The Ball Puzzle By Charles O. Perry

The Ball Puzzle was designed by the late Charles O. Perry. I bought this puzzle a while back from Ebay. It was a used item which accounts for the less than brassy shinny surface. My Ball Puzzle is pretty well patina-ed in fact, giving it a real vintage sort of look which I like. A new one would of course be all shinny and bright when you first buy it but over time, depending on the climate you live in, would eventually tarnish. A little polish with Brasso would be all you need to get it back to its shining state. The puzzle is available at Puzzlemaster and there is also a larger plexi glass version available at a slightly lower price.

The puzzle is not large, measuring just about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. For its smallish size, is is heavy and feels hefty in the palm, due to its all brass construction. Six interlocking pieces make up the puzzle when solved. 

The puzzle is not really difficult to solve once you start prodding around to see how to take it apart. So as not to give the solution away, let's just say that once the first correct move has been made, the rest of the pieces unlock pretty easily. I would say that it is rather the assembly of the puzzle that is much harder (at least in my opinion). Even after having solved the puzzle no less  than 7 or 8 times, I still find it pretty fiddly (particularly if you have large fingers) to get the individual pieces in place and lock the puzzle together to the solved state.