On the 12th day of Christmas

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
12 other puzzlers
David Litwin, Bram Cohen, Eitan Cher, Mr. Yao, Jason Smith, Steve Winter, Vesa Timonen, Peter Wiltshire, Mike Toulouzas, Ayi Li, Wil Strijbos, and Stuart Coffin.

11 Oskar Van Ds
10 Chinnimoto's
9 Robert Stegmann's
8 Jerry Slocum's

7 Eric Fuller's
6 Tony Fisher's
5 Richard Hess'
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yan's
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree

It's day 12 and this little story has come to and end.  I thought the best way to do that would be with 12 final puzzlers!  Links and photos are provided where available.  Go look, go buy, go make sure the designers keep designing and the puzzlers keep puzzling!

Dave Litwin, Geert Hellings

David Litwin is a long time friend.  He's designed and built my collection of elemental puzzles along with a few others over the years.

Bram Cohen, Adam Cowen, Bob Hearn

Bram Cohen in addition to being a computer wiz has had a number of puzzles made by Hanayama as well as being the inspiration for many of Oskar's designs.

Eitan Cher is a young up and coming puzzle designer.  He's currently doing post-graduate work in Chicago but still finds the time to put out a puzzle or two.

Mr. Yao is the man behind Witeden.  He's designed a number of his own puzzles and that number keeps growing.  In the past few months he's put out over 10 new puzzles.

Jason Smith

Jason Smith first brought the helicopter cube to the market.  recently he has been designing a series of deep cut puzzles.

Steve Winter is new to the puzzle building scene.  He specializes in mazes, but has recently designed  few twisty puzzles with a maze built in.

Vesa Timonen has been designing puzzles for a while now that can be found in shops all over the world. He works in all media.

Peter Wiltshire is another relatively newcomer to the world of puzzling.  His Ferris box won the 2012 Jury Prize at IPP.

Peter Wiltshire

Mike Toulouzas builds beauties in wood.  His Judges Gavel won the first prize at IPP in 2011.

Ayi Li is a designer of a number of new twisty puzzles. I love Ayi because like me, he calls his puzzles TOYS!

Wil Strijbos is the dealer of choice for the puzzle world.  One and all go to him for their puzzling fix.

Wil and Tom

And finally...Stuart Coffin. He has got to be the builder of puzzles with the most designs to his name.  As he numbers each design, it is fairly easy to keep track of what he's made.  At IPP this year I picked up number 258 "Octet in F".  That sure is a lot of puzzles!

(AND 12 bloggers blogging (Gabriel, Allard, Kevin, Jerry, Neil, Brian, Oli, Moises, Gunnar, Scott, Tom, and Rox of course!))

Neil Hutchinson and Allard Walker

For a real enjoyable trip through puzzledom, click on the bloggers names above. Some of them you might have seen before  others may be new to you, all are enjoyable reads. This was my originally intended ending, but as I went through all the puzzle designers in the initial write-up of this blog back in December, I realized that not all the bloggers are designers   For this reason, I changed it to the above 12th day, but since we all enjoy reading about puzzles and people, I thought I'd leave it in here for you to get a small bit of extra Christmas cheer!

designer and blogger Scott Elliot

Merry Christmas all!  I hope you enjoyed my little poem this year. I only wish there were more than 12 days of Christmas as I have many many more than 12 puzzlers I'd like to introduce you to.  To do that and learn more, I guess you'll just have to continue reading my ramblings.  The more I do these, the harder they get.  It is becoming more and more difficult to come up with ideas....But next year....well, I'm already thinking ahead now aren't I?


And just for you Mr. Stickman:


On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
12 puzzlers puzzling AND bloggers blogging
11 Oskar inventing
10 Chinny spinning
9 Robert Webbing
8 Jerry Collecting

7 Eric building
6 Tony cutting
5 Richard Hess'
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yan's
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree

(Are there enough verbs in there for you now? I left them out intentionally because I wanted to name names and tell tales!)

On the 11th day of Christmas

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
11 Oskar Van Ds
10 Chinnimoto's
9 Robert Stegmann's
8 Jerry Slocum's

7 Eric Fuller's
6 Tony Fisher's
5 Richard Hess'
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yan's
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.

Oskar has got to be one of the most prolific puzzle makers I have ever met.  I think he's made more puzzles than most companies.  Looking at his website is great fun if you want to see a few of the designs he's made over the years.  It is in no way comprehensive but it's a good start.

What I find to be amazing about Oskar is that he can design in anything.  And I do mean anything.  He has a number of the Hanayama puzzles that he's designed, he's done puzzles in wood, and he works quite a lot in plastic.  He's made twisty puzzles, burrs, take-apart's, calendars, and toys!  The guy is a walking puzzle!  He's made so many that I wouldn't even begin to try and list them.  I'm sure I'd never be able to do it.  I'll bet money you have at least one design by Oskar in your collection.

