Hard As Nails

Selling boxes of nails online is not something we ever envisioned ourselves doing. After all, DIY is rubbish, innit? But believe us, these particular nails are infinitely more entertaining than the ones builders use to bodge things with. That's because they've been ingeniously fashioned into a series of phenomenally infuriating puzzles.

The 5-in-1 Nail Puzzle Box Set is exactly that - a box containing five nail-based brain-teasers. They may look easy, but we reckon putting toothpaste back in the tube wearing boxing gloves is easier than solving these pesky little devils. The first puzzle is known as the Nail Biter. Based on a classic bent nails puzzle, this diabolically devious brain tormentor has been flummoxing puzzlers for centuries with its infuriating mix of difficulty and simplicity, and this version has an added twist to make it doubly difficult to solve.



Slighter more taxing is Nail Jail, a tangle of slender steel that even the most seasoned puzzler will struggle with. We're still having problems with it and we've read the solution! You might think the next cunning puzzle, S Nail, looks a bit easier, but separating the two nails is only part one. The real fun really starts when you have to get them back together again.



The most difficult of the four disentanglement puzzles is Last Nail in the Coffin, as two brain-twisting manoeuvres are required to separate and then reattach the nails. If you manage to solve this one without the use of a hacksaw and a welding kit you're ready to face the mighty Bed of Nails. This is the ultimate nail puzzle but you don't need to disentangle anything (except your fist from your mouth, as you'll be chewing it in frustration). All you have to do is balance all the silver nails on the head of the coloured nail. Yes, really!

The 5-in-1 Nail Puzzle Box Set is a brilliantly vindictive gift for self-anointed brainboxes as the puzzles look deceptively easy. It's also perfect for impressing onlookers down your local because each puzzle is tiny. Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!