{"id":2121733,"date":"2026-09-01T03:58:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T00:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2121733"},"modified":"2026-09-01T03:58:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T00:58:40","slug":"murdoku-and-the-adult-activity-book-craze-the-trend-sweeping-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2121733","title":{"rendered":"Murdoku and the adult activity book craze: the trend sweeping Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/23\/44\/1200x675_cmsv2_5fd681f7-0c3a-5c19-8f24-08520d3dec0f-9892344.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"abe-2921965-pos1-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1\" data-nid=\"2921965\" data-cid=\"9895858\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921965-label-pos1-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/46\/01\/14\/189x106_cmsv2_fcfc26f9-c5ba-58ca-abf8-9dbdef93668f-9460114.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gestures as she delivers a major state of the union speech at the EU Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Sept 10, 2025\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    EU.XL<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    What does Iceland\u2019s \u201cNo\u201d vote mean for the EU\u2019s enlargement policy?\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2913468-pos2-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1 the-media-object--has-video\" data-nid=\"2913468\" data-cid=\"9854509\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2913468-label-pos2-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/85\/45\/09\/189x106_cmsv2_761c335f-fe69-562c-aef8-b55b814e29d2-9854509.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"EU defence ministers meeting\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Europe Today<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \"><span class=\"c-article-title__prefix--red\">Live.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>    EU defence ministers meet amid increased Russia threats\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2922100-pos3-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1\" data-nid=\"2922100\" data-cid=\"9896523\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2922100-label-pos3-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/65\/23\/189x106_cmsv2_2a44885d-7bfd-5fae-ac39-e83e6f42f053-9896523.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Candles with victims names are placed outside the Islamic Centre of San Diego in the aftermath of a shooting, 20 May, 2026\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    USA<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    US teen charged with aiding San Diego mosque shooters share livestream\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2922089-pos4-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1\" data-nid=\"2922089\" data-cid=\"9896474\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2922089-label-pos4-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/64\/74\/189x106_cmsv2_e730053f-514a-5af6-b1ca-126258cec594-9896474.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Bright Angel Canyon meets with the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, 31 August, 2026\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    USA<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Two dead and one still unaccounted for in Grand Canyon flash flood\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921965-pos1-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2\" data-nid=\"2921965\" data-cid=\"9895858\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921965-label-pos1-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/46\/01\/14\/189x106_cmsv2_fcfc26f9-c5ba-58ca-abf8-9dbdef93668f-9460114.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gestures as she delivers a major state of the union speech at the EU Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Sept 10, 2025\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    EU.XL<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    What does Iceland\u2019s \u201cNo\u201d vote mean for the EU\u2019s enlargement policy?\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2913468-pos2-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2 the-media-object--has-video\" data-nid=\"2913468\" data-cid=\"9854509\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2913468-label-pos2-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/85\/45\/09\/189x106_cmsv2_761c335f-fe69-562c-aef8-b55b814e29d2-9854509.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"EU defence ministers meeting\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Europe Today<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \"><span class=\"c-article-title__prefix--red\">Live.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>    EU defence ministers meet amid increased Russia threats\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2922100-pos3-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2\" data-nid=\"2922100\" data-cid=\"9896523\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2922100-label-pos3-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/65\/23\/189x106_cmsv2_2a44885d-7bfd-5fae-ac39-e83e6f42f053-9896523.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Candles with victims names are placed outside the Islamic Centre of San Diego in the aftermath of a shooting, 20 May, 2026\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    USA<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    US teen charged with aiding San Diego mosque shooters share livestream\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2922089-pos4-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2\" data-nid=\"2922089\" data-cid=\"9896474\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2922089-label-pos4-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/64\/74\/189x106_cmsv2_e730053f-514a-5af6-b1ca-126258cec594-9896474.