On the 10th day of Christmas

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me
10 Chinnomotto's
9 Robert Stegmann's

playing with a tippie top

8 Jerry Slocum's

7 Eric Fuller's
6 Tony Fisher's
5 Richard Hess'
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yan's
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.


Stephen Chin is the master of the lathe!  When I first met him he was playing with a puzzle he called "La Bomba"  Truth be told, I wanted to kill him with his bomb and I'm pretty sure he wanted to kill my bug.  He was playing with that puzzle on the table and she just snagged it from him.  No manners at that time.  She has never forgotten that puzzle or Stephen and keeps pestering me about it year after year.  I know she wants me to buy her one, but since she has professed to "hate puzzles" I refuse!  (Mean mom I am)

Stephen's puzzles are always good for a smile. I have had great pleasure in showing one of his eggs around to people everywhere.  If you can ever get your hands on that one, it is THE puzzle to have!  His "Ze House of Mouse Ze Duong" is a hoot and then some.  It kept a smile on everyone's face who played with it.

Not only are his puzzles good for a laugh, but the man is as well.  Stephen smiles and laughs almost as much as I do.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should rephrase that to say MORE than I do.  (maybe it's all that gas)  I've never met another like him and that just might be a good thing.  Too many crazies in the world already.  But at least Stephen is one of those good crazies!

on the 9th day of Christmas

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me

Camera shy Rob

9 Robert Stegmann's
8 Jerry Slocum's

7 Eric Fuller's
6 Tony Fisher's
5 Richard Hess'
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yan's
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.

Rob is great for his puzzle page!  I have been drooling over that one for I don't know how many years now.  I also am pretty sure I have been bidding against him on some of his most recent updates.

Another thing you may not know about Rob is that he designs his own puzzles as well!  His IPP exchange this year was designed by himself, and he's been known to design a burr or two over the years.

Add to that a very good host who entertained the bug with a bit of historical knowledge that she refused to take from mom, and an all around great guy to have a drink with and I think I've picked a winner in today's post.

Rob has kindly sent me a photo to add here.

Post edited to get Rob's name spelled right!

On the 8th day of Christmas

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me,
8 Jerry Slocum's

7 Eric Fuller's
6 Tony Fisher's
5 Richard Hess'
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yans
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.

For those few folks who have been living under a rock and don't know, Jerry is the founder of IPP.  I won't insult anyone by giving a background story that is probably best NOT told by me.  What I'll do instead is introduce him as I know him.

I first met Jerry in person at IPP 30 in Japan.  He was so nice in making sure that I had lots of fun and that I was meeting people.  He was kind enough to do the same for my husband and was a real doll to bug who at that time was still a royal pain.  Every year since then, I have delivered puzzles to IPP for Jerry from Uwe and I'm sure I will continue to do so as long as I'm still invited.

Jerry very kindly donated his puzzles to the Lily library in Bloomington Indiana.  if you are ever in the neighborhood  do drop in and take a look around.  It is really a puzzlers dream and the staff at the library are pretty amazing!  If you can't make it out there, it is mostly online now and you can just go and drool over the photos that are up.  I do!

On the 7th day of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me,
7 Eric Fuller's
6 Tony Fisher's
5 Richard Hess'
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yans
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.

Eric Fuller is the brains (and the brawn) behind cubic dissection.  If you haven't been over there, now's the time to go look.  Eric is a builder extraordinaire and another all around great guy!  What's not to love about this guy, he's big, he's brawny, he's an amazing builder, he loves a good cigar, and he's ex-service.  What a dude!

I have passed the bull with Eric for a while now, but it wasn't until this past IPP that I finally got to meet him. I must say, I completely enjoyed the time I spent with him and look forward to doing it again.

Over the past few years I've gotten a few puzzles made by Eric and I haven't been disappointed by any of them.  They truly are lovely pieces of wood that just so happen to form a puzzle.  I've blogged about one or two in passing and am sure once I open the others I've bought from him I'll blog about them as well.  :)  Head over to cubic dissection to see what he has to offer, then snap one up.  You won't be sorry!

On the 6th day of Christmas

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me,
6 Tony Fisher's
5 Richard Hess'
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yans
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.

The one puzzler that is allowed into my collection of men that I have yet to meet....Such a sad thing for me.
I've known Tony via the internet for many years now and simply love his dry humor.  I look forward to meeting him one of these years and keep looking for an excuse to get to the UK so I can do just that.

