In 2006, I met Harry and Claire Nelson at my first International Puzzle Party in Boston. I was thrilled to meet Harry as he’s a legend in the puzzle world. His accomplishments are numerous in the areas of puzzles, mathematics, computers and chess. Harry was also the editor of the Journal of Recreational Mathematics for 5 years and continues on their editorial board. There is a very interesting interview with Harry on his accomplishments in the computer field. There is also an interesting video of Harry and his involvement with chess and computers.
Now that I am doing Inventor Relations for ThinkFun, Harry invited me to his home to view other ideas. Since I was in CA for the NCTM Conference (I mentioned NCTM in my last post) I took a flight to San Francisco to see Harry and his wonderful wife Claire. Harry planned a Puzzle Party in my honor while I was there so that I could meet with other local inventors!
Harry's Giant Burr
One of the first things you see when arriving at Harry and Claire’s home is this giant burr outside their front door. I knew I was entering the home of a puzzle lover when I saw that! It is a Bill Cutler design and made by Harry himself. It is fully functional with one warning from Harry, “Careful you don’t drop it on your foot. It hurts. I’ve done this many times.”
Harry and Claire are such genuinely kind and caring people. They welcomed me into their home so graciously and made me feel right at home. I loved talking puzzles with Harry and I loved talking life with Claire. I would sit at the dining room table with Harry and try to solve puzzles he’d give me. He’d tutor me through them and it was wonderful to spend time with him this way. I also really enjoyed sitting at the kitchen table with Claire talking about our lives and our families. Not only is she the heartbeat of this family, she’s also been instrumental in many philanthropic initiatives including the creation of a local woman’s shelter. I have some really special memories from our time spent together.
Harry's Painting
One of the first things I noticed when first touring their beautiful home is an incredible painting that hangs in their great room. Claire commissioned a local artist to do this painting for Harry. They hung it just days before my visit. It illustrates many of the important things that Harry has been involved in. Starting at the top left corner and going clockwise:
Stormy Seas – this is a ThinkFun puzzle that was invented by Harry Nelson and Hiroshi Yammamoto. It is no longer for sale but is a wonderful puzzle. I was happy to purchase a booster card deck from Harry for this puzzle at a past IPP.
Rush Hour – Harry was instrumental in linking the inventor Nob Yoshigahara to ThinkFun. Rush Hour is ThinkFun’s most popular and successful puzzle. Many people recognize the name Rush Hour before they recognize the name ThinkFun!
Using a Cray supercomputer, Harry and Cray employee David Slowinski discovered the largest prime number known at that time. On April 8, 1979, they found the 27th Mersenne prime: 244497 – 1.
Harry was also instrumental in bringing the Four Piece Jigsaw to ThinkFun. Harry met the inventor, Ken Walker, in his local neighbourhood and connected him with ThinkFun. I purchased an 8 piece Jigsaw Puzzle of Ken Walker’s from Harry at a past IPP.
Harry’s son, Scott, invented ThinkFun’s Four Cube Puzzle when Scott was just nine years old. This puzzle is based on the MacMahon squares.
In 1983, Harry and two other Cray employees, won the World Computer Chess Championship, and successfully defended its title in 1986.
Another puzzle that Harry’s son Scott invented was On The Level by Magnif. It is also based on the MacMahon squares.
Harry's Puzzle Challenge
On Sunday, April 25th, Harry and Claire hosted the puzzle party. There is a CA group of puzzlers that meet throughout the year to share their puzzles. I was thrilled that I could be a part of this meeting.
Harry had put together a puzzle retrospective of ten puzzles for the party; approximately one from each decade of his life. He challenged me with them the day before and I enjoyed going through them. Mostly I enjoyed spending time with Harry as he helped me with some of them. I marvel at the way that creatives (like Harry) brains work. I liked how Harry had incorporated Treasure Quest in this set of puzzles. Harry is the inventor of ThinkFun’s Treasure Quest which is a game based on the transport puzzle called Sokoban.
