Passion For Puzzles

Some people have a passion for puzzles and write about that on a blog, then others have the same passion and even another passion for food and combine both. Derrick Schneider loves as well good food (and wine) next to puzzles. On his website call An Obsession with Food he has an article about an ice cream bar shaped puzzle which I really like. The Dovetial Bar puzzle is designed by Norman Sandfield and his brother Robert. They designed many Dovetail puzzles over the course of several years. In the Sandfield dovetails, you're usually hunting for a hidden compartment, but in the DoveTail Bar you need to "take a bite" off the top. If you're holding the puzzle, you can see the joint, but you'll need to work through some steps before you can separate bar and bite. Melissa's setup for the photo obscures any part of the lock mechanism.
Perry used walnut and maple for this faux ice cream bar, and Norman presented the puzzle in a paper bag reminiscent of ice cream bar wrappers.

Tags: Puzzle | Dovetail

Triball is a portable, playable and three-dimensional games for three players. In short Triball is an addictive 3D version of tic-tac-toe designed for three players, but it's a whole lot more than that! The stage for the puzzle is a transparent plastic cube with nine columns, each three spaces deep. Each player then plays with one of the three sets of colored balls; red, yellow and blue. And the object of the game is to be the first to get three balls in a row, in any direction.
It's simple but with the extra person bringing the gamers to three it's a lot trickier than you might first think. Unlike many puzzle games with a similar structure, Triball requires tactics to win the game, but with two other competitors it's not easy! Triball was highly commended at this year's Gift of the Year Awards. Triball is available at Gizoo.co.uk for less than £ 10.

Tags: Puzzle | Triball | Tic Tac Toe

Today I received an email from Bogusia Gierus about his website with lovely math puzzles he created called Hexa-Trex. These Hexa-trex math puzzles which can also be used by math teachers to use during their math classes are very interesting and challeging. There are Hexa-trex math puzzles available at the website but there is also a game version available. The Hexa-trex are available in different levels and can be made as complex at you want.

Tags: Hexa-Trex | Math Puzzle

Fulfillment is a very addictive Flash Puzzle which will keep you busy for hours, probably even longer than planned. You have to take the pieces provided on the left side of the board and put them into the square on the right side. Fulfillment is a combination of Tangram and Tetris. The catch is that you can't rotate the pieces, which gets extra challenging in higher levels when there are strangely shaped pieces. The hardest part is that every puzzle has a time limit, so if you don’t make the square in time it's game over for you.

Tags: Fulfillment | Flash Puzzle

After the flash puzzle game Rotate where you have to rotate squares to get the right picture there is now Rotate² where you have to rotate the pipes so that all ends are closed. Do it quickly so your Brain Score stays up as high as possible. You can find both Rotate Flash puzzles for free at Games For The Brain dot com next to some more lovely Flash puzzle games.
By the way don't forget to check out their mobile puzzle game page where you can find some puzzle games like Anagramania, Letterama, SquareWords, What Word? and Spellicefor you mobile device. Their mobile games may work particularly well with Opera Mini, Opera Mobile, Windows Mobile 5.0, PDA, Pocket PC, Nokia Smartphone and other mobile browsers).

Tags: Rotate | Flash Puzzle | Mobile Puzzle

Last week I asked Brewery De Koninck how many Bolleke Puzzles there are. Thanks to Mireille from the Brewery I received a few complete sets of six Bolleke puzzle coasters. If you are interested in one of the three complete sets of six Bolleke puzzle coaster drop me an email (ppassion at passionforpuzzles.com) and three lucky puzzle lovers will receive the six original puzzle coaster by post.
For the ones still unfamiliar with the Bolleke puzzles the rules ones again.
1. Each row/column contains ten balls, five open and five solid balls.
2. Not more than two of the same balls (open or closed) may be next to each other horizontally and vertically.
Here a link to the first, second and third Bolleke puzzle coaster posts.

