1. My bro-in-law's parents have this smallish (fits in my palm) thin
square plastic encased labyrinth (maze) puzzle with a biggish real
mercury drop in it. The objective of the game being manuevering the
entire drop (and believe me it breaks into sub-droplets very easily)
into the center tiny open-side square of the maze by a skilled process
of tilting and tilting and more tilting. The parents are in their
mid-sixties now and this game was probably available at least 40 years
ago (or maybe less? When was mercury deemed harmful - probably in the
40s or 50s?)

I have asked various people about it including obscure web-sites that
specialize in only antique games; some recognized Association of
Antique Games Community; allexperts.com; ioffer.com, the KCLS experts
here in town and others. The question has made its rounds either with
no responses or promises of getting back to me soon or no knowledge of
the game.

Can YOU find me this game for purchase? I know mercury is illegal is
such form these days so I don't even know if I can legally buy it or
not so that would probably be the first question. But maybe if it is
securely encased and thus legally allowed? I don't really know.
Needless to add - I would be willing to buy it used if in a decent,
safe condition.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Recently I watched John F. Nash's (the Nobel Laurette
Mathematician) biographical documentary on PBS and he talked about a
strategy board game he invented in his first year as a student at
Princeton which came to be known simply as "Nash" by his colleagues
and fellow-students. I hear it is almost identical to another game
called "Hex" which I think was invented by a Dutchman if I'm not
mistaken. I am looking to buy NASH if available anywhere? Even second
hand but in great condition is acceptable; of course the price has to
be reasonable. I will admit that I haven't done extensive research
personally on this one so it just might be a sitting duck! there is a
one-line blurb about the game in one of the John Nash sites listed in
Yahoo under Mathematicians.

Thank you for your future efforts at finding these for me please!

Cheers,

Wayrad.

---

Clarification of Question by wayrad-ga on 25 Jun 2002 21:50 PDT

What happened to the other two people who had posted replies to my
question? I wanted to return to that web-site suggested by one of them
which has an indexed list of all types of antique games - I am
interested in going back to that site - I saw a re-published book
being sold that was first written by an antique game collector over a
century ago. This was a British site and I really wanna go back to it
PLEASE!

Also another person had replied saying they had an almost identical
mercury puzzle game and offered to send me a picture of it. Would you
please provide me more information on that?

It is strange that answers are disappearing on me - boy - how can this
be reliable if answers don't stick around? Was it removed coz there
was an e-mail address in that reply?

This is a tangent rather than directly helpful; I used to have a
version of the mercury puzzle, in which the maze is formed from the
bodies of snakes, and you have to divide the mercury into four parts
by impaling it on the pointy snakes' tongues and then channel the four
bits to four different holes. It was new in about 1978, and I remember
it as being made by Loncraine Broxton (it's certainly similar to
several of their puzzles). It's a circular sealed puzzle, about six
inches across, with a black base and snake designs in silver.

Another, much older, mercury puzzle can be seen at 

http://www.nemmelgebmurr.com/vintage/bowling.html

I notice that the puzzle museum includes 'mercury manipulation' in its
classification of puzzle genres at

http://www.puzzlemuseum.com/class/pzcla99b.htm

though there doesn't seem to be anthing more about it.

Gosh, I feel quite nostalgic for the lost pleasures of youth now.

The site with the indexed list of puzzles and mechanical games is

The Puzzle Museum
http://www.puzzlemuseum.com

It is this site that is publishing a centenary edition of a Victorian
book on mechanical puzzles, Hoffmann's Puzzles Old and New.

Hoffmann's Puzzles Old & New
http://www.puzzlemuseum.com/swap/swaps.htm

I know I've seen one of the "mercury maze" games for sale (new) within
the last decade or so.  Unfortunately, I don't remember where I saw
it, but I remember being surprised that it was still legal.

BTW, the main concern with products like this is often not direct
exposure of the person playing the game, but what happens when the
game is thrown away.

You could probably find a version of Nash or Hex at "The Games People
Play" in Cambridge, MA. I think it's on Mass. Avenue, though I am not
sure of the address. If they don't sell or can't order a board game,
it doesn't exist, pretty much.

Wayard,

   I can't answer your first question, as it appears that such toys
are no longer being manufactured.  Your best bet would seem to be
garage sales and the like.

   As for the second half of your question, Hex IS "Nash".  Piet Hein
(who also created the popular Soma) invented the same game
independently in 1942.  Nash invented it in 1948.  Are you interested
in purchasing an actual boxed version of the game, (which I don't know
that Nash ever produced) or will any version do?  It is one of the
games featured in "The Book of Classic Board Games" (Klutz Press,
1991).  The book written by Sid Sackson, games collector
extraordinaire, along with Martin Gardner, who had featured the game
"Hex" in one of his "Mathematical Games" columns in Scientific
American columns, and R. Wayne Schmittberger of Games Magazine). 
According to the book, "Hex is a mordern game invented in the 1940's
by a Princeton graduate student".  In other words, Nash.  You can
purchase the book at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0932592945/qid=1039198922/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-0178611-9042475?v=glance&s=books

   The Scientific American column is reprinted in "The Scientific
American Book of Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions", later reissued
as  "Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions:  The First
Scientific American Book of Puzzles and Games"

   And if you simply want to print out a board for yourself to play,
may I suggest http://www.cox-tv.com/games/rules/hex.html ?  You can
play online at http://www.playsite.com/   More links can be found at
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~javhar/hex/hexlinks.html . Also, more links
can be found at Google Directory's own 
http://directory.google.com/Top/Games/Board_Games/Abstract/Connection_Games/Hex/

   Hope this helps with at least one part of your question.

    turnip-ga

Are you still looking for this? I have two and was wondering how much
they are worth?