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Bright Angel Canyon meets with the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, 31 August, 2026\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    USA<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Two dead and one still unaccounted for in Grand Canyon flash flood\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"helper-site-row o-article-newsy\">\n<div class=\"helper-site-container o-article-newsy__container\">\n<div class=\"o-article-newsy__main\">\n<header class=\"h-grid o-article-newsy__main__header\">\n<nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\" class=\"c-article-breadcrumbs\">\n<div id=\"adb-article-breadcrumb\" class=\"c-article-breadcrumbs__list\">\n<p>                          Culture<\/p>\n<p>                          Culture news<\/p><\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<h1 class=\"c-article-redesign-title\">\n                            Murdoku and the adult activity book craze: the trend sweeping Spain<\/h1>\n<div class=\"c-article-image-video u-position-relative \">\n<div class=\"js-superdiv u-aspect-ratio-16x9 u-position-relative \" data-controller=\"video-player\" data-sponsored=\"Partner content\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-poster-img c-article-media__img\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/23\/44\/1536x864_cmsv2_5fd681f7-0c3a-5c19-8f24-08520d3dec0f-9892344.jpg\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Promo image on Blackie Books&apos; website for the &quot;Activity Books for Adults&quot;.\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-caption u-position-absolute\"><i id=\"article-caption-content\" class=\"c-article-caption__content\"><span class=\"c-article-caption__text\"><br \/>\n              Promotional image on the Blackie Books website for the &#8220;Adult activity workbooks&#8221;.<br \/>\n                    <span class=\"u-color-white\">&#8211;\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"c-article-caption__copyright\">Copyright\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"c-article-caption__credit\">Blackie Books<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-image-copyright c-article-image-copyright--novideo\">\n      Copyright\u00a0Blackie Books\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"h-grid o-article-newsy__main__body u-article-content\">\n<div class=\"o-article-newsy__contributors-publication-date\">\n<div class=\"c-article-contributors\">\n  By&amp;nbspCristian Caraballo\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-publication-date\" data-timestamp=\"1788235120\">\n         Published on<br \/>\n            <time datetime=\"2026-09-01 05:58:40 +02:00\">01\/09\/2026 &#8211; 5:58 GMT+2<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment u-align-items-center u-display-flex\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__links u-align-items-center u-display-flex u-justify-content-center js-c-article-share-comment-share\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Share<\/span><\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Comments<\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label c-article-share-comment__label--always\">Add Euronews on Google<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup-overlay js-c-article-share-comment-popup-overlay u-display-none\">\n<div id=\"js-c-article-share-comment-popup\" class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup js-c-article-share-comment-popup\">\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup__header u-display-flex\"><span>Share<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/icon-close.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"Close Button\" class=\"u-cursor-pointer js-c-article-share-comment-close\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup__content u-display-flex\">\n<div id=\"share-comment-popup-content-container\" 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decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-telegram.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"telegram\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"u-display-flex u-gap-1 u-show-for-mobile-only\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-vk.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"vk\" loading=\"lazy\"><span>VK<\/span><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-vk.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"vk\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"u-display-flex u-gap-1 u-show-for-mobile-only\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-bluesky.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"bluesky\" loading=\"lazy\"><span>Bluesky<\/span><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-bluesky.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"bluesky\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"u-display-flex u-gap-1 u-show-for-mobile-only\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-threads.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"threads\" loading=\"lazy\"><span>Threads<\/span><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-threads.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"threads\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"u-display-flex u-gap-1 u-show-for-mobile-only\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-whatsapp.svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" alt=\"whatsapp\" loading=\"lazy\"><span>Whatsapp<\/span><\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/social-icons\/article-redesign-whatsapp.svg\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"whatsapp\" class=\"u-show-for-desktop\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"c-article-summary\">\n        Activity books for adults are booming, mixing puzzles, pop culture and mysteries. Their success, led by Murdoku, shows a hunger for screen-free fun and a playful workout for the mind.