The History of Triazzle

The Birth of a Puzzle Legacy

In the late 1980's Dan Gilbert was asked to create a puzzle for the poison arrow frog exhibit at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Inspired by existing square matching puzzles, he chose instead to use triangles and added a frame into which the pieces would nest and match. This allowed for a larger, illustrated canvass and also made the game portable. The puzzle would be illustrative and eye-catching. A cleverly deceptive formula allowed the puzzle to be nearly completed in numerous configurations but would have only one solution. The Aquarium did not publish the puzzle and it was shown to several retailers who declined. Then, in 1991 Dan met with the DaMert Company, a small toy and gift company in Hayward California. Triazzle was the type of product they were looking to add to their line. Over the next decade Triazzle sold over 5 million copies.


Awards


Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products
1998, 1997

The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio - Gold Seal Selection for Excellence
1991

Dr. Toy's 100 Best Vacation Products
1997

Parent's Choice Awards
1995, 1992

National Parenting Center - Seal of Approval
1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993

iLounge Top 100 Best iPhone Games
2009



View More Images

“My nine-year old son Henry and I were given a Triazzle puzzle as a present and we were instantly hooked as soon as we took it out of the box. As we were attempting to solve it, others came by and joined the fun. The puzzle is like a sudoku, but with beautiful images instead of numbers. It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon without screens and work out one's mental muscles without it being at all "mathy." My son tried various ways to solve the puzzle and was fully engaged for more than an hour. We discussed strategy and worked off each other's ideas until finally...in an act of inspiration, tore it all up, started again and solved it. It is an extremely rewarding and fun game and subversively educational, but don't tell your kids that. We have already given several Triazzles out to Henry's friends and plan to have a Triazzle marathon on the next rainy day!”

— Brandon and Henry