Monkey Pod Games Blog

Hi Everyone,

So summer is around the corner. This means the kids will be home and running all over the place. Pool, camp, water, ice cream, freedom, and vacation! All the great times are about to come. I mean who doesn’t love summer?

However, our brains can get a little too chilled out during summer. Sit by the beach to long and you may become a beach bum! So why not have a great little game to keep your mind sharp for the long summer ahead.

In spirit of that hot sun that may give us a nice tan and good times, why not play the GIANT STAR PUZZLE! This is the ultimate brain teaser.

Built after the famous Star Puzzle, this GIANT STAR PUZZLE is very tough but very fun. You will have to use all corners of your brain to solve this one. But once finished, the reward is big! If you can solve it before the end of summer, than you are one smart cookie! If you haven’t already clicked the links to the puzzle check it here!

www.monkeypodgames.com

Hi Everyone,

This blog post is dedicated to our raffle we are holding! We at Monkey Pod Games feel that sometimes wooden brain teasers are misunderstood. Sometimes people think they are boring and cannot hold up to electronic toys and entertainment.

Well Monkey Pod Games is ready to prove this assumption false! That is why we are holding a raffle to give a free puzzle to one lucky winner. And the puzzle we have chosen to dispel the myths of brain teasers is the SOMA CUBE.

So, lets cut to the important part which is how to get involved! Our raffle is being held through our facebook fan page. All you have to do is go there, become a fan, and then attend the event. It is not enough to just attend the event, you must be a fan aswell. However this whole raffle is free! No monetary costs and no needing to give up any information or pricacy. We have been saying for along time that this social community is for you, the consumers. Hence this raffle is for you all

So we truly hope you will join in the fun and good luck to all!

Warmly,

Monkey Pod Games

So as most of you know, April 15th is when everyone’s taxes are due.  This can be a stressful time but also a time of insecurity because you have to give up alot of your hard earned money. But for the treasures you do get to keep, may we suggest the MAGIC BOX! It is not really a magic box but it is just as cool. Basically, you put your valuables or whatever you want inside the magic box and then the only way to open it is by doing a secret trick! Only skilled handiwork will get the magic box open.

Now, we at Monkey Pod Games are very responsible when it comes to giving advice. We are in the business of making WOODEN PUZZLES and  not safes. So we dont really recommend putting your true valuables inside the magic box. But it is neat for those items of yours that you want to protect from pesty little fingers that belong to curious children.

Or it makes for a great gift idea if you want to put a gift within a gift! Tell the person that they need to open the Monkey Pod Games Magic Box before they get the gift inside.

The Magic Box is beautifully constructed from 18 wood pieces. This Magic Box makes for a great wooden puzzle or wooden game.

Check out the Monkey Pod Games Magic Box here or go to our website at www.monkeypodgames.com

And please dont forget to join our facebook fan page called Monkey Pod Games. When you join, you get 10% off your next purchase! Once more: good luck on those taxes!

WARNING! BELOW IS A PUZZLE SPOILER! BELOW WE HAVE EXPLAINED HOW TO SOLVE THE STAR PUZZLE. IF YOU ARE  STILL TRYING TO SOLVE IT OR WOULD LOVE TO BUY THIS FUN AND TRICKY BRAIN TEASER, DO NOT READ BELOW!

Hi Everyone,

So we have decided to be merciful and show you all how to solve the Monkey Pod Games Star Puzzle. This is one of our most popular puzzles and was even on the hit show Criminal Minds! It is a tough puzzle but alot of fun trying to solve. However, sometimes we just have to get on with our lives and therefore we need a little help. Thats ok, no one is perfect!

So lets delve into it. We will explain in a step by step process how to solve this puzzle.

1. First you need to take apart the puzzle and lay out all the pieces like you see in the picture at the start of this blog

2. The second step is to take two pieces and hold them in the position as shown in the next picture. All the pieces will interlock into each other in the exact same way. Knowing how the pieces interlock is halfway there to solving the Star Puzzle.  Once you have these two pieces, you need to place one piece horizontally into the top niche of the other piece which needs to be held vertically. This can be seen in the picture to your left.

3. Once this is done and you get the feel for how the pieces should lock together you need to add the third piece which fits a bit diagonally/vertically into either one of the empty slots that were created by putting the first two pieces together.

