tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33419417513249430002024-03-17T17:00:32.869+00:00PuzzleMadA mechanical puzzle blog from a grown man who should know better!!Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.comBlogger771125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-41512847471661611352024-03-17T17:00:00.001+00:002024-03-17T17:00:00.127+00:00Amazing Value And Two Fabulous Resources For You<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_25m3QTzkyRpL_a-KAodryFJ4GDFuNum89PjEecxiep13qKOrXJAiplrsSIEv-X_UCieK7VvZAmRJLxors2zX-X7K_MXC_8eZ43LHpiCnUjiwkkzoSlzpn66mdk-7lE38KOmVHSstuqqitaYP9MJib35ZTZTKWnzcHjfRptjFgvN69Yws-x3BVhl1Ao/s2937/IMG_5280.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2937" data-original-width="2803" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_25m3QTzkyRpL_a-KAodryFJ4GDFuNum89PjEecxiep13qKOrXJAiplrsSIEv-X_UCieK7VvZAmRJLxors2zX-X7K_MXC_8eZ43LHpiCnUjiwkkzoSlzpn66mdk-7lE38KOmVHSstuqqitaYP9MJib35ZTZTKWnzcHjfRptjFgvN69Yws-x3BVhl1Ao/w610-h640/IMG_5280.heic" width="600" /></a>
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The CubeTwist Bandage Cube Set<br />Incredible value for money
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Yes the 3x3 cube in the photo does look very easy - no stickers or tiles and all
black. Even a 3 year old could solve that but above it in my nice little
organiser is a complete set of tiles for it in all the usual colours. It
includes tiles that are 1x2, 2x2, 2x2 and 2x3 cubies in size. The whole point is
to make a bandaged cube of your choice.
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I mentioned this puzzle many many years ago and feel that it is worth
showing it off again because there is now something available for you all to
help you with solving it and finding lots of challenges to be done with it.
My friend Rline of the
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@twistypuzzling/videos" target="_blank">TwistyPuzzling YouTube channel</a>
fame has rebought this amazing set and has created a
<a href="https://twistypuzzles.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39183" target="_blank">fabulous post</a>
on the Twistypuzzles forum where he annotates a method of describing the
puzzles that can be created and also has produced an amazing spreadsheet
that he has called CheckMakeSolve for allow you to visualise all the various
puzzles that have been described so far as well as to make your own designs.
The amount of work that has gone into this creation is incredible!
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To go alongside this spreadsheet, Rline has been constructing and solving
puzzles and
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbE5BzqvA87JV1Li5TIbsFmdx7bl786_F" target="_blank">posting videos</a>
on the approach to it. The whole point about Rline's approach is to use very
simple methods to solve as many puzzles as possible. He showed off the "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbE5BzqvA87JwsQ1WSSNodtBVZQd5lf2T" target="_blank">Ultimate solution</a>" to the Rubik cube at the beginning of his YouTube career which uses just
2 or even 1 simple algorithm. The whole point of this sort of approach is
not to memorise and fail to understand. The aim is to understand what simple
things do and then use them creatively. I know all you non-twisty fans are
shaking your heads and saying no, no, no! but it really is pretty
straightforward for the basic twisty puzzles.
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I had bought this set many years ago and played for a while but had been
using the beginner's method for solving the Rubik cube at the time and found
that this was rather hard with bandaged puzzles. I had set it aside and
completely misplaced it. Now, with this new resource available I was
determined to get back to it and bought the set again. Luckily it is a nice
cheap puzzle and easily available (<a href="https://www.hknowstore.com/locale/en-US/product/All-in-one-Bandaged-3x3x3-DIY-Kit-Black-NS-CB1172" target="_blank">HKNowstore</a> or
<a href="https://cubezz.com/Buy-5369-CubeTwist+Bandaged+3x3x3+Magic+Cube+Simplified+DIY+Kit+Black.html" target="_blank">Cubezz</a>) - I bought it from Cubezz for a mere $11.99. How is that for value?
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqdVMsEw6kY5_mi28nLmll_DacqJikvl3i7Frrbb1rhb-2eIAKHF8njwIf331KItuiK1yBBzRENEZkM3iMplZw_MOhc_jnSY0z1Eb4a4aYAOSjIvncIwgtXvGEilGRvgy7d8kt5t7ZZ9UO238kTA_AfhnMGhISiHmgzIcf4HS1VHgZufT-bWZ4-zIsQ4/s3221/Block%20Built%20Cube-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3221" data-original-width="2851" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqdVMsEw6kY5_mi28nLmll_DacqJikvl3i7Frrbb1rhb-2eIAKHF8njwIf331KItuiK1yBBzRENEZkM3iMplZw_MOhc_jnSY0z1Eb4a4aYAOSjIvncIwgtXvGEilGRvgy7d8kt5t7ZZ9UO238kTA_AfhnMGhISiHmgzIcf4HS1VHgZufT-bWZ4-zIsQ4/s320/Block%20Built%20Cube-2.jpg" width="265" /></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtJqwssuiNjLefPG3u4qRQxI5iyXl2hUEvWdtxRFoWvBpG61sNm9J6FxwzdtiBk9G27kYk5dOeTKHk-QhZNMzkMwMKnyZ82e1-14yUZXw_hYvkUnn1frHRndwMpM4zywyVA26mWihtFy_-780kHfonHX13rSnKTsp_EpZp9vgMbcHugI07cN6v2ro7xY/s3021/Block%20Built%20Cube.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3021" data-original-width="2729" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtJqwssuiNjLefPG3u4qRQxI5iyXl2hUEvWdtxRFoWvBpG61sNm9J6FxwzdtiBk9G27kYk5dOeTKHk-QhZNMzkMwMKnyZ82e1-14yUZXw_hYvkUnn1frHRndwMpM4zywyVA26mWihtFy_-780kHfonHX13rSnKTsp_EpZp9vgMbcHugI07cN6v2ro7xY/s320/Block%20Built%20Cube.jpg" width="271" /></a>
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The cube above is the first one in the series that Rline is working through -
it's the Block Built Cube. It's a very nice one to start with because the
puzzle has 3 faces adjacent to each other that can easily be turned without
becoming locked up. Having this set of faces available to move means that the
top face pieces can easily be moved and rotated. Using the simple edge piece
series once 3-cycles three edges but if you do it several times then you can
use it to swap corners around and even rotate them. Remember, the edge piece
series is nothing more than up, up, down, down. Using just a 4 move algorithm
and using it creatively allows you to overcome a whole lot of bandaging. I was
truly delighted when I was able to solve this challenge in just 20 minutes! I
am a genius! Except, I'm probably not!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCUMzy8VmB_nkrCyW6D4kNrDIsekvxBQs7HYcFiWH7Pi6ZEMxhoOx7tReUlrqXmpxvJ3_zES_xxH6Bq2M9iFXYLlKYDAbptgmpwY_dmqXTHUl7Uz0U_3lKOonx-IyyoWGrx83M-n19_W6U5AXgqmfo6uM97ttcahyphenhyphenLXChY_2ZQgoJfPlM0Uhfr-ik8C4/s782/Screenshot%202024-03-17%20at%2012.32.25.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="782" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCUMzy8VmB_nkrCyW6D4kNrDIsekvxBQs7HYcFiWH7Pi6ZEMxhoOx7tReUlrqXmpxvJ3_zES_xxH6Bq2M9iFXYLlKYDAbptgmpwY_dmqXTHUl7Uz0U_3lKOonx-IyyoWGrx83M-n19_W6U5AXgqmfo6uM97ttcahyphenhyphenLXChY_2ZQgoJfPlM0Uhfr-ik8C4/s320/Screenshot%202024-03-17%20at%2012.32.25.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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I have not had much puzzling time this last week and despite receiving some
wonderful new challenges from Brian Menold (he sent me out a year of orders
that he had kept aside for me until it was worthwhile paying the postage), I
have not had time to play (I've not even had time to take photos!) I moved on
to the second challenge, the Detour puzzle and my intelligence ran out (along
with my luck).