Puzzle Party
Puzzle Party
Twisty Puzzle Inventor
I had the pleasure of meeting all three of Harry’s sons and their families at the party. Scott, Bron and Craig were all in attendance. They loved playing puzzles just like their dad. I enjoyed meeting them as their parents told me all about them! An extremely smart and loving family!
It was great to see a lot of IPP friends at Harry’s as well as to meet some new puzzle lovers and inventors. There was a large group of people very interested in Twisty Puzzles. A twisty puzzle consists of a set of pieces which can be manipulated into different combinations by a group of operations. The most commonly known twisty puzzle is the Rubik’s Cube. There was one new puzzler who attended that has made incredible twisty puzzles all by hand! His work was incredible.
Nicholas Cravotta, Scott Kim and I
I was thrilled to see again Nicholas Cravotta inventor of Dizios, CrossWise and Zenith by MindWare. I met Nicholas at the New York Toy Fair and also the Gathering 4 Gardner this year. He’s a very smart inventor and I hope we’ll work together one day.
I also was pleased to touch base with Scott Kim. Scott Kim invented ThinkFun’s Sudoku 5X5 and 4X4 games. He also helped develop the challenges for our Railroad Rush Hour. He was involved with the development of video games like Bejeweled and Guitar Hero. Scott is such a talented individual. He’s a world expert in ambigrams. The amazing thing is that you can give him words and he can write out them out as an ambigram on the spot! For example, one of the things I treasure is when my son and I sat with him at an IPP banquet. He did both our names such that you could read them both forwards and backwards. Very cool keepsake!
Me and Bill Darrah
Stan Isaacs
Part of Harry's Puzzle Collection
Nick and others puzzling!
Harry, Me and Claire
I had a great visit with Harry and Claire and had a fantastic time at the puzzle party. There were over 30 people who came out to enjoy puzzles and fellowship. The wonderful thing is that we all love puzzles. I was so happy to spend time with them. Many were my friends from the IPP community as well as I met many new people.
It was really nice that Harry and Claire hosted this event during my visit. Harry said, “Well of course, you need to meet the inventors and they want to meet you.” I feel really blessed when people as legendary as Harry and Claire Nelson invite me into their home, invite others into their home to meet me, make me feel so welcome and most memorably for me, just sit and spend time with me. Thank you Harry and Claire, I hope to come again!
Now you can purchase the movie Toyland! I blogged about this movie in a past post. I met Tim Walsh at an industry conference called ASTRA (American Specialty Toy Retailers Association). He’s an inventor and I was thrilled to meet him. He’s a really nice guy and I enjoyed playing games with him.
Me and Tim Walsh
Here’s what Tim posted about Toyland:
Director Ken Sons has released his film Toyland on DVD for online orders only. Some great friends like Peggy Brown (Q-Bitz), Richard Gill (Pictionary), and John Spinello (Operation) are profiled. Legends like Betty James (Slinky), Eddy Goldfarb (Kerplunk, Battling Tops), Reyn Guyer (Nerf, Twister), Milt Levine (Ant Farm) are in there too. I am featured and count myself blessed to be among such company. Want to be inspired? Laugh? Check out Toyland!
Toyland is an incredible look from an inventor’s perspective inside the Toy industry! Find out more about purchasing the DVD at this link! Tim gave me a copy at ASTRA and I highly recommend it for those of you interested in toy/game invention or the toy/game industry! A must see!
In April 2010 I was accepted to speak at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference about ThinkFun and our problem solving initiatives. I was pleased to speak to a full house of 150 teachers. ThinkFun has a large teacher fan base and their insight about our puzzles is incredible.
Bill Ritchie, CEO of ThinkFun, Charlotte Fixler, now the Education manager of ThinkFun, Amanda Turner, one of our talented designers, and myself all traveled to CA to be a part of this show.
I came on board with ThinkFun in 2007 as the Director of Education. This was my first role before I became Inventor Relations last year. I have traveled to many education conferences touching base with fellow teachers. ThinkFun is very passionate about using our games to enhance children’s learning. Bill is the visionary at ThinkFun and this is an initiative very close to his heart. ThinkFun has connected with some real giants in the Education world. We are methodically developing a position in Education.
