Tag Archives: LEGO

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Clue edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today, I’d like to return to the subject of one of the classic deduction games: Clue.

[Image courtesy of Nerdist.]

Clue (also known as Cluedo) is a classic in several respects. It is a beloved board game, mentioned alongside Monopoly, Scrabble, Battleship, and Candyland as staples of board game culture, but one that is quite rare: a deduction-based game where you’re playing against both your opponents and the game itself. (The only other game I can think of that captures the same spirit of gameplay is Gameworthy Labs’ Oh My Gods!)

But the film version is also beloved by game devotees and comedy lovers alike. And although I’m dubious about the recently-announced remake of Clue coming to theaters in the near future, there is one revamp of the mystery property that I can get behind: a playable LEGO version of the game.

[Image courtesy of Nerdist.]

As part of the 2014 MOCOlympics — a competition between amateur LEGO designers, where MOC stands for “my own creation” — master builder Ian Spacek created this delightful set, which captures the spirit of each character and each of the game’s signature rooms in impressive miniature fashion.

You see, the challenge was to “build a game that you would choose to play on a rainy afternoon when the power’s out and you don’t have any juice left on your iDevices.” And I think Spacek’s design fits the bill with gusto.

[Spacek even designed a punch card to aid players. Image courtesy of Nerdist.]

I’d much rather see a company put money into releasing this little beauty than an unnecessary retread of one of my favorite films. (Unfortunately, since the MOC Olympics aren’t associated with the LEGO company, this set isn’t available for purchase.)

Somebody just needs to whip up a LEGO version of Murder By Death and I’ll be set for any rainy day to come.

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PuzzleNation Product Review: LEGO Maze

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For years, one of the most marketable things about LEGO sets has been that you can use their pieces in your own ingenious creations. They’ve taken it a step further over the last few years, and now fan creations have the chance to become actual sets!

The Ecto-1 from GhostBusters, the set of The Big Bang Theory, a collection of noteworthy female scientists… these are some of the awesome sets that were designed by amateur builders, voted on by LEGO fans, and approved to become marketed LEGO sets.

And the latest edition to that fan-created line of specialty sets is one of the puzzliest products they’ve ever sold: the LEGO Maze.

Jason Allemann of JK Brickworks created the original design, which was voted on by fans, approved by LEGO, and then improved upon by professional LEGO model designer Steen Sig Andersen.

It’s based on classic wooden marble mazes; the goal is to tilt the board with the two dials on the sides of the maze in order to navigate your marble from one end of the maze to the other without dropping the marble through one of the many treacherously placed holes.

In the LEGO maze, those holes are replaced by black depressions in the maze that trap your marble without dropping it out of sight. (Though I’m sure amateur builders are already designing their own maze layouts that incorporate actual holes just to up the challenge factor.)

[The medieval layout included in the instructions.]

Oh yes, there’s not just one layout. As you can see, the set includes all sorts of pieces with which to create numerous possible layouts from basic ones to advanced. (I’m currently working on one of my own design. Maybe it’ll pop up on Instagram soon!)

The adaptability of the maze layout is one of the highlights of this set, encouraging the same entrepreneurial building spirit that inspired the set in the first place.

And speaking of the set, the design is pretty impressive. It cleverly allows you to lock the tilting maze in place by using the storage box for the marbles as a stabilizer, and you can remove it just as easily. (Remove one piece — and the travel lock under the opposite corner, and you’re ready to play!)

Replicating the full range of motion cannot have been an easy task for either Allemann or Andersen, and that leads to the only negative aspect of the set. I was a little underwhelmed by the control offered by the two dials. Each tilts more toward one direction than the other, so you don’t have the full range of traditional marble mazes. (I suspect this could be remedied by a slightly shorter rod connecting each dial to the two frames allowing you to tilt the maze more in the opposite direction.)

That being said, it’s a minor quibble. On a perfectly flat surface, a steady hand will lead you to victory, if you’re patient enough.

[The build in progress…]

As a long-time fan and builder, I enjoyed both the simple and complex aspects of the building process, and I was surprised that they didn’t number each bag of pieces, as they’ve recently started to do with their higher-end, more complicated sets. That might put off a casual builder, but as someone who enjoys the additional challenge of digging through a pile of pieces looking for that one particular piece, I didn’t mind at all.

LEGO has really been pushing the boundaries of what you can accomplish with these classic interlocking bricks, and the LEGO Maze is one of the most inventive and impressive designs I’ve ever seen.

[The LEGO Maze is available from LEGO.com for $69.99.]

