Why Staves stand out Stave Puzzles are revered for their innovative puzzle designs, masterful cutting and an amazing eye to detail. Over the years Stave has introduced many new puzzle types to the wood puzzle community such as Teasers, Tricks and Tormentors that are beloved by myriad puzzlers. However, when it comes to the cream of the crop for Stave, look no further than Stave Limited Edition (LE) puzzles. Across decades, Stave has created LEs in all sizes, shapes and themes: 3D double-decker puzzles, mystery story and riddles to what seems like impossible to solve tricks – there really is something for everyone.
The meaning of “Limited Edition”
Beyond their “above and beyond” puzzle designs, LEs are different in significant way: as the name implies, there is only a set number that are produced for one design, and when they sell out, they are gone for good. We don’t have an exact count of how many different LE titles have been issued over the last 45 years or so, but it is under 100. Of those, there are a fair number of of puzzles that have sold out from our research, including one of our personal favorites, “Treasure Island”. So, you will need to keep your eye on the secondary market if there is a specific title you are looking for that is no longer available directly from Stave.
A Short History of Stave Limited Editions
1. The one that started it all… Stave began in 1974, however, the first Limited Edition puzzle wasn’t released until the late 70’s which was artwork commissioned by Stave from artist James Schubert called “Winter Fantasy”. (We think this also may be the first commissioned piece of art for a puzzle by Stave, but we aren’t 100% sure about that.) The puzzle was hand-painted so no 2 copies were exactly the same. A huge undertaking versus printing the image, after Stave introduced this first LE the floodgates were open and an amazing selection of LEs were created over the years.
“Winter Fantasy” & 1979 Stave Catalog page
2. Next up…Dollhouse Village With a close tie in to Winter Fantasy, Stave next released a series of five gorgeous hand-painted puzzles collectively called the Dollhouse Village Set. The 5 puzzles included; “Lacey’s Inn”, “Purkey’s Livery Stable”, “Pleasant Bluffs Shoppes”, “Pleasant Bluffs Park”, “Tristram Coffin Mansion”. Along with the set came a booklet that told the entire story of the fictional town of Pleasant Bluffs, MA. Rich in image details and brightly painted colors the entire set has been long sold out.
Dollhouse Village Set, booklet & 1980 Catalog page
3. Let the LEs roll (the 1980s)… Through the ’80s, Stave accelerated the releases of LE puzzles. As they began their puzzle innovation with what have come to be known as Teasers and Tricks, LEs designed with many of the same style of tricky solutions were added to Stave’s catalog. We have come across quite a number of LEs from the 1980s, some are Traditional Puzzles and others are Tricks. A few standouts from this era include; “Clowder of Cats” (delightfully clever), “Hearts and Flowers” (quite hard) and “4th of July”. Worth a special mention is a series of 4 puzzles that were first released in the early ’80s and marries brilliant combination of outstanding cutting and exquisite artwork; “All Creatures Great and Small”, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, “All Things Wise and Wonderful” and “Lord God Made Them All”.
“Clowder of Cats”, “July 4, 1987” and “All Things Wise and Wonderful”
4. The next generation… As Stave continued to push the definition of a puzzle, LEs were no exception. Well known puzzle designer Andrea Farnham contributed a number of celebrated Stave LE titles over the years (including the forementioned “Treasure Island”) that are still sought after by collectors today. These designs, along with some other visionary designs from just as talented artists such as Jennifer Brown, Molly Delaney and Candy Thun, ushered in an era of wood puzzles that way beyond just fitting wooden pieces together.
Some puzzles required you to following along in a companion book to solve a mystery, complete riddles or even use your knowledge of historic events to manipulate a puzzle called “Time Traveler”. Other puzzles introduced 3D castles such as “Knight at Stavely Castle” or derived inspriation from beloved stories such as “The Sword in the Stone” and “Snow White” there’s even a circus themed puzzle with some great puzzles within the puzzle to solve. There is seemingly no bounds to the creative designs that Stave was (and still is!) creating for puzzle enthusiasts.
“Sword in the Stone”, “Time Traveler”, “Hexed”, “Pentagon”, “Twain Foolery”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Treasure Island”
Note that for many of the puzzles with trick solutions we do not show the whole puzzle in the pictures so to keep it a surprise.