PETALING JAYA, Oct 7 — What started out as a hobby to stimulate his brain and challenge himself, soon turned into something much more for Lee Yee Dian.

The 60-year-old took his love and passion for puzzles to the next level as he currently owns more than 11,000 puzzles and puzzle books.

"I’m an avid reader so I enjoy puzzle books, and I have over 6,000 of them. The physical puzzles are a bit tedious to keep track of, because I have so many boxes of them, but I can say that I have more than 5,000,” said Lee during an interview with Malay Mail.

Lee, who was born in Batu Pahat, Johor has been an avid puzzle aficionado for some 40 years, since 1979, when he enrolled at Osaka University in Japan to study electrical engineering.

Walking around the streets of Osaka and Tokyo, Lee was fascinated by the plethora of 'thinking toys' available at the Japanese departmental stores. — Picture by Hari Anggara

He loves puzzles of all types, whether it be the physical, manipulative puzzles, word puzzles, art puzzles, science puzzles, treasure hunts, sudoku, or even riddles and brainteasers.

It was in Japan that his interest was sparked after he came across a traditional Japanese interlocking wood puzzle, which piqued his curiosity.

"I used to always go into departmental stores like Daimaru and Mitsukoshi, and I would head straight to the toys section because they had so many Japanese and imported ‘thinking toys’ like puzzles,” said Lee.

"I saw a wooden puzzle and said ‘Wow, this looks very challenging,’ so I tried to solve it and it was very enjoyable for me.”

Lee playing with one of his favourite Japanese interlocking wooden puzzles from his collection. — Picture by Hari Anggara

Lee takes puzzles very seriously, and he is not afraid to spend the big bucks to acquire rare and unique items, like one of his recent additions to his ever-growing collection, which is a 100-year-old tangram book set that he found in Tokyo.

"It’s a puzzle book with puzzle diagrams in it, which was published in Shanghai in 1918, and it uses tangram geometric pieces to form shapes and images,” said Lee.

"This is what I like to do, to find these treasures, it cost me a bomb, around RM3,000, but it’s not the most I have paid for a puzzle, so you can imagine my joy when I found it.”

Lee added that he always enjoyed mathematics, and loved a good mathematical challenge that involved problem-solving skills, which is why puzzles fascinated him.

He said that puzzles also have multiple levels of enjoyment and satisfaction, which have kept him intrigued for 40 years.

Lee flipping through the rare tangram puzzle book set, which cost him a cool RM3,000. — Picture by Hari Anggara

"There are so many levels of enjoyment in puzzles, the enjoyment of trying to solve it by strategizing and thinking, the joy of appreciating its maker and design, and the satisfaction you get when you’ve solved it,” said Lee.

Now retired and happily married with two children, Lee’s passion for puzzles never diminished as he has continued to invest his time and money to acquire and solve puzzles from all around the world.

Lee, who used to work as a production engineer at Panasonic, explained that since he is now retired, and his kids are both studying abroad, he and his wife travel a lot, as they enjoy their golden years travelling around the world.

"I travel with my wife a lot. We do normal things, like enjoy the food and do some sight-seeing, but I will always try to spend one day to drop by the antiquarian book shops,” said Lee.

"It must be part of the itinerary, I enjoy looking for puzzle books, ones that you could never get in Malaysia, because the more I enjoy reading these books, the more I enjoy playing with the puzzles.”

For Lee, one of the best parts of travelling around the world has always been visiting the antiquarian bookstores, to find rare and unique puzzles that he could never get in Malaysia. — Picture by Hari Anggara

He added that he and his wife were going to fly to Portugal in a couple of months time, after attending his son’s graduation ceremony in Ireland, and that he has already printed out a list of all the bookshops to visit in Portugal.

Lee, who has been a Malaysian Mensa Society member for the past 35 years, doesn’t just keep his love of puzzles to himself, as he has actively reached out to the public by getting children and senior citizens involved in puzzle workshops and clinics.

Through one of the Malaysian Mensa Society’s sister organisations, the Malaysia Sudoku Society, Lee has conducted several workshops in schools to develop the minds of children and also help senior citizens keep their minds sharp and active.

"Sudoku gave us the platform to encourage people to use their mind for logical thinking and we are very thankful that Sudoku came about because people worldwide know about it,” said Lee.

"The interest for it (Sudoku) is there, we have been invited to schools where hundreds of kids take part in our workshops because their parents know of it and want them to learn it.”

"It makes me happy to come down and share these puzzles, like Sudoku, with people because it’s my way of letting them enjoy what I have been for 40 years.”

Even though he has spent two-thirds of his life surrounded by puzzles, Lee never gets tired of them and constantly plays and reads the puzzles in his collection. — Picture by Hari Anggara

He added that their "Sudoku Clinics” for senior citizens also received a good response from the public because many older people are worried about the rising rates of Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Their efforts aren’t all just workshops and clinics, as Lee said that the Malaysia Sudoku Society was planning the 9th edition of the Malaysia Sudoku Championships in December.

"It will be held at The Summit USJ, and it will be a really crazy sight, there will be people from all walks of life coming down to take part, from as young as seven, to as old at 80,” said Lee.

But if you can’t wait until December to test your intelligence, you can always take a shot at joining the high IQ community at the Malaysian Mensa society by taking their admissions test at www.mensa.my/test-info.

The Malaysian Mensa Society will be hosting this year’s Mensa International Board of Directors Meeting (IBD) in Kuala Lumpur from October 10 to 13.

It will also be hosting several other events including the Inaugural Mensa International Youth Festival, Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, Mensa International Treasure Hunt 2019 and Mensa International Volunteers Network.

If you’re keen on taking part in any of these intellectually stimulating events, or want more information about the IBD, surf over to https://ibd2019.mensa.my.