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Mr Puzzle - We know puzzles!

Current Category
Very Difficult Puzzles


You want a really hard puzzle? You want a puzzle to really stump the person you're buying for?
This is it.... a list of all our really challenging puzzles.  Our most difficult puzzles all on one page.
Mr Puzzle Australia makes and sells some of the hardest puzzles in the world.
Some of the the really hard puzzles are made here in our own workshop and are not available anywhere else in the world.

We consider a hard puzzle to be a puzzle that will take some hours to do and memorise.   We don't consider a puzzle mastered until you can show someone that you can do it without
them getting bored half way through the performance.  These puzzles may be difficult but difficult doesn't have to mean just more pieces...

Y
ou'll find these puzzles interesting as well as difficult.
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Tricky Dick

Tricky Dick

DIFFICULTY RATING 8

The object of this rope puzzle is to remove the ring.  A very difficult disentanglement puzzle.

This puzzle is EXCLUSIVE to Mr Puzzle Australia and is covered by Australian Design Registration No. 142170



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Coming of Age by Vinco

Coming of Age by Vinco

Difficulty 5/5+
The puzzle is to assemble the six differently shaped pieces into this very complex interlocking burr.  This puzzle is one of the hardest that Vinco has ever invented and because of the way it has to be assembled it is not possible to solve this puzzle using a computer program.


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Cube AC

Cube AC

Difficulty 5+/5vincubeacapart.jpg

Yes, Vinco believes this is even outside his rating system.  Harder than his 5 out of 5 puzzles.

There are twelve very odd shaped pieces which make a cube.  Once complete this cube sits on a 45o angle inside the open stand.  An incredibly difficult puzzle to get together.



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SPECIAL EDITION Nutcase - Cast Puzzle

SPECIAL EDITION Nutcase - Cast Puzzle

Difficulty Level 6 ««««««
Hanayama have released this SPECIAL EDITION version of their brand new puzzle called NUT CASE.  The original larger Size. Once the few puzzles in stock are sold this will not be made again. 
Remove the two nuts from the bolt;  each engraved NUT CASE.  This is a new concept of nut & bolt puzzle from the renowned puzzle designer Oskar van Deventer. 



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Nut Case - Cast Puzzle

Nut Case - Cast Puzzle

Difficulty Level 6 ««««««

There are two goals to the Cast Nutcase created by the Dutch puzzle inventor, Oskar van Deventner.

1. Remove the small nut by disassembling the Cast Nutcase.

2. Cast puzzle enthusiasts (some call them nutcases) can enjoy trying to change the wording on the bolt from "nut-case" to "case-nut".

 



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Quartet - Cast Puzzle

Quartet - Cast Puzzle

Difficulty Level 6 ««««««

True bonds has always been hard to form, but once formed such bonds are eternal and hard to break.  Try and separate the 4 pieces of this puzzle.



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Chain - Cast Puzzle

Chain - Cast Puzzle

Difficulty Level 6 ««««««

Can you separate the three links of the chain and then get it back together again?
What's special about this puzzle is that it can be solved three different ways, depending on which of the three pieces has been chosen as the middle link. 



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Enigma - Cast Puzzle

Enigma - Cast Puzzle

Difficulty Level 6 ««««««

The three pieces of this puzzle just slide apart, you don't need to force them.   Can you work out the twisting movement required to achieve this and to then get them back together again? 

Considered without doubt amongst the most difficult of all the cast puzzles in this series by Nob Yoshigahara... high praise indeed from the most prolific inventor of puzzles ever!  The original version of this puzzle was patented in 1975 in USA to inventor Eldon Vaughn and when he found it Nob thought it could not be done. 



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News - Cast Puzzle

News - Cast Puzzle

Difficulty Level 6 ««««««

The object is to separate the two parts - N E W S.   Nob Yoshigahara (1936 - 2004) came up with the idea for this puzzle when he was 19 years old while strolling home in the snow one day.

Unfortunately saying anything here about it's construction would give away how to solve it.  We certainly can't dapppoint the fans that have come to expect frustratingly difficult puzzles from Nob.   Besides,  Nob always loved the fans who refused to take any hint the most!

The level of difficulty is very high because it's very difficult to work out the solution to the puzzle.  Once done the puzzle is not difficult to memorise.

The key word in "needle".



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Saturn Ring

Saturn Ring

DIFFICULTY RATING 8

The puzzle is to assemble the 31 blocks into the planet Saturn with it’s ring.

The puzzle is similar in concept to the Rubik’s Snake but it’s been connected into a complete ring.  The puzzle also has a combination of right angled pieces and some straight through pieces to make it more challenging. 

What a great Christmas present to commemorate the release of the Huygens probe from Cassini on Christmas Day 2004.

 

Click here to go to the NASA Home page of the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn

The blocks are strung on a closed ring of strong elastic cord so it’s difficult for you to find where the puzzle starts and ends.
The puzzle was designed by and is exclusive to Mr Puzzle
.

Click here to see the Saturn Ring apart.

We also have a couple of copies of this puzzle on our Collectibles page as part of "Juegos de Ingenio" magazine plus Mr Puzzle designed Saturn Ring set. Click here.



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Make Room - Standard

Make Room - Standard

 DIFFICULTY RATING 8

The puzzle is to re-pack all 9 pieces in the box so that all pieces are under the closed lid.  You will need to make room for the key (dowel) to fit.

Mr Puzzle resdesigned Make Room so that this version  has a unique solution.

The puzzle is made with the kind permission of Stewart Coffin.   At IPP21 in Tokyo in 2001 a larger version of the puzzle #127-A  was given by Jerry Slocum as his exchange gift. That version had 14 separate solutions to fit all nine pieces in the box.  Click here to view this original design by Stewart Coffin. 