<br \/>\n    <\/h2>\n<div class=\"c-article-content c-article-content--culture js-article-content\">\n<p><strong>Adult activity books<\/strong>, blending puzzles with pop culture and mysteries to solve, have become a publishing phenomenon. Murdoku, with more than 140,000 copies sold in Spain, leads a booming genre that many associate with digital detox.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"c-ad u-show-for-mobile-only\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/logos\/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg\" width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt loading=\"lazy\"><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad u-show-for-desktop\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/logos\/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg\" width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt loading=\"lazy\"><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>It used to be the newsstand crossword<\/strong>, the one you took on the metro or into the dentist\u2019s waiting room. <strong>Now it is a purple-covered notebook<\/strong> with the outline of a house drawn as a sudoku grid, or a hardback packed with questions about Rosal\u00eda and Netflix series.<\/p>\n<p>Adult activity books, the latest mutation of the classic pastime, have become a publishing phenomenon <strong>that is no longer confined to summer<\/strong>, and within it there is a subgenre that is eating up all the rest: <strong>solving a murder armed with a pencil, an eraser and a sudoku grid<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The trend began a decade ago with <strong>colouring books aimed at adults<\/strong>, sold under labels such as art therapy or anti-stress, featuring mandalas, flowers and landscapes. What looked like a summer fad took root, and from there a more ambitious version emerged: <strong>the adult activity book<\/strong>, an update of the traditional newsstand puzzle book (crosswords, word searches, sudokus) with an extra ingredient that sets it apart: popular culture.<\/p>\n<p>The arrival of the mobile phone did not kill off the analogue genre; <strong>instead, the two now coexist<\/strong>, just as YouTube cookery channels have not sunk recipe books, or television did not kill radio.<\/p>\n<h2>Blackie Books and its distinctive activity books<\/h2>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.325\">\n<div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n<div class=\"widget__contents\">\n<figure class=\"widget__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/23\/44\/808x262_cmsv2_473778ec-46b1-5fd7-8d56-54b51946ad6e-9892344.jpg\" alt=\"A selection of the activity books sold by the publisher Blackie Books\"><figcaption class=\"widget__caption\"><span class=\"widget__captionWrap\"><span class=\"widget__captionText\">A selection of the activity books sold by the publisher Blackie Books<\/span><span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">P\u00e1gina web Blackie Books<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Blackie Books was among the first to spot the potential. <strong>Its adult activity books are already on their 14th volume<\/strong>, one per summer, and have passed 250,000 copies sold, according to the publisher\u2019s own figures. <strong>The latest offers 60 exercises on music<\/strong>, film, TV series, literature, science and sport, designed to &#8220;de-rust the mind&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Success has led the publisher to <strong>branch out the concept<\/strong>: the &#8220;Cuaderno Kids&#8221;, for children from the age of six; the &#8220;Cuaderno Golden&#8221;, aimed at older readers with memory challenges and questions about well-known faces from years gone by; and the &#8220;Quadern&#8221;, its Catalan-language version, with local touchstones such as Merc\u00e8 Rodoreda or the castellers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other imprints have carved out their own niche<\/strong> without resorting to crime: Debate has launched an activity book signed by &#8220;El Mundo Today&#8221; that tests the ability to distinguish reality from fiction, and GeoPlaneta is already on the fifth volume of a travel activity book, <strong>complete with playlists and gastronomic guides.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Murdoku, the hit that has fuelled the craze for solving crimes<\/h2>\n<p>If one single book sums up the season, it is Murdoku. <strong>The notebook<\/strong>, with its unmistakable purple cover, <strong>has already sold more than 140,000 copies in Spain<\/strong>, and this year it has flown off tables at several spring book fairs. Its mechanics reinvent the classic sudoku: each puzzle places a group of suspects in the squares of a grid, without repeating any of them in a given row or column, and <strong>the square that remains empty shows<\/strong> where the victim is; the suspect whose position matches that square is the killer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The difficulty increases as the book progresses<\/strong>, to the point that some bookshops are now organising live solving competitions. Behind it is Canadian Manuel Garand, a puzzle designer based in Montreal whose work has also been published in the &#8220;Financial Times&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Such is the success the book has enjoyed<\/strong> (and that of those trying to imitate it) that other people have even set up a website with the same concept where you can tackle Murdokus for free. <strong>At the time of writing there are 35 puzzles<\/strong> to complete, and that is with the site still in development.