Bernard was a mathematics teacher, but he lived for clever games. He raised the solving of logic-grid puzzles to an art form. His commitment led him to run game workshops in schools, helping students discover the richness of reasoning from middle school onward. Through his many publications, his creativity gave his readers hours of intellectual enjoyment. To bring his passion to a new audience, he drew on his programming skills to develop original new games himself. Subscribers to Tangente can discover some of them on the website created in his memory (go to www.infinimath.com, then select Espace jeux, followed by Jeux en ligne).
The best tribute we can pay him is to encourage middle- and high-school students not only to play with mathematics but also to devise and program games of their own. So if you know any young people with a flair for games and computing, have them enter the competition that bears his name (see below).
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The world of grid-based puzzles ----------------------------
Bernard Novelli wrote a great many books on mathematical games, particularly logic puzzles. Drawing on familiar grid-based puzzles such as Sudoku, lesser-known ones such as Hitori, and games of his own invention, he was ahead of everyone else in developing software to create and solve them—but above all, to let players enjoy the search for the solution (always unique).
He edited and wrote the first books in two series published by Éditions POLE: Jeux & stratégie référence and À vous de jouer. In the latter series, whose first four titles—Gratte-ciel, Démineur, Bataille navale, Dominos—have become classics, he always presents the games in the same way: the rules, strategic advice, and hundreds of puzzles of increasing difficulty. He later followed the same format in four books describing 20 new grid-based games, grouped by theme: 5 jeux de chiffres, 5 jeux de circuits, 5 jeux de déduction, 5 jeux des 5 continents. These books can be found in bookshops or ordered from the online bookstore at www.infinimath.com/librairie
Besides being a game designer, Bernard Novelli was a brilliant programmer. He developed dozens of games, initially using conventional programming languages and creating DVDs whose software unfortunately runs only on older operating systems. Later, as the Internet grew, he programmed many more games, particularly in Flash; some are available in the section dedicated to him on the Infinimath website (see above).
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Bernard Novelli computing prize: -----------------------------------
Register yourself or your school ------------------------------------------------------
In Bernard's memory, Club Tangente runs a competition for game-related computing projects: the Bernard Novelli Prize. The Société informatique de France, CASIO, and Programmez! magazine are partners in the competition.
Entry is open only to middle- and high-school students and can take one of two forms: \- individually (or in groups), by pre-registering at tropheestangente.com; \- through a school. Middle- and high-school teachers may apply to organize the Novelli Prize at their school during this academic year. The application deadline has been extended to February 15, 2019. To enter, schools must email [email protected] CASIO will provide a Graph 90+E calculator to every registered school that chooses Python as its programming language.