A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles
Pairing craft cocktails with crafty puzzles
Sister Act
The puzzle stork has made a new delivery, flying from the Netherlands, via Helsinki, passing through China and even making a fateful stop in Japan. The journey began long ago, and has been gestating for twenty years, until now.
All Puffed Up
Tetraodontidae, so named for their four beak-like teeth, are much more well known for their inflated personalities.
Frood’s Devious Kink
Matt Magee has been thinking about puzzles his whole life. Which is what led him, a few years ago, to create The Box of the Celts, an incredibly complicated and intricate puzzle literally packed with problems.
Like Father, Like Son
A sequel to Robert Yarger’s Gordian Knot was certainly most welcome, and eagerly awaited. The new puzzle takes its name directly from the Greek mythology, in which King Gordias of Phrygia ties his Ox Cart in the town square with the famous knot.
Starstruck
The stage is set for this year’s holiday themed puzzle by Kyle Chester, a part time puzzle maker from the UK who, along with his grandfather Stephen, craft clever wooden puzzle boxes in their home workshop.
Sleigh Ride
From the creative mind of Akhil Sudeep and his holiday workshop in Kerala, India comes a festive puzzle follow up to his breakout hit “Malabar Safe” that follows the trail of these nine feisty reindeer.
The Black Pearl
Jesse Born doesn’t like to be constrained by convention and definitely thinks outside the box. He has just introduced the “Infinity Cube” concept – a series with different themes that goes on and on, and offers something to look forward to year after year.
Problem Child
A problem that started out in Houston could take a long time to reach Tokyo, depending on the mode of transportation. In this case, it took a year.
You Shall Not Pass
The No Way Box is the brainchild of Dr. Peter Hajek, a British psychologist who understands both the secrets to a very good puzzle and the joys of experiencing such items.
Defying Gravity
Fans of Alex Owens’ fantastically complicated interlocking puzzles, such as the Heart Box and the award winning Piano, know he is a master of engineering intricate puzzling experiences. How forcefully you fall for his newest oldest puzzle will theoretically depend on your individual mass.
Looks That Kill
I recently found myself in possession of an incongruous mixture of rare colorful wood, reminiscent of a tiny, beautiful Rubik’s like object, fashioned together into a motley cube.
Lost City
German Jesuit Renaissance scholar and polymath Athanasius Kircher was a prolific academic thought leader of his era, like Leonardo DaVinci. He was known as the “Master of a Hundred Arts”, and his personal wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities) became what is thought to be the first museum in history.
The Royal Game
Marc Duran, a French business consultant and IT specialist with an interest in “history, architecture, cryptology, brain teasers and puzzles”, decided to embark on a new passion project a few years ago: creating his own perfect puzzle boxes that embody all of his interest.
Back in Black
Book themed puzzle boxes are always intriguing to me. I suppose they embody the ultimate symbolism of how a good puzzle box tells a story, of adventure, secrets and reward. It’s a pleasure to get lost in a good book, and a book puzzle box offers that sentiment as a tangible experience.
Hunger Games
Seafaring puzzle adventurers who were equally thrilled, befuddled and impressed by a tiny metal puzzle box that made its way across the world a few years ago have been patiently waiting for their next great “white whale” to surface.
It’s Slow Time!
Tortoise is another beautifully crafted and charming production from Juno, the master of pleasing SD puzzles in wood.
Making Cents
Popular in the late nineteenth century, the “high wheel” bicycle is now better known as the Penny Farthing, a colloquial name derived from its one large and one small wheel, like the large British penny and small farthing coins of the time.
Don’t Stop Me Now
Greatest hits albums are like a mark of true success for a band, having produced enough chart toppers to justify such a compilation in the first place, then taking a victory lap by rereleasing those same songs on one amazing album.