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5157232704402516\">\n<div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n<div class=\"widget__contents\">\n<figure class=\"widget__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/23\/44\/808x416_cmsv2_532cc3b0-36bc-505a-9b2b-5d0b14e36aba-9892344.jpg\" alt=\"Online version of Murdoku\"><figcaption class=\"widget__caption\"><span class=\"widget__captionWrap\"><span class=\"widget__captionText\">Online version of Murdoku<\/span><span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Murdoku.com<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Murdle, Agatha Christie and the rest of the crime genre<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The other big name in the genre is Murdle<\/strong>. &#8220;Resuelve el crimen&#8221; (published in Spain, like &#8220;Murdoku&#8221;, by Temas de Hoy), <strong>uses a different mechanism<\/strong>: instead of a sudoku grid, it offers narrative clues about suspects, weapons and settings that you have to cross-reference to point to the culprit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It already runs to three volumes<\/strong> and a children\u2019s edition; its creator, the American G.T. Karber, <strong>started by publishing a case a day online<\/strong> before becoming a print bestseller. Espasa has followed suit with &#8220;Los casos de Agatha Christie: 100 acertijos y un misterio por resolver&#8221;, <strong>the first official activity book about the British writer<\/strong>, which invites readers to step into the shoes of Poirot or Miss Marple.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And there is more:<\/strong> &#8220;El crimen del verano&#8221; takes the genre to the beach and poolside, with 121 suspects and clues scattered across sudokus, crosswords and number pyramids; &#8220;Crimigramas&#8221;, meanwhile, hides the killer inside word searches. <strong>None of these formats is new on its own<\/strong>, but when combined with a mystery plot <strong>they make sure the reader stops being a passive spectator<\/strong> and becomes, puzzle by puzzle, a detective.<\/p>\n<h2>Another way to switch off from your phone?<\/h2>\n<p>Behind this craze for paper and pencil there also lurks a weariness with screens. It is no coincidence that more and more of these books are being sold explicitly <strong>as a way to disconnect from the digital world<\/strong>, with no notifications and no rush, designed to reclaim that bit of leisure time that used to be swallowed by the mobile phone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On top of that comes a more practical argument<\/strong>: those who follow the phenomenon closely point out that this kind of game works attention, memory and cognitive flexibility, <strong>although there is still no study<\/strong> to confirm exactly what lies behind their success.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No one expects a paper pastime<\/strong> to compete with the sophistication of a video game; in fact, that is not the aim. <strong>It is more about a different niche<\/strong>: a few minutes with the mind occupied and no screen involved, something that more and more people are seeking as part of the pastime itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"adb-c-mention-original-translation\" class=\"c-mention-original-translation c-mention-original-translation--culture\">\n<aside>This text was translated with the help of artificial intelligence and originally published in\u00a0Spanish    <\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p>                          Go to accessibility shortcuts<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment u-align-items-center u-display-flex\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__links u-align-items-center u-display-flex u-justify-content-center js-c-article-share-comment-share\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Share<\/span><\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Comments<\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label c-article-share-comment__label--always\">Add Euronews on Google<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"adb-article-you-might-also-like\" class=\"perf-cv-auto c-article-you-might-also-like\">\n<h2 class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__title\">\n        Read more<br \/>\n      <\/h2>\n<div 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id=\"abe-2921218-label-pos2-c-article-you-might-also-like__item\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/23\/44\/480x270_cmsv2_5fd681f7-0c3a-5c19-8f24-08520d3dec0f-9892344.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Promo image on Blackie Books&apos; website for the &quot;Activity Books for Adults&quot;.\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Culture news<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Murdoku and the adult activity book craze: the trend sweeping Spain<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"perf-cv-auto\">\n<ul id=\"adb-article-tags\" class=\"c-tags-list\">\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" data-twig-component=\"Cta-default\">\n  Spain<br \/>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-tags-list__item\">\n<section class=\"tc-cta\" 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decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/23\/44\/480x270_cmsv2_5fd681f7-0c3a-5c19-8f24-08520d3dec0f-9892344.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Promo image on Blackie Books&apos; website for the &quot;Activity Books for Adults&quot;.