''BBC MindGames'' was a British

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

devoted to puzzles, brainteasers and articles concerning the mind. It was published every four weeks. Its name was taken from the

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

show, ''Mind Games''.

History and profile

The magazine was launched in June 2006 by Cam Winstanley, who edited the first three issues. From issue four (September 2006),

Cavan Scott Cavan Scott (born 18 April 1973), is a New York Times bestselling comic writer and author. He is best known for his work on a variety of spin-offs from both ''Doctor Who'' and ''Star Wars'', as well as comics and novels for ''Teen Titans'', ''Bla ...

took over the editorship, bringing in more variety and a broader, less haughty tone. In common with other magazines in the

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

stable, it had a glossy cover, extensive features and interviews, and a witty tone. The magazine was published on a monthly basis. The publisher BBC Magazines Bristol. Issue 9, published on 30 January 2007, was the last issue. A feature called ''Mind Games'', including a similar selection of puzzles, now appears in ''

BBC Focus ''BBC Science Focus'' (previously ''BBC Focus'') is a British monthly magazine about science and technology published in Bristol, UK by Immediate Media Company. Edited by Daniel Bennett, it covers all aspects of science and technology and is writ ...

'' magazine.

Hidden features

The magazine contained a number of hidden puzzles, known as

Easter Eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...

. These usually lead to a coded message or word for the reader to discover. Issue 1 included a hidden

URL A Uniform Resource Locator (URL), colloquially termed as a web address, is a reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it. A URL is a specific type of Uniform Resource Identifie ...

for a web site concealed in an Acrostic style form. The spine of the magazine included an anagram of the current issue in some form or another. For example: # Omen Disguises Name = MindGames Issue One # Men Do Disseminating Code = MindGames Second Edition # I Sleep with Imagery Unto Madness = MindGames Issue four - Play to Win! Other easter eggs have included using dice printed on each page indicating the number of eyes visible on that page's spread, having differences between images of the front cover and the actual front cover, and hiding related words within articles.

Global Hide and Seek

This puzzle is the brain-child of Cam Winstanley. The premise here is that a photograph is shown of a series of props, images and text, all of which will lead the solver to identifying a famous person (living or dead) hiding somewhere in the world, carrying out some activity or other. This puzzle is the cause of much frustration and enjoyment amongst the readers of the magazine, who will either work alone or in groups on the magazine's forum page to try to solve the clues.

Regular characters

The magazine includes a number of characters who provide assistance, clues and additional puzzles for the readers. These characters were named by the readers of the Forum pages (see External Links) in weekly competitions.

Links to other BBC programmes

The magazine was based on the BBC television programme ''Mind Games''. Within the magazine are a number of articles and puzzles that are based upon or directly linked with existing BBC radio and television programmes. For example: *Moral Maze - two different view points are given to a contentious issue (Based on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

programme ''

Moral Maze ''Moral Maze'' is a live discussion programme on BBC Radio 4, broadcast since 1990. Since November 2011, it has also been available as a podcast. Structure Four regular panellists discuss moral and ethical issues raised by a recent news story. ...

''). *News Quiz - a look back at some of the month's more ridiculous news stories (based on the

game ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History ''The News Quiz'' was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently, it was chaired by Barry Took from 1979 to 1981, Simon Hoggart from ...

''). *Round Britain Quiz - A number of clues is given to a series of answers which all have a common link (based on the BBC Radio 4 game ''

Round Britain Quiz ''Round Britain Quiz'' (or ''RBQ'' for short) is a panel game that has been broadcast on BBC Radio since 1947, making it the oldest quiz still broadcast on British radio. It was based on a format called ''Transatlantic Quiz'', a contest betwee ...

''). *'' QI'' - facts and questions on general ignorance, based on the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

programme of the same name. *''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of the ...

'' - readers are invited to write questions about their specialist subjects. *''

Call My Bluff ''Call My Bluff'' is a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson. Its most prominent panellist was Frank Muir. Format The ga ...

'' - based on the vintage BBC quiz. In addition, the regular logic puzzles were based around current BBC programmes. Past puzzles have included ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing ...

'', '' Spooks'' and ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

''. Some issues featured a game to seek out a picture of a BBC personality hidden in the pages. These included ''

'' character,

Phil Mitchell Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother Grant Mitchell (EastEnders), Grant (Ross Kemp), s ...

, and TV/radio presenter,

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...

References

{{Reflist 2006 establishments in the United Kingdom 2007 disestablishments in the United Kingdom MindGames Science and technology magazines published in the United Kingdom British games Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 2006 Magazines disestablished in 2007 Puzzle magazines Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom