Top 5 Brain Teaser Puzzles of 2020
PuzzleOwl's top 5 overall best puzzles picked in 2020, with over 60 puzzles considered.
Updated November 2020
For a puzzle to be excellent, it has to be both challenging and fun. This principle is at the core of my philosophy for choosing great puzzles. A really great puzzle presents a monumental challenge while still being incredibly fun to solve. Figuring out something really complex, while staying engaged and enjoying the process, is one of the most satisfying experiences you can have. It's this feeling of accomplishment and discovery that defines and separates puzzles from other forms of entertainment.
Fun: 
Portability: 
Value: (35 Hrs+)
Difficulty Progression:
Good for Kids? (11+ Best) 
A delightful new puzzle with a concept inspired by origami folding. For each of the 100 puzzles, the goal is to figure out how to fold it to put the picture back together.
This game is exceptionally well-designed. The puzzles start easy, but ramp up quickly. Each subsequent puzzle has something new or more complex than the preceding ones, so it doesn't get boring or hit a plateau.
If you like this game, also check out Manifold, another great set of folding puzzles (but without pictures).
What Stands Out
Great difficulty progression: you're able to dive right in with no previous paper-folding experience, learn new folding techniques as you go along, and be consistently challenged as you work through all 100 puzzles. By the end, the puzzles get amazingly elegant and complex and very satisfying to fold.
Deep Sensory Engagement: First, it's something that you're manipulating with your hands; so you're folding, turning, tucking, pinching one corner while simultaneously creasing another. At the same time, you're incredibly zoned-in visually because you have to continuously pay attention to how the paper looks after every fold that you make. It's a precise yet tactile activity, which is a fairly unique combination. It leads to a full mind-meld as your hands and mind work in concert towards the solution.
Great Quality: Vibrant colors and high-quality printing. The paper is especially thin but also extra durable, which makes it perfect for folding. This allows you to try out many folds before getting to the solution.
Nice Balance: These puzzles get really challenging, but they're also super satisfying to complete. Solving the puzzles involves a fair amount of both experimentation and strategic thinking, which makes them really fun.
Drawbacks
- Each puzzle is single use, because once you've folded it the creases are obvious.
- The packaging is nothing fancy, the booklet comes wrapped in clear plastic.
- You have to fold the puzzles pretty carefully if you want the pictures to look good.
- There's no solution key. Not a big deal, but some people might care for it.
Bottom Line
Foldology is an awesome, gripping puzzle that brings great value in 35+ hours of playing time. It definitely builds up to a high level of challenge, but that's balanced out nicely by the satisfaction you get solving it, and working your way up the stack into the really elegant puzzles at the end.
Another nice thing is that you can get a single copy of Foldology, but then share the puzzles with your loved ones and friends. It's really a lot of bang for your buck. This would make a great gift for anyone into origami, anyone into puzzles, even someone who just wants a mindfulness-inducing activity for a part of their day.
See My Full Review of Foldology
Fun:
Portability:
Value: (2 Hrs+) 
Difficulty Progression:
Good for Kids? (13+ Best) 
The Hanayama Cast puzzles are a long-standing series of disentanglement puzzles with a stellar reputation. Simply put, they are truly remarkable puzzles in terms of engineering, design, and quality. It was a really tough call between this classic and Foldology for the top spot.
Each puzzle has the same basic setup: There are a few pieces of solid metal that are creatively shaped and intertwined. The goal is to take them apart.
There are four individual puzzles in the picture to the right, but the two I'd recommend the most are Spiral (top-left) and Engima (bottom-left). The puzzles are all sold separately, but you can find a good selection of them from BePuzzled.
Spiral (Level 5): (top-left)
This is a really elegant one: 5 pieces of metal intertwined in a solid circle. It's less than 2 inches in diameter all-together, but it weighs 6 ounces so it's got some nice heft to it. The 5 pieces fit together sort of like a jigsaw. There are no hidden pieces or mechanism, and the pieces all move freely so you can see exactly what's going on. It seems hard to believe at first that they could actually come apart, but they do. It's very satisfying to complete, and almost as satisfying to get it back together. This one feels a bit easier than it's level 5 rating, I'd put it at level 4.
Enigma (Level 6): (bottom-left)
This one is the king! The hardest one of the 15 Hanayamas that I've done, and my personal favorite. About 4 inches across when clumped together. It is 3 metal pieces but they don't come together as a cohesive object, instead they are bent and intertwined and moving freely, albeit of course constraining each other. This is another one with the benefit that you can see everything fully from the start. Solving it has several steps, twists, and turns and it's an awesome journey.
What Stands Out
Intuitive and Exciting Concept: As soon as you see a Hanayama puzzle, you understand right away what it's about. When you hold it in your hands and start moving it around, it's like it's beckoning you to take it apart. Most people that I've seen interact with this puzzle can't resist giving it a try, and then get hooked as it ends up not being as easy as they thought!
