Puzzles have been around for hundreds of years. In today’s digital age, you would be forgiven for thinking that traditional puzzles were a thing of the past, as people of all ages have their eyes glued to a screen. Thankfully, this is not the case. The demand for brain training puzzles is huge, especially among those seeking alternative methods to boost productivity. But can these taxing past-times actually have an effect on our output? Let’s have a look at five wooden puzzle games for adults and see the benefits of engaging in this type of activity.
1. The Challenge Box
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The idea behind this is simple. Take out all the blocks from the wooden box and then attempt to put them back in! This may appear straight forward enough, but you’ll have to use brain power in abundance to solve it. It will at times seem that the pieces simply do not fit back. An excellent wood puzzle with many alternative ways of solving, and a perfectly portable carrying size.
2. Wine Bottle Puzzle
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The Wine Bottle challenge is sure to cause all sorts of fun and amusement at parties, as you watch friends struggling to get their hands on a much sought after drink. The wood puzzle has you locking up the bottle of wine and sitting back to enjoy the sight of them desperately trying to free the tipple. You will have a huge grin on your face as they must either solve the puzzle to clench their thirst or come begging for the solution—which only you possess.
3. 3D Tic Tac Toe
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We’ve all been there at some point. Pen and paper on a rainy day, drawing out the familiar little grid to play naughts and crosses. That can be fun—for a limited time. What’s far more rewarding is when you take the classic game and add layers of depth to it (quite literally). 3D Tic Tac Toe retains the essence of the original game, but this time you will need to view the X’s and O’s in a 3D space and win by getting three-in-a-row either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. You will definitely need to draw on strong mental power to gain the upper hand at Tic Tac Toe.
4. Setting Sun
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When searching for wooden puzzle solutions to train your brain, Setting Sun is a fantastic option. This piece sliding game will truly test your problem-solving and maths skills. You must get the red piece—which symbolizes the sun—to slot through the bottom of the board. This acts as the setting of the sun. As this is a far bigger piece than the others, it makes for tricky navigation on the board.
5. Serpent Cube
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The Serpent Cube is a classic brain puzzle involving twisting and rotating. An elastic band forms the connection between the wooden cubes. Your job is to twist and turn the blocks in a certain way to make the cube whole again. This is certainly not straight forward and is ideal to give your brain a thorough workout. An excellent test of memory if you attempt to complete it multiple times.
How These Puzzles Can Help?
We’ve seen a great collection of wooden puzzles, but what kind of benefit can you really gain from them? The answer is, plenty! Firstly, puzzles help to improve your mood. Every time we solve part of a puzzle, a neurotransmitter called dopamine is released. This can increase our levels of optimism and improve motivation to work. Puzzles also help increase our attention to detail by training our eyes to look out for tiny variances in shape and color—vital if you have a job like a surgeon. A boost in productivity also occurs when we are relaxed and not stressed; therefore we could all do with taking a small break to tackle a puzzle. They play an important role in our lives as well as being terrific fun.