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This one, as you can see, has only 2 faces that can be turned from this start
position and even with the simple edge piece series system, it is hard to make
this usable. I spent a whole week, on and off, trying to think of a way to
solve it. In fact, it was even almost impossible to scramble the bloody thing!
At the end of that week, I realised that it is possible to turn the blue and
yellow faces 180º 3 times each which flips the pieces enough to free up a
third face. From this position we are back to the same approach as before but
just using it creatively. This was an amazing
<span style="color: red;">AHA!</span> moment and having spent a week looking
at it and failing to find anything useful, it then took me only another 20-30
minutes to solve it.
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Just using basic techniques creatively is an amazing thing to be able to do
and the sense of achievement is fabulous. If you can master a 3x3 Rubik cube
and use the Ultimate technique and be able to think© a bit then this set will
provide hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of fun and frustration. With the
amazing resource from Rline (it has taken him hundreds of hours to create the
spreadsheet and the ever increasing series of videos), this is a MUST HAVE
puzzle set. If you truly get stuck then the video for the one you are stuck on
is there to help and once you have understood one then maybe the next will be
easier. Don't be afraid, just DO IT!
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">MatchBox Playground Resource</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHhAWZQ9s9sd7c7Jtpj_6IE7YF1coIRE1XAB5_AoQmt6qH-9tK3AtWVLtCMWyyW2jRzvgYsezcBLZ7JRBIQGAvB2WhuUDw7BSXM2Z5CU5JnXHKg2LVMcN0Ddrhn2nSFjXdmyE_qdsViRJkULQIHPBb5n1Y8Mlg7LalIqAXXKmW1vHeLk0Aue6BZVWAaQ/s4199/Matchbox%20Playground%20box%20contents.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2485" data-original-width="4199" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHhAWZQ9s9sd7c7Jtpj_6IE7YF1coIRE1XAB5_AoQmt6qH-9tK3AtWVLtCMWyyW2jRzvgYsezcBLZ7JRBIQGAvB2WhuUDw7BSXM2Z5CU5JnXHKg2LVMcN0Ddrhn2nSFjXdmyE_qdsViRJkULQIHPBb5n1Y8Mlg7LalIqAXXKmW1vHeLk0Aue6BZVWAaQ/w640-h378/Matchbox%20Playground%20box%20contents.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2024/02/truly-something-to-behold.html" target="_blank">MatchBox Playground</a>
from
<a href="https://www.pelikanpuzzles.eu/shop/" target="_blank">Pelikan</a>
in collaboration with
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/inventors/petergal/?p=all&a=155639" target="_blank">Péter Gál</a>
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I had written about this wonderful (actually incredible) puzzle set from Jakub
and Jaroslav back in February and they sold out within minutes. Luckily a whole
new batch will be produced soon and those who managed to pre-order will get
their hands on them and have a whole lot of wonderful challenges.
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I have been chatting with Péter about this amazing creation and the work he
has done for it. He offered me the full set of BT files for the puzzling
community to look at and play with. It has every single puzzle that his
analysis created and is a fascinating thing to peruse. I have uploaded the
whole lot as a resource to my Google drive and it can be downloaded as a
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dkzY3j4Q7rRtbcsPrkG1v44o6rsuuuhY/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">single zip file here</a>. The individual xmpuzzle files are gzipped inside the main file but this
should not cause a difficulty for you.
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Thank you to Péter for this - I hope that you find it as fascinating as I do.
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Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-43992112782600396222024-03-10T15:46:00.001+00:002024-03-10T15:46:21.818+00:00Oleg’s Orb/Ball Is Smaller Than Expected!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68-NSE_UYTRh-3aKqeFCIXWEyRK5V8_GS4D_0ibtUxqVSZaua9MNJUI9ypmXd69sG4BtCmXLlJXovXmewk8uup4dDGPMQBT5mZsQvi_tIUE_lkdxHX7ImEZgc5lJGooiI2TBKQ-W11pEy1dxRkPYclQ3LWpXWwt9IwL18I9EOzbV5aVWZG5exzPs6RHY/s4082/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20door.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4082" data-original-width="2914" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68-NSE_UYTRh-3aKqeFCIXWEyRK5V8_GS4D_0ibtUxqVSZaua9MNJUI9ypmXd69sG4BtCmXLlJXovXmewk8uup4dDGPMQBT5mZsQvi_tIUE_lkdxHX7ImEZgc5lJGooiI2TBKQ-W11pEy1dxRkPYclQ3LWpXWwt9IwL18I9EOzbV5aVWZG5exzPs6RHY/w456-h640/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20door.jpg" width="456" /></a>
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<a href="https://www.dedwoodcrafts.com/products/olegs-wardrobe" target="_blank">Oleg's Wardrobe</a>
from DEDwood Crafts
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A few months ago Dee Dixon notified the world of the next puzzle in his never
ending series of sequential discovery puzzles and I duly placed the release date
in my task manager app with a reminder to go online on the dot of the release
time and be ready with my credit card. I was very lucky to be quick enough and
complete my purchase because all 65 copies went in under 5 minutes! My goodness
the market for these has gone through the roof. Luckily for all of you who
missed out, there will be another batch of 50 being released within a few weeks.
Believe me, it is worth it!
