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Tower Of Creation
Original version is called "Tower of Hanoi" . With 13 disks <<< (pic at left), it would take the puzzler 2 hrs, 16 minutes, and 31 seconds
( 8,191 moves ! ) to complete the solution . . . assuming it only took a second for each move - without any mistakes or time lag . Check out the story of its History .
Also known as Magic Towers by Archer Plastics of Elmhurst, Long Island from the early 50s or maybe even earlier . Then there's # 562 The Tree Puzzle, made by Wm. F. Drueke and Sons, Grand Rapids, Michigan. The box it comes in reads "Hand Crafted From Selected Wood Natural and Walnut Finish." There's also the Pagoda from Skor-Mor, Inc., a Nypro Company, Plain Street, Clinton, Mass 01510 . One website calls it by the name of Catacombs . Also known as Fairylite, a plastic puzzle, in bright cherry red and lemon yellow. Made in England sometime pre-WW2 . Yet another name is Craze by Progressive Enterprise from 1954. Here, the pegs are on a triangular board, all being red plastic .
A new entry name is Kan Yu by the Ohio Thermometer Co. Another name is Hearth Song Solid Wood Ziggurat Puzzle . . . a 1995 copyright by Hearth Song manufactured in Thailand .
A simple wood version called Quick Meal Puzzle was used as an advertising gimmick for Quick Meal Ranges by the Ringen Stove Co, a division of the American Stove Co, St Lous MO.
There's an interestingly excellent on-line java version one can play with here
Gordian Knot
A simpler version of the Gordian Knot was the Reef Knot, which was part of the early 19th century Ivory Chinese Puzzle sets.
Elsewhere on the web - with slightly different form - this is referred to as "The Loony Loop" . Its packaging has on it ' It is Made in Japan " and has patent no. 172310 . The instructions say it is a product of the Loony Loop Company from Memphis, TN. Other names found on the web are Puzzletts Jailer and The Jailer made by Spilsbury Puzzle Co., #3181 and Siamese Angels ( . . . a double-looped version called Triamese Angels -- 26 moves ) .
A wooden version of this puzzle, devised by Jack Botermans in 1983, is called "Gekkenwerk" (the Dutch word for lunacy). Frik - n - Frak's Curio Shack sells a version called "Sapiens".
The solution to this puzzle can be seen The solution for this puzzle can be seen here 
Three Clovers The solution is deceptive if one weren't paying attention .
Opposing Triangles Very clever !
Strange Loops One could go loopy trying to solve this one .
Handcuffs / Horseshoes This one is very tricky given its simplicity of design . Another name on the web is Puzzletts Shackles .
Hidden Mickey's Dilemma The three loops sort of look like Mickey Mouse's head outline .
Devil's Staircase . . . Pentangle's Devil's Halo .
Bits & Pieces also sells this puzzle by the same name, but my version's name was taken from a hardcover oversized book called 'Creative Puzzles of the World' , written by Pieter van Delft and Jack Botermans, and purchased from Harry N. Abrams, Inc. NY back in the 70s, way before Bits & Pieces decided to put theirs on the market . A wooden ring version is called Desparado . Also known as : Giant's Causeway - slightly different (utilizing a separate pillar with embedded ring).
The next two puzzles are wide-slab burrs - with a hollow-boxed center, and were made using two differently colored acrylic mirror pieces . The first puzzle was fabricated by applying cyanoacrylic adhesive to bond the two colored pieces to each other . Unfortunately, after approximately 72 hours, the adhesive started to deteriorate the silvering film, starting with a bubbling condition which destroyed the aesthetics of the puzzle, and ended with the pieces separating from each other . I reglued those that did come apart, but this puzzle's appearance has since been greatly compromised .
Mirrored Burr (version 1)
Fashioned after the pine burr below .
Mirrored Burr (version 2 - with bolts)
Since I haven't been able to find a satisfactory adhesive for chemically bonding the two differently colored pieces to each other, I have settled for a mechanical bonding, using tiny bolts - one of the colored pieces having been tapped to substitute as a nut fastener .
Chinese Puzzle Rings
( 30 years old ) North American artwork at end .
