The Keys To The First Two Boxes?

Keeboxes - all of them!

Oh dear! Yes, yet again it's Allard's fault! I had seen the Keebox puzzles at the MPP in May (Allard is the organiser so it MUST be his fault) and even spent a happy 10 minutes playing with the Blue one before quickly deciding they were so good that I needed to stop solving and buy the bloody things. I was sitting next to Ali who was playing with one of the others and we both simultaneously decided the same thing and put them down. I opened the webpage on my phone and left it there in my Safari tabs as a reminder that I HAD to buy them soon. I went home at the end of the puzzle party and promptly forgot about them as the tab containing the webpage got buried amongst others about Sci-Fi and fantasy as well as work stuff. I think I currently have about 60 open tabs! The Keebox ones got buried and forgotten (I think it is still there on the phone now). I wasn't reminded at the last MPP in July due to having to spend the day with the present wife instead of puzzlers and only a few weeks ago was I reminded when Allard posted his review. Much to the disgust of Mrs S, I immediately fired off an order via the Swiss boys' Etsy store and, of course, I had to have the whole set - there are four currently but I am certain there will be more eventually. For those of you who are unfortunate enough to be subject to the whims and stupidity of the orange buffoon and are now either being charged huge tariff charges or even unable to purchase from abroad then PuzzleMaster may be helpful to you (I am not sure how Canada post has been affected) - some of the Keeboxes are available from PuzzleMaster here.

Unfortunately I got hit by a big customs bill plus the Royal Mail hostage fee. I paid this and a few days later a nicely packed box of boxes of keeboxes was unpacked. Mrs S was "delighted to see more plastic in the house but I pointedly ignored her.

They seem to have updated their packaging since Allard got his (something I didn't notice until the last MPP when I saw Allard's boxes and noticed that mine were much more colourful. I also received the purple one which may not have been available until recently.

Blue box - easy peasy?

It is really quite attractive for a plastic puzzle

Being rather rubbish at puzzles I started on the blue/"easy" one. The box is perfectly designed to contain and show off the new toy. There is a leaflet inside that tells you (in multiple languages) to find the hidden token. There is a QR code to get you to a webpage that can provide hints and solutions but I am hoping not to use it. You all know me by now that I tend to keep trying at these toys for months or even years until I eventually get there. Reassuringly, the leaflet says that the blue one is level 1 out of 5 which should take me 10 minutes. The puzzle is 6.2 x 6 x 6cm in size and made from PLA - it's a perfect tactile size and weight.

Always keep playing

Whilst I agree with the difficulty level - it is a nice fun introduction to the series but it certainly took me more than 10 minutes. Watching Tamsin play with it and get stuck in the same places that I did was fun and I would hope that you would also be challenged the same way. There is a whole sequence of moves which have to be done in the correct order. Various protuberances on the puzzle interact with each other and release tools to be used elsewhere. At some point in all the puzzles in the series the front plate is released and reveals the message to "always keep playing". There are threaded parts, reverse threaded parts, sprung parts and a short maze. The progression is very enjoyable with getting stuck at various stages for 5 minutes or so providing just enough challenge to not make one give up. It is plastic and care is needed not to use too much force when trying certain moves but it's pretty clear when what you are attempting to do is not the right thing. I think I found the token after about 20 minutes - lovely to do and actually lovely to do repeatedly. I think I will take this to work to torture my ODP with on Wednesday during my usual orthopaedic bloodbath! I think he will have some time between intubation and running the cell saver to play with my torture device!

Blue token found

Having reversed the process to reset the puzzle it was time to move on to the next and bamboozle myself again. The next in the series for me (I don't think Allard got to try it because it is the latest one).

Purple box - tricky

Even more attractive than the last one

The purple one is level 2 out of 5 and should take expected to take 30 minutes by the creators. They put a plus sign after the 30 minutes on the webpage and it certainly took me that plus amount of time above the 30 minutes! There are a couple of steps in this one that are really quite hard to find.

Having solved the blue, I was aware of the types of things I could/should try and the first couple of steps proceeded very nicely with little Aha! moments and a grin indicating that I had this. And then I was stuck for a while - probably about 10 minutes before I found my next step and received another tool which I didn't know how to use. From here I was stumped for yet more 30 minutes "plus". I actually did one aspect of the puzzling to find the tool by brute force of trial and error. It didn't seem right and I put it back to have a rather long think©. There were a few puzzle pieces and some arrows on the puzzle which indicate what is needed to do. The Aha! moment for this is delightful - they really have thought every step through.