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<div>
It took a little while for the rather enormous box to cross the pond and the
unboxing was well worth the wait. This puzzle is simply gorgeous! It genuinely
looks like a wardrobe that would be present in a medieval castle complete with
a beautifully carved door handle. It is 5"x7"x3.5" and made from Peruvian
walnut and African striped mahogany (I think the handle might be Ebony). The
door of the wardrobe has been textured to add to the authenticity and the
quality feel of the puzzle. It is accompanied by a rather large card
explaining the rules and the rather endearing story written by
<a href="https://fivesinatras.com" target="_blank">Brent Hessel</a> to
explain why we have a wardrobe and are looking for the Orb of Prosperity.
Apparently King Oleg stole it from the villagers and hid it in his wardrobe.
The plucky Knight Note has stolen the wardrobe from Oleg but cannot find the
Orb and has asked for help from this plucky puzzler!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamqbJjr1uzhKN4GJQevepOx2hG-sqtVuBj1CxVZUdTx-pNZVx1gTXBN747WzT4glMsaxH7mQIIwLPuTviBT7ndBvF-TsGe7d36lcOQ7lyAc2tLD0bHi-itdjWsHoldW14BvRbFkJOG0K7jhu2Fe6gMxmhYWQvj8EfzF3rxNyCMJ8L3rK1ljgvj4z2NBI/s3948/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20story.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3948" data-original-width="3027" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamqbJjr1uzhKN4GJQevepOx2hG-sqtVuBj1CxVZUdTx-pNZVx1gTXBN747WzT4glMsaxH7mQIIwLPuTviBT7ndBvF-TsGe7d36lcOQ7lyAc2tLD0bHi-itdjWsHoldW14BvRbFkJOG0K7jhu2Fe6gMxmhYWQvj8EfzF3rxNyCMJ8L3rK1ljgvj4z2NBI/s320/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20story.jpg" width="245" /></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZLiWrA2GVby1W0ecRLJ8mu5rIfolsb5lZMTq8VWgoehFYCi7gBKzm2jnWKu8FWyT7D7jL-Fs9d9l4v0GAHfQPiObqPpPE3TpheQol5DmdNH0Y9bzA73_5WdRIytTutoPN3-v_X4q_32UMYBK64rM4fAjOSbTwgFReIcehMP3j024t89uD1fGeBnaS7E/s4082/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20instructions.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4082" data-original-width="3159" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjZLiWrA2GVby1W0ecRLJ8mu5rIfolsb5lZMTq8VWgoehFYCi7gBKzm2jnWKu8FWyT7D7jL-Fs9d9l4v0GAHfQPiObqPpPE3TpheQol5DmdNH0Y9bzA73_5WdRIytTutoPN3-v_X4q_32UMYBK64rM4fAjOSbTwgFReIcehMP3j024t89uD1fGeBnaS7E/s320/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20instructions.jpg" width="248" /></a>
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It is all absolutely beautifully presented (the cards are really difficult to
photograph!). The first thing I noticed after my initial admiration of the
craftsmanship (Dee always makes such gorgeous puzzles) was the fact that on the
left side of the wardrobe there was a small area cut out that could be rotated
in place to reveal a slot for something. I obeyed the rules and did not spinning
of the puzzle but have to admit that I did shake it a bit upside down to see if
I could make anything come out of the slot. Of course neither Dee not Oleg would
make it so simple. There is also a small area on the base of the wardrobe that
acts as a button but barely moves at this point.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
There's nothing else for it...time to open the wardrobe. What do you do with a
wardrobe? Pull the handle of course and Aha! the door opens (in fact it comes
off) much to my surprise. Inside there is a warning and four drawers:
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0141s10eCjWhIKaITliiCZ1M9ZA8UGf_3FQUiZNMah0Z4kS19mQ56uXHNSKW6CzU7v9kTmhow4a8-3zwTy6TM_3KGYBPNxHo-vmAJfmyZLbsb6gDoo3nPr9p7BOu_7ouowRzehwU-HXo_NZTGZMSVtCH1yE0EP3-qjRbPIPYO_z493HD8WUYi2XUeyr8/s3766/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20door%20open.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3766" data-original-width="3180" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0141s10eCjWhIKaITliiCZ1M9ZA8UGf_3FQUiZNMah0Z4kS19mQ56uXHNSKW6CzU7v9kTmhow4a8-3zwTy6TM_3KGYBPNxHo-vmAJfmyZLbsb6gDoo3nPr9p7BOu_7ouowRzehwU-HXo_NZTGZMSVtCH1yE0EP3-qjRbPIPYO_z493HD8WUYi2XUeyr8/w338-h400/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20door%20open.jpg" width="338" /></a>
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It's all so gorgeous!
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There are no handles on the drawers so I tipped them out - luckily it's only a
small wardrobe! They all come out and there is nothing in those drawers. What
next? Time to think©!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80Fa_LrRdb0ZfoYPOI4GwXF7J0gQQFEQQPBAXTPU5U-vDZAhnAb1jEIC9utRwaMuFUWMJ1mU5BrJctcL3TwE5LaqSY3-a4XLRPmiZCn-qv0rM3qtbOPB8tPXFLqOe2IUEqYP3gmIdOKuFfKU5NDEszIEaOVu8y4IVeztWFZxBOLbb7vnmXTHqGvufhaE/s3126/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20drawers%20removed-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3126" data-original-width="3107" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80Fa_LrRdb0ZfoYPOI4GwXF7J0gQQFEQQPBAXTPU5U-vDZAhnAb1jEIC9utRwaMuFUWMJ1mU5BrJctcL3TwE5LaqSY3-a4XLRPmiZCn-qv0rM3qtbOPB8tPXFLqOe2IUEqYP3gmIdOKuFfKU5NDEszIEaOVu8y4IVeztWFZxBOLbb7vnmXTHqGvufhaE/s320/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20drawers%20removed-2.jpg" width="230" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
The craftsmanship is wonderful
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3M9z1RFvN88cr_mWBdffS4niKep-Cmf0s8g-R5ISLYeG861KyOvhmJrtL2nlROzWA-kFrTHcIjxrhkxjrUtsIrr3KhTDfI5cuCrjbU5qzP3V-v29dk0RAKIiChsDywF100szmauXyGAGohQkI00zCC9pkGhE5LDfh4uEP1WKe76V97VFM90ZafAk3Rt8/s3446/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20mark%20in%20door.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2910" data-original-width="3446" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3M9z1RFvN88cr_mWBdffS4niKep-Cmf0s8g-R5ISLYeG861KyOvhmJrtL2nlROzWA-kFrTHcIjxrhkxjrUtsIrr3KhTDfI5cuCrjbU5qzP3V-v29dk0RAKIiChsDywF100szmauXyGAGohQkI00zCC9pkGhE5LDfh4uEP1WKe76V97VFM90ZafAk3Rt8/s320/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20mark%20in%20door.jpg" width="296" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Dee's mark
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
With the drawers out it is possible to see that the wardrobe has been
constructed in layers and one is slightly wiggly. This might be useful but at
the moment for me, did nothing. I have to sheepishly admit that I got stuck at
this point for over a week! Whilst investigating this I suddenly found a tool
had appeared and I had absolutely no idea where from. Odd! I used a torch and
looked inside and there was no clue where it came from and only 2 days later
did I work it out. As I have said before, "I am really not terribly bright".