Tags: Puzzle | Bolleke | Beer Coasters

Silver Sphere is a addictive Flash puzzle game. Before you can move to the next level you have to push the block around to create a path to get to the Blue Vortex. You have to stay on land, don't run into anything and all of this before time runs out. Use the arrow keys to control the silver sphere, push boxes by moving into them. You can find Silver Sphere at MiniClip dot com [via Digg].

Tags: Silver Sphere | Flash Puzzle

CSI Mind Prison is not really a puzzle but more a click and point Flash game, but still you need a little bit to puzzle. Your object with CSI : Mind Prison is to solve the case with your friends from CSI in this mini adventure game. Graphics in CSI : Mind Prison are brilliant and available for free at News Ground dot com.

Tags: CSI | Flash Puzzle | Point and click

At gameSheep dot com you can find a lot of flash games and puzzles. One of my favorites is Mindfields 2204. It reminds me a bit of Lemmings only in this flash puzzle game you will have navigate a tank through various fields to try and reach the flag at the end. All you have to use to beat each level is whatever is in your toolbox on the top right. Place all the tools at the right place and start your engine and find out if you can reach the next level of Mindfields 2204.

Tags: Mindfields 2204 | Flash Puzzle

What do you do when you want to enter a flash competition. Take a few puzzle games like Tetris and put all features together. Then you will end up with a Flash puzzle game like Present Panic Puzzle. You've a lot of options to remove Block, swap them, correct mistakes by blow them away with a bomb. Read the instructions carefully to find out all possibilities of Present Panic.

Tags: Present Panic | Flash Puzzle

PLANned is a small but lovely Flash puzzle game you can enjoy for 18 levels and is originally designed by Wouter Visser for a Jay Is Games competition. PLANned is like no puzzle you've ever seen before. Part IQ test, part fun Flash puzzle game, you'll be scratching your head as you try to connect all the squares together in the correct sequence. Therefor you need a bit of abstract spatial ability and some thinking ahead. You can play PLANned online for free or download PLANned at Arcade Town dot com.

Tags: PLANned | Flash Puzzle

At MoFunZone dot com I found a very addictive platform puzzle game. You have to move your car with a rocket under it through 30 levels. Each level is designed with obstacles and moving platforms and much more. But be aware you can only use your rocket if you have fuel for it. More instructions for Rocket Car can be found in the game itself.

Tags: Rocket Car | Flash Puzzle

Candy Drop is a Flash Puzzle at a sponsored website by Wrigley Brand Candy. The game Candy Drops is a Same Game variant. To score points in Candy Drops you have to make matches of three, four or five adjacent tiles (same candy) to score points. You'll have to make as many matches as you can before time runs out (which is shown by bullets at the bottom of the screen. You can also earn extra time as your point total goes up.
You can. To move the candy (by row or column) click first on the piece you wish to select. Then click on a new position, either up, down, left, or right. The selected tile will slide into position if it makes a match. Happy puzzling with Candy Drops.

Tags: Candy Drop | Flash Puzzle

Sphere is yet another Locked Room Flash Puzzle where you are locked in a room. Just click around and collect things so you can get out. Best thing is that you can save the flash game so you can continue later. The complete walkthrough will be published in April. So if you don't find the solution for Sphere you have to wait a few weeks. Happy Puzzling

Tags: Sphere | Locked Room | Flash Puzzle

As most designs of puzzles start with a little idea, the same applies to Michel Sommer. Also he had a little idea. A Cubical maze module: a simple three-dimensional cube with tunneling maze and a ball and to be able to stack the cubes. However, with each additional module (transparent or opaque), the tubes link to allow a ball passage through progressively longer and exponentially more complex combinations of paths, creating varying levels of difficulty: "gymnastics for the mind", spatial mathematical reasoning exercises.
Micheal created a reconfigurable system with different kind of modules with self explaining names like transparent (clear cube) roller coaster loops (loop paths cross within a single cube).
At the website called Sommercube dot com you can read much more about the Summer Cube, the possibilities, why Sommercube and the partnership of puzzlement. Also you can find a lot of pictures showing how the Sommercube looks like, how it is designed and tested.

