Planning a Disney vacation? Visit MouseTyme Vacations & get their Free "Concierge-Style Service"  




The following buttons below link to the same puzzles as from those above, except that the puzzles are now grouped according to their status catagories .

CHINESE PUZZLE RINGS :  A History through the ages .
~ Puzzle For $ale ~



Keychain S-rings
Very tricky !   Even after you've done it once - most likely by accident - you'll still have trouble attempting it a second time ( or maybe even a third ) .

Keychain Star Shuttle
This is a very frustrating puzzle to solve .   You have to catch just the right angle to free the star from its shuttle .

Keychain Keys
Once you find the right combination of 'workable' surface notches, the keys will then separate .


Happy Cube
A hollow-boxed 3D jigsaw .
The Happy Cube -- as well as the Cricro and Snuzzles puzzle cubes -- are made from a material which is a gentle high-quality soft foam that feels like an eraser - invented by Dirk Laureyssens .

Bent Nails   For those of you who would like an idea of how hefty they are : a 16d galvanized nail is very close to being .168" (2.68/16") in diameter .   These bent nails are slightly thicker (probably 20d) : .208" ( 3.33/16") thick steel nails, bought off a friend who got it from a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Derry, NH .


IQ Circle   A plastic tangram with its own case .

Satan's Stirrups
This was purchased from a barn sale in New Boston, NH, whose items were acquired from abandoned estates .   The square wrought iron stock that the general bulk of this puzzle is made up with is a whopping .241" (3.86/16") in thickness .

This is also known elsewhere on the web as Bit & Brace .

This puzzle is one of many 'tavern puzzles' originally made by Dennis Sucilsky, "a museum trained traditional blacksmith who is able to use his knowledge of iron-working and tool making for the production of these metal puzzles."   "The earliest Tavern Puzzles® are based on designs centuries old.   New styles are added on a regular basis; some of these are original designs, others are new versions of classics."

"Tavern Puzzles® evolved from reproductions of hand-forged artifacts that Dennis Sucilsky came across while researching architectural ironware."
One can view the full line of these great metal wonders here at www.tavernpuzzle.com .




~ click on pic to go to link ~

The following puzzles have all been purchased at a retail puzzle shop called Piece Time Puzzles in Northwood, NH, operated by a very friendly husband/wife team -- Rose and Mark Stevens -- since 1996.   It is located in a large barn in the midst of Northwood, NH’s “Antique Alley”, a stretch of antique shops, galleries, and restaurants on Rte 4 .

Sticked Triangles   made by The Mandalay Box Co.

. . . pieces ( 8 triangles - 12 dowels )
A little more complicated ( more pieces ) than DownUnder's version called Ball in a Tepee .   Actually, my puzzle makes up exactly two of the 'Ball in a Tepee' . . . intertwined .   All the triangles are the same . . . four were placed on opposite sides to show contrast between entry and exit points of each hole, drilled approximately at a 58° angle .


4 Ts   . . . from Binary Arts .
There are two sides to this puzzle .   The other being slightly smaller in square area .
The T puzzle was used to advertise White Rose Ceylon tea in 1903 .

Double Square   from Aha Brainteaser Classics, the Thinkfun people at Binary Arts .
This puzzle is a two-parter .   First, this one using 4 pieces (3" square) .   The next picture shows the same puzzle using a fifth piece (a miniature square) making the second large square  ( 3 1/4" square ) .   One source for this puzzle can be viewed at education.puzzles.com

Double Square
The fifth piece (a small square) has been added .







Jigsaw Jewel  from Aha Brainteaser Classics, the Thinkfun people at Binary Arts .
Very well made .

Jigsaw Jewel . . . pieces









Jigsaw Ball  from Aha Brainteaser Classics, the Thinkfun people at Binary Arts .

Jigsaw Ball . . . pieces

2 Triangles / U
miniature

This is the first in a series of the next 5 miniature copies of the full-size Tavern Puzzles .   Made in China by Out Of Bounds .   Designed & distributed by Robmar Corp. of Manchester, NH .

Heart / Dogbone miniature
Also known as Uncle's Sweetheart and Puzzletts Heart .

Cross_U_Triangle miniature
Known elsewhere on the web as Uncle's Gingerbread Puzle and Conestoga Playmate .

Butterfly miniature







Anomoly miniature

Horseshoes . . . elongated miniature
This was acquired at a local yard sale .








Radius   . . . made by The Mandalay Box Co.
A 4-tiered cylinder puzzle that resembles Pandora's Box on my E-Bay page .   Also known as Cylinder Puzzle at the WingsToys.com site .

Pieces










4pc tapered jigsaw   Looks simple, but cunning !   . . . made by Binary Arts












4pc Pyramid   . . . made by Binary Arts .


. . . . . 4 identical pieces











Elephant Spinout   . . . made by Binary Arts .
As with the Chinese Puzzle Rings, The Brain and The Tower of Creation,   this is based on the binary system for solving .


