12 December 2020 Sue Young

The Double M puzzle

One of the most recognisable puzzles around and yet the history of the MM puzzle is unclear and often disputed so we decided it was our mission to try to set the record straight.

A puzzle collector friend of ours, Nanco Bordewijk from The Netherlands, was instrumental in introducing puzzle collectors to the MM puzzle back in 1993 when he gave a puzzle he then called “The Sao-Paulo Puzzle” as his exchange gift at the IPP13 event held in Breukelen in The Netherlands in August of that year. Nanco told us that a pilot friend of his had bought him the puzzle after a trip to Sao-Paulo, Brazil, hence the name.

here was no information with the puzzle and the designer of the puzzle was not known. Nanco and his friend tried many times but unsuccessfully to find the designer and so the person remains unknown to this day.  Some have claimed to have invented this puzzle but unless they were in Brazil before 1993 it is highly unlikely.

To this day Brian @ Mr Puzzle still considers this to be one of the best disentanglement puzzles in his collection. Each time he revisits the puzzle after not having played for a long time is like solving it from scratch all over again. It’s so much fun to fiddle with, even if you can’t solve it!

It is a testament to this popularity that it’s been made by most major puzzle manufacturers at some time or another. Hanayama called it The Devil, others made The Devil’s Claw, Twin Tangle,  The Double M puzzle, The Double W puzzle or The MW puzzle to name just a few. 

Tags MMM, Metal puzzle