The folks over at No Starch Press have sent a new book over for review. Jacob Berg’s The Great LEGO Puzzle book does just what it says on the cover: It brings 120 building challenges using just a handful of basic bricks. Is this the perfect way to while away time during the holiday season?
Let’s take a closer look.
The author is no stranger to working with LEGO bricks. Jacob Berg previously worked with the LEGO agency while FRIENDS was in development, before leading storywriting for LEGO Universe, and then doing some development work on a little TV program that would come to be known as “LEGO Masters.” He continues to work in game design and as a creative consultant.
My copy, provided by No Starch Press, has a hardcover and the book reliably stays flat, no matter where in the book I had it open. This is useful when you are trying to use both hands to manipulate a pile of bricks.
This book has five chapters, each with a different style of puzzles. The title page for each puzzle lists all of the bricks that will be required to that chapter, while each puzzle lists the specific elements required to solve it.
The specific puzzles include:
:Build a shape that shares the silouhette with the starter shape – but look out, the solution can move into 3 dimensions.
:Construct the shape that will complete a 4x4x3 cube
:Build the model that matches the shadows – both the contact points on the floor, and the shadow behind it
:Starting with two different structures, fill in the missing gaps to complete a 3x3x3 cube
:The final chapter involves solving a shape that will fill the gap in a 2×8 wall. Again, solutions will be 3 dimensional, but constructed to fit within the 2 stud deep form.
An example with a twist
It can’t be too hard, can it? Let me show you one puzzle that I think sets the tone. This relatively simple form is not so simple to build using the eight bricks on hand that you might initially surmise.
While we are setting out to create a form with this shadow using the 8 bricks at hand, it becomes apparent that we will need to do something clever with the brick arrangement to form the silhouette.
Indeed, I was able to create the appropriate shadow, but as you can see, I needed to rotate the 2×4 brick so that you were looking at it end-on to get the full shadow.
My thoughts
I was a little skeptical when I first saw this book. Upon my initial glance, I worried that the puzzles might be overly simplistic, or even uninspiring. But then I gathered up a pile of bricks and gave some of the puzzles a try. I found each puzzle I tackled to be satisfying to solve. Some were easy, others less so. Overall, I felt the challenges within each chapter were well balanced.
Some of the more challenging puzzles have clues added or two, such as we see above.
In the other challenges, partially obscured spaces are highlighted with an exclamation point. I will acknowledge at this point that I did not work through every puzzle and confirm the accuracy of the solutions.
I enjoy the mental gymnastics required when working around spatial reasoning: while I would initially set out to construct solutions in my head, it was far more satisfying to take a pile of bricks and build the physical solution.
I have no hesitation in recommending this puzzle book to anyone who loves solving 3-dimensional puzzles and has a collection of regular bricks on hand. The bricks needed are a combination of 1×1,2×1,2×3, and 2×4 bricks, as well as optional 4×4 and 3×3 plates. A quick trip to your local Pick-A-Brick should set you right if you dont have all the pieces at hand – but odds are you have pretty well all the parts you need to solve all of the puzzles in the book. Not all pieces are required for eaver puzzle, or indeed for every chapter.
If you are interested in picking up Jacob Berg’s The Great LEGO® Puzzle Book, No Starch Press have a site wide Black Friday sale from November 25 – December 2, where you can get 42% discount off all marked prices. If you miss (missed?) out, then I am excited to be able to offer the code RAMBLINGBRICK25 at the checkout. This code will give you a 25% discount between December 2 and 16, 2025.
This book was provided by No Starch Press for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
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Until Next Time,
Play Well!
