For this book, Alex Bellos has collected 125 puzzles created over the past two millennia, along with stories about their origins and influence. He chose the most exciting, fun, and thought-provoking tasks. These puzzles can be considered mathematical only in the broadest sense: their solution requires logical thinking, but does not require deep knowledge of mathematics. All these problems come from China, medieval Europe, Victorian England and modern Japan, as well as from other times and places. This is a book for those who are interested in mathematics and logic and love solving puzzles. Published in Russian for the first time.