3D puzzle
A 3D puzzle (3D interlocking puzzle) is a puzzle that is put together to form three-dimensional objects.
Other 3D puzzles, the surface of which appears three-dimensional due to graphic effects, are called 3D surface puzzles. Production differs depending on the type. The material for the production of 3D puzzles consists mostly of foam sheets or cardboard . The individual puzzle pieces are then printed on the outside with the respective motif .
history
The first 3D puzzle was built and manufactured by Paul Gallant in 1991. He was the head of the Wrebbit company .
The first series from this manufacturer consisted largely of building models from Germany, such as the Brandenburg Gate . The last series published in Germany so far was called Towers Made to Scale and contained 19 skyscraper models . The parts light up when the brightness falls below a certain level and were created on a scale of 1: 585. Due to low demand, three parts of the series were not published in Germany.
1995 was 3D Mystery Jigsaws of MB as Game of the Year in the category Special Prize Puzzle excellent.
Wrebbit
In autumn 2004 the company Wrebbit was sold to the game manufacturer Hasbro , which ceases the production of 3D object puzzles in 2006. Since 2012, 3D puzzles have been associated with the Gallant name again. The son of the then company founder and a former manager of the company founded the company "Les Casse-Tete Wrebbit Inc / Wrebbit Puzzle Inc". Today you produce and market new 3D puzzle models.
Ravensburger
Ravensburger published the puzzle ball back in 2004 . Here the individual parts are put together to form a sphere . The puzzle pyramid was added in 2009. Both types of 3D puzzles are registered trademarks of the company to this day. In 2010 a puzzle ball was introduced directly for preschool children. With 24 extra-large parts, they are very easy to assemble. Since 2011, the traditional German company Ravensburger has been producing 3D object puzzles in the form of world-famous buildings again.
variants
The following types of puzzles are common 3D puzzle shapes:
- 3D picture puzzle
- 3D object puzzle
- 4D puzzle
- Puzzle ball
- Puzzle heart
- Puzzle pyramid
- Cube (ex .: Happy Cube )
4D puzzles didn't appear until 2012. In addition to the three known dimensions: height, width and length, time is introduced as the fourth dimension. The puzzle supplier Jumbo is currently presenting the cities of London, New York and Berlin. With these puzzles it is possible to re-puzzle the cities in their historical growth. This makes the 4D puzzles a specialty of the 3D puzzles.
3D picture puzzles only suggest a three-dimensional depth through special graphic effects and therefore belong to the category of classic 2D puzzles .
Manufacturing
One building material for the production of 3D puzzles is foam . A printed film is applied to one side of this. The cut foam pad and the picture surface are glued together. A hundred percent agreement is necessary for this. Later the parts are separated from each other both by hand and by machine. The production of the parts has not changed to this day, a perfect template and precise punching tools are important . The manufacturer Ravensburger makes its 3D object puzzles out of plastic . The puzzle pieces are individually manufactured using an injection molding technique.
Market share
About 20% of the puzzle market is generated by 3D puzzles. Ravensburger, one of the largest puzzle manufacturers and suppliers, dominates the market. (Source: Ravensburger AG - Status: Oct. 2012) The puzzle market recorded by the EpoS retail panel currently has around 3,800 puzzles, of which around 300 are 3D puzzles. However, it must be noted that passive products, ie products that were left over from previous seasons and are only available as residual stocks, are also included in the retail panel. (Source: Epos Retail Panel - as of 2012)
Trivia
A distinction is made between object puzzles and 3D area puzzles. Manufacturers and suppliers who do not actually produce “interlocking puzzles” are also included in the object puzzles.
The company CubicFun Toys Industrial Co., Ltd. produced since 1998 3D puzzle for the global gaming market. Founded in 1994 under the name LianGuang Gift Co., Ltd, the company now has the largest sales volume in the 3D puzzle sector. The puzzles are exported to over 80 countries. In 2007 the current company name was changed. CubicFun Toys has been an officially authorized developer and producer of Disney 3D puzzles since 2009.
Manufacturer of object puzzles
- Ravensburger
- Noris puzzle
- Educa puzzle
- Clementoni puzzle
- Jumbo puzzle
- HCK Kinzel
- Universal trends
- Simba.
3D surface puzzle
- Trefl puzzle
- Game fun puzzle
- Piatnik puzzle
- Clementoni puzzle
- Mega puzzle
- Ravensburger puzzle
literature
- Simon Winkelbach: The 3d puzzle problem: Efficient methods for combining three-dimensional fragments in pairs. (= Dissertation, Technical University of Braunschweig ). In: Advances in Robotics. Vol. 10. Shaker, Aachen 2006, ISBN 3-832-25567-2 .
Individual evidence
- ^ History of Puzz 3d. In: puzz3d.org. Retrieved January 19, 2011 .
- ↑ Sears Tower. (PDF, 1.35 MB) Wrebbit Inc., Champlain, NY, USA, p. 4 , accessed on January 19, 2011 (English).
- ↑ Special Prize Puzzle 1995 3D crime puzzle. Game of the Year eV, accessed on August 15, 2017 .
- ↑ website. Les Casse-Tete Wrebbit Inc / Wrebbit Puzzle Inc, accessed February 22, 2013 .
- ↑ puzzleball International. Ravensburger, accessed on February 22, 2013 .
- ↑ 3D puzzle | History & overview. (No longer available online.) JP - Puzzle-Blog.de, archived from the original on March 7, 2013 ; Retrieved February 22, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Definition of retail panel . Prof. Dr. Willy Schneider, accessed February 22, 2013 .
- ↑ website. CubicFun Toys Industrial Co., Ltd, accessed February 22, 2013 .