. . . closeup
There is only one place - on the left - where the individual elephants can make their turns;   and also across the track - the curved edge on the right - used as a stop for those not turned .


. . . reset
The closed end of the track is hinged, and readily opens to allow the entire race of elephants to be taken out,   or to reset their orientations and be re-inserted back into the track .



The next five figure puzzles are made by  4D FameMaster   in China .   Excellent craftsmanship !   There are 13 main catagories : dinosaur -- Ice Age -- wild animals -- endangered animals -- dogs -- cats -- horses -- reptiles -- frogs -- sea animals -- cute animals -- polar animals -- North American animals -- and some of the same in mini versions .   Plus, single Special Collection items, such as the Dolphin below, which is about five times the size of the normal versions -- although the size restraint of the pic doesn't show it .

Horse   . . . . . 25 pieces

Moose   . . . . . 21 pieces











Gorilla. . . . . 26 pieces

Bear. . . . . 22 pieces


















Walrus. . . . . 23 pieces

Dolphin . . . . . 43 pieces












Internal Combustion
This puzzle is made out of solid aluminum .   It was sold by Bits & Pieces until recently, which they now have discontinued .
Besides getting this puzzle at Piece Time Puzzles. . . . . as I did, other sources for purchase can be found at Games & Puzzles and the 'Executive Metal' section of Puzzles DownUnder .   Also at Mr Puzzle of Australia .

An exquisitely aesthetically-pleasing wood version, known on the web as: Nightmare Box
. . . . . (formerly Shuffle Box ) . . . . . which is made out of Thailand's own beautiful “Raintree” wood, and according to its website, is "a non endangered and renewed tree from northern Thailand that has the grain structure and appearance of Teak", can be viewed for purchase here at Creative Crafthouse .


pieces .
Not as easy as you may think .

the Shell













Lunatic Lock
Brushed aluminum .   Made by Puzzle Makers International .   Currently also sold on Bits & Pieces .

. . . . . pieces
A tricky mechanism if you have no idea how or where to start .   Although I have given you a rare viewing of the innards' mechanism, there are still some steps to be done outside the scope of what you see, which I will keep secret .






Man The Torpedo
Aluminum and brass .   Made by Puzzle Makers International .   Currently also sold on Bits & Pieces .

Starting the solution
If you can get to this point, which starts the solution, you've got it made .











Free The Key
Aluminum key with brass ring .   Made by Puzzle Makers International .   Currently also sold on Bits & Pieces .






Crossteaser
Another Rubik's type sequential puzzle .

. . . . . closeup of cross-armed pieces









    \/ click for larger pic \/
Double W

This was acquired at a local yard sale for $1.00

Known as 'Cast Devil' by the Hanayama people.
Other packaging titles are 'Twin Tangle' -- 'The Match -- 'MW Puzzle' -- 'Menace'.

The solution can be seen here .



    \/ click for larger pic \/
Fractus

An interesting study of aesthetic geometry from the good folks at Frik - n - Frak .

    \/ click for larger pic \/
Six identical pieces form a facsimile of two pyramids intersecting.



    \/ click for larger pic \/
Tripod     . . . . . from elog IQ
"Toys that exercise your brain!"

~ solve for COLORS -- solve for LETTERS -- solve for ARROW COLORS ~

    \/ click for larger pic \/
. . . an entire side turns, as well as each knob at the extremeties .







\/ click for larger pic \/
Magnetic Globe

. . . . . designed by Albert J. Hall, Patent # 5826872 .
The text on the black plastic base reads: "Mind Walk Inc" .

\/ click for larger pic \/
. . . . . a partial look inside

    \/ click for larger pic \/
. . . . . 32 pieces
(20 large hexagonal )
(12 small pentagonal )






    \/ click for larger pic \/
Rubik's Ice Cube

Bought at Toys-R-Us .








    \/ click for larger pic \/
6 Tabbed Planks

Bought from Pavel's Puzzles .

    \/ click for larger pic \/
pieces

Comments in regards to this puzzle can be read here

You can view the solution here











Sandy's Rubik's-type Puzzle Collection
Chris's Puzzleboxes (IPP member)
~Juozas's Rubik's Collection~
Eric's Collection (450+)
Juno's World
. . . . . great animations and Flash movies. . . . .
Puzzle Locks
My Puzzle
CGN Puzzles
Martin H.Watson
Peter Knoppers Collection
Isacisco's French Connection
John's Kumiki Burr Collection
Matti Linkola from Finland (600+)
Fellow New Englander Rob Stegmann's Collection (2800+)
. . . . . introducing a cleverly inovative 'ring menu' . . . . .
. . . . . which can also be seen on My Creations web page. . . . .
Erich's 2D Jigsaw Puzzles
( 122 items as of 12/28/06 )
Enygmo
( 400+ items as of 02/06/07 )








Give me a buzz . . . tell me what you think !



Great for displaying your prize puzzles in their special cabinets
. . . . . and a plethora of many other uses as well