Monica Neagoy, Dale Seymour, Michael Serra and Bill Ritchie
NCTM was a great place to meet with some of the experts in the Mathematics Education field. Right is a great picture of Monica Neagoy, Dale Seymour, Michael Serra and Bill Ritchie. Monica Neagoy is a well respected Mathematics Consultant. I wrote a past post about Dale Seymour when I had met up with him at the Gathering 4 Gardner in Atlanta. I used Michael Serra’s books when teaching mathematics and it was a pleasure to meet up with him again at NCTM. These are all friends of Bill’s in the Education industry and it’s great to have experts like these to help us develop new programs.
Margo and Dale Seymour and I
Dale Seymour is such a giant in the mathematics education world. It was lovely to see him again at NCTM. I also met his wife Margo. Left is a picture of us in their son, Brett Robinson’s booth. Brett has a publication company called Instructional Images that prints beautiful mathematics posters. I had lunch with Margo one day and she was telling me all about their house. It sounds like an architectural marvel! And with all the mathematical sculptures they have on their property, I’m sure it would be something to see! Margo invited me to visit sometime; I hope I can take her up on that one day!
Frank Lester and I
I was thrilled to meet Frank Lester in person. He’s been working with us in Education to develop our positioning on Problem Solving. Frank is an expert in this field. “Frank Lester is internationally known for his research on mathematical problem-solving instruction and his work in mathematics learning, teaching, and curriculum.” Many of the books on Problem Solving I’ve read have Frank listed as a resource. He’s a great person to work with.
What a great conference this was! I’d never visited San Diego before and it was a beautiful place to visit. Connecting with experts in the Mathematics Education field including the classroom teachers was very rewarding!
On Saturday, May 22nd, I found out that Martin Gardner had passed away. I was devastated. My heart broke. My friendship with Martin is one of the greatest treasures of my life. I couldn’t believe that I was no longer going to be able to call him up when I wanted to talk or to plan my “pilgrimage” to visit with him as I’ve done each year.
I can’t properly write a tribute to him right now. It hurts too much. However one thing I can share is that it’s amazing how life happens sometimes. I was in NYC on May 22. I was on a trip of a lifetime with some of my closest girlfriends. I found out this devastating news surrounded by comforting friends. And then the next day on Sunday, I visited Central Park. In Central Park there is a famous statue of Alice in Wonderland. Martin had in his home a wonderful photo of himself sitting on this statue. Martin loved the stories of Alice in Wonderland and one of his most well known books is called The Annotated Alice. In this book Martin explains the mathematical concepts, wordplay, and Victorian traditions featured in the two Alice books. It was so nice to spend time at this statue and think of Martin.
And then later on that same day, my friends and I had planned to see the Broadway Musical Wicked. Funny that we planned this way in advance of our trip because this musical is based on the story of Wizard of Oz. This was another of Martin’s favourite stories. Martin had written an unofficial sequel to the Wizard of Oz called Visitors from Oz: The Wild Adventures of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman. In this story the Oz characters meet the Alice characters! At the end of the musical, the two main characters (the two witches) sing to each other a song called For Good. I sat there (thankfully in the dark) and thought of Martin. You can click on the song title to hear the song or here are some of the lyrics that meant a lot to me:
I’ve heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true
But I know I’m who I am today
Because I knew you…
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You’ll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend…
So I felt so blessed to be in NYC at the time I heard of Martin’s death. A place where I could think of my friend, be sad, be thankful and be present with his memory. I was also thankful that I could pick up a copy of the NY Times on the Monday we left as there was a nice tribute to Martin printed. I’ve since read many tributes to Martin on the internet. I knew that he had touched many lives and had inspired so many with the work he had done. For me, I will miss our conversations and our visits. I will miss my friend - the most giving, kind, and gentle man. I received an email from Martin’s son, Jim, last week and he said that he knew me because his dad had talked to him about me. That meant the world to me. And so, my heart begins to mend. Martin – I miss you and I thank you for being my friend.