4. Now, this is the trick/spoiler to the rest of the puzzle, so only read ahead if you really want to solve it quick. Most people try and solve the Monkey Pod Games Star Puzzle by putting it together piece by piece until completed. But this is a mistake! Doing it this way, you will close off the final spot for the final piece. Theway to do it is by creating the three piece figure shown above with the other three pieces and then sliding them together. The best trick is to hold the first three piece figure in your first two fingers and thumb and with your other two fingers and free hand, create the same figure. This picture shows how to do it.

5. All you have to do now is to twist the two 3-piece figures together and voila, you have completed the Monkey Pod Games Star Puzzle! This part can be a little tricky so do not get frustrated if it takes a few times to feel it and then slide them in. Sometimes you will be able to slide them together quick and sometimes you have to jiggle with it a bit. Here are two pictures showing how to do it.

Well we hoped this helped for those of you struggling with the Monkey Pod Games Star Puzzle. If you love this type of puzzle, then we really suggest checking out the many more puzzles like this one that we have on our website at www.monkeypodgames.com

The drums beat boom boom boom. Hearts are pulsating. The air is electrified and stiff.  Both sides hurl insults and profanities at each other. Swords are drawn and people spit in the direction of the enemy side. It was a war like none other. One side would remain for thousands of years and the other would vanish into the annals of history. Many lives had been lost. A fantastic story was being made but tragedy hung in the air. One side was the Israelites and the other was the Philistines.

One hot sunny day, both sides met on a small hilltop. The Israelites were in fear as the Philistines taunted them. “Who dares fight the mighty Goliath?”. Over six feet tall with muscles like an ox, Goliath put fear over all the heads of the Israelites. While the Israelites had a strong army, no man among them could face Goliath one on one. They felt humiliated and did not know what to do. For fourty days, Goliath had come out by order of the King of the Philistines. They wanted to do a single one on one combat match to decide the outcome of the war. But the Israelites had no man like Goliath.

So there they were both sides huddled across from each other. From the back, a boy passed through the side of the Israelites. He made his way to the front. He challenged the great Goliath. No one knew what to make of this. A small boy to fight the mighty large Goliath? The Israelites were to decide their fate on this boy? He told his name to everyone. It is David. The Israelites had no other volunteers so they agreed. It would be David versus Goliath. King Saul of the Israelites offered his armor but David declined. He swooped up a few stones and took out his slingshot.

And the battle began! David and Goliath confronted themselves face to face. They sized each other up. Goliath raised his shield and unsheathed his sword. It was huge. One accurate slice and David would be in two pieces. Goliath swipes at David but misses. He gets frustrated and gives the biggest slice of his sword that he has ever done in his life. But David takes advantage of his smaller size and rolls under the sword. He looks Goliath in eye, pulls out his slingshot, places  a rock in its pouch, pulls it back, aims, and lets go.

The rock hurls through the air at a brilliant speed. It slices through the air sharper than Goliath’s sword and more accurately as well. It cuts a path straight to Goliath’s head and before he can realize what is about to happen, the rock pierces straight into the middle of his forehead.

Both sides go “Ahh” as they were in complete shock as what had happened! Goliath falls to the ground and make a thud with his shield and sword laying still by his side as is the Goliath. David quietly goes up to Goliath, takes his sword and cuts off his head.

The Philistines take off in fear and are pursued by the Israelites. A young boy remains behind. A young boy who would soon become a King.

Now you can have a remainder in your own home of that fateful day. It isn’t David’s slingshot or rocks from that hill. It is a beautifully crafted Star of David puzzle.

Go to Monkey Pod Games and get your piece of history.

When you ask people, what do you think is the most spectacular human archeology of all time, you can expect a lot of people to say - the pyramid. For thousands of years, pyramids have put us in awe with their amazing structures and sizes. Pyramids have been created all over the world for many different reasons. In Egypt they were used as tombs for their kings and queens while in South America they were used as temples for worship. In India they were also used as places of worship and today a modern pyramid stands in France called the Louvre, holding some of man’s most precious art.

Here is a trivia question! Which country has the most pyramids in the world? Give it a think but no cheating by looking it up! The answer will be revealed at the bottom.

Out of all the pyramids in the world, none seem to marvel us like the spectacular pyramids in Egypt. People from all over the world go there to explore the ancient mysterious pyramids and marvel at her beauty. The Great Pyramid of Giza is considered one of the largest pyramids in the world! It is believed the pyramid was built for Pharaoh Khufu and for 3,800 years, the pyramid of Giza was the largest human structure on planet Earth! It is widely believed that the ancient Egyptians used 2.3 million limestone blocks to build the Great Pyramid of Giza!