\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Culture news<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Murdoku and the adult activity book craze: the trend sweeping Spain<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921966-pos2-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2 the-media-object--has-video the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921966\" data-cid=\"9895859\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921966-label-pos2-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" 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src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/55\/21\/320x180_cmsv2_4d2f649a-108a-591b-8194-f4d1fe4bca2a-9895521.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\u2018Polyester\u2019: Understanding Gen Z\u2019s new favourite insult (and why it\u2019s a good thing)\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    \u2018Polyester\u2019: Understanding Gen Z\u2019s new favourite insult (and why it\u2019s a good thing)<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921838-pos4-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921838\" data-cid=\"9895098\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921838-label-pos4-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/50\/98\/320x180_cmsv2_2fb60a77-8fe4-5601-997a-b3827e3ec11f-9895098.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\u2018Spider-Man: Brand New Day\u2019 dethrones \u2018Titanic\u2019 and nears all-time box office Top Three\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    \u2018Spider-Man: Brand New Day\u2019 dethrones \u2018Titanic\u2019 and nears all-time box office Top Three<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2920990-pos5-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2920990\" data-cid=\"9891223\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2920990-label-pos5-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/12\/23\/320x180_cmsv2_5e03acfd-d8d4-5d35-bee5-c5c55e055f01-9891223.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Ellie Goulding, 2023 \u2014 &apos;The Gentlemen&apos; \u2014 &apos;The Death of Robin Hood&apos;\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    The best things to do, hear, see or watch in Europe this week<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921967-pos6-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921967\" data-cid=\"9895872\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2921967-label-pos6-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/58\/72\/320x180_cmsv2_0258a57c-e025-51ed-bb9f-11aab6790d7b-9895872.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Dolly Parton has left fans a secret song \u2013 but it\u2019s locked away until 2045\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Dolly Parton has left fans a secret song \u2013 but it\u2019s locked away and buried until 2045<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921322-pos1-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--has-related the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921322\" data-cid=\"9892933\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    \u2018Disgusting\u2019: Donald Trump faces backlash for posting AI image of him and Dolly Parton<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921838-pos2-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--has-related the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921838\" data-cid=\"9895098\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    \u2018Spider-Man: Brand New Day\u2019 dethrones \u2018Titanic\u2019 and nears all-time box office Top Three<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921342-pos3-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--has-video the-media-object--has-related the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921342\" data-cid=\"9893355\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    C\u00e9line Dion concerts: Canadian star returns to Paris after six years away from the stage<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921234-pos4-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--has-related the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921234\" data-cid=\"9892471\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Barton\u2026 Jack Barton: Could this unknown British actor be the next James Bond?<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2921828-pos5-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--has-related the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2921828\" data-cid=\"9895015\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Flying 9 to 5: Nashville airport to be renamed after Dolly Parton<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"articleBody\" data-key=\"articleBody\">Adult activity books, blending puzzles with pop culture and mysteries to solve, have become a publishing phenomenon. Murdoku, with more than 140,000 copies sold in Spain, leads a booming genre that many associate with digital detox.It used to be the newsstand crossword, the one you took on the metro or into the dentist\u2019s waiting room. Now it is a purple-covered notebook with the outline of a house drawn as a sudoku grid, or a hardback packed with questions about Rosal\u00eda and Netflix series.Adult activity books, the latest mutation of the classic pastime, have become a publishing phenomenon that is no longer confined to summer, and within it there is a subgenre that is eating up all the rest: solving a murder armed with a pencil, an eraser and a sudoku grid.The trend began a decade ago with colouring books aimed at adults, sold under labels such as art therapy or anti-stress, featuring mandalas, flowers and landscapes. What looked like a summer fad took root, and from there a more ambitious version emerged: the adult activity book, an update of the traditional newsstand puzzle book (crosswords, word searches, sudokus) with an extra ingredient that