G4G9 had incredible organized events. Both at these and at the impromtu happenings, I met and connected with some really incredible people. It wasn’t always centered around discussions about puzzles, mathematics and magic, (most of the time, just not ALL of the time) sometimes it was belting out tunes at the piano or hanging out in the lobby.
Tom Rodgers hosts an event during the G4G at his beautiful Japanese-style home. This is one of my favourite events because you have the chance to meet new people as well as spend time talking with old friends. Also, Tom’s property is a mathematics sculpture wonderland. Before we all boarded the buses to Tom’s house, there were talks by the artists responsible for the sculptures. Organized by THE George Hart, these talks were fascinating as you realize all the thinking that goes into each beautiful sculpture.
When you get to Tom’s the first thing that happens is that people begin to build some of the new sculptures in teams.
George Hart and Jillian Hinchliffe
Jerry Slocum lending a hand
Fibonacci Tea House Roof
Elijah with a Vi Hart Balloon sculpture
This Gathering I had the opportunity to talk with John Conway quite a bit. This was fun. He’s a brilliant man. Here are some of my favourite shots of him. He had his son Gareth with him. Also, Siobhan Roberts accompanied him as she is currently writing his biography.
Gareth and John Conway
Siobhan Roberts and John Conway sitting at Tom's Koi pond
G4G9 participants are so talented! One of my favourite memories is from an impromtu singing jam. Adam Brooks who I met for the first time this year is a very talented musician and singer. Next thing I knew, we were all gathered around the piano singing any and all songs we could think of. Myself, Adam, Colin Wright, Chris Morgan, Gary Foshee, Vi Hart, Erik Demaine, Paul Ottaway, Nicholas Cravotta, Jillian Hinchliffe and others were belting out tunes until around 2 am. So much fun!
Adam, Colin, Me, Nicholas, Matthew, Vi, Chris, Paul
I will have to give Martin (Gardner) my blog address so he can read all about it. When I visit him I will bring him photos as well as many cards that I collected during the Gathering of peoples best wishes. I did this also from the last Gathering and he was so touched. He has treasured the album. Mainly I want him to know how much he inspires people. He is ever so humble when he is given accolades however he deserves every one. We love you Martin!
It’s hard to believe that’s it’s been a month since the Gathering. I have so much to write about my incredible trip to California that I just got back from but want to finish my posting on G4G9 first, two more should do it!
First, I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting Neil Bickford. Ed Pegg Jr. did a presentation where all attendees who weren’t giving presentations were invited to introduce themselves to the group. Ed had prepared a power point slide on each participant. It was a surprise to some of us that we had to go up and give the introduction. I talked about my relationship with Martin and my work with ThinkFun. Well, Neil’s name came up and up went this 13 year old. He talked about his blog called Random and some of his interests in mathematics. It was remarkable to see this very young person speak so well. Even when Neil was done and was walking off the stage, Ed himself said, “Wow I’ve read his blog and didn’t realize he was so young.” I was intrigued so I went up and introduced myself to Neil. It turns out his mom home schools him and they had gotten an invitation to G4G through Bill Gosper who they knew. Neil was a delightful young person and it turns out he had an insightful conversation with Stephen Wolfram at G4G as well. Neil has read Stephen’s A New Kind of Science(multiple times which is no small feat as it’s a 5 lb book – I know its weight because he included it as part of the exchange gift so I carried it home!) and they discussed cellular automata and other things. An amazing young man I look forward to following as he’s sure to do some incredible things.
Me and Neil Bickford
I met the father of polyominoes Solomon Golomb. I use his Polyominoes book whenever we are developing a game with polyomino pieces. I talked with him at Tom Rodgers house and he generously signed a note to Martin for me. It was fun to sit with him and Jeremiah Farrell and Ivan Moscovich over dinner and listen to them banter with each other.