Having found the tool, I had to work out what to do with it. The little slot
that I had mentioned before seemed an obvious choice and with huge
expectations I slotted it into place and...NADA! It wouldn't fit. Bugger!
Maybe I was doing it wrong? I tried to do the same move on multiple occasions
and in different orientations of both me and the puzzle. And...still NADA!
Think© dammit!<br />
<br />
I thunk for a while and noticed something else where the tool might be helpful
so tried that and...NADA! I am really not very good at puzzling - it's amazing
that anyone reads what I write. I then had to put this one down for a while or
there would be no blog posts for you. I went back and forth from Brass Monkey
6 to the twisty puzzle to the Wardrobe for a while and only made progress on
the two former puzzles. I must be missing something in this. I was convinced
that the wiggly bit must be the secret but it wasn't doing anything in any
position and so I was tempted to try something that was not in the rules - my
last resort after blowing on a puzzle is to submerge it in gin to see whether
that might help. With the size of this bloody thing, I would need to use a
whole bottle and Mrs S was not going to let me do that. I did also suspect
that gin might not be good for the wood - I know that I am thick but really
not that dumb. Eventually, after 2 weeks, I made a very small but very
interesting discovery - I had another tool which made what was wiggly really
quite mobile. Man, that is a very unusual move in a puzzle! I had lots more
movement and a lovely locking mechanism that I could not see but worked every
time. This allowed me to try something else which did nothing until I tried it
differently and it did. Bang! I had another tool which I did not know how I
managed to unlock or even where it had come from.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
This new tool looked very useful. It fit somewhere and then fell out again.
Maybe I could try....
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Aha!</span></b>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
That is very interesting. I could make the took disappear inside. At this
point there were only so many possibilities and before long I heard a click. I
couldn't see anything new as a result of the click so carried on fiddling when
Oleg's orb fell on the table. A word of warning - if you are doing SD puzzles,
always do them on a table or on a lap tray. Son't do them on an armchair and
especially not with a cat on your lap because stuff disappears quickly inside
the crevices of an armchair or in the gaping maw of a peeved cat!<br />
<br />
I appeared to have retrieved the Orb and I have to say that King Oleg has a
very small ball!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtYrbIAWmNAKKVbaY8u9fR50HzjAL_qsVVCiQni42SZ1SJlv25hQwkJ3g5e94GbSTOy4-cyr7S9IHdlRwMxdp08Myl1wzGWL0fL4kvyLH_rhg1MCG4qycH0no7S-_4u2Ia9ROLXqMcYzrymZ3d8ghcchWHHFP6T0SvjUUCKsV9NTUnC3FrWUCFZ0_nIZM/s3105/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20Orb%20found.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3044" data-original-width="3105" height="589" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtYrbIAWmNAKKVbaY8u9fR50HzjAL_qsVVCiQni42SZ1SJlv25hQwkJ3g5e94GbSTOy4-cyr7S9IHdlRwMxdp08Myl1wzGWL0fL4kvyLH_rhg1MCG4qycH0no7S-_4u2Ia9ROLXqMcYzrymZ3d8ghcchWHHFP6T0SvjUUCKsV9NTUnC3FrWUCFZ0_nIZM/w640-h628/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20Orb%20found.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
The Orb of Prosperity is a little erm underwhelming
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Having found the Orb, I am told that all is well in the village and I can now
reset the puzzle back to the beginning without fear of the consequences. Except
after over a week of trying, I cannot seem to reset the puzzle. I am trying to
do the reverse of what I had done but something is not working for me. I suspect
that I have forgotten a specific orientation for the puzzle when I do a certain
move or sequence and need to keep experimenting to get it to work. The result of
this? Note to myself to always pay attention to what moves you do and what
position they are in when you do them.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I'll keep at it. It will look fabulous on display with all my other
<a href="http://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/search/label/DEDwood%20Crafts" target="_blank">Dedwood Crafts puzzles</a>. I really must get back to the Burner and Uplift puzzles which I have also
singularly failed:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gC0-6PfLrUX89r2onLogBCdXFzny_xVb60kjoXLo4kadM_aWFtn78Kmhk1zRtFWRePXLIVHWEUHh6G8BV-qa8V94HK6eo8dVrIhOWaBMe9y1Rzwo7dA0r15q95asvfyTzrV97VJKYb4OeFSXYZsF-ukcaMWkTKsaa1XOWZxGgwwLWzmt5PTYX6T97g0/s3678/Uplift.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3219" data-original-width="3678" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gC0-6PfLrUX89r2onLogBCdXFzny_xVb60kjoXLo4kadM_aWFtn78Kmhk1zRtFWRePXLIVHWEUHh6G8BV-qa8V94HK6eo8dVrIhOWaBMe9y1Rzwo7dA0r15q95asvfyTzrV97VJKYb4OeFSXYZsF-ukcaMWkTKsaa1XOWZxGgwwLWzmt5PTYX6T97g0/s320/Uplift.jpg" width="320" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uplift</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkFu76cKFqGYrB32pBYlGEUdUOwoU9wnCHrLuSywoQk6tE5LbmjE46xX-ZnkHpMLLT2jKEBKymEcqA2MgnQA6NjAEpYPTiTT7-IgAc0Lb7MbugGbs38ybFeLLLlC0_CrKQB6sDbp2SyAqGA-NARuLrFf0W7UeIUu_1Rs7iCcAX6AlPAg-VoOblLF8yPY/s3391/Burner.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3391" data-original-width="2275" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkFu76cKFqGYrB32pBYlGEUdUOwoU9wnCHrLuSywoQk6tE5LbmjE46xX-ZnkHpMLLT2jKEBKymEcqA2MgnQA6NjAEpYPTiTT7-IgAc0Lb7MbugGbs38ybFeLLLlC0_CrKQB6sDbp2SyAqGA-NARuLrFf0W7UeIUu_1Rs7iCcAX6AlPAg-VoOblLF8yPY/s320/Burner.jpg" width="188" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burner</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
