A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces.
The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC. The game consists of a square divided into 14 parts, and the aim was to create different shapes from these pieces. This is not easy to do. (see Ostomachion loculus Archimedius)
In Iran “puzzle-locks” were made as early as the 17th century AD.
The next known occurrence of pu...
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A mechanical puzzle is a puzzle presented as a set of mechanically interlinked pieces.
The oldest known mechanical puzzle comes from Greece and appeared in the 3rd century BC. The game consists of a square divided into 14 parts, and the aim was to create different shapes from these pieces. This is not easy to do. (see Ostomachion loculus Archimedius)
In Iran “puzzle-locks” were made as early as the 17th century AD.
The next known occurrence of puzzles is in Japan. In 1742 there is a mention of a game called “Sei Shona-gon Chie No-Ita” in a book. Around the year 1800 the Tangram puzzle from China became popular, and 20 years later it had spread through Europe and America.
The company Richter from Rudolstadt began producing large amounts of Tangram-like puzzles of different shapes, the so-called “Anker-puzzles”.
In 1893 professor Hoffman wrote a book called Puzzles; Old and New. It contained, amongst other things, more than 40 descriptions of puzzles with secret opening mechanisms. This...
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