Closeup of artwork
Chinese Puzzle Rings
Modern : chrome wire
SPIRAL - FLEX handle
Chinese Puzzle Rings
Modern version - wood handle with artwork at end .
Closeup of artwork .
6pc hollow-center pine burr
Same as the acrylic mirrored burrs above, and the 'soft' yellow plastic version on my "30+ Years Ago" page .
Trinity 1 First of a series of five .
The original design - by Lynn Yarbrough - is sold through
Bits & Pieces as Triple Decker in anodized aluminum .
Trinity 2 Second made
Trinity 3 Third made - 1st 'cross' version .
Trinity Cross
Fourth made - 2nd 'cross' version . . . . .
which was given to the designer as a gift .
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Trinity 5 Cross
Fifth made - 3rd 'cross' version .
Intricate notchwork on ends .
Sphere
Notched Shere The added notches make for a very impressive little puzzle .
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Surprize
Surprize
The name of this sneaky little item comes from the fractious way the mechanism is constructed . As seen in the next pic, the only thing that is holding the puzzle together are the tiny little tabs on the ends of the pieces .
Once assembled, it will stay together with an extreme minimum of handling - affording a distinguished appearance as an intimidating little display . Once the level of handling is raised just a fraction . . . SURPRIZE ! . . . it'll fall apart at a whisper .
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. . . . . all 6 pieces
Designed and crafted by Richard Whiting of New Hampshire (USA) .
Phut
This is a coordinate-motion puzzle (all pieces move at the same time) - original designer and inventor, Viktor Genel . In practice, gentle 'baby steps' are used in sequence to slowly separate the pieces - because of the naturally inherent friction of the pine wood .
Phut's 3 pieces
Symmetry
Magic Box . . . from Mag-Nif's plastic version .
This was an experiment with North American pine wood . The logo was made by using a home-made branding iron out of clothes hanger wire . 
Magic Box. . . . . partially open
I call this type of puzzle a one-way maneuver : Once you've discovered how it opens, there is no brain power required to close it .
Therefore, the entire crux of creating it in the first place is to ensure that the seams where the separate pieces slide pass each other are absolutely snug and precise . 
Magic Box. . . . . 2 identical pieces
Making it with any type of unstable wood (such as the softwood pine I used) is positively taboo . Small changes in ambient climate will flex the wood enough to show separations at the 'slidable' seams - no matter how you cut the wood : along the grain or across it, thus exposing the way to opening it prematurely .
The next few pictures show puzzles made from pine wood strips 1/8" thick by 3/4" wide . This is a study in angle cuts . . . producing finely artful puzzles and accompanying sculpture products : indicating certain structures that can be made in different ways by merely applying the same degree of angle cuts ( 60° ), but reversing their direction, either on the same pieces or on separate pieces .
Framed Star
This 6-point star is known as Solomon's Seal (an emblem consisting of two interlaced triangles, formerly used as an amulet, especially against fever) . Solomon, in Biblical times, was a son of David and 10th-century king of Israel proverbial for his wisdom .
View the solution here
Offset Framed Star. . . . . with quarter
Combining long and short pieces yields this gem .
Ring of Angles
Just by reversing the direction of the angle cuts (compared with the Framed Star), one comes up with a ring such as this .
Two Pairs . . . as a mobile .
Star Pattern . . . as a wall-hanging ornament .
Nested framed boxes . . . as a sculpture !
This little beauty was created by starting with a large framed box and creating progressively smaller boxes by 1" scalings from each other .
Corner
The level of puzzle difficulty in creating these corners is very minimal, to say the least . After all, this is just a novelty sculpture .
3pc Stepped Pyramid This first in the series was made over 30+ years ago, and recently sold on E-Bay .
3pc Stepped Pyramid - Deep Slotted . 
3pc Stepped Pyramid - Shallow Slotted . Again for aesthetics and confusion . 
3pc Stepped Pyramid - V-notched .
3pc Stepped Pyramid - with holes . 
The Sacred Four 
Boomerang Burr
. . . starting to expand . . . 
. . . expanding more . . . 
. . . fully expanded before pieces disengage from each other . 
Boomerang Burr . . . "UNVEILED" . . . 6 identical pieces
Knobbly Burr
Original design by Dic Sonneveld . Another name on the web is Irman by Robert Dalloz, sold on Arabesk's website . Although outside appearance suggests this to be similar, I can't vouch as to the pieces being the same .
