Mechanical Puzzles
What are Mechanical Puzzles?
Mechanical puzzles are 3-D puzzles consisting of one or more parts that present a unique problem for the player to solve. The world’s most famous mechanical puzzle, and one that has baffled thousands worldwide, is the Rubik’s cube! The goal of this deceptively simple puzzle is to return each face of the scrambled cube to a single colour - not an easy feat considering the millions of possible permutations!
However, what many people don’t know is that there are hundreds of other mechanical puzzles available out there, besides the Rubik's cube. These include take-apart puzzles, put-together puzzles, interlocking puzzles, disentanglement puzzles, sequential movement puzzles and more! Project Enigma has assembled a diverse catalogue of puzzles that we wish to share with the wider community here in Singapore.
The benefits of Mechanical Puzzles
Why play with mechanical puzzles? We believe that these puzzles add value to our lives in the following ways:
Strengthen our cognitive and thinking muscles.
Mechanical puzzles engage all parts of our brains. When solving a puzzle, we are training our logical or sequential reasoning and creative problem-solving abilities, memorising patterns, recalling methods that work and eliminating those that don’t. It is a full brain workout. This improves our focus and memory, on top of enhancing our visual perception and motor coordination.
Develop soft skills.
When working through a puzzle one learns the values of resilience and patience when faced with setbacks. When progress is made, one grows more confident and is encouraged to continue solving difficult problems. Eventually, one becomes more motivated and independent in their learning. If played together in a group setting, puzzle solving encourages collaborative learning amongst peers and improves interpersonal effectiveness.
Improve mental wellness and foster better relationships.
In this digital era, it is important for people of all ages to learn to disconnect from their devices. Mechanical puzzles are great alternatives to electronic games. Children and adults alike can enjoy the benefits of solving puzzles, while experiencing none of the drawbacks of digital entertainment. Furthermore, families can work on the puzzles together, providing yet another family-bonding activity that is healthy, fun and enjoyable.