As well as our Standard Range this puzzle is also available Craftsman Range made using 9 different Australian hardwood timbers.



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Make Room - Craftsman

Make Room - Craftsman

DIFFICULTY RATING 8

This puzzle presents four different challenges:
Challenge 1 - Pack all 8 blocks under the closed lid. 30 possible solutions.
Challenge 2 - Make room for all 8 blocks and the gold rod under the closed lid (not in it’s packing position). 4 solutions.
Challenge 3 - Make Room for all 8 blocks and the key (dowel) under the closed lid. Unique solution.
Challenge 4 - Can you remember how the puzzle came packaged with the key in the lid? 3 solutions.

In 1997 Stewart Coffin originally designed  Make Room and allocated it #127 in his numbering system although only one of  these puzzles was made.  At IPP21 in Tokyo in 2001 a larger version of the puzzle #127-A  was given by Jerry Slocum as his exchange gift. That version had 14 separate solutions to fit just nine pieces in the box.

Brian had never made a packing puzzle before....   That all changed after IPP21 when he found himself playing with Jerry's exchange puzzle for many, many hours.  He then got interested in redesigning the puzzle to include a challenge with a unique solution.The puzzle is made with the kind permission of Stewart Coffin.

As well as our Craftsman Range this puzzle is also available in our Standard Range (Click here).

Click here to see the legend of the different timbers used in this puzzle.
Click here to see a photo of the pieces inside the box.
Click here to view this original design by Stewart Coffin. 



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Dicey Box

Dicey Box

Edward Hordern Puzzle Exchange  - Gold Coast, Australia, August 2007
Presented by Bill Darrah.  Made by Brian Young @ Mr Puzzle Australia. Designed by Bill Darrah.

The puzzle is to disassemble and reassemble the 12 piece burr so that all the decorative routing is symmetrical.

The puzzle can go together in two different ways.  One way, without the decorative routing symmetrical, is how the puzzle is presented when sold.  You will have to completely take it apart so that you can then put it back together with all the routing symmetrical. This is a lot more difficult than it may first appear.  A very elegant design by Bill Darrah who is well known for designing very difficult puzzles.

Puzzle made from Mackay Cedar.
Size: 100mm x 100mm x 100mm



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Mega Six 6 piece multiple move burr Standard

Mega Six 6 piece multiple move burr Standard

DIFFICULTY RATING 9 

The puzzle is to assemble the six piece burr.

This puzzle really does show a case of 'don't judge a book by it's cover'.  It may look like other six piece burrs on the outside but it is DEFINITELY not.  The puzzle is incredibly more complicated than the commonly known six piece puzzle. This photo shows the Mega Six when it's about half way together or apart).  msixapart.jpg

Bill Cutler first used a computer program to analyse six piece burrs in 1974 but it took until 1990 to analyse all possible six piece burr combinations. 

Mega Six is the result of that search for the maximum number of moves for a six piece burr with a unique solution.  This does not mean it has a unique assembly, due to the number of internal voids.  In theory the pieces should fit together in 20 different ways however, the reality is that you can physically only put the puzzle together in one of the 20 assemblies.

Not only OUR hardest six piece burr but THE hardest six piece burr!

Covered by Australian Design Registration No 151844 and is made under license to Bill Cutler.



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Wausau '82 13 piece burr

Wausau '82 13 piece burr

 DIFFICULTY RATING 8

The object of the puzzle is to dissassemble the 13 piece rectilinear burr.  

This puzzle was designed by Bill Cutler in 1982 as part of his Wausau series of burrs.  Prior to this he had worked mostly with the standard six piece burr but this series was an experiment in different patterns of rods along the 3 axes.   Bill describes this second puzzle in the series as one of his favourite designs, saying it uses a lock picking technique.



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Decemburr 12 piece multiple move burr Craftsman

Decemburr 12 piece multiple move burr Craftsman

DIFFICULTY RATING 9

There is an interesting sequence of 13 forward and backward moves required to disassemble this puzzle... Yes, that’s 13 moves to get the first piece out and that’s not the trickiest part of the puzzle.

Once completely apart, there are 5485 false solutions (in other words, false assemblies), meaning the puzzle looks like it should go together but you can’t get the last piece in.  Only the specific sequence of 13 moves will allow you to insert the last piece and solve this puzzle. 

This puzzle is made under license to Goh Pit Khiam.
Goh Pit Khiam invented this twelve piece puzzle in December 1999 without the use of a computer.
We’ve given the puzzle a rating 9 out of 10 because it’s sold assembled. 
To solve the puzzle from a disassembled state without clues it could definitely be worthy of a  rating 10!

The puzzle is available in 1. Queensland Blackbean or 2. Western Australian Jarrah.

Click here to see the Decemburr in Jarrah as it's coming apart.



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The Collective  24 piece frame 5 piece burr

The Collective 24 piece frame 5 piece burr

DIFFICULTY RATING 10

Entrant IPP Design Competition 2002

A unique framed burr design invented by and exclusive to MR PUZZLE.

The puzzle is to take The Collective apart.
Unlike normal framed burrs the five piece burr encased in the twenty-four piece frame work as one in this puzzle. After you get the puzzle apart will you be able to assimilate the pieces again into one unit?
 

The 5 piece burr at the centre of the puzzle is crafted from Queensland Silver Ash. 
The frame consists of 24 individual interlocked pieces and is currently available from Queensland Blackbean.
Size 100mm x 100mm x 100mm

Packaged ASSEMBLED



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Illegal Burr

Illegal Burr

LIMITED EDITION DECEMBER 2006