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Mechanical Puzzles

/Mechanical Puzzles

Andrew Rhoda

E:  arhoda @ indiana . edu
P:  (812) 855-3162

White tangram tiles on a black background

The Jerry Slocum Collection of mechanical puzzles embodies a lifetime pursuit of the intriguing and the perplexing. The result is the largest assemblage of its kind in the world, with over 30,000 puzzles and 4,000 puzzle related books. Unlike word or jigsaw puzzles, mechanical puzzles are hand-held objects that must be manipulated to achieve a specific goal. Popular examples include the Rubik's cube and tangrams. The puzzles in the collection represent centuries of mathematical, social, and recreational history from across five continents.

About 400 puzzles from the larger collection are on display at the Lilly Library in the Slocum Puzzle Room. 

Photograph of the cover of The Popular 15 Puzzle (England, circa 1900)

Jerry Slocum Mechanical Puzzle Collection

Search or browse descriptions and photographs of 30,000+ puzzles

Learn more
Cover, A World of Puzzles

A World of Puzzles

A short book featuring highlights from the collection.

View the digitized book
Picture of a texture cube, 1982

Jerry Slocum papers

Description of the papers of Jerry Slocum and the Slocum Puzzle Foundation, including testimony from the Rubik's Cube patent infringement suit.

View the finding aid

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