Knobby Burr pieces
There are two sets of identical triplets . One set, the mirror image of the other . For those of you who feel like making one, go to this website:
Knobbly Burr
Clarissa Burr
Original design by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels . This is probably a level 7 on the Puzzle Difficulty Index from 1 to 10, in relation to others like it . It takes 11 moves just to remove the first piece .
This unique gem is an awesome 6" cube ! An enormous handfull, to say the least .
If you feel like creating one, you can go here for further info : Clarissa Burr
According to a statement regarding the solution on Ishino Keiichiro's page displaying the puzzle, "There are 170 solutions include apparent. 1 solution is constructable . 11 moves to remove the first piece . "
Got some chain from the local hardware store, and the bracelet from a local junk store, and Voila! Because the bracelet is so much smaller in scale with the horseshoes - compared to other puzzles of this sort - puzzle manipulation is that much harder . (the usual idea is to scale the ring size so that it is large enough to fit over and halfway up the taper of the horseshoes) The solution can be seen here You can go here for the solution ! You can go here for the solution ! 'Puzzle with a stand' . . . . . The object of this puzzle is to remove the ring from the inner gold-textured cord . Fairly difficult . Note the brass hardware that add distinction and flair . Solution can be seen here Made of 3/4" stock North American white pine, kiln-dried to 8% humidity, stained with MINWAX Colonial Maple and given 3 coats of high-gloss acrylic polyurethane . Because this is an interlocking cube with lateral movements in the solution, there has to be at least one sub-cube space available, as in the next picture .
\/ click for larger pic \/ Instead of a center space within the cube, as in the greater majority of such puzzle interlocks, this design puts the space on the outside .
\/ click for larger pic \/ This cube's pieces were glued together from the inside out, with spare stock pieces fitted in around them to continue the integrity of the correct orientation of the curing sub-pieces, to ultimately ensure a maximum snug fit .
\/ click for larger pic \/ Notice that, unlike a great many burr puzzles whose pieces slide laterally for disassembly, these pieces twist in unison (like a cordinate-motion puzzle) .
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This pine version of mine is taken from William Waite's orignal wood design sold at his website, Nemmelgeb Murr's Import Shop here . . . . .
This is an extremely difficult puzzle . The notch lines on the outside of the cube give a false impression that the major pieces are made from individual cubelets; and also gives the puzzle an aesthetic quality .
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\/ click for larger pic \/ The man responsible for this wonderfully devilish design is Ronald Kint-Bruynseels, and one can view more of his -- and others' -- amazing high-level burrs here on Ishino Keiichiro's website .
According to a statement regarding the solution on Ishino Keiichiro's page displaying the puzzle, "There are 144 solutions include apparent. 1 solution is constructable . 17 moves to remove the first piece . 14 moves next ." . "
To not become unbearingly overwhelmed with the enormity of the number of shifts involved, I enlisted the aid of one awesome program called Puzzlesolver 3D created by André van Kammen at www.puzzle.cx/ .
According to André, "Puzzlesolver 3D is a program for solving 3D interlocking puzzles. It makes it possible to show the found solutions as an animation which can be viewed from every angle. It supports assembling and disassembling for puzzles which are built up using cubic blocks. For example, it solves most 6 piece burrs by the click of a button. It has an easy to use 3D interface for drawing the puzzle. "
\/ click for larger pic \/ Stain was added to give it an aesthetic The stain is a 2-part combo of MINWAX red oak and natural, enhancing the 2 major soft grains of the wood .
As with all my puzzles -- having taken influence from, and giving credit to, the great craftsmen of our time -- I try to cross-grain all pieces to minimize expansion & contraction .
\/ click for larger pic \/ This is by far the most frustrating puzzle I have made, and have put together -- even with the 44 move solution, which was created -- as well as those high-level burrs above -- by PuzzleSolver3D .
The extensions are 10 1/4" by 1 7/16", acquired from 3/4" North American white pine finished 1x4 stock .