I've known about this Mr. Fisher for many many years and can vaguely remember getting excited when he first got an account on TP back in 2005!  Imagine, the king of handmade puzzle transformations himself wanted to join our little forum!

Ok, enough cheekiness Tony really is a fantastic builder.  He's had a number of his designs mass produced by Meffert's and can be seen over on PuzzleMaster as well.  He even has his own webpage for you to drool over.

I've no photos of Tony because I've not met him.  (that makes sense right???)  I'll link you to my nesting cubes though.  Over the years I've been lucky enough to get his sliding pucks as well as a miniature golden cube.  There are a few more in my pile, but typical Rox can't remember any of them.

His creations are a bit costly, but they are worth every twisting moment.

Sorry Tony, no photo, but I'm so loooking forward to the day I meet you for real and up close and personal!  Until then, I'll stick to the silly messages and droll posts. :)

Mine is the one in the middle (Photo courtesy of Tony Fisher)

As a non-puzzle related note, Happy New Year All!  If you go out tonight, stay safe.  Hand over your car keys and don't even think about drinking and driving.

On the 5th day of Christmas

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me,
5 Richard Hess'
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yan's
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.

I had the pleasure of meeting Dick in Japan 3 years back and have spent many a pleasant moment in conversation with him.  He has a great way with kids as well.  Katherine loved playing math games with him over a beer in Berlin.  He had her (and me) stumped on more than one occasion.

Dick is a long time puzzle collector.  But more importantly for this series of posts, he's also a long time designer of puzzles.  Reading back in time he's designed many different kinds of puzzles but I would have to guess that he's best known for his wire puzzles.  I've no idea how many puzzles Dick has designed, but I'm sure it is many many.  I seem to run into his name at many different puzzle shops.  For starters, Dick has a number of them on Puzzlemaster.  The prices range from $10 to $12.

Dick wrote a "Compendium of Wire Puzzles" and I've heard tell it has over 10,000 different wire puzzles in it.  That in itself is a feat.  I can only imagine the amount of research that went into writing that book.  Mind, a lot of the puzzles in it are his own designs.  I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in the future.  I'm sure there will be many more to come.  Kevin wrote up about a few of them over on his blog.  Go take a look and enjoy!

On the 4th day of Christmas

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me,
4 Mr. Fok's
3 Da Yan's
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.

I met Mr. Fok way way way back in 2009. Ok, not so far back in terms of real years, but in puzzle years it's an awful lot.  My very first time to meet him Smaz, Luckystar, and I went on a factory trip.  I never said, but I think enough time has gone past now that I can say the visit was with Mr. Fok (Mf8) and that the puzzle was the crazy 4x4x4.  Wow do I feel better now that that secret is off my chest.

Mr. Fok is another of those gentle quiet men that I like so much.  He's incredibly bright and very hard working.  He'll join us for dinner and a short puzzling time, but  then he's right back to the warehouse designing and building and doing what ever else it is he does.  I'd love to show you a photo of him, but we have all sworn upon the threat of never getting another puzzle again that we will never show his face.

Instead, I'll give you two of the early puzzles that he is responsible for designing.  See, there was a time when Mf8 didn't exist...and Ultraman did!  Fun little puzzles that are a 2x2x2.  If you can find one, I would say grab it just for a piece of Mf8 history.

On the 3rd day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me,
3 Da Yan's
2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.

Da Yan as the world knows him

Anyone who has followed this blog or my posts over on Twisty Puzzles knows I rank Da Yan up there as one of the best puzzle makers around.  I also am pleased to count him as a good friend.  I first met Da Yan in 2010 and I've adored him since day one.

Da Yan as I know and love him

I have many of his puzzles on my shelves.  Not all, because that would just be greedy.  The ones I do have are mostly signed and have been gifts from him since the very beginning.  I've bought a complete set of his 3x3x3's over the years but to be honest, I can't tell them apart (no one tell on me please!)  The Gems I absolutely love.  They are a puzzle that I can solve without much confusion.  I would have to guess that these are the ones that started me liking Da Yan so much.  A naive little puzzler offered to have Uwe look at them...

He's been around making puzzles for quite some time now, but it seems that the west only learned of him around 2009.  In that (in)famous photo of his (top left) you can see a corn puzzle.  He made that from a kids toy. It now resides in Kowloon Bay in a puzzle shop I also greatly enjoy going to.  If I remember right (and I'm sure I don't) he made that around 2006 or 2007...

When out hunting for a photo of Da Yan, I came across his website.  It seems to be very recently opened.  here's hoping he keeps it up.

If you haven't heard of him, or haven't got one of his twisties in your collection, go climb out from under your rock and get one!