I now had more tools and no idea what to do with them. Stuck again! Eventually, I did what I should and LOOKED at the puzzle properly. There is a feature that stares you in the eyes and dares you to try something without you realising that it was making fun of your inability to see it. 

If you are bright then you will see it straight away (I didn't feel too dopey when Tamsin also couldn't see it straight away). I think the "plus" on the timescale here took me to a total of an hour of puzzling. It's perfect and also very clever:

Purple token found

This one is even more fun than the last one to reset. 

I have started on the next most difficult in the series - orange is apparently "a real challenge" - it says so on the box. I'm about an hour in to that one and completely stuck after just a few moves. I can see what needs to happen but I don't have the tools yet to do it and am not sure where to look. For the moment, I am going to hold off on getting clues.

If you haven't considered getting these yet then stop considering and buy them - they are perfect little challenges and suitable for all levels of puzzler. I am sure that PuzzleMaster will restock soon for those of you in the USA and Canada. Otherwise the rest of the world can go to the Etsy store and buy direct. Do it now!

Is It Safe In Your Hands?

Safe from Pelikan Puzzles

This new sequential discovery puzzle box is due to be released by the amazing Pelikan team this coming Friday. It will be limited to a small release of 64 copies so you will need to be quite quick.

Instructions and a certificate

It is a stunning creation made from various woods - it looks like Acacia and Walnut at least. There are also metal components and magnets. It must contain something valuable because it is quite large and quite heavy. Dimensions are 11 x 11 x 15.3cm (4.3 x 4.3 x 6") and weighing 985g (2 lb 3oz) making it very tactile to play with. 

The story is that this safe belonged to George Thomas, a wealthy factory owner, and many robbers have attempted to get into it to steal the huge treasure that is inside. Your task is to get into it and retrieve the haul for yourself. It does not need any shaking, spinning or banging.

There is a door on the front held by an ornate hinge and a dial on the front for the combination. The dial clicks as you turn it to get to the combination. Apart from this, nothing else seems to move at all. The hinge is not a fake hinge and doesn't come apart. There are some interesting brass pins on the side of the puzzle as well. It did occur to me that the feet might be useful but they don't come off to reveal an alternative locking mechanism:

Those feet look like a possible tool or entry?

Small coin
NOT the treasure though

Once you have finished exploring what you have and getting nowhere then you need to think© about alternative approaches. I had my first Aha! moment after about 15 minutes - there is no hint from the outside that what I tried would work but I couldn't think of anything else to do. I was in the safe and found my first small prize - a small coin. Was this a hint at vast treasure still inside? There was clearly more to do. Maybe more coins further in?

I got stumped for a little while at this point. The temptation to shake it and spin it was there but I was a good boy and decided to use my tiny brain on it. The next few mechanisms were beautifully created and a delight to discover. I had my treasure after an hour or so!

Or did I?????

This is a wonderful creation designed by Jakub and brought to life by the Pelikan team. You won't be disappointed in this one. I suspect they will sell out very quickly - make sure you are ready on Friday 5th September.

---

I blame Allard! Look what he made me do:

I got by a big customs fee but it should be worth it!

Pelikan Summer Release 2025 Part 2

The remainder of the puzzles just released by Pelikan

If you had not been informed by email from Jakub, then you should know that the puzzles from the current release are now up for sale in the Pelikan store. All except the Minima Magnetik and Rising Peaks - Everest are still available. If you still want the Minima Magnetik then you badger  get the version Tye Stahly from the NothingYetDesigns store to make another batch of his version. I don't know whether Pelikan will make any more.

Today's blog is about the remainder of the summer release from Jakub and Jaroslav. I am sure that I can help you spend some more money!

Broken Frame and Window

Broken Frame and Window by Lucie Pauwels

This is yet another tray packing puzzle from the amazing Lucie Pauwels. Except it is not “just” another tray puzzle! Lucie seems to have the unique ability to design these puzzles with something about them that makes them more than trial and error. Jakub obviously is very good at recognising the value of these amongst all the designs that he must see. The Broken Frame and Window is a brilliant, beautiful and challenging logical design. It consists of a complex tray made from Maple (137 x 137mm) with a very specifically shaped gap where the frame should be and then a square hole in the centre (the window). To be fitted in, there are 14 unique pieces made from a deep vibrant Purpleheart.