Top-Notch Quality and Design: Each individual puzzle design is brilliant. There's always something creative going on, and I found myself amazed by each one that I've solved once I understand how it works. The designs are enabled by high-quality manufacturing. Each puzzle is made out of solid metal that is shaped to very fine tolerances, and this precision is what lets the puzzles actually work so well.
Elegance: There are no rules to these puzzles. They're solid metal. They don't bend. So, do whatever you want with them, but know that no force is required at all to pry the pieces apart. The simplicity and creativity of each puzzle makes you feel like you've cracked open a safe or discovered something new each time you solve one.
Drawbacks
- They're pricier: you're getting a high-quality product, but it's not as much playing time as some other puzzles
- No solutions provided. This is especially significant when putting them back together.
Bottom Line
This is a puzzle series of the highest quality. It's likely to be a hit with anyone who enjoys tinkering, problem solving, or just appreciates clever design. For someone already into puzzles, getting into these would be a no-brainer. These Hanayama Cast Puzzles have been delighting puzzlers continuously over so many years that they must be doing something right.
I recommend the Spiral for anyone starting out with these puzzles, it's really elegant and not too hard. But if you're up to the challenge, go for Enigma, it's amazing and challenging.
See My Full Review of Hanayama
Fun:
Portability: 
Value: (15 Hrs+)
Difficulty Progression:
Good for Kids? (8 - 16 Best)
This is a game that is equal parts a puzzle, toy, and board game. You use the board and game pieces to complete the 60 challenges. To do that, you build a maze that a marble can roll through from point A to point B, using the specific setup of each challenge card. This is an awesome activity for families to do together.
The big, vibrant pieces make for just really enjoyable play. This game has some drawbacks in terms of quality, but they're outweighed by how much you're getting overall. It's the most kid-friendly game out of the top picks, but adults will enjoy it too.
What Stands Out
Unique And Intuitive Concept: It's taking the concept of a marble run (an awesome kids' toy) and turning it into a puzzle. There's something really cool about actually using the force of gravity in the puzzle. It feels like you're doing a science experiment. What makes it intuitive is that you know that as soon as you release the marble, it going to go somewhere, so it's up to you to guide it to the right place.
Great Entertainment Value: What makes this puzzle great is that it's just a lot of fun to play. The actual game-play of moving the big towers around and constructing something, and then watching the marble run the maze is quite pleasing.
Large, Vibrant Pieces: This puzzle is large, larger than most other puzzles. This really adds to the experience because it's necessary for the marble to actually move around. The colorful pieces make it more fun to play, and it's packaged in a sturdy, colorful box that makes it an attractive gift.
Drawbacks
- The snapping mechanism for connecting pieces together isn't great. It relies on thin, plastic notches that are too rigid at first and then degrade over time, which makes the connections flimsy.
- It's hard to see the details of the tower pieces from far away. Each tower has ramps on it which guide the marble, but it's hard to make out which way each ramp is pointing because of the translucent plastic.
- There aren't enough of the harder challenges. There are 60 total, but it really feels like the game could use more hard ones.
Bottom Line
Gravity Maze has some drawbacks in terms of quality and design. Despite that, it's a solid pick for the third best puzzle of 2020. It's got a unique and intuitive concept that will appeal right away to most people. It's a lot of fun to just play with it, especially for kids and families. It could be a great introduction to puzzles for a youngster, but adults will find it fun and challenging as well.
See My Full Review of Gravity Maze
Fun:
Portability:
Value: (20 Hrs+)
Difficulty Progression:
Good for Kids? (10+ Best)
IQ Twist is in the crowded, popular category of packing puzzles, where it stands besides big names such as Kanoodle, Cat Stax, among others. It's PuzzleOwl's pick for the best puzzle from the lot of these, which lands it into 4th place overall.
Simply put, this puzzle executes well on the basic concept of the packing puzzle, with a creative twist that makes it a lot more fun. It doesn't get fancy with creative shapes (Cat Stax) or 3D challenges. In doing so, it's narrower in scope, but what it does it does really well.
The game comes with 120 challenges. For each challenge, some of the colored pegs are placed on the board. The puzzle is then to fit the remaining pieces on the board, making sure that the pegs match the color of the pieces placed on top of them.
What Stands Out
The Pegs Multiply the Fun: Compared to other puzzles in this category, IQ Twist is more interesting to solve because of how the pegs get used. The pegs introduce a different type of constraint, besides just the basic constraint of the enclosing shape. You know that a piece of that color has to be over that peg, but you don't know its orientation. This leads to more interesting logic that can be applied to try and deduce solutions, instead of just pure guess-and-check.
Good Difficulty Progression: The puzzle is interesting right away from the very first challenge. It has a nice ramp-up from there in terms of difficulty that keeps up the challenge.
Highly-Portable Case: The puzzle is self-contained as its own box, and the pieces and pegs are all fully contained within it. This makes it really easy to bring with you and solve on the go.
Drawbacks
- Even though the pegs make this a more interesting packing puzzle, most of the harder challenges still have a lot of guess-and-check work.
- The pegs don't fit perfectly into the board, sometimes being too loose or too tight.
