Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #25

Warning! This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Hidden Treasures - Conductor."  It's a 100 piece puzzle.  The solution to the puzzle is mostly on the box - cut off because of a prior sticker.

The added challenge is finding the hidden objects listed in the enclosed booklet. 

The objects are of different colors and make the hunt super hard and much less fun. 

Further, one of the photos looks like a Geoduck, but it's likely a misprint of a spoon. We found the spoon - green head/leaf and blue suspender of the lower-left dog.

Puzzle, box, and booklet 

 Completed puzzle. 

Booklet with "geoduck."

Thanks for reading!

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #24

Warning! This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Pirate Treasure Hunt" by Roosevelt's Amazing Puzzles.  It's a 77 piece puzzle.  The solution to the puzzle is mostly on the box.

The added challenge is finding the path that takes the two boys in the upper-right corner down to the treasure in the lower-left corner.

There is also a shortlist of "Pirate Facts & Fun" included with the solution.  Other fun things the book encourages you to find are:
3 crabs
1 compass
3 lanterns
1 spider
2 pirates
1 painting of a ship
3 spider webs
5 wooden doors (swinging and broken)

The solution is to take the upper swinging doors and follow the rightmost edge of ladders and staircases to reach the treasure.

I'll plan on filling out the comment card and seeing if I get a return.

Puzzle and box. 

Full size puzzle.

UPDATE: 12.09.2019, a letter that I sent to Moran Co. at 48th Elm St. Meriden, CT  06450 was sent back with a vacant note.  I guess they are not longer in business at this addres. :-( 

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #23

Warning! This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Princess Ballerina." It's a 250 piece puzzle.  The solution to the puzzle is not on the box.

Sadly, there was no novelet story included with the puzzle. :-( It was a shrinked wrapped puzzle and all the pieces were included.  Just missed out on the quality control. 

UPDATE Dec 2019: I wrote an e-mail to the author Nancy Butcher, who sent me pictures of the booklet and included them in my edition for the next solver! 

The back of the box reads "Samanta Spengler is starring in the ballet Cinderella.  But someone is out to ruin the production ... and hurt Samanta.  Wile she be able to catch the culprit in time for opening night?"

On the plus side, I did find the bonus spider.

Completed puzzle and box. 

Completed puzzle.

Bonus spider foud! 

I am guessing that the small handprint is the clue to the solution to the mystery.  

The world may never know. 

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #22

Warning! This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Sleepless Sleepover." It's a 250 piece puzzle.  The solution to the puzzle is not on the box.

There is a novelet story included with the puzzle. 

The clues are fairly small and can be misleading.  The story overall was fun to read.

Final puzzle solution.  Courtesy of my mom.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #21

Warning! This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Five Finger Marks." It's a 200+ piece puzzle with all irregular shapes and non-interlocking pieces.  The solution to the puzzle is not on the box.

There is a small story on the back of the box.  Careful reading leads the solver to already knowing the clue in the image to focus in on. 

The non-interlocking pieces made solving this puzzle a pain, as the pieces would wiggle around.

My puzzle was also missing 2-4 pieces of the woman's black dress.  The pieces are fairly thick and should hold up well. 

Box and solved puzzle.

The story on the back of the box. 

 The final image of the solved puzzle.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #20

Warning! This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Murder By the Stars." It's a 300 piece puzzle with all irregular shapes.  The solution to the puzzle is not on the box. 

There is a small novelet with the story and the last two pages are the solution.  For the solution to the puzzle, a heated bulb or other heat source is used to singe the final page (front and back) and reveal the answer.  My copy had the back page fully readable to but only a few lines on the front page.  After a bit more singeing the rest of the story came to life! 

"Completed" puzzle and box.  The fun pieces were removed and placed to the side.  

Final image.

1st page that needed a bit of extra burning to be able to read. 

Second page. 

Close up of "fun pieces." 

