Puzzles in the News

Geek's puzzling present for traveling pal's nups

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/geek_puzzling_present_for_traveling_EEjIXg1wfcHPdMoli3qx3M

Martin Gardner!!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/science/20tier.html

Every 2 years there is a Gathering For Gardner. It's a convention that brings together people interested in puzzles, recreational mathematics, and magic. The next one will be in March 2010. Naturally, I'll be attending and covering the event for Games Magazine.

My favorite Martin Gardner puzzle is the one about the 5 men on an island gathering coconuts.

The Microxylometagrabologist

Allan Boardman is the world's greatest Microxylometagrabologist. He specializes in making the tiniest interlocking puzzles. Check out the 3 piece Burr resting on FDR's nose. I believe Allan has attended all but 1 of the 29 International Puzzle Parties. (I've attended 9, by contrast.)

So, go buy his book!

Games Magazine (Sept 2006) has a 2-page article about Allan Boardman. Maybe you can buy an old copy by contacting the magazine. Or check ebay. If that fails, contact me.

Master Pyramorphinx

I've had my eye on getting this puzzle for more than 15 years. Finally, it is made available at Mefferts.com

It's challenging! However, this Mechanical Puzzle Expert was able to decode it and come up with a solving algorithm. However, this puzzle can be JUMBLED. I did jumble it, and resorted to taking it apart.

What is JUMBLING? Jumbling is when you make a half turn, and then continue. So in this instance, a corner piece could be moved to an edge or center piece.

Jethro Tull wrote a song about this puzzle concept called Bungle in the Jumble. Most people thought he said Jungle.

Disco Ball

Who needs a disco ball when you can illuminate your party with the new Rubik's TouchCube? Very cool. But essentially the same puzzle.

See photo below.

Rubik's TouchCube

Just got my new electronic Rubik's TouchCube. It's completely electronic and has a terrific glow. Since it's still daytime & I couldn't wait, I went into the closet to solve it. Will the editors at Games Magazine appreciate the suffering of this poor Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent?

http://www.rubikstouchcube.com/#

Double Trouble

Double Trouble - by the legendary Larry Nichols - who invented the first 2x2x2 Rubik's Cube. The Grabarchuk Framily is hosting this little gem. It's an online puzzle that resembles the 15 puzzle. Here's the catch: you must shift 2 tiles at a time.

It would be great to have a mechanical version of this. But this online version is great anyway.

http://www.ageofpuzzles.com/Puzzles/DoublePlay/DoublePlay.htm

Turbo Mind Twister

The Turbo Mind Twister is essentially the same puzzle as Saturn. (See the previous post.) It's made by out friends at FoxMind. We wrote an article about the FoxMind puzzle products about 2 years ago for Games Magazine.

http://www.foxmind.co.il/eng/game-e.php?n=81

Saturn Puzzle

The Saturn Puzzle consists of 8 sliding tiles - tricky. A must for the sequential movement fan!

http://www.magnif.com/2350.htm

Wriggle Puzzles for iphone

http://www.clickmazes.com/tjwrig/ixjwrig.htm#iphone

http://www.clickmazes.com/wriggle/ixwriggle.htm You can play some wriggle puzzles on this site. They're small - but tough!

Hyper Frame

Hyper Frame puzzles are very similar to Lab Mice Puzzles. They're fun & addictive. Just remember to eat & sleep.

http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/hyperframe.jsp

Pentominioes

If you're a fan of pentominoes (I'm not), check out this online magazine that's devoted to them. Produced by Rodolfo Kurchan

http://www.puzzlefun.com.ar/

Panex Puzzle

The Panex Puzzle sells for a lot of money anytime it's listed on ebay. However, you can play it for free here: http://www.cheesygames.com/panex/

This puzzle looks similar to the Tower of Hanoi. However, there's something different. Extremely difficult. Nobody has calculated the least # of moves. But it's between 27000 & 31,000

Magical Gear Puzzles

Doug Engel has quietly designed some of the coolest, most challenging puzzles in the last 10 years. If you're a sequential movement fan - you need to get ALL of his puzzles. Games Magazine had a 6 page article on his puzzles in the December 2007 issue.

This puzzle is called Let Em Fly. Getting the colored circles is the first problem, getting the arrows to point up - that's where the real challenge lies.

