Alex's Page

What's your favorite puzzle and why?

It seems unfair to have to pick a favorite - they are all fascinating.

Which Puzzles Do You Own?

Teasers: Oh What a Knight, Flutterby, Bubbles, Turtle Soup, Branching Out, When Nature Calls, Pull My Strings, Fan Flair, Out of the Blue

Tricks: Butterfly Chase, Venice Byways, Well-Suited, Putt Hutt, Chasing Rainbows, Bonnie & Clyde, Spinning a Tail, Little House of Horrors, Olivia, Funny Farm, Treasuretrove, Palace of Pranks

Limiteds: Knight at Stavely Castle (#21 out of 50); Treasure Island (#44 out of 50); Time Traveler (#42 out of 50)

Traditionals: Wedding Dance (600 pcs), The Elf Himself (175 pcs), Custom Puzzle #1 (290 pcs), Custom Puzzle #2 (55 pieces)

And I have these on order: Hot Diggety Dogs (180 piece version), Fred & Ginger

I also have a Par Puzzle that is more than 65 years old (pre-1943) and has 1234 pieces

Meet other Puzzle Nuts near you by telling us what town and state you're in.

NY, NY (Manhattan)

Which puzzles are on your wish list?

Any of the ones I don't have - I'm addicted to Stave.

When and where do you puzzle?

In the evenings, hunched over the puzzle board with my wife.

What got you into Stave Puzzles?

I first read about Stave in Forbes FYI years ago. I remember reading the magazine on a ferry from NJ to Manhattan and flagging the page to follow-up. I then lost the magazine and completely forgot about the article. In early 2008 I was reading Departures magazine and came across Stave again. I had a flashback to the Forbes FYI article, then found the website, then started ordering, and have since been feeling like a little kid waiting for Christmas to roll around so I could open my presents.

Tips for solving Stave Puzzles: Want to share?

1. Enjoy yourself!
2. Go slow - take time marveling at the craftmanship, the smell of the pieces, and even the little box.
3. If the puzzle has silhouettes, don't look at them until the rest of the puzzle is put together. It's fun to discover the silhouette shapes as you put the surrounding pieces in place.
4. If it is a trick, read the block carefully -- very carefully. And what IS NOT written on the block can be just as important as what is written on the block.
5. If it is a trick with multiple swaps, I mark the swap locations on a tiny piece of 1-line Post-It cover-up tape as I discover the swaps.
6. Sometimes a sanity break is in order when the frustration level escalates - wait a while (weeks, if necessary) and then start again.
7. We never go back to look at the puzzle description after it has been ordered - half the fun is not knowing/remembering what you are putting together!

About me: Interests, fave books and music etc

Enjoying my art collection, armchair treasure hunts, riddles, puzzles of all sorts, training for a triathlon.