Tags: Sommercube | Puzzle | Maze

The Kawasaki heavy Industry Group delivers a vast array of cutting edge products. On May 17th, 2006, the Kawasaki Good Times World opened at Kobe Meriken Park. This museum is showcasing Kawasaki's origins, our more than century-long history and our products. one of the things you can watch is a Rubik's Cube solving robot. Not as nice designed as Rubot II, but as the say functional. At the website Kawasaki Good Time World you can watch a video with a their robot. Via the Virtual Tour you can watch a 26 seconds video called Performing Robot.

Tags: Rubik's Cube | Robot | Rubot

The World Rubik's Cube Championship 2007 is the 4th World Championship and will take place on October 5, 6 and 7 in Budapest, Hungary.
Budapest also hosted the World Rubik's Cube Championship in 1982, now 25 years ago. At Speedcubing dot com you can find all detailed information you need to participate, like time schedules, hotels, regulation and much more.

Tags: Rubik's Cube

Looking for an online game that is fun, challenging yet easy to play? Then you must try TerraClues which is a brand new style of online puzzle game that makes use of the popular Google Maps technology. The goal is to find hidden markers placed on the world map by solving a series of clues. Clues can range from simple text descriptions to actual photos of landmarks or map screen shots. You can create your own hunts for people to play as well. Just visit TerraClues and create your own login. Via digg.

Tags: TerraClues | TerraHunts | Puzzle | Google Maps

A few days ago I found a website with a new puzzle called Thomas Ball. At this moment the puzzle is not yet available but the website explains very well how the puzzle works.
The Thomas Ball is a puzzle shaped like a soccer ball. It is approximately 10 cm in diameter. It is intended for players aged 10 to 100. It falls into the category of so-called clever games - puzzles. The Thomas Ball supports - in the same way as chess, for example - the development of logical thinking, memory, analytical skills, concentration, and dexterity. A person working with this clever toy has the chance to return to the uncompleted puzzle at any time and think over other combinations for a possible solution in such a way that he succeeds in putting the Thomas Ball together. The number of possible combinations reaches the astronomical number of 1.41 x 1027. Compared with the Rubik Cube, the Thomas Ball has approximately 32,000,000 times (precisely 32,868,210 times) as many combinations. The difficulty of solving the Thomas Ball is comparable to the Rubik Cube, and for this reason this puzzle is not intended solely for lovers of puzzles and difficult problems, but also for the general public.
The goal of the game is to assemble the surfaces of the puzzle according to colors, colored circles, or according to numbers. Alongside each pentangle it is possible to rotate the relevant hexangles clockwise or counterclockwise. The solution to the puzzle does not depend on chance, but rather on careful consideration and maneuvering. It is produced in various graphic designs, and it is possible to choose from several degrees of difficulty - from the simplest version for the youngest players to the most difficult version for the most demanding people.Certainly it is possible to change the graphics according to customer requirements, and to print on the ball: any photographs, logos and other motifs.
At the website of Thomas Ball is shows the different levels of puzzles and also an animated demo available.

Tags: Puzzle | Thomas Ball

Last weekend I found two more Bolleke Puzzles. Rules for solving Bolleke Puzzles are certainly simpler than Sudoku.
1. Each row/column contains ten balls, five open and five solid balls.
2. Not more than two of the same balls (open or closed) may be next to each other horizontally and vertically.
That's all. Here are the
first and second Bolleke Puzzles I posted and their Solution (one and two).
I requested De Koninck to send me the total number of Bolleke puzzles, until then I am not sure I've collected all Bolleke Puzzles.

UPDATE : Solution Bolleke Puzzle 3 and 4.


Tags: Puzzle | Bolleke | De Koninck | Beer

If your a looking for a nice puzzle present or just beautiful puzzle jewelery for yourself than Newspaper Jewelry dot com offers you bracelets, brooches, earrings and cufflinks made of recyclable paper materials including newspaper, sweetener packets and loser lottery
tickets. All of the Paper is sealed and protected by a non-toxic, water-resistant coating. The jewelry are available in different categories like Crossword and Sudoku.