Father of Polyominoes - Solomon Golomb
At Tom’s house there was a Go board set out to play. Elwyn Berlekamp was in the middle of a game when I walked by. I asked him later if he had won and he said he had. Elwyn is one of the authors of the best book on the mathematics of games called Winning Ways for your Mathematical Playsso I can imagine he’d be a difficult opponent to beat for most games!
Elwyn Berlekamp
Another author of Winning Ways was at the Gathering, Richard Guy. I first met Richard a few years ago after Martin (Gardner) had told me about the Strens Collection that Richard had brought to the University of Calgary. I was speaking at a conference at Banff and had contacted Richard prior to my trip. Richard invited me to come see the collection. So I was honoured to have a personal tour of the collection by Richard himself. This collection has over 6000 recreational mathematics books and puzzles and games including original Escher prints. Strens and Escher had been friends so many of the books also have beautiful book plates that were made by Escher.
Me and Richard Guy
I met David Singmaster once again at the Gathering. He is most famous for his solutions book he published on the Rubik’s Cube. He’s fun to talk to because he knows so much about puzzles and books. He’s someone I’d go to if I ever had any historical questsions about books or puzzles. He must have an incredible collection.
David Singmaster
Dale Seymour was again at the Gathering. He gave a presentation this year on the sculpture below he had made as well as the many math sculptures he has at his own house. His property looks like a mathematical wonderland! He had shipped this sculpture to Tom’s house and this was no small feat! When I was in the classroom I used a lot of books from Dale’s publishing company and have always respected the work he has done for mathematics education. He is a giant in my world so it is always a thrill for me to talk with him.
Dale Seymour
The first day of the Gathering I met Catherine and her husband Paul. Catherine had told me about how she had just ventured through the journey of building a Green House. They looked at the embodied energy of building a house right from harvesting the resources to living in the home. She had just given a TED Talk about her experiences.
Catherine Mohr
I met Adrian Fisher for the first time at G4G9. I have spoken to him on the phone numerous times so this was a treat to meet him face to face. Adrian is a world renowned maze designer. His presentation at the Gathering showcased the numerous newspaper puzzles, magazine articles and games he has designed using mazes. I look forward to working on a project with him one day! I also saw Kate Jones at the Gathering. Kate is a fellow IPP’er so it’s always a pleasure to see her again. We are kindred spirits when it comes to puzzles and their use for good in education. She is very passionate about puzzles and I love that. Her website Kadon Enterprises is wonderful!
Adrian Fisher and Kate Jones
There were two people I regret not making an introduction to at the Gathering this year. I listened to their talks and would have loved to have met them. The first was Stephen Wolfram. His talk was on Wolfram Alpha and he gave a similar TED talk. His Mathematica, Wolfram Alpha and A New Kind of Science are incredible. It would have been fascinating to talk with him as this is one very passionate individual. The other person I would have loved to personally have met was Pablos Holman. His talk on Hackers & Invention was fascinating. I found a similar talk he gave at another conference on ForaTV. He talked about looking at things from the eyes of a hacker. A hotel room is not simply a place to sleep but rather an opportunity to hack into the hotel network. He also talked about his work at Intellectual Ventures Lab where they look at creating futuristic inventions.
I have one more post I’d like to write about G4G9. As you know, it is the people that I love connecting with. There were some great social moments I’d like to write about next. Stay tuned…
Bill and I are both doing workshops. My hands-on workshop will show over 100 teachers how to use ThinkFun games to teach problem solving. My session will focus mainly on the games Rush Hour, Chocolate Fix and Math Dice. Bill’s session is exploring our on-line Education programs. Also, exhibiting allows us to touch base with so many teachers who will drop by our booth. It’s a very valuable experience for us and we’re all excited to be going. Being a former teacher myself, I know what it takes to be a teacher. I admire this profession so much as so many teachers put their heart and soul into their work. Its one of the toughest jobs on the planet as they nurture our most valuable little treasures.
