudre ces énigmes de style Dingbats ? (Les réponses se trouvent dans le troisième paragraphe de cette page.)

En raison de ma passion pour le journalisme, j'ai absorbé tout ce que je pouvais sur le processus d'impression alors que je travaillais sur mon premier emploi sur le terrain. Pour le plaisir, j'ai appris à faire fonctionner une ancienne typographie qui appartenait à un confrère passionné de mots. Nous avons passé de nombreuses heures agréables à faire la fête comme des journalistes et à organiser manuellement des blocs de lettres individuels pour épeler des mots. Après un malheureux laps de temps qui a envoyé toutes mes tuiles soigneusement placées hors du bâton de composition et sur le sol, je me suis également souvenu d'utiliser des entretoises pour maintenir les blocs en place. Certains des espaceurs que j'ai utilisés étaient des blocs vierges conçus pour séparer les mots et les phrases ; plus courts que les blocs de lettres, ces entretoises ne laissent pas de marque sur le papier. D'autres entretoises, connues sous le nom de dingbats , impriment un symbole.

Bien que la typographie ne soit plus utilisée dans l'impression commerciale, les dingbats le sont toujours. Ils sont utilisés pour marquer la fin d'un article ou d'un chapitre de livre, et sont devenus des dispositifs ornementaux utilisés dans la publicité et le design imprimés [source : Wise Geek ].

Comprendre le jeu de casse-tête Dingbats, cependant, nécessite plus que de connaître l'histoire pratique du terme. Vous aurez besoin de savoir comment résoudre des énigmes rébus . Ces énigmes utilisent des images et des mots comme indices de leurs réponses, qui sont des idiomes ou d'autres expressions courantes. Parfois, l'attention est attirée sur un mot ou une lettre spécifique dans le puzzle, qui offre un indice pour la réponse. Par exemple, "aid aid aid" avec une flèche pointant vers le premier mot de la série signifie "premiers secours". Ou, l'indice pourrait être des indices phonologiques. Par exemple, une image d'un chat à côté d'une bûche signifie "catalogue".

Dans la famille de jeux Dingbats, il existe des cartes puzzle dans trois catégories qui deviennent progressivement plus difficiles à résoudre, mais qui récompensent les bonnes réponses avec un nombre croissant de points :

Thingbats : une combinaison d'images et de mots ou de lettres (5 points)
Dingbats : une combinaison de lettres ou de mots (10 points)
Kingbats : Peut être un Thingbat ou un Dingbat, mais ce sont les énigmes les plus complexes à résoudre (15 points)

Contenu

Dingbats, des journaux aux iPhones
Comment jouer aux dingbats
Comment jouer aux dingbats numériques
Conseils et stratégies Dingbats

Dingbats, des journaux aux iPhones

Cette publicité de cartes à collectionner de l'époque victorienne de la société Durham Tobacco utilisait des puzzles de rébus, qui étaient à la mode à l'époque.

Paul Sellers, un caricaturiste basé dans le Kent, en Angleterre, a créé des bandes dessinées de journaux telles que les séries des années 1960 "Lancelittle" et "Eb & Flo", qui ont été publiées en Grande-Bretagne, aux États-Unis et dans d'autres pays. En 1980, Whatzit?, un puzzle de mots et d'images, a commencé à apparaître dans les journaux locaux, puis est devenu internationalement syndiqué et a inspiré un jeu de société du même nom. La carrière des vendeurs a décollé avec lui [source : Holtz ].

En quelques années, un jeu de société Whatzit a été vendu aux États-Unis et au Canada; il s'appelait Katch-Its en Australie et Dingbats dans tous les autres pays. Au tournant du siècle, le jeu s'était métamorphosé en livres d'énigmes et en un certain nombre de variantes de jeux de société (qui sont toutes épuisées), notamment [source : Board Game Geek ] :

1988: Junior Dingbats, licencié à Waddington's basé au Royaume-Uni
1990 : Totally Dingbats, qui introduit le jeu solo contre une minuterie, également sous licence de Waddington
1999: Dingbats Electronic Edition, sous licence à Goliath basé au Royaume-Uni
2003 : Dingbats, sous licence de Ravensburger basé aux États-Unis

Aujourd'hui, le Whatzit? syndicate est toujours publié sur des sites Web, des publications et des plates-formes mobiles, mais le jeu lui-même n'est appelé que Dingbats [source : Universal Uclick ].

