Mr Hyde's Other Notebook

Is this the worlds best puzzle?

We are having a lot of fun with this.

Download and printout your own copy         http://www.ZebraPuzzle.com

Fantastic Contraption - fantastic time waster

I know... it's Monday morning and you have a huge week stretching out in front of you, and a ToDo list as long as your arm.

So what better than a link to this, a totally brilliant flash puzzle game.

It's based on a strong physics engine and allows you to tinker and build "fantastic contraptions" to solve a range of tricky yet simple challenges.

What's great is that there is no "correct answer." Puzzles can be solved in ways only limited by your imagination. If you need ideas visit the forum or once you have invented a solution, other players creative solutions can be viewed.

It's free for the first 10 levels and I highly recommend it as time waster of the week.  PLAY

Resources for Magicians

Most of my readers know that I have been immersed in the world of performance magic since an early age, both as a hobby and as a career. I still perform an AfterDinner show of Mind Magic / Mentalism and usually when booked as an MC or doing a Keynote or Workshop on Creative Thinking I manage to weave some into the program somewhere.

What you possibly don't know is that over the last few years I have written a series of Manuals for magicians and other independent performers. These are all available as reasonably priced eBooks from my Magic Coach Site.

MagicCoach 100 is a huge collection of Marketing & Promotion ideas and articles.

Magically Speaking - gives an introduction into the world of Professional Speaking

The Hunter Knot revisited - Is a complete traffic stopping routine based around the Hunter Knot

The Secret Notebook of Mr Hyde - describes some of my favourite routines. (Note, this manual is not suitable for beginners.)

All these can be found at the Magic Coach site along with some other resources and a signup form to get inside info and special offers. You can also download a terrific free ebook on Merchandising, straight off the site.

Champion Cigarette Card.
Tricks and Teasers Series 1927

Sunday is Fun day with SusieQ

I promised to show a few more treasures from our Puzzles and Games collection.

Though we use lots of Puzzles and Games in our Creative Thinking workshops, I don't think I'd ever have a need to use this particular one. It's an antique gambling Punch Board that I obtained in Minnesota some years ago when I attended my first Meeting of the Minds convention. I actually didn't buy it, it was given to me by someone when I told them I collected such things which makes it all the more special.

These were sold to shops and bars where they would be displayed and gave people the chance to win money or prizes. The patron would pay a small fee to push out a hole and there was a chance that a roll of paper would be in that hole, denoting a prize.

Simple technology and the forerunner to todays instant scratch cards and the like. Unfortunately they were very open to fraud and tampering so their popularity faded away.

A search on google will reveal hundreds of different punch board designs ranging from topical to sporting and onto quite raunchy ones.  It's the only Punch Board we own and we love it a lot.

Get Off the Earth puzzle

I promised to show a few more treasures from our puzzle and games collection and this is one of my favourites.

The orginal puzzle was designed by Sam Loyd around the 1890's. Loyd is probably the greatest puzzle inventor of all time. There have been numerous versions of it made since then, we even have one in our own puzzle book.

This version is a nicely made Japanese version dating from the 1960's that is very close to the original artwork.

You count the figures, then the inside circle is turned with the small handle and one of the figures "disappears".

Buffalo

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo"

Crazy as it seems, this is a grammatically correct sentence.

Full explanation here

Puzzles Puzzles Puzzle

Interestingly, of the ebooks we have produced over the last couple of years the one that has received the most favourable comments but the least sales is our Puzzle collection.

So I figured ... the books great but people think the price is too high!
To test this theory, I've slashed the price in half and will watch over the next couple of months.

Full details on the World's Greatest Puzzle Collection.

All work and no play - Games and Puzzles

To say I love games would be an understatement! Always have and I guess I always will. At home we have hundreds of games if not thousands, both old and new. These include - computer, board, family and a few "thrilling activity games."

I'm also lucky that I get to use them in my work as well as in my life outside of work.  We have a number of  games we use in our Teambuilding  workshops and in our Creative Thinking sessions. Games work as great ice breakers and serve as great metaphors for all sorts of challenges and situations

I thought I would start a regular Game suggestion post to introduce you to some of my favourites.
As it's coming up to Xmas and not everyone can afford a new Playstation, Xbox or Wii, I thought I'd start with, a dangerous highly addictive online game that's free to play .

Desktop Tower Defence. 

It's designed in Flash, so you play it online, but there is no need to signup or register. Very easy to pickup and very clever design work. It goes to prove you don't need huge amounts of money and production to create brilliant games.

Feel free to tell me your highest score! My best yet was 3861  on the basic level.

New Optical Illusion

As many of you know I'm a great fan of the way Puzzles, Magic & Illusions can be used as a metaphor for the way our mind works. They offer insights into how we solve problems, face challenges and of course provide lots of fun.

My colleague Michael Sibbernsen created a stunning new optical illusion recently that he graciously allowed me to place onto my website.

It's called The Jealous Boyfriend and I think you will be as intrigued as I was when I first saw it.

World's Best Puzzles

Are these the World's best Puzzles?

I'll let you be the judge of that, but these 19 puzzles have been incredibly valuable and useful in my work with corporations and individuals in Australia & New Zealand.

Full details on how you can access and use them here

Full Details