Pour friends a stiff measure of mischief with the game’s fine selection of wine bottle puzzles, initiating sparkling dinner conversation at the next family get-together, holiday celebration or corporate event. Players can use a standard wine, champagne, liquor, vinegar or olive oil bottle to play the game. The Don’t Break the Bottle series includes the Original, Caddy, Corkscrew, Press and Vise versions. The MSRP is between $10.00 and $15.00.

J.C. Ayer can turn a treasured photo into an heirloom-quality jigsaw puzzle, such as this design that includes a wedding photo with drop-out lettering of the wedding date. A cut above typical cardboard photo puzzles, these hand-crafted wooden jigsaw puzzles transform images into masterpieces. Prices for custom puzzles are as follows: 8” x 10” (about 160 pieces) - $190; 11” x 14” (about 350 pieces) - $320; and 16” x 20” (about 700 pieces) - $550.
— “The custom puzzles can include the customers’ own picture, [plus] special shapes and letters, and the whole puzzle can be shaped uniquely,” Founder Jim Ayer of J.C. Ayer & Company told TDmonthly.

Part of J.C. Ayer’s Exotic Art Collection, this 13.75” x 8.75” wooden puzzle features the Hindu God of Welcome and the Patron Saint of Drummers.

Part of the Haitian Artwork Collection offered by J.C. Ayer, this scene by Millevoix is captured on a 14.5” x 19.25” wooden puzzle. “Our puzzles have extremely intricate shapes because we use a custom-designed water jet system rather than a jigsaw to cut the puzzles. The images on the puzzles are seen nowhere else,” Founder Jim Ayer of J.C. Ayer & Company told TDmonthly.

With this wooden puzzle, kids can hear the names of 26 letters and objects that begin with the letters.
— Puzzles by Melissa & Doug, especially the company’s sound puzzles, are best sellers at Red Wagon Toy Co. in Woodstock, Vt., Owner Kim Smith told TDmonthly in summer 2007.
— Puzzles and other products by Melissa & Doug are also best sellers at Clever Kids in Rochester, Minn. “The prices are great and the product is of high quality,” Owner Michelle Beyer told TDmonthly in late 2007.

In the late 1870's, the Fifteen Puzzle was widely introduced in the United States by Sam Loyd who stirred-up interest for the game by promoting a contest.  He offered a thousand dollar reward to the first person who could solve his number sliding puzzle.  The contest puzzle tiles were arranged in numerical order with only the 14 and 15 tiles reversed.  You then have to skillfully and systematically slide the tiles with out removing them from the board until you recover the original numerical sequence of 1-15 as show on the box.  The one thousand dollar reward for the first correct solution remains unclaimed, and people continue to rack their brains.  This item will be shipping in our exclusive and beautiful Value Line packaging.

This plastic plastic device features engraved (or raised) grooves that form a path. Since the fingertip is a superhighway to the brain, fingertip movement along the paths provides tactile brain stimulation. Brainpath uses the fingertip's touch receptors (over 3,000) to stimulate the brain in the same way Braille stimulates the brain. Available in a variety of sizes, shapes and configurations, Brainpath tools will teach kids to focus — a skill they will need when learning to read. This product is a 2007 Creative Child Magazine Seal of Excellence award winner. Launch date: October 2007.

Children's Puppies puzzle by Hanadeka.

A single deck of playing cards containing 55 fine art images.

The 100-piece 3D depth effect puzzles feature all four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The completed puzzle measures 9-7/8” x 7-7/8” and includes a free lenticular collector's card.

This 100-piece puzzle features a dizzying array of the adventures of Mario and other characters from the MarioKart games. It comes with a free collector’s card, and the puzzle finishes out to a size of 25 cm x 20 cm.

Multiple layers create an astonishing illusion of depth and bring these furry Nintendogs friends to life. The completed 100-piece puzzle measures 9-7/8” x 7-7/8” and includes a free lenticular collector's card.

Visual Echo lenticular puzzles featuring Harry Potter and other popular characters from the books and movies use multiple layers to create an astonishing illusion of depth. Eight images available in 500- and 100-piece puzzles, each with a free lenticular collector's card.