When I first looked at it, I sort of quailed, thinking that this would be many many hours of trial and error and I have the memory of a demented goldfish so have a huge problem remembering previous patterns that I had tried. However, when I set to playing with it, I quickly realised that this is very much a logic challenge. There are some pieces with very restricted placement choices and a couple of gaps in the frame that have very limited options for which of the pieces can go in them. This made the puzzle much more compelling. 

It still was not easy and took me several hours of play before I reached the point where the frame was filled. Much to my chagrin, I had made one assumption about one of the gaps in the frame and kept trying the wrong approach until exasperation made me think a different way. I am sure this was a deliberate design feature by Lucie meant specifically to trap me! The central window is just a 5x5 square and should be relatively easy to fill once you have worked out which pieces are left over from the frame. The only problem is that there are 5 different ways to fill the frame and only one of them leaves the correct pieces to fill the window. There is still some trial and error but it is great fun!

Coffin-Flop

Coffin-Flop by Dr Volker Latussek

Over the last few years of reviewing the puzzles designed by Volker Latussek, I think the Flop series is my favourite because of the fabulous accessibility and challenge. I had thought that the series had ended but was very gratified to see the Coffin-Flop in the current batch. This one is beautifully made using American Walnut and American Cherry. It is beautifully chunky and consists of three tetracubes and three pentacubes. They are to be fitted into a 70mm across box with a 3x3x3 cavity. The pieces consist of a total of 27 voxels which will completely fill the box with no gaps.

Volker designed this and named it as a tribute to the great Stewart Coffin - there was even a conversation between the two puzzle powerhouses:

"Dear Mr Coffin, when your HALF HOUR was published as a packer at Cubicdissection last year, I myself played with your basic idea of splitting a 3x3x3 into three penta-cubes and three tetra-cubes to add a cube-shaped box with six pieces to my FLOP SERIES. That doesn't work with your HALF HOUR, but there is actually a similar set of six pieces that has nice movements in and out of the box. I wonder if I can call the puzzle COFFIN-FLOP? Pelikan will publish the puzzle.”

STC: "After all these years, what a surprise. I never was very good with names. Often that was the hardest part. I have been so busy with other projects lately that puzzles are now in my past. But they were fun, especially dissections. No opinion on type of wood. I used whatever was available. Keep up the good work.

Stewart Coffin (STC), Massachusetts" 

You know from the beginning that this is going to be a huge challenge of first construction of possible cubes and then finding the single way they can be inserted through the limited opening (less than 2 voxels across). There will be rotations and there will be swearing! In fact there was swearing right from the beginning as the special transport placement of the pieces actually proved a challenge for this puzzler to remove from the box just so that he could get started.

The solution of course requires rotations and also the ability to control rotations deep inside the box with no room to insert your fingers - if you can find a way to control gravity then you will have a significant advantage. If you are one of us normal humans who cannot change the direction of the gravitational field as required then some real dexterity is required.

Yessssss!

Taking it apart and returning it to the transport position is another huge challenge!

I adore these puzzles and was very gratified to solve it after just 2 days of work! If you have any of the previous Flop series then you should buy this one - it is brilliant!

The Real Euklid

The Real Euklid by Dr Volker Latussek

Another incredibly challenging packing puzzle - The Real Euklid has seven cubic and cuboidal pieces to fit in the 9x9x9 box with the usual limited entry at the top. It is rather lovely to look at being made from Mahogany and Wenge - using these woods also gives the puzzle a nice weight.

Yes, Dr Latussek has done it yet again! There is yet another puzzle in his incredible Euklid packing series. This one must be really special because Volker named it as “the REAL Euklid” as if all the previous ones had been fake. Volker wrote the following about this design"

"Finally, we've arrived! After a few wrong turns and some significant misjudgments, such as seemingly unique solutions suddenly turning into double-digit numbers of solutions, I am now proud to present THE REAL EUKLID. The task I set myself over six years ago should now be complete: Find a 9x9x9 cubic box with a centred 5×9 opening and seven different cuboids with an edge length of between 3 and 6 units AND A UNIQUE SOLUTION!