Pyramids will always continue to put us in awe and that is why the Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the 7 wonders of the world. Their mystery and magic will always draw us to explore their interiors and marvel at their exteriors.

You may have missed your chance by a few thousand years to be an Egyptian architect for a Pharaoh but now Monkey Pod Games is giving you the next best thing! Build your own pyramids inside your home or office.

Whether it is the Meso-American pyramids which resemble temples that draws you in the most or the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, we have a pyramid for you. This time you don’t have to carry these limestone pieces hundreds of miles to the pyramid destination. Instead you get beautifully cut Monkey Pod wood. But don’t think you are off easy! Your body may not be doing any heavy lifting but your brain will be! It will be no easy task to put these pyramids together. However once completed, they will look beautiful in your home or on your office desk.

Now we finish with the trivia of which country has the most pyramids. If you were thinking Egypt, you are wrong! While they may be the most popular, the right answer is actually Sudan! Sudan has the most pyramids with around 220 scattering the country. If you got it right then congratulations and if not do not worry as there will be plenty of chances to get it right later on!

Visit us at our website or get your pyramid now and start building! This will be no easy brain teaser!

“Freedom is a word I rarely use without thinking.” This is one of my favorite quotes which was song by the legendary singer Donovan in his hit song “Colors”. The term freedom has been at the center of almost every political movement and uprising since the dawn of man. Freedom from tyranny, freedom from persecution, freedom from religion, freedom from secularism. Freedom Freedom Freedom! It has been used so many times and is adopted by almost every movement that the word has lost its meaning. It has lost its soul. That is why I love this quote. “Freedom is a word I rarely use without thinking.” Donovan hits the nail on the head when he speaks about the need to think before we speak and to make sure when we say freedom we really mean it. It may be the year 2010 but a great portion of the world is still under the dark veil of tyranny without political or civil freedoms. Unfortunately the mechanisms to advance these peoples freedoms have not been created. They stay trapped. However, we here, from the free world stand with them in support and hope that one day they too will taste what freedom means.

 That is why we are dedicating our disentanglement puzzles to the oppressed peoples of the world. For these puzzles you have to THINK and you have to FREE the trapped mouse or peg.

 So although you may not be able to start a freedom movement, why not play our disentanglement puzzles instead! Their fun and after reading this, they will get you consciously thinking about freedom.

Start your freedom disentanglement puzzles here!

Sometimes we get lucky and sometimes we stumble but either way we are always trying to understand what is going on. We take apart each date that we went on and each line we said. Learning from our past mistakes, we map the future carefully hopefully succeeding and finding the love of our life.

So while we are stressing about love and romance, why not relieve some of that tension with a love themed brain teaser.  Here are some of my favorite love puzzles:

 First there is the Heart Puzzle which is a modern version of the very famous tangram puzzle. Here, one has to make tangram shapes as in the original version but now one has to contend doing this with shapes that form a heart. There are over forty shapes to create! This one can be picked up here.

Then there is the super fun Love Test Puzzle! This puzzle is a lot more accurate and fun than pulling the petals off a flower. And you save the flowers too! This puzzle involves a wooden heart with a string going through its holes with a small ball trapped. If you can manage to release the ball, then the answer is: YES HE OR SHE TRULY LOVES YOU! Find your answers here.

Or there is the Star Puzzle. Despite this being the famous puzzle used on the hit CBS show Criminal Minds, it also makes a great love puzzle. There is a great little romantic fable behind it that can be read here. The romance story behind it makes it a great puzzle for the theme of love. Build it for your own satisfaction or present it to the love of your life.

There are tons of puzzles available to get us through those days where love is taking over our thoughts. Why not get through those days with a cool puzzle to relax your mind. Check them all here!   

Love can be stressful. Who here has not sat around thinking “Does she like me?” or “I wonder if he will call me back? Often we obsessively deconstruct our relationships trying to grasp our emotions. Our feelings are hard to understand and the emotion of love tends to preoccupy our mind at an amplified level. We go our whole lives looking for love. Whether on the internet, in bars and clubs, or even on a vacation, we are playing the game. 

The 1960s were a time of counter culture revolution, freedom, groovy times, and an open expression of the mind that did not exist in earlier generations. Back then there existed two cultural icons named Bob Dylan and Steve McQueen. Today we have a fable that merges the spirit of the two. So take off your Birkenstocks, lay back in you bean bag chair, light an incense, put on some groovy beats and enjoy the following story.