Tags: Crossword | Sudoku | Jewelry

Jonathan wrote me an email with a lovely puzzle. He gave me some clues and a mp3 file with a song. By listening to the lyrics and some clues he gave you should be able to solve his puzzle. He withhold one of the clues at first because he thinks there is a chance it might makes the puzzle too easy. Then again, it may be too difficult without it. Jonathan thinks this puzzle is more a riddle that happens to incorporate some wordplay. You can download the mp3 called Last Orbit at Low Hero DLL dot com.

The clues are:
1. There is one somewhat general topic and there are three specific entities within the general topic, the identity of all three entities will constitute a full solution.
2. It should be obvious that the numbers are significant.
3. Only the verses contain the verbiage constituting the puzzle, however the chorus and refrain are relevant (though somewhat metaphorically) to the topic of the puzzle.
4. Google is your friend on this one.
5. There are no (intentional) anagrams in the puzzle.

The lyrics:
To IVB1 and back
ask me if I'm ready to go
and I'll tell you it's a matter of fact
but I placed the call and Rome didn't answer

Ellie's lips tickle when she drinks her wine
she's a bright 32 with plenty of time
she's a popular thing - the first on the scene
a small face with big impact

Last orbit
can you absorb it?
circling planet curiosity
Last orbit
try not to force it
you don't want to burn on re-entry.

If there was a sound purest of tone
and if I heard it, I wouldn't know
After all, what would I have with which to compare?

When your force field shatters
consider darker matters
It's all in the code
It's a new episode

Aspire all to what is in eye view
if your vision is perfect and your aim is true
82 is distorted and I can't ignore it
but we keep our friendship in tact
(repeat refrain and chorus)

Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Music Puzzle | Last Orbit

Happy Easter Puzzle is the latest Holiday Puzzle at Maple Landmark for 2007. This bright colored 20-piece puzzle sits in a 8" X 10" natural colored frame. The image won't scrape off with general wear and is made from 1/4" birch plywood. For ages 3+. Price of this Easter Holiday puzzle at Maple Landmark is US$ 18.50.
If you not want to buy a easter puzzle but just let your kids create their own crafted Easter Holiday Puzzle then read the instructions at Assiociated Content dot com.

Tags: Easter | Jigsaw Puzzle

Winston Breen loves puzzles, and he finds them everywhere—books, newspapers, even pizzas. So when Winston and his sister find some strange puzzle pieces in an antique box, it's only natural that Winston should try to find out where the box came from and what the words on the puzzle pieces could mean. Soon, Winston and his friends are hunting for a long-hidden treasure, accompanied by the town librarian, a giant ex-policeman, a pretty reporter, and a pair of mysterious strangers who arrive out of nowhere looking for the loot.
At his website Winston Breen dot com you can read more about Winston Breen and also download a set of 20 different kind of puzzles in pdf format for free. The book will be released at amazon.com on September 20, 2007. In the mean time you can check out his blog to find some more puzzles.

Tags: Puzzle Book | Winston Breen

The PSP already has one Sudoku game - Go! Sudoku. Unfortunately, Go! Sudoku is extremely bland, and offers nothing more than you can find on the back page of your daily paper. This is unfortunate because puzzle games seem to be the selling point of handheld consoles.

Luckily, Carol Vorderman is here to save the day with Carol Vorderman’s Sudoku. Carol Vorderman is a best-selling author and Sudoku guru. Watch as she guides you along through over 1,000,000 unique Sudoku puzzles. Sudoku experts and newbies alike will stay entertained with this title for weeks, thanks to 4 difficulty levels, multiplayer action, career mode, and more. You can get your hands on Carol Vorderman Sudoku for a reasonable $29.99 [via pspgn]. If you want to learn some Sudoku Solving Techniques from Carol already? Check out the following Sudoku tutorial video's on YouTube.

