1. 18 Pc Burr 6x6x6 - We got this old design from a puzzle website and I believe we are the only ones making it. Its a killer, with 4 steps required just to remove the first piece! The average person will struggle just to take it apart, and thats only 2% of the challenge.....
2. Shippers Dilemma Z - Even though there are 4 possible solutions, good luck ever finding one. There is known analytical way to solve this, it takes incredible determination and perseverence. You'll always get close, but getting that last piece in.......oh my.....
3. Ziggurat - This is our own design and build, with Mike Czerwinski's genious coming up with the design. One of the nice things about this puzzle is that it has three levels of difficulty, so there is some level of achievement that can be obtained by almost anyone. But solving it at the hardest level is oh so tough.
4. Century Cube - I just love this puzzle, one of my 2 personal favorites. Only 6 pieces! How could it possibly be so tough??? Well, its a sequential locking cube and not only must the pieces be assembled in the right order in the right way, they must then slide in the right direction to get everything back to a cube.
5. 18 Pc Burr #3 6x6x6 Though not quite as difficult as #1 above, it is definately a tester!
6. Wood Knot Try This - This is a 3x4x6 burr with no keypin. Others may have this a little lower, but I struggle with burrs and find this one painfully tough. Without the square keypin you don't even know which piece goes in last..
7. Hercules Cube - 33 pieces! Its large size makes even the smaller pieces quite easy to handle. It is symetrical,so that helps, but takes a very orderly mind to figure out the pattern.
8. Death Star 99- (traditionally called a Pagoda Puzzle) Lots and lots of pieces (99) in a huge puzzle. What makes this even more of a challenge is that it is the only puzzle I don't yet have instructions sheets available for.....
Note the Death Star 51 is just about as difficult. (and instructions are available:))
9. Pentathalon Cube - 25 Y shaped pieces. This is a similar puzzle to the Shippers Dilemma Y, except on this one you have to achieve the checkerboard pattern of light/dark pieces. Thus there are fewer possible solutions.
10. Devils Square - 10 pcs fit back into the box, but the orientation can be any one of 4 ways for each piece, thus hugely compounding the problem...
11. Shippers Dilemma - An analytical puzzle with high appeal to the engineer types. Has a very logical solution. 90% of your time needs to be thinking. Comes with a brilliant solution sheet (from Dan Czerwinski) that will clearly walk you though the mental thought process required to solve it). This is a puzzle used by both high school and college math teachers. It is the other of my 2 personal favorite puzzles. (along with Century Cube).
Keep these exceptional brain teasers in mind when you are searching for unique gift ideas. For personal or corporate gifts nothing beats a good puzzle.