In fact, I changed my design strategy for THE REAL EUKLID. Until now, I have always focused on the most beautiful sequence of movements possible for seven cuboids, but this time I did it the other way around: I let the possible cuboids sink in and saw which sequence they showed me - I tried to take on the role of the solver who wants to discover the designer's idea but initially only sees the pieces. Looking at the cuboids without any preconceived sequence of moves broadened my perspective so much that I was able to complete the task. When I saw the solution for the first time, I couldn't believe that I had achieved my task. I was very sceptical because of my experience with EUKLID. Maybe I didn't want to believe it because I secretly hoped that there was no solution to my task. Overall, I had a great time designing THE REAL EUKLID.

Now take a look at the seven cuboids and the interplay with the box for yourself. Then you too can have a great time with THE REAL EUKLID."

There are at least two in this series that I have still not solved despite going back to them on and off for years now. I would not be surprised if this one joined that group. I have only really had an hour or so to play with this one so far and have not got a clue as yet. These puzzles are not for the faint hearted. All the shapes to be fitted inside have a side length as a multiple of 7mm (21, 28, 35 or 42mm) and the interior is 63mm in all directions - there is a sort of beauty to that and I am sure that knowing it will be a help to some of you but to me - I haven’t got a clue. Good luck to all who buy - it will be a great challenge.

Minima Smiley and Sally

Minima Smiley and Sally by Frederic Boucher

The Minima Smiley puzzle I had reviewed in April was a great puzzle and huge seller for Pelikan. Of course, Frederic did not want to just leave the series with a huge triumph! He had to take it one step (or maybe quite a few steps) further by bringing the Smiley ball back and giving him a girlfriend (and a heart to seal their love) and hence we now have the Minima Smiley and Sally. Oh, and as if that wasn’t enough, the bolt from the last version was still present only bigger - MUCH bigger. This incredible puzzle is a serious challenge which I have still not completed as Jakub puts them on sale. I have retrieved Mr Smiley and found Sally inside but so far have not managed to retrieve her. There is quite a lot of thought required here as well as some considerable dexterity. At the moment I have got Sally trapped into a place that I cannot seem to retrieve her - it will need some thought© and quite a bit more time.

You know you need this one for your collections - it is lovely, it’s a huge challenge and the continuation of the series. No puzzler can truly resist a puzzle series - especially if they are this good.

I am sure that there are some puzzles for you here! There is so much to choose from with puzzles from 3 of the best designers in the world. Get them whilst they are still available.

Did I Just Perform Animal Cruelty?

Tortoise Protocol By Junichi Yananose

Juno Does It Again

I missed out on the Hippo puzzle from Juno which was such a huge hit last year - it dropped at the wrong time for me due to a combination of finances and being too busy to pay proper attention. I was determined not to allow that to happen when the next of his fabulous sequential discovery puzzles dropped. I was poised, logged in and with Apple Pay ready to go. It was just as well that I took these precautions as I have never seen a production run sell out so quickly!

When it arrived, I was rather staggered at the sheer size and heft of it. It is 211 x 162 x 82mm across and weighs in at 870g. The sales spiel had mentioned that it was big and heavy but it really caught me by surprised. It may cause some storage problems but I am not going to think about that until someone who I am frightened of harangues me for leaving it lying around. It is rather stunning being made of PNG Rosewood (shell), Golden Sassafras (body), Silky Oak (limbs and head) as well as Jarrah, Iroko and Juno's often used beautiful plywood. There are also some brass pieces and a whole lot of magnets.

The aim is to find a cavity and a prize somewhere inside. Yes, there's a cavity and NO, it's not a box! The presence of a cavity does not automatically make everything a box. I myself have some cavities within me and I am definitely not a box!

Having received it, photographed it from a number of angles, it was time to torture the Tortoise. It sounds awful but if I was to get my prize from inside then I knew I had to do some awful things. Turning it over and over doesn't really reveal any suspicious noises of anything loose inside and pushing and pulling at limbs and shell does very little. However, if you poke a tortoise on his nose then what will he do? Yes, the obvious thing happens here:

Now you seem me...

