International Intellectual Museum (National Toy Museum), Ulaanbaatar

The International Intellectual Museum is Mongolia’s first privately-owned museum, founded by Tumen Ulzii in 1990. It’s often called the “National Toy Museum” or “Puzzle Museum”, because its exhibits focus on puzzles, games, and interactive intellectual toys rather than traditional historical artifacts.

Inside, visitors will find over 11,000 exhibits from more than 130 countries, including more than 5,000 puzzles and games and about 500 chess sets. The puzzles range from very simple two-piece challenges to highly complex ones-some requiring tens of thousands of moves to solve.

What makes the museum especially fun is its interactive nature: visitors aren’t just passive observers, but are often encouraged to solve puzzles, try out games, and engage with exhibits. The museum also includes displays of puzzles shaped like the Seven Wonders of the World, traditional tents, artwork, doll collections, and architectural miniatures.