This series aims to capture new and exciting work in Recreational Mathematics, loosely defined as ‘mathematics arising from recreational and esthetic pursuits’, though we are happy to bend that definition to accommodate almost anything that explores mathematics with a spirit of creativity, and curiosity. In the past century, Recreational Mathematics has proven itself as a way to engage a wider audience with the subject, and also as a catalyst for deep research in the field.
The remit of the series is extremely broad, featuring books taking a mathematical approach to puzzles, games, origami, visual arts, literary arts, performing arts, history, magic and more besides.
We welcome all manner of text-types, though we do especially value those books that can be used in an educational setting and which are accessible to readers with minimal mathematical background.
If you have a manuscript, proposal, or even just the beginnings of an idea, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
By Hans Zantema
April 22, 2024
This is a book about infinity — specifically the infinity of numbers and sequences. Amazing properties arise, for instance, some kinds of infinity are argued to be greater than others. Along the way the author will demonstrate how infinity can be made to create beautiful ‘art’, guided by the ...
By Stephen Erfle
January 23, 2024
String art is a well-known and popular activity that uses string, a board, and nails to produce artistic images (although there are variations that use different modalities). This activity is beloved because simple counting rules are used to create beautiful images that can both adorn walls and ...
By Jon-Lark Kim
December 14, 2023
Mathematicians Playing Games explores a wide variety of popular mathematical games, including their historical beginnings and the mathematical theories that underpin them. Its academic level is suitable for high school students and higher, but people of any age or level will find something to ...
By Yohei Yamamoto, Jun Mitani
November 09, 2023
Design Techniques for Origami Tessellations is both a collection of origami tessellations and a manual to design them. This book begins by explaining general design methods, the history and definitions of origami tessellations, and the geometric features of flat origami, before moving on to ...
By Mark Bollman
August 31, 2023
Basic Gambling Mathematics: The Numbers Behind the Neon, Second Edition explains the mathematics involved in analyzing games of chance, including casino games, horse racing and other sports, and lotteries. The book helps readers understand the mathematical reasons why some gambling games are better...
By Desmond MacHale
August 31, 2023
Lateral Solutions to Mathematical Problems offers a fresh approach to mathematical problem solving via lateral thinking. Lateral thinking has long been used informally by good mathematics teachers and lecturers to spice up their material and interest their students in the more artistic aspects of ...
By Barry R. Clarke
August 04, 2023
Want to sharpen your mathematical wits? If so, then Mathematical Conundrums is for you. Daily Telegraph enigmatologist, Barry R. Clarke, presents over 120 fiendish problems that will test both your ingenuity and persistence. Between these covers are puzzles in geometry, arithmetic, and algebra (...
By Jerry Butters, Jim Henle
May 18, 2023
The Baseball Mysteries: Challenging Puzzles for Logical Detectives is a book of baseball puzzles, logical baseball puzzles. To jump in, all you need is logic and a casual fan’s knowledge of the game. The puzzles are solved by reasoning from the rules of the game and a few facts. The logic in the ...
By Andy Liu
December 29, 2022
Mathematical Puzzle Tales from Mount Olympus uses fascinating tales from Greek Mythology as the background for introducing mathematics puzzles to the general public. A background in high school mathematics will be ample preparation for using this book, and it should appeal to anyone who enjoys ...
By Andy Liu, Peter Taylor
December 07, 2022
Mathematical Recreations from the Tournament of the Towns contains the complete list of problems and solutions to the International Mathematics Tournament of the Towns from Fall 2007 to Spring 2021.The primary audience for this book is the army of recreational mathematicians united under the banner...
By Mark Bollman
April 29, 2022
There are thousands of books relating to poker, blackjack, roulette and baccarat, including strategy guides, statistical analysis, psychological studies, and much more. However, there are no books on Pell, Rouleno, Street Dice, and many other games that have had a short life in casinos! While this...
By Tung Ken Lam
September 22, 2021
"Star Origami is a festival of folding fun that is sure to inspire. Tung Ken's stellar designs are rich with invention, and as always, his works are beautifully illustrated and written by him. Those eager for the math behind the designs will not be disappointed."— Michael LaFosse (Origamido® Studio...