There are literally hundreds of books on Magic; but you would be hard pressed to find a better one; whether you are looking for someone who is 10 or 12 years old, or any adult who always thought it would be cool to do some Magic Tricks. Amazing Magic Tricks book is excellently constructed, with hard covers, a spiral metal binding (ideal for laying out flat) high quality paper and printing. It also profusely illustrated with colored photographs and drawings and 128 pages. And all that for the price of a cheap paperback novel. Then [Read More...]

Category: All Puzzles, Puzzle Books

Secret Boxes, or Puzzle Boxes, however you want to call them, have some of the greatest designs in mechanical puzzles. Just look at some of the Karakuri boxes and you’ll see what I mean. The problem with Karakuri boxes and similar ones is that they’re very expensive. However, not every Puzzle Box is that expensive, and PuzzleMaster has some good and affordable ones produced by themselves.

The Secret Opening Box 2 is a beauty. Made as an improved version of the original Secret Opening Box, this one turned out to be almost perfect. The only thing lacking, [Read More...]

Category: All Puzzles, Wood Puzzles

Jelly Fits Puzzle comes from Qmax, Inc in China.  The object is to slide the colored tiles onto their homes.

Look at challenge level 24: see the small blue square? When the normal blue square gets to its home (which is covered up temporarily by the long vertical red rectangle), then the small blue square will disappear and turn white. Which means that pieces may travel over it.

There are 36 levels. I’ve done them all. Not terribly hard, but there’s potential here.

http://gottasolveit.blogspot.com/

Category: All Puzzles, iPhone/iPad Puzzle Games

The Twist was a great rage several years ago. Also, Rubik’s Twist has been around a long time too. It consists of 24 triangular pieces held together with an elastic cord. It is not a puzzle in the true sense but something to construct objects. The pieces can be placed all in line, creating a snake, thus the name Rubik’s Snake. It can be twisted to form many other things, thus the name Rubik’s Twist. It is made by several companies and the cost and quality varies greatly. Sometimes it is sold [Read More...]

Category: All Puzzles, Rotational / Twisty Puzzles

Co-ordinate motion puzzles can be incredibly beautiful objects, and incredibly challenging to assemble. Vinco is well known for his co-ordinate motion puzzles, and the Cross Box is a great example of his work.

If you’re not familiar with Vinco, these are mostly wooden puzzles made by Vaclav Obsivac, who is generally regarded as the master of coordinate motion puzzles. As you can see from the photograph, the work is superb. These are beautifully made wooden puzzles, which for the most part are composites of many different woods glued together to [Read More...]

Category: All Puzzles, Wood Puzzles

There are lots of materials to use when making pyramid puzzles. Crystal is an excellent choice. The 3D Crystal Pyramid puzzle consists of 15 pieces and a base to construct it on. There are 4 different shaped and sized pieces. Each piece is hollow. When completed, and you shouldn’t have too much trouble; it makes an interesting piece to display. It is very durable, and the pieces are not likely to break. The only thing that could happen is if pieces get lost. Once again, a puzzle that looks inviting rather than intimidating and [Read More...]

Category: All Puzzles, Jigsaw Puzzles

I’m not sure why, but I love puzzles with German words – Sounds cool and difficult. Jean Claude Constantin, a German puzzle designer, has named a lot of his inventions with German words and expressions. For example, today’s puzzle, with a wine theme, is called “Einer Geht Noch” and could be translated as “one more?” or “let’s have another”, or something along these lines.

Like most Constantin’s puzzles the design is visually stunning. With a lighter tone wooden frame and contrasting darker tones for the pieces, everything about this puzzle looks harmonious and balanced. The frame is perfectly [Read More...]

Category: All Puzzles, Wood Puzzles