A Wooden Puzzle Game Spans The Generations

By Andrea Davidson


Were you to study the history of toys and games throughout the ages, you will find that most of them were created from wood. This held true until just after WWII. Then cheaper raw materials and mass production, meant that wood soon gave way to plastic. Although there are still many people who enjoy trying to tackle a wooden puzzle game.

For most people this seems to take them right back to their childhood. Many a child's first toy has been those hand sized, brightly coloured square blocks made from wood. Relatively inexpensive, and nothing for a youngster to hurt themselves on. Many parents still have these blocks lurking at the back of a toy cupboard.

From the blocks it seems like a routine step forward to large piece jigsaws also made from wood. Quite often they were initially just colourful shapes that had to be replaced in the appropriate cutout on a board. From there it would progress to the proper jigsaws. All part and parcel of learning hand and eye coordination and digital dexterity.

Many a child will have been packed off to spend time with their Grandparents during the school breaks. The Grandparents try to make the days as fun filled as possible, but with all the good will in the world sooner or later the weather puts paid to the original plans. How do Grandparents overcome this, simply by bringing out the puzzles that your parents used to play with.

Despite being raised surrounded by technology there is something quite heart warming about trying to solve the exact puzzle that your parents also tried to fathom out. Due to the material it was made from it will have survived time. Maybe there is a piece which is a different colour and feel to the other pieces. Perhaps this was a piece that your Grandfather had to hand carve when a bit was lost.

Even though many youngsters do like to play their computer games, there does seem to be a growing market for these more traditional pieces. Originally these items would have all been carved by hand. Nowadays with automation, better results are achieved in a fraction of the time, but the quality is still there.

There are many puzzles and games available to entertain and frustrate in equal measure. This is very true when aimed at the three dimensional ones. You know that it can be done as it was complete when you got it, but it seems as though you get so far easily and then the frustration sets in. Or it nears completion when you notice the small piece hiding under the table. Yet there is enormous satisfaction when you do manage to complete it all.

Many of these items have remained unchanged for over a century, some are comparatively new. Some of these puzzles and games are immediately recognisable, possibly everyone has either seen, or tried, the Towers Of Hanoi. Maybe less familiar will be something called the Soma cube. No matter which wood puzzles you notice someone attempting, you soon get the urge to attempt to solve your own wooden puzzle game.




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