A Brief History Of The Wooden Puzzle Game

By Andrea Davidson


Throughout history toys, games and puzzles have traditionally been crafted from wood. That began to change after World War Two when mass production and cheaper raw materials saw plastics take over those sections of the markets. Yet even today you can still find people happily trying to work out how to complete a traditional wooden puzzle game.

There is something about these objects that cause people to fondly think of their childhood. Everyone probably had those brightly coloured, hand sized blocks of wood when they were a toddler. They were safe for a youngster, they were unlikely to be swallowed and were inexpensive, but children loved them. There are probably toy building blocks still taking up space in cupboards up and down the country.

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.

Most children will also want to complete something that they know that their parents struggled over, and it also causes a sense of closeness. Due to the material it will have lasted well over the years. Perhaps a small piece is a slightly different texture or colour to the rest, maybe your Grandfather had to create that bit to replace a lost piece.

Despite there being so many electronic games available to children, there still seems to be a growing market for these traditional items. Times have progressed a long way from when they all used to be hand carved. All of these items have been made from quality materials, and to the highest of specifications.

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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