A spirited journey through the world of collectible artisan puzzles
Pairing craft cocktails with crafty puzzles
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Party Pooper
Whilemina the Wombat is an adorable marsupial made from rare Queensland Walnut, an indigenous Australian wood which is no longer commercially available. Produced in 2008, the puzzle combines elements of a high-level interlocking burr type puzzle with hidden mechanism sequential discovery tools.
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White Castle
Fans of Tolkien’s (and Jackson’s) Lord of the Rings saga will be well familiar with the many regal palaces encountered within Middle Earth, from the ethereal vistas of the elven kingdoms to the depths of the dwarven mines.
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Knight Rider
Any witch or wizard worth their wand and in need of transportation, because they are too young to aparate or too old to bother, knows all that is required is to hail the bus.
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Mass Appeal
“I guess we all need to try being optimistic and keep striving to make things better. After all, there is really no other choice. At least that is the way I see things.”
- Stewart Coffin, Reflections, 2022
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Paleolithic Puzzling
The Paleolithic era Tuc d'Audoubert cave is located in the south of France. The masterpieces of this cave are two clay bisons, the best preserved examples of clay modellings in the whole of European cave art. They are 15,000 years old, and have become iconic.
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Bank Account
Located a few miles northeast of Hollywood and known as the “media capital of the world”, the Los Angeles adjacent city of Burbank, California, is occasionally confused with a puzzle.
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Hidden Gem
When Eric Fuller decided to team up with Frederic Boucher and modify one of his devilishly fun designs, he knew he could create something even more outrageous, complex, challenging, unusual and fun.
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Index Case
An index case, also referred to as “patient zero”, is the first documented patient in a disease epidemic within a population, or the first documented patient included in an epidemiological study.
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Into the Vortex
The vortex theory [of the atom] is only a dream. Itself unproven, it can prove nothing, and any speculations founded upon it are mere dreams about dreams. - Lord Kelvin
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Brass Monkey 5
What’s heavy and made of brass, has six pieces that fit together, looks the same as four other things and is totally different?
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The Tippenary Mystery Tour
Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square! It's a long long way to Tipperary, But my heart's right there. – Jack Judge and Harry Williams, 1912
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Penultimate Burr Box Set
As if having a unique and beautiful burr set made by Eric Fuller were not enough, the box that contains the set is also rather special.
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The Joy of Hex
From the mischievous minds at play in the Two Brass Monkeys workshop in merry old England comes their most raucous achievement yet, a set of twelve hexagonal burrs stick puzzles that are sure to make you blush.
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Caged Block Box
Bill makes beautiful furniture in the Scandinavian and Shaker influenced style, ascribing to the moto that form follows function. He also likes puzzles, and has a successful puzzle shop called Black Dog Puzzle Works where he offers his hand-made challenges in elegant hardwoods.
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Ned Kelley
Behold the infamous tale of Ned Kelley, the notorious Australian bushranger and outlaw wanted for a series of police murders in the late 1800s. Kelley and his gang’s evasion of police capture for over two years ended in a famous gun battle in which the outlaws wore makeshift iron suits and helmets which have become iconic.
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Little Game Hunter
Fancy going on an African safari, anyone? The allure of the classic game hunt is the stuff of novels by the likes of Isak Dinesen in my book, and the only shooting I’d be interested in is with my camera.