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It’s Follow-Up Friday: LEG-OH NO WAY edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

It’s been quite a week here at PuzzleNation Blog!

After posts that ran the gamut from Comic-Con encryption puzzles and new puzzle sets for the Penny Dell Crosswords app to becoming a sharper Hangman or Guess Who? player and enjoying the puzzly chain reactions known as Rube Goldberg devices, I was left with quite a conundrum: How do I close out such an eclectic week?

This will be my sixth post in six days after all. What would be an appropriate capper?

Well, I think I found the perfect Friday post idea: some visual LEGO puzzle wizardry.

Specifically, it’s a moving piece of puzzle art that combines the visual wonder of the pop-up book with the puzzly skill of a LEGO master builder.

I give you the LEGO Pop-Up Himeji Castle:

I’ve watched the video over and over, and I have no idea how the castle fits together OR compresses itself flat enough to fit between the “covers.” This is mind-blowing LEGO skill and puzzly three-dimensional manipulation of space.

And apparently, this sort of next-level three-dimensional spatial reasoning is second-nature to YouTuber Talapz, since he also managed to create this multi-dimensional sculpture that allows a ball to traverse it in three different arrangements:

I first stumbled across Talapz’s works on this site (written in French, no less!), and quickly followed his work on his YouTube page. Be sure to click the link for more brain-melting works of puzzly LEGO art.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

5 Questions with LEGO Artist Mike Doyle!

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Welcome to 5 Questions, our recurring interview series where we reach out to puzzle constructors, game designers, writers, filmmakers, musicians, artists, and puzzle enthusiasts from all walks of life!

It’s all about exploring the vast and intriguing puzzle community by talking to those who make puzzles and those who enjoy them! (Click here to check out previous editions of 5 Questions!)

And I’m excited to welcome Mike Doyle as our latest 5 Questions interviewee!

Mike Doyle is a fantastic representative of the constantly expanding independent LEGO builder community on the Internet. Pushing the limits of what people can create with LEGO bricks, Mike has created some iconic pieces, and exhibitions of his work have even appeared at the Columbus Museum of Art!

He’s also one of the driving forces behind the Beautiful LEGO series of photography books, chronicling the amazing non-official designs — I hesitate to call them “amateur” when you see the level of style, dedication, and sophistication involved — being brought to life by LEGO enthusiasts around the world.

Here’s a little lingo for you. These works are often marked MOC — My Own Creation — and creators like Mike are often called an ALE (Adult LEGO Enthusiast), AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO), or ALH (Adult LEGO Hobbyist).

Mike was gracious enough to take some time out to talk to us, so without further ado, let’s get to the interview!

5 Questions for Mike Doyle

1. What is your process when creating one of these ambitious sculptures? How much planning goes into them before the first brick is laid? How do you know if you’re heading in the right direction or if you need to stop, reassess, and try something else?

I always have an idea before I begin. For the Abandoned Houses series, it was to emphasize the textural aspect of houses falling apart. Also I wanted to comment on the mortgage crisis at the time. The burning newspaper building was a comment on the sensationalist, fearful reporting of the media. All the pieces have a social/political or spiritual aspect to them.

[This stunning piece is “Sign of the Times: Failure of the Fourth Estate.”
Click here for a larger image and a closer look at the rich detail.]

Next, I research for interesting, inspirational images. I begin to assemble a basic idea of what I’m looking for in my head and start building from there. In this way, it is an organic process where I go with the flow until a strong look begins to emerge.

The wonderful thing about working with LEGO, is it is a one-step process in terms of visualization. No cutting, sanding, gluing or painting needed. After a small section of the model is looking good, I can stand back and take a look at that section of the finished product. From there, I can assess if the textures are working hard enough or conveying the message I want.

2. What are some of your favorite Mike Doyle originals? And what creations of others have most impressed or inspired you? Did putting together the Beautiful LEGO books introduce you to new builders and designers, or was it more of a chance to highlight the work of others you admired?

I love all of my pieces like children, so it is hard to pick a favorite. But the ones I find that have drawn my eye the most over time are “Sign of the Times: Failure of the Fourth Estate” and the large sci-fi cityscape called “Odan.”

The power of the smoke and explosion rising over the building is arresting and is not what one would expect for a LEGO model. For Odan, the sheer scale of it all and detailing is still mesmerizing for me. Also, the story behind it is filled with metaphysical principles that are of interest to me.

[Odan, in all its glory. Click here for a bigger picture to get a true sense of scale.]

When I began taking up LEGO, I looked online to see if there were others working creatively in this medium. A quick search uncovered a large group of individuals passionate about their unique LEGO creations.