I also think there is another new one coming out which I will hopefully be quick enough on the draw to purchase! If all the previous ones are anything to go by then it will be superb.<div>Keep an eye out for the second batch if you didn't manage to get one of these from the first.<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-12307265269415618642024-03-03T16:45:00.001+00:002024-03-03T16:45:41.774+00:00Celebrating a Landmark With a Best of Year?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8jd7hdkQ6Lux1D4VPvUOf44jJ-v4rOACIwZGUBpCpgOJod34eSt5Xeh_VeDW68aPvr2VFYaC9HT2CaFdtiyZKrF_GcKJ4jwgJyt242OMHwQDLsLMcSj9SX9EGNI-NXQFhA8Tmlga89EgPVSKyehyphenhyphenXNXBPeWA1AAbWGnZMMpapq5tgn_LpTCL3dV_IhQ/s3047/Brass%20Monley%20Sixential%20Discovery.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2985" data-original-width="3047" height="587" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8jd7hdkQ6Lux1D4VPvUOf44jJ-v4rOACIwZGUBpCpgOJod34eSt5Xeh_VeDW68aPvr2VFYaC9HT2CaFdtiyZKrF_GcKJ4jwgJyt242OMHwQDLsLMcSj9SX9EGNI-NXQFhA8Tmlga89EgPVSKyehyphenhyphenXNXBPeWA1AAbWGnZMMpapq5tgn_LpTCL3dV_IhQ/w640-h626/Brass%20Monley%20Sixential%20Discovery.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://twobrassmonkeys.com/collections/all/products/brass-monkey-sixential-discovery-aka-bmsd?ref=a65xlzwkiz" target="_blank">Brass Monkey Sixential Discovery Puzzle</a>
(aka BM6)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>AT LAST!</b></span>
</div>
<p>
I have absolutely adored the Brass Monkey burr series (which are not burrs) - I have reviewed them (<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/search/label/TwoBrassMonkeys" target="_blank">along with a whole bunch of their other releases</a>) over the last few years and some have been awkward to solve whilst others
have made me
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2021/05/something-happy-and-something-sad.html" target="_blank">laugh out loud</a> as I did silly things to solve them. This one, the last in the
series, made me frustrated, made me laugh and made me gasp in disbelief. It
has taken me weeks and weeks to solve! </p>
<p>
I am delighted to be able to show this one off on the same week that my
pageview count topped the 3 million mark! I find it totally unbelievable
that anyone spends the time to read the rubbish that I write. It even
continued and got more popular after my mother died (so it couldn't have all
been down to her). Thank you for coming along for the ride and allowing me
to justify my "little" hobby to the present wife!
</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGI2TPrkAh8dQe-BR49KWy30l05MoMPdLCmrrttbrMVvuwQVHikopGyCwFNyr90oSDmsHoixhirYM0lwbLcEPU758TvoEo-jcsYErWWt48rOFiffeJSpBVpxTpXEkJDLczSMF7RP8IVJsbp1DMfH6NrZ2gsPp9nhwMSCjLLr37FSa-tCdHIVKpa-d97Q/s2010/Blog%20count%202024.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="2010" height="56" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGI2TPrkAh8dQe-BR49KWy30l05MoMPdLCmrrttbrMVvuwQVHikopGyCwFNyr90oSDmsHoixhirYM0lwbLcEPU758TvoEo-jcsYErWWt48rOFiffeJSpBVpxTpXEkJDLczSMF7RP8IVJsbp1DMfH6NrZ2gsPp9nhwMSCjLLr37FSa-tCdHIVKpa-d97Q/w640-h60/Blog%20count%202024.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/" target="_blank">Main site</a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyyGCsOtYfjb7VxZS02AgYDqTD8iiewMVcl0XAlpGNqV8qfIlM6thIUR9KWbo6vL93dkO8awSDMnqZQzu92_lt40I8lhPs-obwQoFvJO5Y7JYMknblKG8uf8Felu_cQCycFdaG5WrdEFx5EzpLx0He4Pgq44gCIhCuyb-g_jmaF36Wk-tGas7wCN_BdR0/s2006/New%20additions%20count%202024.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="2006" height="56" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyyGCsOtYfjb7VxZS02AgYDqTD8iiewMVcl0XAlpGNqV8qfIlM6thIUR9KWbo6vL93dkO8awSDMnqZQzu92_lt40I8lhPs-obwQoFvJO5Y7JYMknblKG8uf8Felu_cQCycFdaG5WrdEFx5EzpLx0He4Pgq44gCIhCuyb-g_jmaF36Wk-tGas7wCN_BdR0/w640-h60/New%20additions%20count%202024.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://newstuff.puzzlemad.co.uk/" target="_blank">New additions site</a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Total page views now 3,017,111 - thank you so much!<br />
<p>If you buy this then you probably should own the set - they are all fun to solve and look great on display:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_xI_uL0UWFA8qgtNTRj0KxtgWi7uWsn7sr3_wNL0VXg_kMlTL7jzcRw5xZZO4y9XUEt4kFjGqoGDoUbYC54gYh5tt7hKFw6C0hQZDXdPLXd3ILhB9r4puYlrw3dmigcu7D_N0dK7Cjnv6DjgDiYSELEEjoFH8I0mSJ29MzoB_kd4TzFlX5df70BKXSM/s4370/All%20the%20Brass%20Monkeys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2629" data-original-width="4370" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_xI_uL0UWFA8qgtNTRj0KxtgWi7uWsn7sr3_wNL0VXg_kMlTL7jzcRw5xZZO4y9XUEt4kFjGqoGDoUbYC54gYh5tt7hKFw6C0hQZDXdPLXd3ILhB9r4puYlrw3dmigcu7D_N0dK7Cjnv6DjgDiYSELEEjoFH8I0mSJ29MzoB_kd4TzFlX5df70BKXSM/w400-h241/All%20the%20Brass%20Monkeys.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Six wonderful challenges</td></tr></tbody></table>They all look the same as six piece burrs with only the markings on the ends of the pieces showing a difference between them. Each of the previous versions have had a significant nod to different puzzle genres and this last one is the most enjoyed puzzle type of all the sequential discovery puzzle. If that is your thing then this is the amongst the best SD puzzles I have ever tried. Go <a href="https://twobrassmonkeys.com/collections/all/products/brass-monkey-sixential-discovery-aka-bmsd?ref=a65xlzwkiz" target="_blank">BUY IT</a>!</div><div><br /></div><div>I was lucky enough to get one of the first of them to be released and set to straight away. The first thing I realised was that nothing moves...nothing at all! I poked and prodded and peered inside the holes that were in the ends of some of the burrsticks. I used a torch and all this told me was that I couldn't see inside. I pushed and pulled and wiggled and found absolutely nothing. Yep! Not terribly bright as always.</div><div><br /></div><div>I then noticed some movement with something and, as this was the only thing I had found in a day or so, I persistently wiggled and poked it. Suddenly it wiggled more! Hooray! I carried on doing the only thing that worked and after about an hour something came loose. I had found something special! But this just proved that I was an eejit! I should have realised that this wasn't right because Steve and Ali would never have a puzzle that solved that way. Having found something which did not give me any tools, I then inverted what I found and pushed it back only to have it go in and then go rigidly solid and not come out again! Oooh! that's not good, is it? Time to contact Steve over the interwebs and sheepishly admit what I had done and ask whether it might be irreversible. I was reassured that what I had done was not irreversible but I should not have been able to do it in the first place - I dare say that Steve sheepishly admitted that something hadn't been tightened adequately. He would make sure that all the others did not have this move possible.