Looking at the box (or not!) ...

Blog entry for May 2013

But first... seen on the web

Attempt at world record puzzle ...goes wrong. (From the Guardian)

Looking at the box

To me, part of the fun of doing a puzzle is not looking at the box. I remember many years ago, persuading my Mum to take the puzzle out of the box, and give me the bag of pieces as a Christmas present. (I also don't start from the edge pieces, but that's a different story.)

Apollo "Part picture puzzle"
All puzzles like this

Epoch (together with its new subsidiary Apollo) has been generating one new puzzle "feature" after another in the last few years... smaller and smaller pieces, combination puzzles, double-sided, and more. But you will see why some of the latest ideas leave me rather bemused, because unless you look at the box, they make no difference at all!

"Find the mistake"
All puzzles like this

The first picture on the right shows a "Part picture" puzzle, in which the box only shows a part of the whole image. This will definitely add something to the difficulty if you are used to doing everything against the box. On the left is a new version of a Haruyo best-seller, this time with a subtle difference between the box and the puzzle. Well, the Japanese says 間違い探し, which is how you say "Look for the mistake!" but also how you say "Look for the mistakes!" I can only find one difference in Haruyo's Scarlet, but who knows, you might find two or more.

"Mirror picture"
All puzzles like this

Finally, the Nishino tigers on the right appear reflected in a mirror. So if you do the puzzle while comparing with the box, there will be some extra mental gymnastics to match things up. Note that all three of these puzzles are either currently available or have been in the past in standard puzzle versions, so (no more help but) if you hunt through the website you can find the completed pictures.