En 2010, en l'honneur du 30e anniversaire du jeu, une édition numérique de Dingbats est sortie pour iPhone et iPod Touch (on ne sait pas si une version Android sera lancée). Il s'agissait de la première application produite par Starberry, basée à Londres, une société nommée d'après le mot Navaho pour myrtille. Pour la famille des vendeurs, l'application a marqué plus qu'une étape importante dans l'histoire du jeu. Cela a marqué le début d'une collaboration qui a inclus toute la famille.

Les fils du vendeur, Rus et Ben, ont dirigé la production de l'application ; sa fille, Rachel, a fait les voix off. Les graphismes et les effets sonores du jeu ont été créés par les petits-fils de Seller, et ses petits-enfants ont testé le jeu - avec sa femme, Marj, et sa belle-fille. Le jeu lui-même a été conçu par des amis de la famille, Tom Gidden et Vince Sneed.

Comment jouer aux dingbats

Curieux de jeux? Regardez ces vidéos pour en savoir plus sur la façon dont elles sont créées et diffusées partout, des salons aux salles de classe en passant par les cabinets de médecins.

Even though the board game versions of Dingbats are all currently out of print, there are plenty of copies to be found in gaming cabinets and for sale online. To begin playing the Dingbats board game, four of each of the three types of cards are placed face down on the game board, then each player rolls the dice (or, depending on the version of the game, you may spin the revolving playing board with an arrow in one corner; where the arrow points when the board stops will indicate who goes first).

If you have the highest roll (or if you are on the winning end of the game board's arrow), you'll be the first to flip one of the puzzle cards, starting at one of the board's corners. As your turn as Solver begins, an opponent will set a 30-second timer. When you think you've figured out the answer, say it aloud and then flip over the card to read the solution.

If you've solved the puzzle on the card, keep the card and keep going: The idea is to correctly solve as many cards as you can before time runs out and play passes to the left.

How will you know which card to go for next? Under each card is an arrow printed on the board; usually more than one arrow is present, which means you will have options when it comes to choosing the next adjacent card. Rarely, there will not be a card in the space indicated by the arrow; in that case, you can choose any card on the board at random.

If you didn't solve the puzzle, replace the card and place a new one from a different-colored deck on top of it. The person who solves the puzzle on the top card will get to keep both cards. Sometimes this jackpot will include multiple cards; each card in the jackpot is factored into the solver's score.

The game continues until the cards are gone from all 12 spaces. These solved puzzle cards will either end up in your pile or an opponent's, and you'll need to tally the points of each card in your respective haul.

If you have the high score, feel free to scream, "Winner, winner, chicken dinner" or any other victorious refrain that comes to mind. You could also up the ante by adding the game's 12 optional wild cards to your next round; these cards can give a player extra time to solve a puzzle, cause a player to miss a turn or reward a player with double points [source: Ravensburger].

How to Play Digital Dingbats

Not every digital version of a treasured board game is worth the purchase, but "Dingbats" for iPhone and iPod Touch retains the flavor of the original game and adds several attractive improvements, including solo play. (Plus it retails for about $2 as of early 2012, and the iPhone version can be played on an iPad as well.)

Players touch the screen to flip over one virtual card at a time -- the cards are shown in sets of 12 -- that have phrase-and-word puzzles just like the original game. As soon as a card flips over, a 90-second timer activates on the screen. If you know the answer (or want to make a guess), use the keyboard to type it in.

If your answer is correct, the card will disappear from the screen and the remaining cards in the set will be shown. If your answer is incorrect, you'll hear a ding and the puzzle card you're trying to solve will remain on the screen.

The faster you solve the puzzle, the more points you'll receive. Unlike the original game, you can ask for a clue after the timer runs out. You also can ask for in-game hints or come back to the card later, after having solved (or having attempted to solve) other cards in the set. If still stumped, you can pass (caution: you only get one pass per 1,000 points earned) or request an answer to the puzzle by email. After the game is over, you can review the cards you've solved in the app's card gallery. You also can connect the game to your Twitter account and tweet your scores.

Players can connect on the Dingbats Facebook page, where a free app offers a new puzzle each day. Web-based games from other companies, like those at Fun With Words, also offer rebus puzzles, although they do not follow the Dingbat game's timed format. (In addition, there's another app called "Dingbats" for iPad from developer Blockdots. Although fun, this is not the same game as Seller's "Dingbats." In this game, players select consonants to pair with hidden vowels to solve word puzzles. It's sort of like "Wheel of Fortune" for the iPad.)