Harry Nelson at IPP 2009
After NCTM, I will be heading to Oakland to visit with Harry and Claire Nelson. Harry Nelson is said to be “one of the world’s most prolific puzzle creators. Annually, he invents and sells a charming collection of puzzles often based on geometry, or algebra or logic.” Harry Nelson, computer programmer, mathematician and editor, graduated from Harvard College, A.B. Math, in 1953. He served two years in U.S. army and received M.A. in math from Kansas University in 1957. Harry became a computer programmer at University of California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory until retirement in 1991. He discovered, with David Slowinski, the then largest known prime number in 1978. He was the editor of the Journal of Recreational Mathematics for five years. Harry became associated with the Cray Blitz computer chess programming endeavor with Robert Hyatt. Cray Blitz won the Computer Chess World Championship in 1983 and retained the title until 1986. There are currently 20 mechanical puzzles and/or games on the U.S. market for which he has made substantial contributions including ThinkFun’s Treasure Quest.
Harry has invited me to California the past couple of years to visit him to see some puzzle and game inventions he has done. With NCTM in CA, it was perfect timing. The exciting part too is that Harry has organized a puzzle gathering. Thus I will be seeing Nick Baxter and Scott Kim there as well. There will be others but I’m not sure who yet! And Harry has also planned a visit to George Miller’s Puzzle Palace. I visited George’s place during IPP29 last year and it is beautiful. I can’t wait to see everyone and see any new inventions they might have!
A new film called Toyland premiered this week at the Sarasota Film Festival. I can’t wait to see it and hope that it will reach a theatre near me! It’s all about the invention side of the toy industry and features great inventors of some really classic games – like Slinky, Operation, Twister, Lite Brite and more! It also follows Tim Walsh as he pitches a new idea to major companies. Many of the people I met at the NY Toy Fair are friends with Tim and I’m sure that I will meet him in person this year (outside of being friends on Facebook that is!). Here is a description as featured on the Toyland website.
“Welcome to the high stakes world of the 22 billion dollar toy industry. Director Ken Sons introduces you to the inventors behind the biggest toys and games in history while following the ups and downs of game designer, Tim Walsh. From prototype to pitch, follow Walsh along his winding road to New York City’s Toy Fair, one of the largest trade shows for toys in the world. Will his toy light up the imagination of kids everywhere or never see the light of day? Welcome to Toyland!”
My favourite part of this trailer is Mike Hirtle’s laugh at the end and his quote “I love this business!”. I met Mike at the NY Toy Fair this year. I was thrilled to meet Mike as he does for Hasbro what I do for ThinkFun. He invited me to contact him anytime if I had questions. I’ve talked with him since and he’s been very helpful as I try to navigate the world of Inventor Relations. I remember at the close of our first conversation, I asked Mike if he loved his job. I asked because I feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world and I wondered if he loved it just as much. His response was the same as the video.
Toyland has been very well received at the Sarasota Film Festival. Tim told us yesterday on Facebook, “All three showings of Toyland were sold out. Last one tomorrow night is Rush Order only, which means you can get tickets at the door if you come early! Come over and play!“ There was an interesting article published Monday about Toyland’s premier called Meet the Minds Behind the Toys.
This is an incredible industry and I’m proud to be a part of it!
I’ve been reading other blogs on the Gathering 4 Gardner 9 and it is amazing what each of us takes away from this conference. Of course for me, it’s mainly the people I meet but also the things I learn. I can’t possibly write about all the people and incredible conversations I had yet here are a few more that stood out for me.
Me and Andy Liu
My world changed when I met Andy Liu in 2003 – one of those crucible moments in one’s life. Andy has mentored me and become a very dear friend. It began back when I was still teaching. I wanted to do something different at a small private school that would rival the very successful science fair. I wanted to do a “math fair” but didn’t know what that was. I started asking around in the math community. Ian VanderBurgh at the University of Waterloo (where I write one of their National Mathematics Contests) informed me about two professors from the University of Alberta who were doing math fairs. So I contacted Andy Liu and Ted Lewis who told me about their initiative called SNAP Math Fairs. Here students create projects based on recreational mathematics and puzzles. Sounded perfect to me so I jumped in. My first math fair was so rewarding for my school community that I was hooked. I became increasingly more involved and started speaking at conferences about SNAP Math Fairs. This is how I met Bill Ritchie as he was also involved in SNAP. I’ve now done presentations all over the world including Australia and at the International Congress of Mathematics Education (ICME) held in Mexico, 2008. Andy has supported me every step of the way. He is a world-renowned mathematician who travels the world bringing mathematics to everyone he meets. In the Edmonton area, if a math prodigy is discovered, the education community brings that student to Andy. To know Andy is to also know how much he loves working with kids and how much he loves puzzles. Personally, he was the person who introduced me to the world of IPP (International Puzzle Party), Martin Gardner, the Gathering, and the inner circles of ThinkFun. One of my fondest memories of Andy was when he came to my hometown and went into my children’s school to do cool math stuff. He has been so good to me.