A long time ago, there was a young heroic man named Khun-Phan. He spent the better part of his life learning and playing his guitar. He would go around in his kingdom playing music for the villagers but most importantly for his true love. Nang Wanthong was a beautiful woman with big blue eyes that would uplift everyone around her. Her long flowing hair would swish from one side to the other like the tides of the ocean. Nang’s hands were soft like the grass below her feet and when she would place her hands around Khun’s face, a warm glow would rise from his belly to his heart.

All was well in this kingdom. Khun would strum his groovy guitar while the villagers would work the land. The old king who ruled the land was kind to his people and in return they loved and supported him. Things were groovy and in their correct place like the sun and the moon.

Then one day, the old king died. He had fought a long battle with cancer and eventually submitted to his disease. Unfortunately his predecessor was not benevolent. He was not hip and he hated music. He warned Khun to stop playing and to stop loving Nang. He decided that the music was against his regime and that Nang was too beautiful to be with a hipster and should instead be with him. In response, Khun did the one thing he knew how to do well. He played his guitar even more beautiful then he had before. He tried to stick it to the man. To ring out freedom with his strings and scare away the King.

The King heard this beautiful music and got even madder and he took Khun’s father and murdered him. When Khun got back from Nang that day to find his father dead, he also found the King’s guards there waiting to arrest him. He was put into a tall tower. The King’s guards told him that death would be too easy a punishment and that he must spend his whole life in a tower. They also told him that Nang was going to be married soon to the King.

Khun sat in the cold dark tower alone trying to think what to do. He thought and thought and thought and thought. He knew not only his but also Nang’s life depended on him. Then finally he remembered! Khun was such a good guitar player and strummed so hard that his strings were always breaking. To avoid always having to go to a repair shop, he kept a lot of extra strings in his pocket.

Quickly, he took out the strings and tied them together in strong knots. The tower had no bars on the windows. The King secretly wanted Khun to jump to his death. Therefore Khun was able to tie one end to the window and let the string fly on down. He hurried down the string until he got to the ground and ran all the way home where his guitar was waiting for him. Khun knew that if he could get to Nang, he would play her the sweetest song he knew and that it would seal her love for him and then they could escape together

So Khun went to the King’s castle with his guitar in his hand. Khun was now prepared with the tough guy mindset of Steve McQueen and filled with the love found in many of the songs Bob Dylan once wrote. Would he be able to get into the castle, grab Nang and escape? Well that is up to all of you.

Take hold of Khun’s and Nang’s fate. Navigate them through the castle and get them out so they can live together in pure harmony and love. Help them to have groovy times again man! Their fate in your hands begin here!

The version that is helping us be better to the environment and get a break from technology!

Computers, television, video game consules, portable video games, movies, MP3 players that do everything, cell phones, portable dvd players, where does it end?

Technology is great but like everything, it has its limits. Unfortunately it seems everywhere we turn, more and more technology is springing up. One obvious instance is with the game Sudoku. It used to be a pleasurable game played in a newspaper or booklet. Now there are endless websites selling or offering free Sudoku. Instead of being a quiet game away from our technology centric society, it has joined the masses. Now we stare at the screen burning out our retinas trying to solve a very hard Sudoku game.

One of our aims at Monkey Pod Games is to not join the masses! We want to bring leisure into your life that isnt just another technological gimmick. That is why we have created our own Sudoku game!

We have created a wooden Sudoku that is perfect for your home or to take with you on vacation. You still get your classic 9 x 9 Sudoku game but instead of being glued to your computer screen, this can be played in your bedroom, the livingroom, in the car while on a long trip, or wherever you are comfortable.

But we have taken our concept a step further! It is very important for us to do what we can to improve our Earth. We only have one as it is. Most people have ecological footprints 4-6 times the size it should be. By choosing to use our wooden Sudoku version you are doing two good things for the environment:

1) You are not longer having to buy booklets, meaning hundreds of trees do not need to be cut down in order to make the pages for an endless amount of books to be produced.

2)By being able to play the game not on your computer, you are conserving electricity. When we save electricity, we are not using as much oil. When we are not using as much oil, we are saving money both by nation and by globe.

Therefore we highly suggest an investment into the wooden Sudoku game. Not only is it the best way to play the game without harming the environment, it is also just as fun! No more running out of puzzles inside booklets or erasing so hard that the ink on the page starts to fad. This has to be the perfect way to play Sudoku! We would love to hear your thoughts on the subject! Order your own copy here!