Now you don't

After this a few more things are possible and you get to play "Pattycake" with your tortoise and on a few occasions a bit of the internals are briefly visible. I went around in circles for a while moving bits and then moving them back. The moves are rather satisfying and assisted by magnets inside. Up until this point, I was able to go back and forth to the beginning each time but seemed to be missing a critical move to progress. This was where I stopped for the first day.

Returning to it the next day, I used my Einsteinian approach for a bit until something spontaneously different happened - oooooh! Now I really had done something terrible to the poor creature:

That has got to have hurt!

All of a sudden, I could see the innards of a tortoise and just like my own innards, they aren't really intended for the world to see - so I won't be showing them to you! At this point, it's possible to see the sheer complexity of the puzzle and understand why it had taken Juno quite so long to design, perfect and manufacture them. The interior is an absolute masterpiece! Let's just say, more horrors are possible for the poor tortoise including amputatlion of all limbs and tail as well as decapitation. It's gruesome!

Having ripped all appendages off, hopefully to use as tools later, I decided to return it back to the beginning and got my first shock - I couldn't;d not close it up again. I thought I had understood the process but I had missed something and part of the reassembly was blocked. I was flummoxed for a while and was forced to Think© for a bit. Ouch! Eventually I saw through the fiendish design and was able to return to the beginning and leave it for another evening. This was proving to be real fun.

The following day, I quickly tore the tortoise to pieces and examined the interior to see where tools would be used. There were magnets, buttons that were sunken, buttons that were flush, it was beautiful. All you can do is push and prod a few bits to see what happens. Interestingly, you need to combine pushing stuff with specific orientation to make pieces shift inside. Initially, you can see the move but it doesn't seem to help get you any further along. Thinking© again and trying an old old trick reveals a new part of the interior and then brass pieces can be seen sliding around inside. The odd thing is that sometimes those brass things disappear and won't return.......until they do. Why???

I got stuck again at this point. There is an obvious thing to do but it wasn't doing anything until I did it again and it did. It caught me quite by surprise as a component shot out of the tortoise and landed in my lap. Juno did suggest solving this puzzle over a fusion ops folded bath towel and I agree - in the end there are quit a LOT of pieces which could easily be lost down a sofa if you are not careful. Having gotten this piece out, I was able to see a bit more of the interior but it didn't really help me and I was pretty stuck for a day or so. At some point, I must have manipulated a mechanism without realising it because after a couple of days of getting nowhere, I suddenly had a gorgeous piece of plywood in my lap and no idea how. It had quite obviously been held in place by a pin and that pin was nowhere to be seen. I frantically checked my lap, the sofa and the floor and couldn't find the pin. I had no idea where it was and had no way to put it back. Now I had no option but to continue to the end and hope that I would work out how I had achieved that step or I would not be able to reset.

I was able to see why one piece had been disappearing inside and only occasionally reappearing during the early part of the solve. I suddenly had an extra tool and an obvious place to use it. Another beautiful piece of plywood was revealed and I was stuck again. From now on, there was a lot of thinking, a lot of trying random ideas that wouldn't work until in desperation I tried the correct random thing. The progression over another few days was absolutely delightful. There are sliding pieces, magnetic locking mechanisms and even a lever to manipulate (once you have found the lever) and all of a sudden a cavity is found - not the cavity of a box, you understand... it's the cavity of a tortoise. I had my prize!

For some reason, I was expecting a loaf of bread!

This is an absolute Tour de force of puzzling! It is beautiful, well thought out, fabulously logical and worth every penny. It is absolutely certain to be in my next Top Ten(ish) of the year. Whether it makes it to number one depends on whether I manage to solve some of the other incredible puzzles I have received over the last few weeks. The Jukebox, the Moonage M5, the Ice Bucket, Dead Mortimer are all proving impossible for my feeble brain but I do hope that I might manage to solve one or two soon!

Thank you Juno and Yukari for an amazing odyssey!

Does Being Married Decrease Your Solving Ability?

Tortoise Protocol from Juno

Well! That was an inflammatory thing to write as a title! It might earn me a Whack! Ouch! but probably not as she never looks at my site. If one of you rats me out then I'll be very upset with you.

The reason for the title is that I have nothing solved to write about due to a combination of work (catching up after some annual leave has left me little time) and having a better half who insists on decorating the house periodically seems to get in the way of puzzling. Yes, she doesn't make me actually do the decorating but its the moving everything around from room to room and forcing me to tidy up my piles (yes, multiple) of puzzles to be solved gets in the way.