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I had found a thing, returned the thing and jammed that bit in so that I could no longer retrieve the thing. I hope that you all find that description helpful enough to avoid doing the same "thing"? I guessed that after having my hopes and dreams dashed like that, I should return to solving. My problem? I had pushed and pulled and poked and prodded everything I could think of. Apart from a slight general wiggle caused by the interlocking burr pieces not being too tight, I could find nothing. This state of affairs persisted for weeks! Every day I would risk sanity, kitchen tiles and worktop playing with my very heavy metal paperweight. I kept getting looks of impending violence from Mrs S when she thought I might drop it and crack something. After about 3 weeks, whilst chatting with <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2015/01/he-called-me-genius.html" target="_blank">the genius</a> (yes, Derek Bosch strikes again) he suggested that instead of pushing and pulling and prodding, I should actually look at the bloody thing! Now, why didn't I think of that? The next day, I sat down with it and a nice bright light and properly examined the whole puzzle - if I was a good puzzler, then I would probably have thought of that already. After about 15 minutes, I noticed a detail that I had not seen before - what if I??? <b>OMG! Aha!</b><br /><p>I suddenly had a "thing" and from here on progress was a lovely sequence which started with:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>I have this - what can I do with it?</li><li>I tried that and it didn't work so maybe I could try this?</li><li>Aha!</li><li>I have another thing</li><li>Back to step 1</li></ol><div>This 5 step sequence happened over and over and over again. Almost every time there was a new item. I have never seen a puzzle with so many pieces and so many steps. It was totally logical and required a nice bit of think©ing to manage each step. One or two of the tools needed to be used more than once but mostly there was a new tool for each step. I was having a ball! After 6 or 7 steps, I stopped returning back to the beginning each time I stopped playing because there were just too many pieces and steps to keep reversing.</div><div><br /></div><div>After another few of evenings of play, I managed to retrieve the part that I had mistakenly freed and then re-trapped in my first attempts. I had a monkey!</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8D_SbH_N-nx6YOd3MgsRuVyNDyPNv0JpXY_JfcIYE-aiu7l3eg-jZoJwyqEt76kvwZdldDX0XCiJAt_cUx9RxwLR8Alk1kRhGpuxhAgU4ku4BL841KQJDFO8IzebbtBLRPsdYbBGy5gLBhDM79J3OgwI2XR-9mPjt4GltYS1bcV-yea9JEy-K_i0rWk/s2379/Brass%20Monkey%20Sixential%20Discovery%20prize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2062" data-original-width="2379" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8D_SbH_N-nx6YOd3MgsRuVyNDyPNv0JpXY_JfcIYE-aiu7l3eg-jZoJwyqEt76kvwZdldDX0XCiJAt_cUx9RxwLR8Alk1kRhGpuxhAgU4ku4BL841KQJDFO8IzebbtBLRPsdYbBGy5gLBhDM79J3OgwI2XR-9mPjt4GltYS1bcV-yea9JEy-K_i0rWk/w200-h173/Brass%20Monkey%20Sixential%20Discovery%20prize.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I thought that this was it - I'm an eejit!</td></tr></tbody></table>This was the place I had been at <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2024/02/an-icosahedral-puzzle-for-you-because.html" target="_blank">last weekend</a> when I went to write about the puzzle. I did have a sort of nagging feeling that there were pieces that I had not yet explored but I suppressed those doubts and when I sat down to start writing, I looked at <a href="http://allardspuzzlingtimes.blogspot.com/2024/01/brass-monkey-sixential-discovery-bm6.html" target="_blank">Allard's wonderful review</a> and saw his solved picture and also reread the announcement page on the TwoBrassMonkey site. Oh NO!!! I had not completed the puzzle - the ultimate aim was to find the bananas and feed them to the monkey. This seems to be a <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2023/07/cleaning-study-one-puzzle-at-time.html" target="_blank">theme</a> for Steve and Ali. There was obviously at least one more step and I had no idea what to do next.<p></p><p>I could see that there was something inside that deserved attention but I did not have a tool that would fit. Yet again it was time to think© and it hurt. I spent another 5 days looking for the right tool and moves only to not find anything. I then had to look at what I had and realised that there was something that was peculiar about one of the pieces I had. A sneaky idea occurred and I said aloud "what if I do this? Much to the disgust of she who who is thinking violent thoughts about big Steve and Ali (run guys, run!) my thinking aloud led to an Aha! shout! which really upset her. I then had yet another thing to explore and finally after 35 separate puzzling steps (give or take a few) I had my puzzle solved!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCgvaoBbdbi_dnIXCgpABP0SoCMmzJ2tXUjXrdoAJGt_E7o-NMPcy1LWW5Kcm53Tl97h8Lvx9kc4A4YiDpvryWwLW5DgvUP2I480Ooe_iI8tOn0vsKmiC7H7AJ7qmAN-1nIM6LoNcknbm2-9Z7cVxncG5PyppF9leGPKqC83LYxSQDaVlCGmUKBnnZmQ/s3097/Brass%20Monkey%20Sixential%20Discovery%20dismantled%20and%20feeding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3097" data-original-width="2845" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCgvaoBbdbi_dnIXCgpABP0SoCMmzJ2tXUjXrdoAJGt_E7o-NMPcy1LWW5Kcm53Tl97h8Lvx9kc4A4YiDpvryWwLW5DgvUP2I480Ooe_iI8tOn0vsKmiC7H7AJ7qmAN-1nIM6LoNcknbm2-9Z7cVxncG5PyppF9leGPKqC83LYxSQDaVlCGmUKBnnZmQ/w588-h640/Brass%20Monkey%20Sixential%20Discovery%20dismantled%20and%20feeding.jpg" width="588" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The BM6 dismantled and I have bananas for the monkey<br />No spoilers here</td></tr></tbody></table>There are a serious number of pieces here! I have never seen anything like it in the 14 years I have been puzzling. It is incredible that the boys managed to fit so many parts and so many steps into one epic puzzle. Not only is this likely to be the best puzzle of the year - you have another 10 months until my 2024 top ten(ish) but this may well be the best puzzle I have ever solved! It is right up there with the <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2013/11/i-freed-my-angel-and-i-need-her-help.html" target="_blank">Angel box</a>, <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2012/06/bountiful-bonanza-of-beautiful-and.html" target="_blank">Opening bat</a>, <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2015/12/simply-amazing.html" target="_blank">Katie Koala</a> and <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2022/06/a-cat-for-mantlepiece-yes-please-juno.html" target="_blank">Mittan</a> puzzles.