Weighing in at 2.02 pounds, it is extremely snug . After inserting the sixth piece, from then on to the finish, it was very difficult
shifting the pieces, no matter which ones they were . Hard to get one's fingers in between the extensions to grab hold of the piece's core structure, and use both hands -- applying equal pressure -- to
make the shifts .
Not only have I given the extensions a two-tone stain effect with four coats of acrylic polyurethane, but I have also created line cuts for added distinction aesthetics . This gives you a great perspective as to the mammoth scale of this gargantuan . . . a size akin to some of Vaclav Obsivac's puzzles from the Czech Republic .
You can view the pieces on Ishino Keiichiro's page . There is a solution there, but with all due respect, a lot of the pictures are hard to follow: sometimes not knowing how many units of shifting travel (and with how many pieces involved in that move) there are . However, I have meticulously created a solution page myself, with the aid of PuzzleSolver 3D . You can easily follow each step, as the pieces are all differently colored and numbered, and most of the steps (all enclosed within a frame) have two illustrations: the left one representing the puzzle having been turned in orientation from the last step previous, the right one showing the move .
You can view that page here
According to Eric, "This outstanding design by Jim Gooch was my Exchange Puzzle at IPP 25 in Helsinki, Finland. It was very well recieved and remains one of my favorite designs ever!
The goal of the puzzle is to take the three identical pieces apart and put them back together. Disassembly is very tricky, and I have recieved comments by people speculating that it is really an impossible object. It is not; a solution does exist and after that you have the fun of re-assembly, which is every bit as difficult as disassembly!
Each puzzle is finely handcrafted of solid Black Walnut and your choice of various exotic and fine domestic hardwood."
My version is crafted from North American white pine @ 8% kiln-dried humidity standard, and given two tones of MINWAX stain: red oak, and a combination of red oak and natural, with added line notches for augmented aesthetics .
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"According to one old story, the game of peg solitaire often called simply solitaire, was invented in the 18th century by a French nobleman imprisoned in the Bastille, the grim fortress-prison in Paris. He was modifying an already existing game called Fox and Geese. His new invention, like the earlier game, used a board in which an array of holes -- called cells -- were bored as resting places for pegs or marbles.
There are many games and puzzles that can be devised for the solitaire board, but the method of making moves is common to all of them."
Both sets of pegs have to travel to their opposite ends . Once they are set in motion, they cannot reverse direction . Each peg cannot jump over its own, but can make a single jump over the opposite color . It can also make a single jump to the next space to it .
Beautiful chromed steel . Large rings are 3 ¼" O.D. Small split ring is 32mm .
a.k.a. "Super 'G' "
Horseshoes. . . regular size
I bought a set of plastic horseshoes for four players, along with goal pins, all in a neat plastic see-through bag .
The legs came straight . . . didn't look right . . . so I heated the top edge of the horseshoes over the electric stove element to give them a slight bend inward .
Alexis' Spiral Dilemma
Is the secret to solving this gem lie with only looping a single spiral or two ? How does one make the transition from single to double loop ?
The beautifully highly-polished chromed spring is a whopping 6" long by 1 3/8" in diameter . The wire is 1/8" thick . The rugged gold ring is 2 1/2" in diameter with a wire thickness of 1/4" .
Dog Yoke
An old transfer puzzle design with a new look ! The intent of this 'transfer' puzzle is to move a ring from the loop of one side over to be alongside the ring on the loop of the other side . The yoke material is made of hard - but very flexible - rubber . . .
The original name is the Ox Yoke puzzle . With a different design, another name found on the web is Wedding Vows . One place on the web calls 2 different wire versions : Puzzletts Amigos, Puzzletts Chaperone and Puzzletts Wicky . Other sites refer to it as Bridge The Gap -- Loop Puzzle -- Sleeper Stopper -- Zinger
Whiting's Woe
The sticks are intrically carved from North American pine and flame-torched for grain enhancement . This version is copied from the original Plato's Secret on my ' 30+ years ago ' webpage . It is five times the size also .
The photo solution can be viewed here
Imperial Wizard's Scale . . . . . the Executive Line
The Puzzle
. . . called 'The Platform'
Star Scale. . . . . with stand
'The Platform'
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Levonen's #1 Cube . . . . . my version (designed by Juha A. Levonen)
. . . . .bottom
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. . . . . pieces
The major pieces were not made with individual sub-cubes (except for 4 single sub-cubes where it was needed) , as you can see from the inside surfaces .