THE SOLUTION

Detective Barry noted that although a book lay
open on the blood-spattered desk in the Pro-
fessor's study, it's covers were soiled by blood.
The blood could not possibly have run beneath
the covers had the book been open on the desk 
at the time of the supposed suicide.  Obviously  
it had been "planted" after commission of the
crime.
     The second, inaccuracy in the story told by 
Mrs. Montrose, who, police  learned had fired 
the shot into her husband's head and then forced
the revolver into his nerveless finger, was her
statement that the letter received by the Professor
that morning was from the Chicago astrologer.
He had not shown it to her.  According to her
own words, he had glanced at the envelope, put
it into his pocket and left the table. How could 
she have known the letter was from the astrologer?
     Bary's finding of the key on the rug outside the 
study convinced him to come had locked the 

Professor in after the killing so that the police would
break down the door.  And the bottle of ink
eradicator was used to eliminate the writing on a 
previous letter from the astrologer, which Mrs.
Montrose had found in her husband's desk, leaving
a clean sheet of paper, with the astrologer's letter-
head, and an envelope with a Chicago postmark.
Mrs. Montrose herself subsequently had typed
the supposed prediction of suicide, had sealed it
into the envelope, and had planted the letter on
the mail salver in the downstairs foyer. 
     This Barry proved by comparison of the report
he had typed on her machine and the supposed
astrologer's letter.  The top half of the letter "s"
was missing from words in both documents. 
    Mrs. Montrose, police grilling revealed, had 
conceived an infatuation for a younger man named
Howard Hamilton who, believing her wealthy,
had urged her to elope with him.  To clear the
way for marriage to Hamilton, she murdered
her husband for his estate.  Her testimony thor-
oughly exonerated Thomas. 



Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #19

Warning! This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." It's a 250 piece puzzle that hides a glow in the dark area. The solution to the puzzle part of the box. 

Once the puzzle is solved, you turn off the lights and see the glow in the dark area.

Completed puzzle and box.

The glow in the dark area.  ? the stone was dropped on the floor? 

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

ed.

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #18

Warning! This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Countdown on the Metro" 1988 edition. It's a 125 piece puzzle that is actually a two-part puzzle. First, you solve the unknown puzzle and then you figure out the correct route for the two kids to reach The Louvre (star in the crossword.)  The puzzle is made by bePuzzled.

Completed Puzzle, box, and story booklet.

The completed puzzle.

The solution to the bonus puzzle:  10 stops, 3 different colored train lines. 

Yellow for 7 stops, Blue for 1 stop, and Magenta for 2 stops. 

I would have thought that taking a shorter route and then walking would have brought back the kids to The Louve much sooner.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #16 and #17

Warning!  This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.  Actually two!

This week's puzzles are Hallmark's "Mystery Story Puzzle - Who Gets the Cake" and "Will Anna Elsa Miss the Ball?"  Both of these are 24 piece puzzles that revile the answer to the question posted on the last page of the booklet.

There is at least a third in series about Mickey Mouse, that I have still yet to try. 

They are a fun read for the kids and quick and easy puzzles to do with the kids to find out the solution.

I wrote to Hallmark to thank them for making these puzzles.  All I got back was a form letter letting me know that my letter would be passed on to the proper department.

The completed puzzles, booklets, and boxes. 

Last page of the booklet. 

Puzzle solution. 

Last page of the booklet. 

Puzzle solution.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #15 (sort of...)

Warning!  This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.  Well sort of.  I didn't really complete the puzzle, but I did solve the mystery/crossword.

This week's puzzle is "Paguzzle Crossword Two." It's a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle with a crossword twist.  The front of the box is NOT the solution to the puzzle.  The crossword is only a partial completion to the puzzle.  It was published in 1995.

The trick to this puzzle is that there are several clues that have no questions and are left blank on the paper.  The jigsaw has the questions but not the answers to those questions.  Other across and down clues have their answers spelled out. 

Sadly, the numbers for the starting boxes are NOT present for those clues that are already solved.  So it's really hard to start to place the start of words.  You have to search through each of the letters to find their location.

Once you have the answers to the blank clues, you mail in your postcard and hopefully get a button/reward for the solved mystery puzzle.  Fingers crossed that the publisher is still around at the same address since 1995.

The puzzle box.

About all that I completed of the puzzle.  Enough to realize that it would not be worth it.  

Partially completed puzzle answers. 

Paper crossword filled in. 

Copy of postcard that I filled in and mailed in this week. 

Back of pieces have this logo that can sort of help you place pieces, but who really wants to do a puzzle from the back end?!?!

Overall this would be a really hard puzzle with a minimal payoff for the crossword portion of the puzzle.  Yes, you would know the clues to the blank lines to complete the puzzle, however, I finished the crossword without these clues.  A good crossword does this for you! I didn't see the point to find out the clue that would lead to pencil in "Sean Penn" when all the down clues spelled it out for me. 

