A few days ago Andreas asked me if I knew anything about this puzzle.
"Of course!" says I. One I have on my desk. And the other I just happen to know where to find it.

So just for Andreas and the benefit of the twisty community, I called up my dear friend and asked if I could borrow a toy for a week or two. He told me that my collection just happened to extend to a little office across the border in Shenzhen and I could have anything I wanted at any time. (and you wonder why he is such a dear friend.) Ok, so today I met him for lunch and he was very kind in not making me travel across to see him. He brought me the puzzle massager! I already have the Chi Gung ball so I didn't need that one.

For your viewing pleasure I made videos of the Puzzle Massager, and the Chi Gung Ball

Eat your heart out Hendrik

A better photo will come when I take out the light box again over the upcoming holiday.


These are not made of ABS plastic. These are made of that plastic from the mid 80's that is really brittle. I'll ask Uwe next time I call him, but today I was in a hurry and had to fix his phone again so I had no time to ask all these pressing questions.

There were not many made. Uwe told me 3 of each in the white. He said he released the puzzles in black for sale. I can't remember how many he sold though. I do know that he owes me one from somewhere in the mid-80's when mine went astray And He has promised me that he will open the molds for my 50th.....

So see, my dear friend is going to be with us for a long long time (and making puzzles for all that while) to come because I'm still a young thing

A big "thank you" to your special friend.
And thank you for helping me with these bits of information.Now you have said it: You are to young!

There you are Andreas. I'm working on the zip thing.

Blog post on these is up as well.

Well, you finally found your massage ball - is that disassembly photo of a broken puzzle?

I remember you babbling about it long ago somewhere in the forums. Is all 1980s plastic puzzles brittle? My mom's 1981 Meffert Pyraminx doesn't seem brittle at all, and my NES cartridges are durable as ever (they don't chip if you throw them around), although my old Lego parts that I had as a child have suffered considerably and become quite brittle with time. I understand Legos used a proprietary blend of plastics to achieve a perfect balance between strength and flexibility.

BTW, when did puzzle companies first start using ABS to make puzzles? Makes me wonder if my V-Cubes will become brittle in 20 years.

The ball I've had for at least 10 years. The other oblong one is Uwe's. I've played with it off and on for about 20 years now The one that is now sitting on my desk I played with in his Aberdeen Office when he didn't have his watchdog Sharon. (There was a different lady there then)

No, it's not broken. The top (or maybe the bottom) has been taken off. Or maybe I guess it is 'broken'. Those little feet on there that grip into the holes are very brittle. One has um bent in such a way that it shouldn't have. Doesn't bother the puzzle though. The other 3 feet hold it nicely in place.

(And for the record, I babble a lot!) I'll ask what the material was. I know it wasn't ABS though. Hmmm. Good question to ask!

Really? I hadn't noticed.