"Playing with dolls" takes on a whole new meaning and challenge with this pretty, but tough, Dolls Scramble Squares® puzzle. At under $10.00 retail, Scramble Squares® puzzles make inexpensive, but highly entertaining and valued gifts for anyone, ages 4 to 104, for Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays, get well, graduation and travel.

This system allows users to create four different pictures with the same six pieces by sliding the pieces into, over and under each other in different ways. This MOZANIAC set forms Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977), Mark Twain (1835-1910), Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) and Albert Einstein (1879-1955).

This system allows users to create four different pictures with the same six pieces by sliding the pieces into, over and under each other in different ways. This MOZANIAC set forms “Self-Portrait” (1889), “Self-Portrait With Grey Felt Hat” (1889), “Self-Portrait in Front of Easel” (1888) and “Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear” (1889).

This system allows users to create four different pictures with the same six pieces by sliding the pieces into, over and under each other in different ways. This MOZANIAC set forms “Madame Matisse” by Henri Matisse, “Woman in a Large Hat” by Amadeo Modigliani, “Portrait of Dora Maar” by Pablo Picasso and “Self-Portrait With Monkey” by Frida Kahlo.

The soma cube is made from beautiful hard maple and finished with a light coat of polyurethane. This seven-piece puzzle features three-dimensional pieces that, together, measure about 2 ½” cubed. The solution is available on the company’s website. “The soma cube is available in single units, perfect for the small specialty store [that doesn’t have] a lot of room but wants to offer unique games,” Barbara Rainville, marketing manager for Maple Landmark, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 2007.

This burr (interlocking solid) puzzle includes 12 hardwood pieces and a ball. A solution is not provided, and on a scale of 1 to 6 (6 being most difficult), this puzzle ranks a 2.

The interactive, read-along storybook comes with a 5’ x 5’ floor puzzle that transforms into an enormous game board. The game includes vehicle game pieces and construction worker game pieces. Each My Giant Floor Puzzle emphasizes essential learning skills such as object recognition, matching and counting. The puzzle’s built-in handle makes the game easy to store or transport. Launch date: September 2007.

These playful forms serve not only as magnets and decoration, but also form a simple puzzle. Solving the puzzle is just the beginning, however, as the product is designed to inspire creativity and insight. The bean shape is meant to represent the concept of yin and yang in a real and interactive way.

This is a lightweight and simple, yet tenacious, game that features an 8.75” square board that allows flat game pieces to stand up with a full 3-D effect. The pieces are designed so that they can't be blown away or shaken out, and only move when a player wants them to. Also, a checker piece can turn into a king simply by rotating the piece to show its crown.

MOZANIAC is a patented, expandable picture-puzzle system in which the same flat, modular puzzle pieces can make four or more pictures. Everything depends on how the pieces go over and under each other, revealing and hiding part of what is printed on them. Each completed picture holds itself together as an integral unit until it is taken apart to form the next picture. MOZANIAC is the most important development in picture puzzles since John Spilsbury invented the jigsaw puzzle in the 1760s, according to Daniel Young, founder of Paradoxy Products. MOZANIAC presents new visual and physical challenges of a very high order. The first series of puzzles makes four different pictures with the same six pieces.

Kroll painted Fontainebleau in 1906 and named it for the famous royal forest outside of Paris, which is noted for its handsome old oak trees and its proximity to the Seine. The painting was rumored to be one of Kroll’s wife’s favorites. The puzzle measures 15.5" x 23.5" and is made out of African okuome wood for its density and durability. “This is the largest, most beautiful and most challenging puzzle J.C. Ayer & Co. makes,” the company’s Jim Ayer told TDmonthly. “Sometimes the most expensive is the best deal. Down the road, the customer may forget the price but will see the beauty and remember the challenge."

Mag-Blocks stimulates both imagination and creativity while promoting basic logical thought. Each Mag-Blocks cube is made up of 24 large, easy-to-handle, colorful pyramids. Held together by magnets, they fit together only when the magnets are properly aligned. Children will first have to understand how the blocks fit together in order to build with Mag-Blocks. Twenty challenge cards are included with suggested designs, but the real fun begins when individuals start creating their own. This product received a Spring 2007 Parent’s Choice Gold Award.