Go Doug! http://www.puzzleatomic.com/FLATLAND%20GEARS.htm

Dexterity Puzzle

Great time-waster. Click on the red square and move it immediately to the bottom - don't go over the edge. The object is to keep the red square away from the mobile blue rectangles. Note, they speed up! 20 seconds: very good. 30 seconds: wow. 40 seconds: you are a God!

http://www.iol.ie/~dluby/escape.htm

Ark of the Covenant Box

The Ark of the Covenant is a 25 move to open puzzle box.
Ark of the Covenant is constructed with Walnut and is 24k gold leafed.
To make a purchase, send email to: pahpool@midmaine.com

Be prepared to spend $500

ReVoMaze & Games Magazine

Look for the November issue of Games Magazine. There is a 2-page review about the puzzle.

You can buy the ReVoMaze here: http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/games/c247/ and http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/search/?q=revomaze

These puzzles are compelling hard. Designed by Chris Pitt in England

Think Fun Discount

Think Fun has a nice set of puzzles for kids in grades 3-8. Makes a good gift for kids. Buy one for your neighborhood school.

http://www.thinkfungameclub.com/sale_gameclub.htm

Kuku puzzle

Andrew Reeves invented the Isis puzzle a couple of years ago. At the New York International Toy Fair - February 2009 - I had the opportunity to meet Andrew and play with his new Kuku puzzle. This puzzle is a lot of fun and will drive you cuckoo. The Kuku puzzle has different levels of complexity. The easiest level is not so easy. The hard & hardest levels are VERY HARD. The puzzle is made of brushed aluminum and is just plain fun!

http://www.sonicwarp.com/kuku/

All Five Puzzle

Wayne Daniel designed this incredible puzzle. Each of these 5 puzzles rests inside a larger puzzle - like the Russian dolls within dolls. This puzzle was written up in the New York Times. At the 2006 International Puzzle Party in Boston, Wayne Daniel sold me his last copy. Naturally, I had to write about it for Games Magazine. Wayne Daniel also produced a fine animation about the construction of the puzzle. You can buy a copy at www.mrpuzzle.com.au/prod131.htm Brian Young is Mr. Puzzle and is a good puzzler.

Planets Puzzle

Another gem from the mind of Oskar van Deventer. Check out http://recenttoys.com/



By the way, if you're interested in joining the Oskar van Deventer fan club, shoot me a note.

Puzzle Auction

http://www.puzzleparadise.ca/ John Devost is running a puzzle auction. Great opportunity to add to your collection!

The puzzle above was designed by Leonid Mochalov.

Rubik's Cube Math Program Back To School Special

https://stuff.youcandothecube.com/Shopping%20Cart.aspx
Seems like only the shopping cart link works. Nevertheless, we are always pleased to see puzzles in the classroom. We envision students asking their teachers: when are we ever going to need to solve Rubik's Cube? Teacher response: say you're at a party and a good looking female has brought her cube....you can teach her!

Zoki: Edge Matching puzzle

This Mechanical Puzzle correspondent had the good fortune of spending an afternoon with the inventor of Zoki, Zoran Pavlovic. Zoki can be played as a puzzle or as a competitive game. Zoran Pavlovic created 2 other edgematching games, but they seem to be no longer available.

If you ever meet Zoran Pavlovic, ask him to show you the photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger holding the Zoki in 2 hands. (I was able to lift it in 1 hand.)

www.zoki.com

Artifact Jigsaw Puzzles

www.artifactpuzzles.com Laser cut jigsaw puzzles. They're having a 25% discount sale!

Use coupon Code: INITIATE
Expires: 9/11/2009

This Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent has not had the opportunity to play-test these jigsaw puzzles. So if you have, please contact us!