sets it apart: popular culture.The arrival of the mobile phone did not kill off the analogue genre; instead, the two now coexist, just as YouTube cookery channels have not sunk recipe books, or television did not kill radio.Blackie Books and its distinctive activity booksBlackie Books was among the first to spot the potential. Its adult activity books are already on their 14th volume, one per summer, and have passed 250,000 copies sold, according to the publisher\u2019s own figures. The latest offers 60 exercises on music, film, TV series, literature, science and sport, designed to &#8220;de-rust the mind&#8221;.Success has led the publisher to branch out the concept: the &#8220;Cuaderno Kids&#8221;, for children from the age of six; the &#8220;Cuaderno Golden&#8221;, aimed at older readers with memory challenges and questions about well-known faces from years gone by; and the &#8220;Quadern&#8221;, its Catalan-language version, with local touchstones such as Merc\u00e8 Rodoreda or the castellers.Other imprints have carved out their own niche without resorting to crime: Debate has launched an activity book signed by &#8220;El Mundo Today&#8221; that tests the ability to distinguish reality from fiction, and GeoPlaneta is already on the fifth volume of a travel activity book, complete with playlists and gastronomic guides.Murdoku, the hit that has fuelled the craze for solving crimesIf one single book sums up the season, it is Murdoku. The notebook, with its unmistakable purple cover, has already sold more than 140,000 copies in Spain, and this year it has flown off tables at several spring book fairs. Its mechanics reinvent the classic sudoku: each puzzle places a group of suspects in the squares of a grid, without repeating any of them in a given row or column, and the square that remains empty shows where the victim is; the suspect whose position matches that square is the killer.The difficulty increases as the book progresses, to the point that some bookshops are now organising live solving competitions. Behind it is Canadian Manuel Garand, a puzzle designer based in Montreal whose work has also been published in the &#8220;Financial Times&#8221;.Such is the success the book has enjoyed (and that of those trying to imitate it) that other people have even set up a website with the same concept where you can tackle Murdokus for free. At the time of writing there are 35 puzzles to complete, and that is with the site still in development.Murdle, Agatha Christie and the rest of the crime genreThe other big name in the genre is Murdle. &#8220;Resuelve el crimen&#8221; (published in Spain, like &#8220;Murdoku&#8221;, by Temas de Hoy), uses a different mechanism: instead of a sudoku grid, it offers narrative clues about suspects, weapons and settings that you have to cross-reference to point to the culprit.It already runs to three volumes and a children\u2019s edition; its creator, the American G.T. Karber, started by publishing a case a day online before becoming a print bestseller. Espasa has followed suit with &#8220;Los casos de Agatha Christie: 100 acertijos y un misterio por resolver&#8221;, the first official activity book about the British writer, which invites readers to step into the shoes of Poirot or Miss Marple.And there is more: &#8220;El crimen del verano&#8221; takes the genre to the beach and poolside, with 121 suspects and clues scattered across sudokus, crosswords and number pyramids; &#8220;Crimigramas&#8221;, meanwhile, hides the killer inside word searches. None of these formats is new on its own, but when combined with a mystery plot they make sure the reader stops being a passive spectator and becomes, puzzle by puzzle, a detective.Another way to switch off from your phone?Behind this craze for paper and pencil there also lurks a weariness with screens. It is no coincidence that more and more of these books are being sold explicitly as a way to disconnect from the digital world, with no notifications and no rush, designed to reclaim that bit of leisure time that used to be swallowed by the mobile phone.On top of that comes a more practical argument: those who follow the phenomenon closely point out that this kind of game works attention, memory and cognitive flexibility, although there is still no study to confirm exactly what lies behind their success.No one expects a paper pastime to compete with the sophistication of a video game; in fact, that is not the aim. It is more about a different niche: a few minutes with the mind occupied and no screen involved, something that more and more people are seeking as part of the pastime itself.<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;http:\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/2026\/09\/01\/murdoku-and-the-adult-activity-book-craze-the-trend-sweeping-spain&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/89\/23\/44\/1200x675_cmsv2_5fd681f7-0c3a-5c19-8f24-08520d3dec0f-9892344.jpg&#8221;] EU.XL What does Iceland\u2019s \u201cNo\u201d vote mean for the EU\u2019s enlargement policy? Europe Today Live. EU defence ministers meet amid increased Russia threats USA US teen charged with aiding San Diego mosque shooters share livestream USA Two dead and one still unaccounted for in Grand Canyon flash flood EU.XL What does Iceland\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[226,36],"class_list":["post-2121733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","tag-crawlmanager","tag-euronews-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2121733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2121733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2121733\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2121733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2121733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2121733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}