A few of my signed gifts

On the 2nd day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me,

2 Brian Young's
And Stickman in a pine tree.

Day Two.  Brian Young, aka Mr. Puzzle has brought-or should I say sent-me more puzzles than I care to admit to.  A few years back when the Aussie dollar was at a lower rate, he was my puzzle shop of choice.  Even though the exchange rate is higher and the shipping is a bit, Brian sells some pretty unique puzzles you won't find any where else.  It's still worth the extra little bit to shop from there.

Brian builds some pretty amazing puzzles.  Three of his that are reasonably priced that I have are The Washington Monument, A Plugged Well, and Houdini's Torture Cell. All of these have been exchange puzzles, but are still available (for a price) on his webpage and in other places.  If you can get your hands on one, jump!  Neil wrote about the Monument, Allard  and Jeff  discuss A Plugged Well, and Oli and Jerry wrote about Houdini.

Brian also built the Cricket bat that everyone raves about.  He's entered numerous design competitions and even Won!  He's always got a smile on his face and you can hear his laughter a mile away.  Brian makes puzzling fun, and to make a business out of it....My dream!

Too bad Sue is such a great lady, I'd sneak in and give him a hug and kiss just for being so great...or maybe I should give it to her!  She's one of those puzzling wives that carries around a Rubik's cube bag!  It doesn't get any better than that does it!

On the 1st day of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me
A Stickman in a pine tree.

Stickman.  What a builder!  I can't say anything other than that.  Robert Yarger is such an amazing puzzle box builder that you need to have at least one of his puzzles in your collection.  I'm so impressed by his work that he just had to be my number one puzzler this Christmas!

I first became aware of Stickman puzzles quite a while back.  I saw this chess set that tickled my fancy.  Then I saw the price it sold for at auction and decided it could keep on tickling me I would never be able to afford a Stickman.  Looking back, I see they have gone for anywhere between $1100 and $1750.  Over the years the price has remained pretty constant.  Better than most puzzles which don't seem to hold their value until you get a crazy collector who just has to have it.  Allard has blogged about it here.

I met Robert (aka Stickman) this past year at IPP.  He is an amazing bloke!  Very quiet, very humble, but oh so talented!  Some of the puzzles he makes are truly astounding. Over a cigar I managed to sweet talk him into selling me a "Little Game Hunter" I really love this puzzle and am so glad I convinced him I had to have it.

I have managed to find a small list of some of his boxes at the bottom of this page. Over on the wiki there is a more filled out listing of his collection but there are still a few missing.

If you are simply interested in his work, there is a puzzle book that he's put together.  You can get a copy of it over at cubic dissection.  Eye candy to an extreme!

If you happen to come across a stickman at auction that fits within your price range, JUMP ON IT! If you don't, you'll regret it.  

My Christmas wish list 2012

Last year I published my Christmas wish list and thought I'd do the same this year.  It's getting close to the time for Santa to start reading these things and I want to make sure my list is up!

I asked for a bigger house, and unlike Miracle on 34th Street Santa didn't bring me a new house. But much like the boy from the Polar Express, "Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe." So I write out my wish list yet again this year.

My sights have changed some from last year.  I'm not wishing for many new twisties, or Hanayama's or boxes.  I want only 4 small puzzles.  I'm desperate for the rest of the Berrocal collection, but it has to be in my price range.  I'm on the hunt now for Mini David, Mini Cariatide, and Cristina. I found the other three over the past year and will find these three this year.  The photo above is taken from Wiki commons and the three in the back I already have.  I've got David in the micro version and wear him often.  I know I can find these on ebay for around $1500+ each, or write to a few sellers that still have them, but as I've said before the fun is in the hunt.  

The other Berrocal that I'm hunting down is Many More Horses.  I have lusted after this one for around 3 years now and just never seem to find them available.  I hope one day to find a copy of this.  In the mean time I add it to my Christmas wish list.  The one that sold just recently went for over US$3000.  Many more dollars than I'm willing to pay.  Shame really, it would have looked good on me.

If I were completely truthful, I would like to get La Totoche to nicely round out the collection, but I really don't see that happening anytime soon.  So I'll stick with a necklace and three mini's.  I'll be happy with that.

Or will I?  The answer of course is no.  I have a few other things I'd like this Christmas.  To see some of my puzzling friends again before IPP...I know I'll see some in January and others in February, but I'm greedy.  I want to see them now.  I have another few cyber friends who I want to meet before 2014.  I doubt it will happen, but I can dream can't I?

I've a wonderful friend who has been ill lately and in and out of hospital.  I want him to be given a clean bill of health.  I want my bug to finally decide she enjoys puzzling as much as I do....

I want a lot don't I?  Ah well, wish me luck finding those puzzles.