Miscellaneous

This brass puzzle was first introduced to me by Professor Bakalar in Prague. I borrowed it in Atlanta and returned it to him in Luxembourg half a year later. While in my possession, I managed to replicate it, with full permission, of course. This Cast Puzzle version may be even better than the original. It definitely remains one of the most amusing puzzles. The key idea with this one is its...

There’s a whole of wisdom wrapped up in this Oskar masterpiece. The three pieces can be separated and then joined again in their original form. What’s special about this puzzle is that it can be solved three different ways, depending on which of the three pieces is chosen as the middle piece. Solving this puzzle requires an especially subtle kind of working of the pieces, the kind that often...

As the name implies, there is a trick hidden inside the cylinder puzzle. There is absolutely no hint or clue on how to start from the outside appearance. If there is one hint that we can provide, it is to go about it as if you were cracking open a safe. Enjoy finding the solution while pretending to be a spy cracking open a safe with a shaken not stirred martini by your side. Designed by Vesa...

The early 20th century witnessed a kind of puzzle boom, which in 1905 gave birth to an absurdly simple looking puzzle known as the “Devil’s Claws.” We were surprised at how nicely this new version turned out after deciding to revise the original. Don’t let the smooth looks of this one fool you, you may become one of those who let frustration take over, and leave this puzzle forever...

We have created a puzzle that takes on a spherical shape of an astronmical model composed of a planet and its surrounding ring. The planet positioned tightly inside the ring looks as if it cannot be taken out, and all you can do with it is rotate it on its axis. Or is this really the case? The theme of the puzzle is “heaven” and was created by Oskar or The Netherlands.

The plate shaped pieces intervene with each other for the perfect balance. The pieces all fall apart instantaneously, unbelievable when considering all the straight moves you make with the pieces to take them apart. Designed by Yoshiyuki Kotani from Japan and Kirill Grebnev from Russia.

The grooves engraved in the two rotating boards are called “logarithmic spirals”. These Two grooves always cross at right angles, and a square hole is formed at their intersection. The goal of this puzzle is to remove the helix ring that goes through that hole. The inspiration of this puzzle is the morning glory. The puzzle was designed to look like a bud that comes into bloom with twining...

A puzzle made up of a collection of hexagon shaped pieces. It is made up of an inside with three pieces and an outside frame. One slides them around inside the frame and rotates them to try to get them out of the frame. At a glance the pieces appear to have the same shape but the exterior and interior are different, ending up with three pieces whose shapes are different. Created by Mine Uyematsu...

Have you ever heard of the Mobius strip? It is a complex surface where the front and back are indistinguishable. In this puzzle, obstacles are placed on the surface and block the way, just like a maze. As you move forward, the front becomes the back and vice versa, leaving you perplexed. Created by Oskar Van Deventer from the Netherlands. The theme of the puzzle is the strip.

As the end of the 19th century, Britain experienced a huge puzzle craze. I managed to pick up a number of the puzzles famous during that period in flea markets, despite their rarity. Based on these original puzzles from Britain’s famous puzzle period, this is one that we have successfully revived in its new form. These two linked S-shaped pieces seem simple enough, but freeing them is another...