Puzzle

Along with card games, board games, and puzzles, major game manufacturers in the later 19th and early 20th centuries also made dexterity games and puzzles. These differ from jigsaw puzzles and scroll puzzles. Usually they involve a measure of coordination or skill to solve. Whether spinning a top or tossing a ring to score the required points, dexterity games involve lively action and pace. Some special tiny versions involve tilting the entire game to get a ball bearing sized steel ball into the proper hole. Others utilize larger rings, balls, or discs--such as Tiddledy Winks. There are miniaturized sports, such as bowling, that fit in this category. For some reason, some few games carry racist imagery in their graphics. These are important, but frightening, historical documents. Others represent many different aspects of popular culture and history.