Rules of Sudoku
Tips for playing Sudoku
Tips for playing Sudoku II
Tips for playing Sudoku III

Tags: Sudoku | Carol Vorderman | PSP

CubeZ is a nice Flash Puzzle Game which will keep you busy for a few hours. Your goal is to free up space on the board by grouping 3 or more of the same "cubeZ" and fill up the progress bar to reach the next level.
Use the arrow keys to move the CubeZ left, right and down and use the up arrow to swap their positions. Note that if this last action will cost you a one second penalty, it is a very useful feature. Line up your CubeZ in any row so they match the order of the "Super 3" combination (as shown at the left side of the game window) to score a lot of extra points. The game ends once you let the CubeZ pile up to the top of the screen.

Tags: CubeZ | Flash Puzzle

Wordoku To Go is brand new sudoku like puzzle game for Windows Mobile based devices which as the developers say takes Sudoku to the next level. Instead of numbers, the Sudoku puzzles are constructed using the letters of a 9 letter word. If the puzzle is done correctly, the word will be spelled across the center of the grid. Conversely, solving the anagram and entering it into the grid may help you solve the Sudoku puzzle. Wordoku To Go has following options available: 200 puzzles with 4 difficulty levels, Save incomplete puzzles, Hints, Check for incorrect numbers or check entire puzzle, Restart puzzle, Solve puzzle, Choice of background, number and highlight colors, Eight puzzles in the trial version 200 in the full version, Free updates (more puzzles as they become available) and Complete help file.
Wordoku To Go is priced $10.00 and is available for buy and try at MobileTopSoft's Pocket PC software archive. Note that there is a bonus available, you Receive the comparable desktop version free with your purchase.

Tags: Sudoku | Wordoku | Windows Mobile

The Education Arcade’s Newest game, Labyrinth (working title) is an on-line puzzle adventure game, designed to promote math and literacy learning, and is targeted at middle-school students. The product of a collaboration between TEA, Maryland Public Television, and Fablevision, Johns Hopkins University, and Macro International, Labyrinth is funded by the U.S. Department of Education through a Star Schools grant.

The Story : You are deep in a mysterious labyrinth, searching for a lost dog, trying to rescue it before who knows what will happen to it. You are not entirely alone; from time to time you are visited by an unearthly sprite who takes the form of a young girl. You can't quite figure out whether she is helping you or leading you astray. More ominously, you occasionally feel a chill wind, and the shadow of a Minotaur falls across your path. You flee in terror, not sticking around to confirm what it was that you saw.

Your one comfort is that you are in regular communications with others who are similarly lost. From time to time you glimpse these fellow wanderers down long corridors, but before you can call out to them they disappear through doors that don't obligingly open for you. Nevertheless, you have access to message boards where you exchange encouragement and more importantly, hints about solving the challenges that block your path. You've already wandered too far into the labyrinth to turn back. The only way through is to go forward, no matter the risk.

The game will be served from Maryland Public Television (MPT)'s Thinkport website. Teams of students will collaborate on solving the puzzles that make up the game's core activity. These puzzles will address pre-algebra, with an emphasis on ratio, proportion, number sense, variables, data, and geometry. The story, delivered in graphic novel format will support literacy goals, as will the challenge of communicating with teammates about problem solving strategies.

TEA is designing Labyrinth. The challenge in any such design is finding what is game-like in an activity that we normally view as academic. Even when a puzzle emerges, there is still significant effort in adapting it to the technical parameters of the project and to the game story and setting. Just as challenging is the need to envision a game that will feel authentic to students while meeting teachers' educational objectives. MPT has produced several podcasts that expand on the design philosophy of the Labyrinth team, as it relates to some of our previous work. These can be found at: http://www.thinkport.org/technology/gotgame/doandview/podcast.tp. Via The Education Arcade.

Tags: Labyrinth | Thinkport

Finally found some time to solve the Bolleke Puzzles. Both Bolleke Puzzle Solution 1 and Bolleke Puzzle Solution 2 are available. During some drinks I also found out that there are only two different puzzles are available on the Bolleke Beer Coasters and due to there heavy use ;-) the are almost not availabe any more in bars. Here are the links to the first Bolleke puzzle and the second Bolleke puzzle.

