A Brief History Of The Wooden Puzzle Game

By Andrea Davidson


If ever you think of toys that you have seen in old black and white films they will often have been made from wood. Throughout history up until the end of the Second World War this had been the case. Then mass production and plastics arrived on the scene. It is quite gratifying to know that people do still enjoy trying to solve 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.

Another common scenario for children during the school summer vacation was staying with the Grandparents. Now Grandparents do like to spoil their Grandchildren and try to make their stay as enjoyable and as much fun as possible. However it doesn't take much for the weather to mess up all of these carefully made plans. Luckily Grandparents are very adaptable and get round this small problem by retrieving your parent's old toys and games.

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.

Many people feel that young people are only interested in computer games these days, yet surprisingly there seems to be quite a healthy market for these more traditional items. Today things have progressed, and thanks largely to modern manufacturing items no longer need to be carved by hand. The materials used are all of the highest quality, but now they are made much faster.

Many of these games and puzzles are designed to be equally frustrating and entertaining. This is most definitely true when used in reference to the 3D items. They are whole and complete when you get them, so you know that completing it is possible. All starts off well, and then gets more and more baffling. Despite the bafflement there is a real sense of accomplishment when you finally manage to complete everything properly.

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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