Big Ben

London Calling

Today I am thinking fondly of my friends across the pond for a double dose of British themed entertainment.  One of the best sequential discovery puzzles, and certainly one of my personal favorites, is the Big Ben puzzle.  This beautiful piece of woodworking sculpture, created for the 2014 International Puzzle Party held in London, was designed by John Moores, Junichi “Juno” Yananose & Brian Young (Mr. Puzzle!) and produced by Brian and Juno.  Brian Young, who has run the successful Mr. Puzzle shop in Queensland Australia for decades, is also well known for his wonderful limited edition puzzles which he invents and produces. Participants in the annual International Puzzle Party often contact Brian for help in creating a puzzle they can “exchange” with others at one of the main events during these gatherings. The Big Ben puzzle was one such creation, but the story is more poignant than most. Big Ben was commissioned by collector John Moores, who knew he wanted a complex and multisequence puzzle in the shape of Big Ben, as the event was to be held in his home town of London. Brian pondered a few ideas and was given free reign to incorporate all manner of complexity. John wanted it to be a lasting gift and legacy to the puzzle world. Big Ben was entered into the 2015 International Puzzle Design Competition the following year, where it won the judges hearts and, posthumously for John, won the Jury Grand Prize.

If you are at all a fan of London the sculpture of the clock tower itself would be worth owning due to its beautiful construction and lovely attention to detail.  These could easily sell out at any gift shop in Westminster.  Handcrafted from Papua New Guinean Rosewood, Western Australian Jarrah and Queensland Silver Ash, with brass elements, they are truly works of art.  But of course this sculpture is so much more.  Initial exploration of the puzzle reveals a very solid structure, very little wiggling of the 4 clock faces, and a bit of rattling deep inside somewhere.  The ostensible challenge here is to find and liberate “Big Ben”, which is of course the great bell at the top of the clock tower.  In this case it’s more of an itty bitty bell, but no less satisfying once you find it.  There are a few tricks to solve at the start of the puzzle, and eventually you will find yourself navigating the cobbled streets of London, metaphorically speaking.  The puzzle can be classified in a few different ways, including a ‘take apart’ puzzle, a ‘progressive movement’ puzzle, and a ‘sequential discovery’ puzzle.  This is one of the reasons why it is such a great puzzle, with so many fun to solve steps and puzzle types layered in one.  Along the way you will discover “Queen Elizabeth’s Crown”, as an incentive to soldier on.  The puzzle keeps going, and just when you think you may have solved it, it presents a few more challenges.  I love this puzzle because of the brilliant design and mechanisms which incorporate each element into the solution.  Most sequential discovery puzzles involve using a part of the puzzle which has been removed previously in order to open up a different part.  Like finding a screwdriver which fits that screw you noticed on the bottom.  This puzzle takes it to a whole new level.  Without giving too much away, you will have to be very creative with elements found in the puzzle and not overlook any ideas.  It’s remarkably well thought out.  Add to that how stunning it looks, even as it comes apart, for a truly impressive, fun and satisfying puzzle.

The Big Ben Puzzle by John Moores and Brian Young

To compliment this uniquely special puzzle called for a very special drink as well.  Something particularly British, naturally, but perhaps with a progressive movement or sequential discovery element as well?  How in the world would we accomplish that with a cocktail?  It turns out that summer time is perfect for distinctly British cocktails and for our purpose at hand.  One of the most widely beloved of all British cocktail contributions is of course the gin and tonic (or its more pretentious reincarnation in recent cocktail bars as the “tonic and gin”).  This storied concoction has its origins in Imperial Britain, when in the early to mid 19th century quinine powder harvested from cinchona bark was being utilized to prevent malaria for citizens and soldiers stationed in India.  The bitter medicine was made more palatable by mixing it in sweetened soda water, and the invention of “tonic water” really took off when Schwepps launched their product in 1870.  It was only natural that British soldiers starting mixing their daily gin rations with their daily medical ration – quite efficient, really.  Another distinctly British summer drink is the Pimm’s Cup.  Pimm’s liqueur was also created by an Englishman around 1840 as a medicinal tonic.  The original version, “cup #1”, is also a gin based spirit.  The classic British Pimm’s cup is a mixture of Pimm’s liqueur with sparkling lemonade and lots of summer fruits and berries.  US versions often swap the lemonade for ginger ale, but you get the idea.  It’s a drink which can be as simple or complex as you like it, with these basic ingredients.  The gin and tonic and the Pimm’s cup are extremely complimentary drinks, so I created a special cocktail which starts out as one and turns into the other.  The “Big Ben” cocktail begins as a somewhat fruity gin and tonic, due to a nice ripe muddled strawberry at the bottom of the glass.  Otherwise it’s as simple as it can get, using good quality gin and your favorite tonic.  A bit of muddled cucumber doesn’t hurt either.

Pimm's and Lemonade Ice!

The ice is very unusual, however.  For this drink, you will need a little preparation, by freezing a few special ice cubes ahead of time.  For my version, I froze some ginger lemonade ice (just add some fresh ginger muddled into lemonade) and some Pimm’s lemonade ice.  Most alcohol won’t freeze very well on its own so it’s easier to dilute it a bit with something, such as more lemonade in this case.  If you would rather your gin and tonic not have strawberry to begin with, you could make strawberry lemonade ice as well.  The variations are up to you.  Add a few of these special cubes to your G+T, sit back in the summer sun, and as the ice melts, the drink becomes a Pimm’s cup.  This progressive move / sequential discovery cocktail solves itself, so you can focus on other things, like the Big Ben puzzle, or a nap in the sun.  Bottoms up!

London Calling - A gin and tonic which becomes a Pimm's Cup once melted.

London Calling

2 oz British Gin

Good quality tonic water

large ripe strawberries

Lemon ginger ice

Pimm's ice (depending on the size of your ice tray, add either 1 or 2 oz of Pimm's with lemonade for each cube.  Each drink should have ice equaling 2 oz Pimm's)

Muddle a strawberry in the bottom of a glass. Combine the gin and tonic and a squeeze of lime.  Add the special ice cubes and garnish with more fruit and mint.  Add sunshine and more tonic as the ice melts.

It's time for some Big Bens

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