Tags: Puzzle | Bolleke | De Koninck | Beer

After Sudoku Toilet Paper we now also have Mind Trainer Toilet Paper. There are 10 different kind of puzzle printed on the Mind Trainer Toilet Paper, like Sudoku's, memory games with words and numbers, tricks, count the colors, pyramid games, math and memory tricks. Available at Mega Gadgets dot nl for less than 8 Euro's.

Tags: Mind Trainer | Toilet Paper

Levers is a 2D flash puzzle game. The rules of Levers is simple, hook all items on the lever and balance both sides, then countdown will start, if nothing touches the water before time’s up, you’ll advance to next level, a new item will be given to you to add onto the lever.
Why would the balance changes before time’s up? Because there are elements that dynamically affect the balance, such like the flying birds, which constantly flying from one spot to another; the water bucket, which you can adjust the amount of water it holds; the snowman that melt. Elegant programmed, simple graphics, nice sounds. I like this game. Levers is highly recommended! [via Gamepicking dot com]

Tags: Levers | Flash Puzzle

One of the most online puzzle games I like is SameGame (sometimes also called Click-o-main and Chain Shot). At Oopixel dot com there is now a hexagonized version of SameGame created by Jussi Kari. In this flash version of SameGame you have also to find matching groups of two or more blocks to make them disappear, and to clear the board to gain access to the next level. The first level comes with four different colors of blocks, and a new color is added for each succeeding level. Four special bonuses are available in the bottom right side of the game window. The first one removes a whole line, the second one removes a whole column, the third is a bomb which removes a hexagon of eight blocks and the last one removes a single block. More bonuses are added after each completed level. Click the give up button when you can’t play anymore. Happy Puzzling with Hexagonized SameGame.

Tags: Samegame | Flash Puzzle | Hexagon

The world's largest Rubik's cube, one of the most memorable relics of the 1982 World's Fair, isn't missing in Knoxville after all. It's at a private business undergoing restoration.
The Rubik's cube, a gift from the government of Hungary, was on display for a while. Then it was put in a storage yard under I-40. The 25th anniversary of the fair is coming up May 1. "We're going to try and have it finished by the first of May so they'll have it in time for their celebration," says former Knox County Executive Dwight Kessel. He also says volunteers are working to restore the cube. Anonymous donors are paying for much of the work. [via Wate.com]

Tags: Rubik's Cube

At Jay Is Games dot com is a design competition going on and Sprout is the next entry. Flash Puzzle Sprout was designed and created by Jeff Nusz from New Zealand. The puzzle / adventure looks like a grow puzzle and the game features beautiful charcoal drawings as the basis for its graphics and style, appearing as if taken directly from a storybook. Just visit Jay is Games and enjoy Sprout.

Tags: Sprout | Flash Puzzle

Match Maker is a addictive Flash Puzzle. It's a combination between Tetris and Same Game. Rules of Match Maker are simple. Click on pieces to rotate them and match adjacent colors (hold your mouse button down to rotate more than 90 degrees). Make as many matches as you can before time runs out! Bonus pieces are already spinning; click on them to stop them and earn bonus points if you can make a match. Try to set up combinations to increase your bonus multiplier.

Tags: Match Maker | Flash Puzzle

Andrew Shellshear’s Puzzle Competition webpage is live. He has been working on the puzzle competition with his friends, in their spare time, and it’s finally gone from a bit of fun to a full blown competition, with prizes and everything.

The first four puzzles are up, but the actual puzzle week isn’t until April - still, people can register and solve the existing puzzles before everything gets too intense (16-19 April, when the other 16 puzzles will be released four at a time). Andrew created two puzzles, and wrote the flavor text for the "Classroom" set of puzzles.

If you like puzzles, I think you’d enjoy this competition (though only Australian university students and high-school students are eligible for prizes). The four puzzle available at this moment are Alpha Ward, Artefact, Continuity and Beginnings. But be aware the sooner you solve the puzzles the higher the points you can score. Have a go, and happy puzzling!

Tags: Puzzle | Competition