Me and Jerry Slocum
Jerry Slocum has done more for the world of puzzles than anyone else. He is an avid puzzle collector, historian and author. I remember in 2006 talking to Andy about wanting to attend IPP. Andy had told me so many cool stories and shown me so many cool puzzles from his IPP adventures that I really wanted to see it for myself. Andy told me that one needs 500 puzzles in their collection to apply for an invitation. So I catalogued my collection and applied. I didn’t really believe I’d get accepted with my first application but thought I’d give it a try anyway. To my delight, Jerry sent me an acceptance email. My first IPP was in Boston in 2006 which included a post-trip to Indiana University where Jerry opened his puzzle collection at the Lilly Library. Jerry owns over 30 000 puzzles and has an additional house where his puzzles are stored. You can see a 3D tour of his collection. Jerry has donated his entire collection to the Lilly where it is accessible to all. So I was honored to see the grand opening of the beginning of Jerry’s collection at the Lilly. Since that time I’ve come to know Jerry and his wonderful family. Jerry seems to publish puzzle books every year as he is the foremost expert is everything puzzles. At work, if I ever have any puzzle questions, I just ask Jerry.
Me and Clifford Pickover with "The Math Book"
I met Clifford Pickover for the first time this year. I met him first at the New York Puzzle Party (NYPP) and then again at G4G9. I’ve collected his books for a while. When I was visiting Martin (Gardner) in December, he showed me Cliff’s new book called The Math Book. I fell in love with it instantly and went out and bought it during my visit in Oklahoma. The book describes and beautifully illustrates mathematical milestones beginning from 150 Million B.C. It was a pleasure to meet Cliff and to find out he’s a really, really nice guy.
Sandro Del-Prete and his Love Poem of the Dolphins
Do you love optical illusions? If you do, you probably have seen some of Sandro Del-Prete’s work. His work is both beautiful and mind blowing. In my photo you can see my signed copy of his Love Poem of the Dolphins. Follow his link and you can see this work up close. Can you see the dolphins? I couldn’t at first but they are there. They say that really young children who are shown this picture will only see the dolphins. But anyone over the age of about 8 will likely see the entwined nude couple. I asked my two older kids and they didn’t see the dolphins. My youngest who is 8 said he saw both. Sandro did a talk about his illusions at G4G9. He was also selling his book Master of Illusionsbut they sold out before I could get one.
Me and Al Seckel
Another great mind regarding optical illusions is Al Seckel. Al did a very thought provoking talk called the Nature of Belief and it was one of the talks I most enjoyed. He really has an incredible way at looking at how we perceive things. I have many of his illusion books and one of my favourites is Masters of Deception. You can also see Al’s TED Talk.
Me inside Jerry Andrus' box
One illusionist I never had the pleasure of meeting was Jerry Andrus. But during G4G9, Gary Foshee constructed at one of the events (Tom Rodger’s outdoor party) a Jerry Andrus box. You can see a photo of me inside it. Jerry Andrus also worked with Bill Ritchie on the G4G Dragon as part of the gift exchange at an earlier Gathering.
It’s hard to believe that the G4G is only five days long (four if you don’t count registration day). There are lectures during the day and social events at night. Tom Rodgers and all the other organizers deserve a lot of credit for making this happen. It’s a bi-annual highlight for many of us.