After the glueing process was complete, each of the 6 sides of the assembled cube were drawn across the saw blade and scored at a shallow depth to create the illusion of individual sub-cubes .
. . . partially opened
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Sonneveld 3pc 2x2x2 cube . . . . . stained only (with MINWAX Colonial Maple)
. . . . . partially open, and given 4 coats of high-gloss acrylic polyurethane
However, in practical terms, each piece has to be moved a 'baby step' at a time until final separation occurs .
. . . . . all 3 pieces are identical .
Stacked Sticks
Made from lollypop sticks and cut to fit . 
. . . . . a tiny puzzle indeed . . . . .
. . . . . a bigger size comparison 
. . . . . 4 layers thick
. . . . . 2 halves
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. . . . . the 4 pieces
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Allsides Cube
. . . . . and it's plastic keychain version -- same website -- here, in four rich colors : red, yellow, blue and green .
The puzzle's name stems from the fact that each of the six faces of the cube shows all four colors .
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The four intricate pieces.
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There are 4 sliding moves before the first piece is able to be released, as you can see in this picture .
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Another Allsides Cube using LiveCube cube pieces .
. . . . . the cube partially opened
". . . . . Start simple with just a cube . Build up your cube . . . . . . No racking your brain . Add more shapes and recombine them . Still a cube . . . . . . puzzle enthusiasts will discover livecube is an integral tool in the cube puzzle world . livecube opens the door to the puzzle world for everyone ."
They have an awesome Flash page that starts off their website, and sophisticated animation viewing of all their descriptions throughout the rest of their site that is a definite must to see . Very impressive ! The units are of exceptional quality plastic of great precision fabrication . I personally highly recommend their product .
Sheffield Steel 6BB
This is the first in a series of what I like to call 'tortuous burrs' . This humungous 6-pc specimen measures 7" (if it were in cube form) and weighs about 2 pounds . It is made of North American white pine -- at 8% kiln-dried humidity -- and given a two-toned application of MINWAX stain (combination of Red Oak and Natural), and then several coats of acrylic polyurethane on certain areas that will not be affected during the move shifts .
You can view my very detailed version of the solution (by PuzzleSolver3D) here
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Triplets . . . . . made with LiveCube units
3 identical pieces
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Little Paperclips . . . . . from Tom Lensch's version of Oskar van Deventer's original design, which can be seen at Puzzle World
This is a level 3 burr : it takes 3 sliding shifts to release the first piece .
'depth & breadth' ; the notches help to balance the overall geometric aethetics, and to create added confusion to an already partially non-symetrical geometry .
MINWAX wood wax was applied to all shifting surfaces to help reduce friction to an already snug fit .
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Squarrel
Another 'tortuous burr' modeled after Ronald Kint-Bruynseels' original, which can be seen here . According to Ishino Keiichiro's website, "There are 12 solutions include apparent. 1 solution is constructable. 10 moves to remove the first piece. "
You are looking at the first 3 shifts out of 10
You can view my very detailed version of the solution (by PuzzleSolver3D) here
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No Nukes! . . . . . the Titan Beast
This impressively, intimidating design, the forerunner to the Sheffield Steel 6BB above, is credited to Ronald Kint-Bruynseels, and demands a high degree of respect and awe, even from the most serious of puzzlers . The 'core' pieces are slightly similar to the Sheffield Steel 6BB . To assemble just the 'core' required only eight moves . Once the extensions were added, the number of shifts increased dramatically .
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. . . . . size comparison
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Triple Play . . . . . my version (just the outward aesthetics)
. . . . . taken from an original design by Jim Gooch, current originals are being fabricated by craftsman Eric Fuller and sold on his site www.cubicdissection.com/html/purchase/triple.html .
Iwahiro's 4-Identical-Piece Cube #1
. . . two halves
. . . one half - two pieces
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. . . 4 identical pcs
Peg Solitaire . . . with rivets
Tiny linking split rings are 16mm .
The thickness of the wire is slightly larger than ordinary coat hanger wire: approximately (.100") or (2 ½ mm) .
