The hit television show Lost has started it’s third season, and while the ‘numbers’ (the magical ones calculated by Mr. Neilson on his giant abacus, not the magical ones on the show) are down this year over last year, it’s still the number one show in its time slot. And perhaps the only thing that’s always been clear about this show is that it’s truly a puzzle. An enigma wrapped in a riddle and covered in oh so tasty secret sauce.

All the more fitting then that TDC Games has brought out a set of four puzzles that tie in with the television show. Now, I myself had to ponder: how do you review a puzzle? Should it be so hard to complete that 3 Mensa members took their own lives after attempting it? Or should Earl’s brother Randy be able to handle it in a half hour? Is it all about the doing, the actual putting together of the puzzle, or is it more about the image when it’s done? And the most important question, as a guy that generally hates doing puzzles, what the Hell would I know?

I decided that I’d part from my own norm here and simply write up a rambling expose on my experience with this bad boy, and let you be the judge. So let us begin my first – and possibly last – puzzle review.

“LOST – The Hatch”

There are a total of four puzzles in this set. Each puzzle costs around $16 retail, although I have a suggestion at the end where you can get them a smidge cheaper. Each puzzle contains 1000 pieces, and are 19″ by 26″ in size. Now, the serious puzzle put-er-together-ers (what do you call them? Librarians?) will know that that ain’t much room to cram in 1000 pieces. However, it doesn’t require bending the rules of physics or a big smoke monster to make it happen – you just have to make each piece really small.

And that’s what they’ve done. The pieces are tiny, and they are all quite similar. I’m not saying they are cut identical – and yes, I’ve been stupid enough to try one of those puzzles before – but they are similar enough that you’ll have to look two, three or ten times at two you’ve put together just to be sure it’s a real fit.

I’m going to be honest. I had no real intention of finishing this puzzle. Not after I had dumped it out on the table, anyway. I looked at that massive pile of pieces and decided that a smart man could probably handle it, but a wise man would simply take a couple cute photos, spend a few writing up the basics, and call it a day. An odd thing happened though – once it was out on the table, my wife, daughter and their friends found it. And they couldn’t stop working on it.

None of them are fans, so I have to assume this is more due to it’s amusement as a puzzle than as a LOST story device. And it’s also very much the latter, if you’re a fan of the show. Each puzzle contains clues to the mysteries of the show, and each one is themed. There’s “the Others”, “The Hatch”, “The Numbers”, and “Before The Crash”. The creators of the puzzles worked closely with the writers from the show to add in clues and information that will relate directly to the show, without giving away anything that could harm your viewing experience.

As an extra added bonus, if you buy all four and manage to get them put together without losing your mind, there’s a single clue that can only be seen (or figured out) with the full set. Only three of the four puzzles are currently available, with the fourth (Before The Crash) not coming out til sometime during the third season. I suspect that’s due to the secret revealed by completing all four. Things that make you go Hmmm.

The puzzle does have some interesting and unique graphics, and these aid quite a bit in figuring out what pieces go where. I don’t have it quite finished yet, so I can’t comment on how good or bad the ‘clue’ is, but I’m working on it. Actually, my wife and her friends are working on it, and I’m just watching. Besides, you wouldn’t want me to ruin the final image for you anyway, now would you?

They’ve also added some cute nods to the show in other ways, and as an example, the item numbers for the four puzzles are 7804, 7808, 7815 and 7816. Cute, eh?

Overall – ***1/2
I’m ranking the puzzle pretty high, largely due to the enjoyment the rest of my family got out of it. I worked on it a bit myself, because puzzles are like crack – they might drive you insane, but they’re still hard to resist.

Where to Buy
Time and Space Toys has the full set of four for $55, or the single puzzles for around $15 each.

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