Meffert’s Twisty Puzzles
Which company/craftsman makes the most beautiful puzzles?
...The eternal question...
So far, I've been focusing on companies that make wooden and metal
puzzles - my favorite - but there are other companies out there that make
beautiful puzzles with other materials, for example, Plastic - such a simple
and common material, used in pretty much everything you see around you, and
that includes puzzles, Twisty Puzzles, to be more specific.
Now, if you're an aficionado of Twisty Puzzles, chances are you've
probably heard about Uwe Mèffert (or his company, Meffert's), and if not, well,
you can't call yourself a true aficionado. Over the last 34 years - 1981 was
the year his first-ever puzzle, the Pyraminx, was produced - Meffert's has done
more for the Twisty Puzzle community than any other company, and dare I say it,
it's today's most popular Twisty Puzzle brand, even more than Rubik's.
The reason why Meffert's puzzles are so popular is mostly due to
his close relationship with the community's top designers and how well they all
work together. He not only invents and makes his puzzles, but he also
mass-produces other designer's puzzles. In turn, these top designers have
themselves a close relationship with all the puzzle community, they participate
in the forums, they take and give advice on puzzle making and designing, they
get feedback and, ultimately, they inspire a new breed of designers that, in
the long run, will be the future of the Twisty Puzzle industry. In short, there
isn't any other company with such a practical and efficient business model as
successful as Meffert's.
As mentioned above, Meffert's first puzzle was the Pyraminx, which
is also his most popular puzzle, having sold millions of copies - only the
original Rubik's Cube has sold more. Since then, Meffert's has produced more
than a hundred different Twisty Puzzles - many of which essential to any
starting collection - some variations, and other types of puzzles as well.
One of Meffert's most recognizable features in his puzzles is the
fluorescent sticker colors. Its puzzles have a color scheme of green, blue,
pale orange, bright orange, yellow and pink. Such bright colors make Meffert's
puzzles stand out among other more bland-colored puzzles. It's like your
Meffert's puzzles are the stars of your collection.
Fluorescent colors are nice, but Meffert's puzzles would be too
generic if they'd make all their puzzles look the same. Variety is the key word
for the success of Meffert's - A lot of variety. Another popular material used
in Meffert's puzzles is tiles. These colorful plastic tiles are glued on the
surface of the puzzles and are a nice alternative to the stickers, since they
can't be peeled off. Not that their stickers peel off that easily, though.
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I have some old puzzles from Meffert's that still have their
stickers in very good condition. But the tiles give the puzzles a totally
different look. Some prefer stickers, others prefer tiles. Some of Meffert's
recent puzzles don't have neither stickers nor tiles. They're just made using
colored plastic parts. I used to prefer puzzles with tiles, but now I'm not so
selective and I think it depends greatly on the puzzle it's for.
In the subject of colored parts instead of stickers or tiles,
Meffert's has gone even further and some of its puzzles now use metallized
parts. These puzzles have a striking beauty, as they're coated with chromatic
colors - the puzzles aren't made of actual metal though - and are actually some
of my favorite Twisty Puzzles. They're quite reflective and have a shiny and
smooth surface, just like a mirror.
Another rather popular type of puzzle that Meffert's brought to
us, in collaboration with prolific designer Oskar van Deventer, was the gear
puzzle. Ever since the introduction of the Gear Cube in 2010, dozens of other
impressive designs and variations were developed by Oskar himself and other
talented designers, inspired by his original creation.
The gear puzzles offer a completely different challenge, because
when you rotate one face, it affects the movement of all the other parts in the
puzzle. The first Gear Cube was relatively easy to solve, but the movement of
other more complex puzzles can be extremely difficult to understand and solve.
I only recommend gear puzzles for experienced cubers.
Contributing for its ever more popular brand, Meffert's created in
2010 the Jade Club - An exclusive membership that includes two very special
puzzles, not available anywhere else, and discounts on recently released
puzzles. These two puzzles are called Jade Pyraminx and Jade Cube, and they
look absolutely gorgeous.
No stickers have been applied. The surface of the puzzles have
this soy-milky color (it's difficult to describe) and on each of their faces
you can see a different type of symbol, raised and painted in pale colors.
Meffert's later released another "Jade Puzzle", in 2012, called
Chopsticks. It's not as good-looking as the previous two, but the design is
still quite impressive and creative.
Some of Meffert's puzzles acquire over time some rarity and can
even reach prices in the hundreds of dollars in auctions. This is sometimes due
to the limited production numbers, and when they're all gone you can't get them
the regular way, hence the crazy high prices. It can also be a smart
investment. If you buy several copies at the time they're released and let them
gain rarity over time, you can get a nice hefty profit.
Final Thoughts:
With the current business model that Meffert's has, it will be a long while before we see the number of new puzzles dwindling. Always at the forefront of new ideas and concepts, at the same time keeping close to the people that know a thing or two about Twisty Puzzles, Meffert's has a bright future ahead, and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for what's to come. See all Meffert's Puzzles
