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Of all the puzzles in the World, Baffleball (also known as 'Frustration Ball' in the US) made by Remco in 1969 had to be the most fiendish. Basically Baffleball was a transparent perspex ball inside which there were eight cups. A smaller ball inside the main ball was then rolled in to the first cup through a hole in its side. The idea was to rotate the Baffleball in such a way as to get the small ball to drop from one cup in to another in sequence from one cup to the next until the ball landed in number eight cup.

Sounds fairly straightforward right? Wrong. The box summed this up pretty well: "What's so hard about dropping a ball into 8 little cups? Remaining sane long enough to do it."

Although some of the cups were opposite each other, making it fairly easy to get the ball in, other cups were almost at right angles meaning that you had to get just the right twist of the ball at the right speed and inclination to flip the ball in to its destination.

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Do You Remember Baffleball?

Do You Remember Baffleball?

  • Anonymous user
    on
    My Baffle Ball got broken in half too, but it was saved by judicious deployment of Gloy. Used to drive me mental as a kid, but I did complete the thing several times. Surprised to find it's still available on Amazon...
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I had two 'baffle balls' the first one I got as a christmas present, must have been in about 1971,I loved it and used to spend hours playing it,a friend of mine, as it was a ball decided to kick it and broke it in half. I remember crying for days lol. I aquired another one a few years later though after saving up my pocket money. I don't know what happened to this one. I would love to own another.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I had a baffle ball when I was a child and i loved it. I managed to complete all 8 cups in sequence time after time after time. probably couldnt do it again now though. It certainly kept me occupied for hours and hours.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    Mark, Don't know about New Zealand but here in the UK there are currently worth about ?40. I know, I've recently sold two. They seem to attract fond memories amongst people who had them as children. For a light hearted look at Baffleballs and other nostalgic stuff check our website www.stuffwelove.co.uk
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I also own a baffle ball. It was bought for me as a xmas present in 1971. When my family moved from the UK to New Zealand I carried it with me so that it wouldn't get broken. I have managed to finish it several times but not lately. It is still in the original box which is starting to look its age. It has been one of the best toys my late mum ever bought me and although I would never sell it I was hoping that some body out ther might be able to put a value on it.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    i have a baffleball,still in mint condition.and still in its box.i thought it would be so easy to complete,i cant pick it up now for fear of doing something to it,that i shouldnt.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    My mother worked in a butchers and when I was ill I was allowed to play with the toys belonging to the the butchers' children Barbara and Peter who were about 6 years older than me. I loved baffleball, it was kept in its box in the cupboard, I seem to remember completing a couple of times but that may just be what I want to think. I often wonder what happened to all the fantastic stuff they had in the cupboard everything neatly stacked and boxed.

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