<br /><p>Of course, having dismantled it and spread all the pieces out for photos, it was time to put it all back together. I had enough memory of the steps to not find this too hard but the big challenge was how to place the burr sticks so they could assemble into a six piece burr again. I am not good at burr assembly and this took me a little while to work out.</p><p></p><div>This puzzle is just plain epic! Don't hesitate - just buy it. I am sure that you will find the first step much quicker than me and not need a genius to help you. But once you have found that first step there is a marvellous journey ahead of you.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you guys! I very much doubt that you can ever top this but I am waiting with bated breath to see.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p></p>
</div>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-70816133076162999282024-02-25T16:42:00.001+00:002024-02-25T16:42:24.651+00:00An Icosahedral Puzzle for You Because I’m an Eejit!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34t02JSfIfCGo16gn01Pe18IpOShWckP3iSn4rZBtY6fGy93cVvCk_zp7UGYIQLXR-lJ7y3gpPKfS8qgS-vyyvqz0tPWmUqjC6NQvK22Od4hiYUgkmy9YpJVEI6ewEOgsNwGtWARYhUfwNlXQN86k2E9QlIOWKaCadvAhpwhoI1BzyjwZhCAdEjsszh8/s3263/%20Icosaminx.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3263" data-original-width="3182" height="615" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34t02JSfIfCGo16gn01Pe18IpOShWckP3iSn4rZBtY6fGy93cVvCk_zp7UGYIQLXR-lJ7y3gpPKfS8qgS-vyyvqz0tPWmUqjC6NQvK22Od4hiYUgkmy9YpJVEI6ewEOgsNwGtWARYhUfwNlXQN86k2E9QlIOWKaCadvAhpwhoI1BzyjwZhCAdEjsszh8/w624-h640/%20Icosaminx.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Icosaminx with my own colour scheme
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQFeWhA3BstBj1_W85RAxrnNwQKBbbItMzrqUsepFX7qVW9yMrgWMWVlDN8BEB3TYHeKftDs-rnz_0aK2kIDK1GjSvU__iiX2T3krG_2wo_pa47EeOZb0-bs54G43so-tG05APIPCbNVzgKdnWHrmUIwLh4-edv93egKTmKF1LcUcGoP8DFzIol6RsHY/s4370/All%20the%20Brass%20Monkeys.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2629" data-original-width="4370" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQFeWhA3BstBj1_W85RAxrnNwQKBbbItMzrqUsepFX7qVW9yMrgWMWVlDN8BEB3TYHeKftDs-rnz_0aK2kIDK1GjSvU__iiX2T3krG_2wo_pa47EeOZb0-bs54G43so-tG05APIPCbNVzgKdnWHrmUIwLh4-edv93egKTmKF1LcUcGoP8DFzIol6RsHY/w200-h121/All%20the%20Brass%20Monkeys.jpg" width="200" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Don't they look great?
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
This is a fabulous puzzle - both in looks and in solving but I am writing about
it with a heavy heart...I had not actually intended to write about it this weekend. I have to admit
(yet again) that I'm not terribly bright! I have spent weeks on my solving
odyssey of the
<a href="https://twobrassmonkeys.com/collections/all/products/brass-monkey-sixential-discovery-aka-bmsd?ref=a65xlzwkiz" target="_blank">Brass Monkey Sixential Discovery puzzle</a>
and really thought that I had it beaten (it took me 3 weeks to find the first
step!) and whilst uploading my photos and looking at what I had done and the
pieces I had found (OMG there are so many pieces!), I had this sneaky suspicion that I was missing something. I
checked Allard's review and realised that I am truly a rubbish puzzler - not only had
I taken an obscenely long time to get to where I was but I also had convinced
myself that I had reached the end when I really had not and in retrospect it was
obvious! Aargh!<br />
<br />
<div>
As a result of this, I am having to discuss the
<a href="https://cubezz.com/Buy-7587-Galaxy+Puzzle+Icosaminx+Black.html" target="_blank">Icosaminx</a> which looks fearsome but is a minor challenge compared with the recently purchased
sequential discovery puzzles that I am failing at. </div><div><br /></div><div>Most puzzlers seem to be
geometry freaks (another reason that we are "not normal") and with a large
number of tetrahedral, triangular prism, cubic, cuboidal, pentagonal prism,
hexagonal and dodecahedral puzzles there is always room for something with another wonderful shape and yet more sides/vertices. Enter the Icosaminx...who can
resist a 20-sided puzzle? Not me! I had to buy it as soon as I saw it on
sale.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
As you can see, it's a corner turning puzzle which means that it is
<b>EASY</b> to solve despite it's looks:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2p6BE0YqjgOe9oTbkHFK4sW4ei_ZsiIj9t0mbn2iKXfv4a1H3O6YIyu6Z_QGwbpPA0VUoZxZzDMYe6w3PSYuV6LnH7ZUcKPWUt8IIFu3TTBGV3PW8PgDy6PwbuGRiLw5fqdtVBwFUUT0RqYy9XoxtP-wKX96ZPzQ0X1x3kWmg3euxKsuHMUo0w76AJU/s3366/Icosaminx%20turned.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3366" data-original-width="3173" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2p6BE0YqjgOe9oTbkHFK4sW4ei_ZsiIj9t0mbn2iKXfv4a1H3O6YIyu6Z_QGwbpPA0VUoZxZzDMYe6w3PSYuV6LnH7ZUcKPWUt8IIFu3TTBGV3PW8PgDy6PwbuGRiLw5fqdtVBwFUUT0RqYy9XoxtP-wKX96ZPzQ0X1x3kWmg3euxKsuHMUo0w76AJU/w378-h400/Icosaminx%20turned.jpg" width="378" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Corner turning makes for an easy puzzle
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
The effect of being corner turning means that the only parts that scramble are
the face centers and the edges in triads. My usual approach to any twisty puzzle
is to explore simple move sequences first and undo them and look at the effects
