Be sure to check-out the video short on the above Ravensburger 3-D Puzzle site; bet you’ll love it!
According to puzzle experts at GlobalPuzzle.net, a person solving a puzzle reasons in a logical way, arranges the problem in his or her mind, recognizes patterns and deduces resolutions so as to reach the most favorable solution. Therefore, completing jigsaw puzzles, are games that not only serve the purpose of deriving fun and entertainment, but also teaches children and adults alike.
The origins of jigsaw puzzles go all the way back to the 1760s when European mapmakers pasted maps onto wood and cut them into small pieces. John Spilsbury, was an engraver and mapmaker; he is credited with inventing the first jigsaw puzzle in 1767. Such “dissected” maps have been a successful educational toy ever since. Still (2018), American children learn geography by playing with puzzle maps of the US and the world. The 18th century inventor of jigsaw puzzles would likely be astounded to see the transformations during the last 250+ years. Puzzles for Children have switched from just lessons to entertainment, with diverse subjects ranging from, nursery rhymes, and modern tales to super heroes. But the biggest surprise for the early puzzle makers would probably be how young adults have come to embrace puzzling of late; placing puzzling near the head of the line for fashionable and affordable Hobbies. In an era of electronic gadgetry, such a trend is just short of a minor miracle!
Wooden Jig Saw Puzzles made specifically for young adults didn’t emerged until around 1900, and by 1908, a full-blown craze was in progress in the U S. And, unlike puzzles made for children, the adult Jig Saw Puzzles often had no “guide picture” on the box’s exterior; sooo, if the title was vague or a bit deceptive, the true subject could remain a mystery until the last pieces were fitted into place!
Since wooden puzzles had to be cut one piece at a time in those days, they were rather expensive. A typical 500-piece puzzle might cost $5 in 1908, far beyond the means of the average worker who only earned about $50 a month; naturally, sales slumped considerably. However, “High society folk”, continued to embraced the relatively new amusement which assured that manufacturing, if only to a lesser degree, stayed in place. Peak sales came each Saturday morning when such customers selected puzzles for their weekend house parties scheduled in their country retreats or other such up-scale places.
Surprisingly, with the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, puzzles for young adults and children enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, peaking in early 1933 when sales reached an astonishing 43 Million Dollars a month! You could say, Puzzling touched a chord, offering an escape from the troubled times, as well as an opportunity to succeed in some small way.
Unfortunately, following World War II, the wooden jigsaw puzzle industry went into decline. Rising wages pushed costs up substantially and since wood puzzles took so much time to cut; prices rose and sales dropped. At about the same time improvements in lithography and die-cutting made the much cheaper cardboard puzzles more attractive.
One by one, wooden puzzles fell from the marketplace and true addicts of this style puzzle developed serious withdrawal symptoms which indirectly resulted in the research & development of an unknown number of gadgetry products (ranging from Smart Phones to Electronic Chess sets) by the rising generation of entrepreneurs in an attempt to replace the many benefits of Puzzling by young adults and children alike. A few of such benefits of Puzzling beyond educating that are commonly known include, but are not limited to, improving most anyone’s IQ, concentration, motor skills, problem solving skills, social skills, and productivity.
For the average “50 something” Puzzler today, the word “puzzle” conjures up a single image － the jigsaw puzzles we often wrestled with as children during rainy days; but in hindsight, to put it bluntly, they were simply too flat. On the other hand if you fall within the more tender age group of less than 50 something, its unlikely you harbor such comforting memories. Regardless, today’s (2018) true puzzler should be aware that there is now a whole universe of three-dimensional (3-D) puzzles available in the marketplace and at an affordable price. Some are made of wood or wire, others, of metal or plastic and a few are made of glass; all of which can boggle the mind and delight the senses.
In case you’re wondering, 3D puzzles, were invented by Paul Gallant, a late Canadian entrepreneur; they were first made available in 1991 under a Quebec, Canada based company called Wrebbit; the 3-D puzzles were manufactured under the brand name Puzz 3D.
In 2005, Hasbro, Inc. (the largest toy maker in the world in terms of stock market value, and third largest in terms of revenues), an American multinational toy and board game company bought the manufacturing and distribution rights for US sales of the Wrebbit Puzz 3D Division and promptly began the manufacture of Wrebbit’s puzzles at Hasbro’s East Longmeadow, Massachusetts facility; the following year (2006) all of the Puzz 3D puzzles were discontinued, but in 2011, the Puzz 3D line was revitalized by Winning Solutions, Inc based in Ames, Iowa; a premium games company that had collaborated with Hasbro in the past.
Typically, the structures or puzzle designs released are famous landmarks, such as the White House located in Washington DC; Big Ben, the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England; and the 1,815 foot tall (147 floors) CN Tower located in Toronto, Canada.
Puzz 3D has also released science-fiction themed puzzles, such as the Millennium Falcon spacecraft from the Star Wars film, and notable structures from legendary stories such as King Arthur’s Castle at Camelot, generally thought to have been situated in Caerleon, South Wales, Britain.
Puzz 3D has also released buildings of notable time periods, including a Victorian Mansion; they have produced classic cars, such as the 1956 Ford Thunderbird (Click Here to check it out). Puzz 3D has actually released a puzzle based on Hasbro’s Monopoly board game, which allows for putting the puzzle together and then playing the game.
Yet another 3-D puzzle release by Hasbro includes a New York City puzzle, which includes the area around the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building. Because the puzzle is set before the 9-11-2001 attacks, the Twin Towers are a part of the design. This puzzle is Hasbro’s largest, totaling 3,141 pieces (Click Here for purchase options; Used and or New).
With worldwide 3-D puzzle sales exceeding 100 Million Dollars in 2017, it’s of little surprise that Puzz 3D games have also been “fashioned” or made for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh PC’s & Laptops. However, in this adaptation, when computer users build the puzzle, it’s a digital version, completed by clicking and dragging the digital pieces into place . . . Humm, digital or physical puzzle pieces (3-D design or otherwise); questionable at best . . . The choice can only be yours!
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