Slide Bar Puzzle

Mike Henkes created this terrific online puzzle. The 2 rectangular white pieces are fixed and cannot be slid. You must transfer the yellow bar from the top to the bottom. Difficult and fun.

http://home.wanadoo.nl/mike.henkes/

Bram's Cube

I had the good fortune to play with Bram's Cube at the International Puzzle Party 29 in San Francisco last month. Great mechanism. Very difficult. Must buy!

http://www.shapeways.com/model/31121/bram_s_cube.html

YOT PUZZLES

YOT & YOT II are both great puzzles. Indestructible too. (I have the first YOT II ever sold.)

www.yot.com

Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition

Katsuhiko Okamoto has created another masterpiece in the 'custom twisty puzzle' tradition. It will supposedly be commercially available soon. It won Puzzle of the Year at the prestigious IPP convention a few weeks ago. Congratulations!

http://puzzle3d.hp.infoseek.co.jp/

Lab Mice Puzzles - In Italian

Lab Mice Puzzles - now available in Italy! This humble Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent for Games Magazine is now an International Author.

Tens of thousands have already ordered copies of Lab Mice Puzzle - printed in America, now those Lab Mice Puzzle fanatics can buy the Italian edition.

http://libreriarizzoli.corriere.it/libro/cutrofello_tom-dedalo_lab_mice.aspx?ean=9788862980593

Puzzle Sculptures

Decades/centuries from now, people will be talking about George Hart's puzzle sculptures. Buy a piece to enhance your home and as an investment!

http://georgehart.com/puzzles/index.html

LOST (TV SHOW)

At the International Puzzle Party (IPP 29) in San Francisco, I was surprised that so many puzzlers did not watch LOST. I did have an hour long conversation with Bill Darrah about our theories of LOST.

Issue: How many times has John Locke been killed?
1. His father threw him out of an office tower window. (Coincidentally, Hurley was on a lower floor meeting with his lawyer and saw the body go past that window.)

2. Hunting wild boar on the island with Michael and Kate, the smoke monster approaches. Nobody sees it attack Locke, but Kate tells Jack - the thing got Locke. Jack then sees his father run into the bush, he runs after and encounters....Locke

3. Ben shoots Locke and he falls into the mass grave of the Dharma Initiative. Locke mysteriously shows up later as if nothing had happened.

4. Locke is strangled by Ben.

My prediction: Walt will throw a knife into Locke's back to kill him again. But he probably won't stay dead.

To the hundreds of puzzlers who have been sending me emails, keep 'em coming!

Liberty Puzzles

This Mechanical Puzzles Correspondent normally does not do jigsaw puzzles. However, http://www.libertypuzzles.com/ has some great art work and the puzzles are laser cut. The wood is .25" thick. The pieces are funky. I didn't want to go to sleep last night!

Crazy Elephant Dance

This puzzle is the ternary sequel to ThinkFun's Spinout. Invented by Markus Gotz. Terrific puzzle. Click here to play the applet http://markus-goetz.de/
Click here to see someone who's played the applet for youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QEx7UFa_AI

200 Year Old Puzzle Finally Solved

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124648494429082661.html?mod=yhoofront

Strimko & Chain Sudoku

The Grabarchuk Family created Strimko. Conceptis is now publishing the same type of puzzles under the name Chain Sudoku. www.strimko.com

Intersections: Puzzles As Art

Fabulous display of all types of mechanical puzzles. Some of which I have in my collection. Other puzzles - I wish I had them! Masterfully curated by Nancy Mintz and George Miller. Ends August 16. www.svma.org

2009 IPP Puzzle Design Competition

www.puzzleworld.org/DesignCompetition/2009/

One of the best things about attending the International Puzzle Party: getting to play/solve new puzzles. This year's competition has 80 new puzzles.

Solve Eternity II - Win $2,000,000

http://us.eternityii.com/try-eternity2-online/
Try this online sample before tackling the big puzzle.



Historical note: about 1989 Rubik came out with 4 different edge matching Tangle puzzles. Each had 25 pieces. After solving each one, you had to assemble all 100 pieces to form a square. I confess quietly: I was not able to solve the 25 piece version. And I spent a lot of time on it.

George Hart: The Puzzle Sculptor

Ladies & Gentlemen, please go out and buy the current (September issue) of Games Magazine. Or better yet, get a subscription! My 2-page article on the puzzle sculptures of George Hart is now on the newsstands.

Games Magazine has an online presence, but in a minimal way. http://www.gamesmagazine-online.com/

Bloxorz On line Puzzle

Roll the 2x1 block until you get to the hole.30 challenges. I've solved them all. Not terribly hard, but still fun.

www.albinoblacksheep.com/games/bloxorz

Puzzle Auction

http://puzzles.baxterweb.com Closes July 29 You will never find these types of puzzles on Ebay.