I wish the puzzle at least had the starting numbers for all the clues like a prior crossword mystery puzzle that I completed.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #14

Warning!  This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Clue Mystery Puzzle - To Kill a Dying Man." It's a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle with a story book that sets the scene.  The front of the box is NOT the solution to the puzzle.

The clue series story has your typical characters - Professor Plum, Ms. White, etc.

The story has the solution in the back of the book, but requries a red viewing lense to see the solution. If you lose the lens it's a pain pain to find a replacement.

Completed puzzle, box, and red decoder. 
Plus an extra piece! 

Full puzzle.

A highlight of noticeable hand with glasses. 

This a fake beard? 

Overcoat in the oven. 

Wig in the umbrella bin. 

I liked how the puzzle made references to "Plum" and "Mustard."

Solution page with red decoder. 

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Solution Page with red spy glass. 

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #13

Warning!  This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Highlights' Hidden Pictures." It's a 35 piece jigsaw puzzle the border showing a variety of objects that are hidden within the puzzle.  The box cover is the solution to the general puzzle.

For thos of you who have done Highlight's Hidden Pictures, it's the same concept.  The orientation of the hidden objects is the same as those found in the picture (i.e. the blue glove in found in the water spray.)

 Box and puzzle.

Close up of puzzle.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #12

Warning!  This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Search for Small Stuff." It's a 100 piece jigsaw puzzle the border showing a variety of animals that are super miniaturized somewhere in the center of the puzzle.  The box cover is the solution to the general puzzle.

The puzzle also comes with a booklet telling you a little about the animals.  It's supposed to come with a small magnifying glass.  Our puzzle is missing the magnifying glass.

Each border animal comes with a pair.  There is the flying bat and the rested upsidedown bat, etc.

Most of the miniature animals are close by to the larger/obvious animals in the main part of the puzzle.

This puzzle with completed during our anniversary of the Puget Sound Correspondence Society meeting at Constellation and Co.

Completed puzzle and box (small child's head in the way.)

Completed puzzle and booklet.  As an example of a miniature picture: there is a small rhino on top of the elephant's right ear. 

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #11

Warning!  This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" jigsaw puzzle. It's a 300 piece puzzle that comes with a crime clue book.

Yes, you are chasing the most classic Carmen Sandiego's Henchmen from V.I.L.E. (Villain's International League of Evil) after they have stolen the worlds' most unique natural treasures.

After putting together the puzzle of the world.  The front cover of the box is the solution to the puzzle.  Asia goes where you think Asia should go.  There are close-ups of the artic region and Antarctica.

Following and reading along in the crime book you realize that certain letters of countries; areas of the ocean; or native animal names are bolded.  You take these bolded letters in order and form the names of the items that were stollen and by whom.

 Puzzle box, clue book, and completed puzzle.

 The completed puzzle. 

Clue book for chasing down V.I.L.E. Henchmen.  

Example of bolded letters and Vic, the Slick is hiding in New Orleans. 

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex

Mystery Puzzle SPOILER #10

Warning!  This post contains spoilers to a mystery puzzle.

This week's puzzle is "Crossword Jigsaw" 2017 edition.  It's a 550 piece puzzle that is actually a two-part puzzle.  First, you solve an actual crossword and then you put together the jigsaw puzzle of what you just solved.  The puzzle is made by Babalu Inc.

The puzzle box comes with 1 large copy of the crossword but you can download others from their website (hint: the web link is on the bottom of the inside box:  http://crosswordjigsaw.com/2017.)

The crossword part of this puzzle is more fun than the actual jigsaw.

On the plus side, the font for each letter is the same. Meaning that all the "O" all look alike and the hard part is just finding which "O" fits into what area. 

I solved this puzzle with my mom while she was visiting.  We solved this puzzle by dividing the pieces among three groupings:  Edge pieces, Crossword clue pieces, and "number" in the crossword to show the start of each clue word.

There are really only two or three all-white pieces close to the clue side, between the Across and Down lists.  The black pieces were placed last, as they could only be placed based on the shape and minor area of white that were cut off.

Box and completed puzzle. 

Completed Puzzle

Clues don't quite line up as on the pdf print out.  See how #44D has no 2nd line on the completed puzzle but it does have an extra line on the pdf sheet. 

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Alex