- The game comes with some kind of sales pamphlet inside for other games from this company, which is unnecessary and can be mistaken for the instructions.
Bottom Line
IQ Twist is an improved version of the typical packing puzzle. Anyone who has previously played Kanoodle will likely welcome the additional "twist" that comes from using the pegs. It's a solid puzzle, but dues to it's nature it's not the most elegant, especially in the later challenges that mostly come down to much more experimentation rather than strategy.
Fun: 
Portability:
Value: (20 Hrs+)
Difficulty Progression:
Good for Kids? (14+ Best)
Gordian's Knot is an extremely challenging puzzle for the most serious and determined puzzlers. It is a burr puzzle, though made of plastic instead of wood as is typical. It consists of 6 rectangular pieces that are interlocked together, constraining each other. The goal is to take it fully apart.
In the beginning, only one piece can move. With each subsequent move that is made, there may be several options for the next move. In total, it takes 69 moves for it to come apart. I'll repeat again, it's a serious puzzle!
What Stands Out
The Difficulty: Originally named "Extreme Torture", this is a puzzle that will offer a high-degree of challenge to anyone. It is something that likely won't be solved in one evening, instead allowing you to come back to it over several sessions to make some head-way. The difficulty is on-par with a Rubik's Cube, though I prefer this puzzle because I find it less frustrating and more meditative. Thankfully, Gordian's Knot comes with a solution guide that details all 69 steps to take it apart, and also to reassemble it.
The Puzzle Design: It's pretty amazing that something with 6 solid pieces can take a whopping 69 precise moves to untangle. The inventor Frans de Vreugd apparently used a computer to generate the most difficult configuration for a 6-piece burr puzzle. Despite the puzzle being so difficult, it's pretty pleasing to play and make progress on it.
Drawbacks
- Not the highest quality. The plastic pieces have some visible seams, and some connections between the pieces are a bit too tight. It's not a significant fault, but compared to disentanglement puzzles such as from Hanayama, this one falls short
- Some of the pieces can be rotated, but this is actually not part of the puzzle as each piece is only meant to be moved laterally. This necessitates actually reading the instructions instead of jumping right in.
Bottom Line
Gordian's Knot is among the most challenging puzzles out there, but it's elegant too. It's a great way to torture someone if you give them this puzzle but don't tell them how hard it actually is. Regardless, people will enjoy having a go at it, and even if they don't make it all the way to the solution, they can peak at the book and follow the instructions. Solid choice, just be certain you're up to the challenge.
About This Guide
Puzzles have been a passion of mine from youth, starting from when I was first introduced to the Rubik's cube. That is a legendary puzzle that's permeated our society, but puzzles have evolved tremendously since then. Today, there are countless puzzles out there, and new ones are coming out each day it seems, it's getting hard to keep up! It's a great time to be a puzzler.
At the top of this page are just a few of my favorite puzzles, brain teasers, and logic games that are in my collection and took part in this review. Some of these puzzles I've had for quite a while and it was really nice to have a reason to dust them off for a bit of research. Many other puzzles I've bought just this year, to make sure this review is truly current for 2020. I selected just upwards of 60 puzzles to analyze as candidates for this review, and left out many others that I knew straight away wouldn't be strong contenders.
It's been a real pleasure for me to go through all of these and put together this guide. It's one thing to just play with a puzzle, and quite another to do so while consciously looking to pick out the best ones.
PuzzleOwl is my passion project, and as a guy who loves puzzles it gives me joy to write these reviews and help people find amazing puzzles that they'll love. Please support PuzzleOwl by using the links on this page if you're interested in a product, because I may earn a commission from Amazon if you buy something. It has absolutely no impact on the price you pay, and it allows me to keep this site up and running.
Selection Process
Let me start by acknowledging that there are many good puzzles out there of many different types — too many to count. That fact alone guarantees that different people are going to have different favorites. For example, I know a lot of people who love twisty puzzles above all else, while others are really into disentanglement puzzles instead.
Taking this into account, this guide was put together with an express intention of broad appeal, and avoiding the puzzles that are overly niche. I chose puzzles with simple, elegant concepts that would challenge and delight novice and veteran puzzlers alike. Just below, I'll summarize briefly what I look for in puzzles and how I evaluate them, but you can read about in more detail here. I encourage you to give this page a gander if you want to understand how the puzzles here earned their spot.
First, this guide is about puzzles, not just games, and also not just abstract stuff like riddles. More specifically, for the purposes of this guide, a puzzle has these characteristics:
- It presents a challenge to be solved. Not just a game.
- It's single-player
- It's a real, physical object
- it's challenging but also fun.
To briefly sum up what makes a great puzzle stand out, it comes down to the following:
- an elegant, intuitive concept that's exciting right away
- balance between challenge and satisfaction
- the more challenging the better, provided that it's still fun
- balance between experimenting and strategy
- good design that complements and enhances the core puzzle concept
- good quality of manufacturing and materials
- the only frustrations in the puzzle should arise from the concept, not how the puzzle was made
- value in terms of quality puzzling time for the price you might pay