Then, it just happened to be our 31st wedding anniversary yesterday and that involved something really special and really time consuming - kittens! I married a crazy cat lady and we got our first cats 28 years ago in an attempt to prevent the further multiplication of cat pictures, porcelain cats, stone cats etc. It didn't really work very well as they still proliferated but at a slightly slower rate. Our last feline friend died last year and after a little break to get over it she decided (and yes, I did not disagree) that more were required. So, when the most international MPP of the year went ahead, I drove with a happy Mrs S to pick up Amenadiel and Mazikeen (I am sure you can work out where those names came from). I cannot leave much lying around for fear of it being chewed or batted around the kitchen floor and also have been "forced" to spend some time in the company of the crazy cat lady and her cats. It has been quite refreshing.

I have attempted some puzzling and made some progress but not much. My copy of Tortoise Protocol from Juno arrived and I have been working on it. Just as with the Hippo, you have to do some truly awful things to the poor tortoise but progress was being made...until it wasn't. I have found lots of pieces and things that happen but I've been stuck at a critical point for a week. Sigh!

The Clutch lock from Andrew Coles has been in my pile for weeks and weeks - I have made some real progress in that the lock is open - I am not entirely sure why but now it will not lock properly. Actually it will lock but I cannot remove the damn key. He's a devious bugger that Mr Coles as I have mentioned before. Allard has discussed this lock recently and loved it - I am not very bright and hopefully will love it in a year or 3 when I understand it. You should love it soon when he puts them up for sale.

How does being married interfere with this? She got very upset with the constant muttering and the loud click, clunk noises I was making as I repeatedly opened and closed the bloody thing.

The day before our wedding anniversary, a nice compact box arrived from China. It had some puzzles in it that I was hesitant to tell "her" about until she was in a very good mood. My latest batch from Aaron Wang arrived and, GULP, they are noisy jingly things! I'm hoping the cats love the sound and that will give me an excuse to play without being shouted at.

Trumpet

Double-Barre

These two named after musical instruments are "just" level 8 out of 10. I have started with Trumpet yesterday and today and after an hour, I wonder whether Aaron is a superhuman being. These are the easy ones and I still can't do them!

Luckily for me the cats are fascinated by the jingling!

Circuit Board I

Circuit Board II

These two are level 10 and look ferocious. I wasn't going to buy them but Aaron insisted that the solutions were truly something special and I would love them. I am sure he is right but I do not know if I will ever find the solution!

Grenade V

Grenade VI

I have no idea why I bought these! I guess it was to complete the set. I do own the Grenade I - IV as well and as far as I remember have only saved one of them! They are impossibly tough but they really are wonderful to look at. I did have a forlorn hope that maybe without string they might be less impossible? Doh!

French Horn

Galaxy I

Another music themed one but this time level 10 and something that looks like it will be in a knot in no time and with no quick release mechanism that may stay that way. Aargh!

Concertina Wire

Sweet Hug

I absolutely adore these wire puzzles with a base. They tend to be very N-ary but the complexity of the interlocking rings can make these incredibly difficult to follow the solution and I often find myself either hopelessly lost or back at the beginning. Some have some very complex movements which I am never able to find. These looked like the two most straightforward ones from the current batch - I have hope even if it's just a faint one!

Summer in the Xiaoshang Bridge

This is one of a series of four designed by Aaron himself. Looking at the picture, maybe I stand a small chance at solving it despite the level 10!

If you want some of these wire puzzles then some may still be available - contact Aaron via FB or via me.

Hopefully I will have a bit more time and success this week.

Shooting For The Moon With Stephan

Did Houston Or I Have A Problem?