Wall of Dingbats

The Wall of Dingbats on the app's Web site is a virtual wall of cards, and every time a player -- anywhere in the world -- solves a puzzle, its corresponding card is highlighted on the wall. Solve a puzzle and you could see your user name on the wall. The feature also helps the app's developers track the amount of time it takes players to solve the puzzles. To turn off this reporting feature, which records user names, country codes and timer stats, visit the Upload Scores section of the game.

Dingbats Tips and Strategies

Can you solve these Dingbats-style puzzles? (The answers are in the bulleted list on this page.)

Playing brain games, such as Dingbats, helps keep the mind nimble -- no matter what your age. Logic puzzles encourage the brain to fire up its neurons and increase the number of connections (synapses) between them. In essence, your brain continues to grow and change as it practices problem solving and commits this information to short- and long-term memory [source: Hoiland].

But when you're looking to win (or beat your personal best) in addition to improving your thinking skills, it pays to have a plan of action. Sometimes the answer to the puzzle will quickly come to mind, but if it doesn't, try these strategies [source: Your Amazing Brain]:

Look for a preposition: Does the puzzle include a visual representation of a preposition, like under, over, around or above? For example, the word "eggs" positioned above the word "easy" is "eggs over easy." The positioning of the words won't always indicate a preposition, though....
Think literally: Sometimes, the words' positions will visually represent a verb or noun instead. For example, the word "sun" shown progressively higher on a card is "sun rise." Consider about what the words are literally doing. This strategy also works for combinations of pictures and words. For example, if the word "camp" is shown going up in flames, the answer is "campfire."
Consider the font: Are the letters on the puzzle card puffy, upside-down or wavy? For example, the word "brain" written in a wavy font is "brainwave," and the letters c-h-a-n-c-e shown in a bold font is "fat chance."
Deconstruction: Does your card have a single word that seems to be nonsensical? Then pull it apart; it probably contains a word inside a word. Separating the letters will reveal your answer. For example, "jobINjob" is "in between jobs."

If you really become stuck and just can't seem to come up with a correct answer, try reading the card aloud. Case in point: Although I breezed through several rounds of Dingbats, I just couldn't figure out the solution to one particular card. It included a picture of a playing card -- the King of Hearts -- followed by the word "bored."

"Royally bored" was my first guess, followed by "royal bore." I'd become fixated on the "royal" portion of the puzzle and eventually had to pass. It wasn't until later, when I tried to solve the card aloud that it hit me. Card. Bored. "Cardboard." Sometimes hearing yourself say the words can trigger a new connection.

Originally Published: Mar 13, 2012

Dingbats FAQ

How do you play Dingbats?

To begin playing the Dingbats board game, four of each of the three types of cards are placed face down on the game board. When it's your turn, flip one of the puzzle cards and try to solve it before the 30-second timer runs out. When you think you've figured out the answer, say it aloud and then flip over the card to read the solution. Move onto the next card and try to do as many as possible before time is up.

Who invented the Dingbats game?

Paul Sellers, a Kent, England-based cartoonist, created newspaper cartoon strips such as the 1960s-era series "Lancelittle" and "Eb & Flo," which were published in Great Britain, the United States and other countries. In 1980, Whatzit?, a word-and-picture puzzler, began appearing in local newspapers, then became internationally syndicated and inspired a board game of the same name.

Can you play Dingbats online?

The Dingbats board game is actually no longer made, so the only way to play (unless you find an old version for sale) is to play online.

What is a dingbat?

Dingbats are imprinted symbols, or pictures, that stand in for words.

What's an example of a dingbat?

The Dingbats game uses rebus puzzles, which are combinations of pictures and words that form clues to the answer. For example, "aid aid aid" with an arrow pointing to the first word in the series means "first aid."

Lots More Information

Author's Note: How Dingbats Works

I downloaded "Dingbats" for iPhone and began playing. It seemed, however, quite like a simplified version of "Wheel of Fortune" (fill in the blank and guess the phrase). As I dug into the assignment, I realized I'd been playing the wrong game. The Dingbats game I was assigned to research had a rights-reserved symbol after its name -- and was an entirely different game. Suddenly it all began to more sense, and I felt a bit like a dingbat myself.

One thing I like about Seller's Dingbats game is that it's easy to jump in and start playing. I opted for the iPhone version (which I realized I could also play on my iPad) and in just a couple of minutes was flipping virtual cards and typing answers. Although I tried not to use the help of the in-app hint 'bot -- Ding King -- sometimes I simply couldn't come up with an answer. No wonder the game's tagline is "the wordplay game that will drive you crazy."