As I began putting together the Beautiful LEGO books, I found more and more works and designers that were of interest to me. An example of a few of them are Moko’s shiny, sparkling “Fenix”, all of MisaQa’s little 15-30 piece micro works, Mike Nieves‘ organic sculptural representations of animals and the bizarre world of Mihai Marius Mihu.

3. Was it always LEGO for you, or did other puzzles and games play a role in forging the creator you are today?

LEGO is a relatively new interest for me. I picked it up 5 1/2 years ago after visiting Legoland, CA. While there, it suddenly hit me that this little plastic ‘toy’ could be used to create serious art. I have to say though that board games have been my lifelong passion. Every month I look forward to my game group meetings where we play the latest hot Euro games.

[One of Mike’s Abandoned Houses designs.]

4. What’s next for Mike Doyle?

I continue to work with LEGO — though at a slower pace than previous years. Right now I’m exploring a series of abstract works based on metaphysical/spiritual principles. I also look forward to building some more epic cityscapes in the Odan theme.

5. If you could give the readers, puzzle fans, and LEGO building enthusiasts in the audience one piece of advice, what would it be?

The only advice I ever give is to go with the heart. An abundance of creative energy can always be found within one’s passion. Whether it be artistic, work, play, or societal, we all have potential to thrive in our own ways.

A huge thank you to Mike for his time. You can follow his work on his blogspot page, and be sure to check out Beautiful LEGO, Beautiful LEGO: Dark, and Beautiful LEGO: Wild! for some absolutely stunning creations. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us next.

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You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

The Ultimate Jigsaw Puzzle

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Jigsaw-style puzzling is a huge part of puzzle culture, one that’s easy to overlook. Even the average jigsaw is hardly average these days.

You can get them without squared-off edges — removing that crucial first step of finding all the border pieces — or with extra pieces that aren’t intended to fit anywhere. Some, like Baffledazzle puzzles, come without the final image as a guide, leaving you to rely on texture as well as shape. Others involve incredibly detailed or repetitive patterns, eliminating “find this color/image”-style searching. Some are even double-sided!

(My sister had a 550-piece edgeless puzzle that was nothing but coffee beans and some random cups. Another was golf balls and tees. They were mind-melting.)

Then there are the three-dimensional ones that tax your dexterity as well. Whether you’re making a sphere or a replica of the Taj Mahal, your jigsaw skills will be tested severely.

[A massive 3-D puzzle of New York’s skyline… in progress.]

Other forms of puzzles are hardly immune to jigsaw-style solving. Tangrams and pentominoes eschew jigsaw shapes for triangles, squares, and Tetris-style pieces. Even some pen-and-paper puzzles, like Penny/Dell’s Brick by Brick crossword, employs jigsaw pieces.

And, of course, there are all the building toys that rely on the same hand-eye coordination and pattern-finding skills that jigsaw puzzles require. Erector sets, K’Nex, Mega Bloks and LEGO and Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs and many many others… all have their roots in jigsaw-style puzzling.

But I think I’ve stumbled across one of history’s greatest jigsaw puzzles, and I’m curious if any of the jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts in the PuzzleNation community think they could’ve handled this challenge.

An entire London mansion, broken down and reconstructed jigsaw-style.

Yes, between 1910 and 1912 a mansion in Essex called Cedar Court was dismantled and moved piece-by-piece over 70 miles to its new home in Surrey and painstakingly rebuilt.

The mansion was already over 400 years old at the time, and it’s become known as the “jigsaw puzzle” house ever since.

According to the article in The Telegraph, “Every part of the building was sectioned out and numbered so that it could be stuck back together again exactly as it was after its trip across the capital.”

This was clearly a monumental undertaking, and even with careful planning, I suspect a few jigsaw-savvy workmen were required to get the mansion back in shape.

And hey, are any jigsaw aficionados out there interested in owning this bit of puzzle history? It’ll only cost you fourteen MILLION pounds to acquire it.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!

Follow-Up Friday: Optical Illusion edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today, I’d like to return to the subject of optical illusions.

Puzzles for the eye, optical illusions challenge the viewer to shift perspectives and accept that seeing is not always believing. And whether it’s Ok Go!’s tricky music video or a carefully crafted LEGO illusion, they’re a favorite subject here at PuzzleNation Blog. I mean, heck, we’ve got entire boards on Pinterest dedicated to them!

So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a CollegeHumor video that had some fun with a few classic optical illusions.

I present Optical Illusion Girlfriend:

Have a marvelous weekend, puzzlers and PuzzleNationers! Here’s hoping everything you see is what it seems. =)

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!