Alien Tiles

We are always skeptical of the claim "hardest puzzle in the world". Nevertheless, this reporter always investigates. Clifford Pickover and Cam Mckechnie have come up with this colorful puzzle Alien Tiles. I solved the First Goal in about 5 minutes using 147 moves. It may not be the least number of moves. The Second Goal is harder. In trying to solve it, I got some interesting patterns - similar to goals 3 & 4. Definitely worth playing!

Rubik's TouchCube on QVC

We never thought we'd see the day when a puzzle would be sold on QVC - the shopping channel. Society is making progress! It will be sold tonight on the segment Christmas in July.

Rubik's Baby?

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/hospital_s_o_luiz_rubiks_cube_2?size=_original

NY Times Crossword Puzzle Editor Interview

We are hoping that this is a trend: puzzlers will be as celebrated in our society as pop stars. I've met Will Shortz several times at mechanical puzzle parties (including the New York Puzzle party which I host). He's a bona fide puzzle expert & a good guy!

Houston, we have some problems

The New York Times has presented some nice puzzles today to commerorate the landing on the moon.
www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19spacepuzzle.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

(FYI: my dad woke me from a nap to make sure I saw it.)

Book Review The Cube: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Bestselling Puzzle

Authors: Jerry Solcum, David Singmaster, Wei-Hwa Huang, Dieter Gebhardt, Geert Hellings

In 1974 Hungarian Erno Rubik invented what would become the world’s biggest puzzle seller in history. It took him 6 years to market the puzzle. By mid 1981 – the craze became a worldwide phenomenon. Go to the 4 corners of the world today – almost everybody has played with it. 35 years later, Rubik’s Cube not only keeps on selling, it’s enjoyed a new burst of enthusiasm – thanks to the internet.

Back in the 80’s many books were written on how to solve the cube. Since then…not much. At long last Jerry Slocum and his puzzle scholar friends have written a definitive edition that is just plain fun! Jerry Slocum offers an historical contribution which covers the prior puzzle crazes, namely, The Tangram (1817), The 15 Puzzle (1880), and Pigs in Clover (1889). (For a more thorough history of the 15 Puzzle, look for Jerry Slocum & Dic Sonneveld’s The 15 Puzzle book – published in 2006.)

David Singmaster, a contributing author, covers the history of the cube. Here we learn about Larry Nichols, a Harvard grad student who invented a 2x2x2 cube with magnets in 1959. With his patent, he sued CBS (which previously bought the Ideal Toy company, which licensed the Rubik’s Cube) for $60,000,000. The star witness was none other than Jerry Slocum! Nichols won the case but lost on appeal.

Mr. Singmaster, a mathematician, helped fuel the cube craze with his own solving notes which he published. He also started the speed solving competitions. One distinct memory: My wife recognized the cube as an enemy as soon as I showed it to her.

Geert Hellings writes about variations of the cube. This is where things get exciting. The obvious variations 2x2, 4x4 & 5x5 were quickly invented and produced. Rubik holds the patent for the 2x2, while Peter Sebesteny and Udo Krell own the patents for the others, respectively. It was considered impossible to construct a 6x6 cube. Fortunately Panagiotis Verdes was not aware of that. He recently invented and produced the 6x6 and 7x7 cubes. He has designs for cubes up to 11x11.

Mr Hellings then takes us into the world of Twistypuzzles.com where aficionados have decided that the world needs more polyhedral rotational sequential movement puzzles. The shapes, colors and complexity are dazzling, inspiring and are cumulatively a celebration of human ingenuity. Some of these puzzles have been mass produced – the Pyraminx sold over 90,000,000. The Megaminx sold less, but is still available at mefferts.com.

Other inventors have produced strange hybrid puzzles in very small quantities that often sell for thousands of dollars. Tony Fisher’s Overlapping Cube is a combination 3x3, 4x4 & 5x5. Anthony Greenhill’s Dodecahedron combines elements form Square-One, which is one of the hardest puzzles. Then there’s Andrew Cormier who made the Teraminx with 542 outer pieces.

The final chapter consists of very clear instructions for solving all ‘normal’ cubes from 3x3 through 7x7.

To the authors, we say Bravo!