Professor Murphy's Metal Puzzles review

This month's book for the Parragon Book Buddies was something a bit different - we received Professor Murphy's Emporium of Entertainment Metal Puzzles.

Inside the funky-looking shiny pink box are six metal puzzles, along with a 16-page book of brain-teasers and the puzzle solutions. They really remind me of the sort of old-fashioned puzzles that you'd get in crackers when I was a child and I remember having fun with these in my youth, but I wasn't sure what modern kids, who are more likely to be mesmerised by video games and TV screens, would think of them.

Well, 10-year-old Juliette was instantly hooked. She spent ages twisting and turning each one, trying to separate the parts and then put them back together again.

I was amazed at her perseverance and at how many times she came back to them to pick them up and have another fiddle !

Even Pierre seemed fascinated and stood watching her twisting and turning them, before asking if he could have a go too.

Unlike the Rubik's Cube, which I never ever mastered and that used to drive me insane, these metal puzzles can all be resolved with a bit of practice because the solutions are in the enclosed booklet. Once you've twiddled so much your fingers are starting to get sore, you can move on to the 30 Insanely Baffling Puzzles (riddles and logic puzzles) also in the book.

It's a lovely old-fashioned toy/book that will keep all members of the family, young and old, contentedly challenging each other or setting themselves personal targets. It's great as a stocking filler for kids of about 6+, but I bet the parents and grandparents will have a play when the kids have gone to bed too !

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £6.99

Disclosure : As Parragon Book Buddies, we received the book in order to write an honest review.