THINKFUN LAUNCHES UNIVERSAL RUSH HOUR APP FOR IPADTM
Renowned game and puzzle manufacturer, ThinkFun Inc., is proud to announce the release of Rush Hour for the new Apple iPadTM. Rush Hour for iPad is the latest addition to the suite of Rush Hour apps available across a wide range of mobile platforms. The new iPad app is designed to take advantage of iPad’s larger screen and Multi-Touch user interface to enhance the play experience. The universal app costs $2.99 while existing Rush Hour for iPhone and iPod touch customers will receive free upgrades.
“It’s fitting for Rush Hour to be one of the first apps launched on the iPad,” said Bill Ritchie, CEO and Co-Founder of ThinkFun. “Rush Hour is the original sliding block logic puzzle, and it is the granddaddy of all the ‘beginner to expert’ logic puzzles now on the market. The iPad is a genuine game changer, and we are thrilled to again be at the beginning of a new era in game playing.”
The Rush Hour iPhone App has received rave customer reviews on iTunes for its clever challenges and intuitive navigation. For the iPad, ThinkFun has completely rebuilt the game graphics to take advantage of the iPad’s innovative Multi-Touch interface and large screen.
Rush Hour for iPad is packed with features, such as:
The free application has 35 original challenges and the $2.99 full version has 2500 Challenges — Challenges ranging from EASY to EXPERT will entertain novice players as well as test advance players with super-hard expert levels.
Perfect Score — Rush Hour tracks the distance that players move to get out of the traffic jams and compares it to the shortest path possible. You win when you get the Red Car out the Exit Gate… but you can’t claim challenge mastery until you tally a perfect score.
Hint Button – If you feel a little lost and want a nudge in the right direction, you’ll find a HINT button ready for you to press. Again and again, if you want.
Solve Button — No matter where they are in their challenge, the solve button will show players how to solve it, and then put them back where they left off so players can learn and complete the challenge themselves.
Multi-language – In addition to English, Rush Hour is now available in German, Spanish and French.
“Rush Hour is a game that should be in every home, on every cell phone and on every computer,” says Liz Deakin, Director of Marketing and Sales at ThinkFun. “With digital distribution being the platform of the future, it was a company priority for ThinkFun to quickly introduce the universal Rush Hour application to the iPad market.”
The story of Rush Hour began almost 15 years ago when famed Japanese inventor Nob Yoshigahara traveled to America to present his Tokyo Parking Lot puzzle to ThinkFun. While the company’s game designers created the Beginner to Expert system and added the Tail Finned Red Escape Car and the Rush Hour name, Nob and his collaborators supplied the Rush Hour challenges. The creative alliance lasted until Yoshigahara’s death in 2004.
Rush Hour is one of the most successful puzzle games in history, having won Games Magazine Puzzle of the Year, a Mensa Select Award, Consumer Reports Top Game, and a Top 25 Toys of the Past 25 Years by Parents Choice Foundation as well as numerous international awards. More than 5 million Rush Hour games have been sold since 1996.
Rush Hour has had an influence on popular culture as well. Jerry Seinfeld used the Rush Hour vehicle color palette as the background colors for Bee Movie, released in 2007.
“Rush Hour was late to the mobile app market, and we knew we needed to do something special to make an impact”, said Ritchie. The company contracted with a master computer programmer to reimagine how to generate the puzzle challenges, developing a system that was able to create literally tens of thousands of fresh, new Rush Hour challenges, and to rate them by difficulty and other measures. “Bringing that program up to speed was like discovering a gold mine, it brought a whole new dimension of play to what was already the world’s most fun puzzle!”
So is having Rush Hour available at the launch of the iPad a pinnacle of success for this venerable puzzle game? “Not at all”, says Deakin. “We are now working on a Multi-Player version of Rush Hour, slated for release this Summer, where players will compete for fastest times over the internet. We are developing an online version of Rush Hour to help teach thinking skills as part of a disciplined program for families and schools. For us, the Apple iPad release doesn’t represent an end, it’s more like a new beginning. We are very excited!”