Moonage M5 By Stephan Baumegger

Beautiful Purpleheart launcher

Stephan Baumegger progressed very rapidly a few years ago from a just a hobbyist puzzle designer and wood worker to one of the best in the world. He has been producing some of the most beautiful creations in the Burr, N-ary and Sequential discovery categories that I have ever seen. Each time he reveals a new set of creations on his PuzzleLeisure FB page, I add quite a few to my list and every time, I fail to buy before they sell out because quality doesn't come cheap and by the time I have scraped the money together, it's too late and I have to be aware that I am walking a very wobbly tightrope with Mrs S and if too much arrives in a short time then I am in for a stern talking to and possibly a Whack! Ouch! or three. The Moonage M5 SD puzzle was released for last years IPP in Houston, Texas and entered into the 2024 design competition where it won a prize in the top 10 vote getters section. Looking at the other winners, I can see that it was a VERY good year for puzzling that year. The available copies sold out fairly quickly when it was released for general sale in January - indeed they were all gone on the day of release. After the IPP success that should have been no surprise but I had run out of money at that time and had to pass.

Luckily Stephan knew that I was interested and when he had created a new batch fairly recently, I was offered a copy for a sum that made Mrs S glare at me. Luckily, she has been on a bit of a household stuff spending spree and couldn't really chastise me too much without drawing attention to her own profligacy. Maybe I should try to coincide my puzzle arrivals with her spending in the future?

I got a bit of a shock when I first saw it (someone actually brought it to the last MPP just before my copy arrived). I was expecting it to be beautiful and wasn't disappointed but I hadn't realised quite how big it would be. This Behemoth is 19cm tall, 7.5cm in diameter across the main body and 15cm across the tail fins. It weighs in at about 517g. When it came out of the box I was expecting she who must be feared to take one look at the size of it and land a hefty Whack! Ouch! on me but all she said was that it was very pretty. I haven't tried to put it on display yet but I am not sure whether it will actually fit on my shelves which may be a bit of a problem. I'm not allowed to display puzzles in the living room any more after she had the room decorated and she realised how nice the room looked without a large batch of puzzles on every surface. Sob!

Having found some time to start playing, I realised that there are a few parts that move a little bit but only a little. The Moonage M5 collar can be rotated if the button is pushed in first and the fins sort of wiggle. The purple heart launcher can be rotated a few degrees but that is it. Time for a little thought© and trying to combine what's possible. There are quite a lot of Aha! moments here and all of them lead beautifully from one to another. The important thing is the superb attention to detail from Stephan, when the original Apollo 11 rocket was launched to the moon, the power went in 3 phases. The first part was the jettisoned to release the second stage launcher and Stephan did the same here:

First stage release

Once the launcher has been jettisoned then it is possible to look inside and understand the mechanism properly - it's pretty clever and very precise. In achieving launch you have used 3 important elements - water, oxygen and energy and they are absolutely vital. My usual too and fro method here did cause me a little problem but not one that Houston would have suffered. I put some pieces back into place to try to get back to the beginning and suddenly found that I couldn't then remove one of them. Doh! Maybe I should pay attention to where the magnets were and not get mixed up. Luckily I had a pair of tweezers and with a bit of a struggle I managed to remove the errantly placed tool. I really am not terribly bright!

There are obviously other tools now needed and one is even visible but seemingly not reachable until I thought about what I had done before. After I had "thunk" again, I had my next tool and a place to use it and the second stage rocked was released leaving me with the passenger compartment in the nose cone:

Still not finished

The aim is to take the rocket to the moon and therefore I needed a lunar lander and maybe a bit more. After all, when they reached the moon, they got into their space suits and planted a flag on the surface of the moon. Releasing the next items was a fun odyssey. The mechanisms are varied and clever - every single step is beautiful with such attention to detail from the designer. I landed on the moon and took my photo which I have hidden behind a spoiler button. It really isn't a spoiler but if you don't want to see what the ultimate aim is then don't click it.

One small step for man!
Lunar lander, spaceman, US flag on the moon

That was a real fun challenge. Not too hard and only a couple of times when I had a small heart attack. Then it was time to reset the puzzle and, Houston, I had a problem! I had not paid full attention to how everything came apart and when I started to reassemble it I found that part of it wouldn't go together properly which was going to prevent the rest fitting. Aargh! Panic ensued and after a frantic opening and closing of parts that I had done it made me look very closely at the construction. I had missed noticing a critical part of the design and once I realised and a quick fiddle to get things correctly aligned, I was then able to put it all back together and admire the beauty of it all.

It wasn't cheap but, my goodness, it's beautiful and once I have found a place to put it, it will look beautiful on display. If you get a chance to play with one then enjoy. If you get a chance to buy a copy then jump at the chance, you won't regret it.