to see how they can be used. Often I scramble by accident but within 5 minutes
of performing an up, up, down, down I could see that those triads were being
moved around like any edge piece series would. This is useful as the edges would
be easy to place but what about the centres? Remembering the easy approach to
commutators that I have learned many times I could see that with so many
vertices, it would be easy to turn one and move a single center out of the triad
and undo the up, up, down down which would make for a nice easy 3-cycle of the
centres.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;">
<tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-7alxKgrgC2or0lb2lRBGq-XMTt0NX6B2aN6tEQrRE8rI-JbOBng1E7DShrrrfg4xUGMuurimAWziusDH7BJ6MYdDfscBaLakQVhXi7uGurSMMcTVxG_sYiKkQNIllWiYC3yOLRCfs8eH4wRxKT8dktkLE6cAkiUjB5Jb-Ng2FXXfmPiIfRbvjIz9tc/s3170/Eitan's%20Star%20Scrambled.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2969" data-original-width="3170" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-7alxKgrgC2or0lb2lRBGq-XMTt0NX6B2aN6tEQrRE8rI-JbOBng1E7DShrrrfg4xUGMuurimAWziusDH7BJ6MYdDfscBaLakQVhXi7uGurSMMcTVxG_sYiKkQNIllWiYC3yOLRCfs8eH4wRxKT8dktkLE6cAkiUjB5Jb-Ng2FXXfmPiIfRbvjIz9tc/w200-h188/Eitan's%20Star%20Scrambled.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Even this can be built partially by intuition
</td>
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<br />Hooray! within just 5 minutes of playing with the puzzle I had a
beautiful solution approach. I would orient the corners, build up most of the
bottom half of the puzzle by intuition and block building (this is easy
because there is so much space on a 20 faced puzzle - I even was able to do
this on the incredible Eitan's Star from many years ago.<br />
<div><br /></div>
</div>
<div>
Once half of it is built by intuition, I can then 3 cycle to place the edges
and finally use my 10 move commutator with a few easy setup moves to rotate
all the centres into place. I figured that taking 5 minutes to work out how to
solve a twisty puzzle was pretty brilliant of me and then I failed the Brass
monkey 6! Sob!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>Time for a scramble:</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiiB9hI5wdhzMMoaUvtzt_avl9HM_xjWoDCoqhlapizeb-ZW-LYg_etHmzPbtWoC_L2yc2XCxouVByfcVzq9S2H2Ymx30Yv17aokrz7K3HNmF8H14a3BFAJKTP8SpPf6WslYxJmf7aS49WL3-pAGpwelDjx68KDSfFcfGm87kGL0nSKLane2q5ZgG3Yg/s3357/Icosaminx%20scrambled.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3195" data-original-width="3357" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiiB9hI5wdhzMMoaUvtzt_avl9HM_xjWoDCoqhlapizeb-ZW-LYg_etHmzPbtWoC_L2yc2XCxouVByfcVzq9S2H2Ymx30Yv17aokrz7K3HNmF8H14a3BFAJKTP8SpPf6WslYxJmf7aS49WL3-pAGpwelDjx68KDSfFcfGm87kGL0nSKLane2q5ZgG3Yg/w640-h610/Icosaminx%20scrambled.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
It looks great scrambled and much harder than it actually is
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
Having admired the apparent chaos of so many pieces, I set to and am gratified
to tell you that it really was as easy as I have told you. It's a bit laborious
with so many pieces to place but a remarkably satisfying puzzle to solve. It
took about 15 minutes to complete and left me with a big grin. I have taken it
to work to show off and yet further convince my colleagues that I am a genius.
They look at the puzzle with horror and then amazement when it is solved so
quickly. At least some people think I am a genius whereas the puzzling world, my
poor readers, well know the truth of my meagre skills.<br />
<div><br /></div>
<hr align="center" color="#cc0000" size="2" width="80%" />
<br />
<div>As a follow up to last week's blog post, I can tell you that the puzzles I reviewed from <a href="https://www.pelikanpuzzles.eu/shop/" target="_blank">Pelikan</a> went on sale and as expected the really fancy ones sold out very quickly. I have been told that Jakub and Jaroslav intend to make more copies of the MRI and Matchbox Playground (and maybe the Filling V) in the future. Keep an eye out for them.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did manage to finally solve the MRI with a very big smile on my face. I had completely missed something in the week that I had it and when I found it laughed at the simplicity and beautiful implementation of the mechanism:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTL_SOnDamFiEb7yRKmWeECC4QXF9FC7jt1pX6bY2OKJpOyNgjl_-FNsnqWcHqPE8pM_8VjNu-4z1gbRUswbkV_U8b_GJJz2eb4CNDLh0abw2BS10M_FiYz5nPxfeCPhQIgBriEv3R_Uz8ySw13e_TTe3WvX6AzvCIZUo7ZlykpBPqeP__EBT4rzW48p8/s3388/MRI%20solved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3388" data-original-width="3180" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTL_SOnDamFiEb7yRKmWeECC4QXF9FC7jt1pX6bY2OKJpOyNgjl_-FNsnqWcHqPE8pM_8VjNu-4z1gbRUswbkV_U8b_GJJz2eb4CNDLh0abw2BS10M_FiYz5nPxfeCPhQIgBriEv3R_Uz8ySw13e_TTe3WvX6AzvCIZUo7ZlykpBPqeP__EBT4rzW48p8/w375-h400/MRI%20solved.jpg" width="375" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It took me over a week!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-18449087363558364412024-02-18T16:59:00.002+00:002024-02-18T16:59:53.449+00:00Truly Something to Behold<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEd2bAgOkYklwZ86OO_6zdqd2Q2Izu_9nVzerP5li8264NcYGSB73KNCm049LzE-zevI4O3ltL20aNnqscscAWqqRZ7TYYrt87MxyAEdGvxnorweGk73t-zLnExK1COXBz0PkUdneq4rRUdmWqlaj8QAfBb3m4mcWzyEIqJBWDDorfB6OdKOtn8iNlnOo/s4388/Pelikan%20release%202024-02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2923" data-original-width="4388" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEd2bAgOkYklwZ86OO_6zdqd2Q2Izu_9nVzerP5li8264NcYGSB73KNCm049LzE-zevI4O3ltL20aNnqscscAWqqRZ7TYYrt87MxyAEdGvxnorweGk73t-zLnExK1COXBz0PkUdneq4rRUdmWqlaj8QAfBb3m4mcWzyEIqJBWDDorfB6OdKOtn8iNlnOo/w640-h426/Pelikan%20release%202024-02.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Soon to be released by
<a href="https://www.pelikanpuzzles.eu/shop/" target="_blank">Pelikan</a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
At the beginning of the week before last I took delivery of a VERY large
box from Jakub and Jaroslav containing 7 puzzles and a request to have reviews
as quickly as possible. I am just human and with my simple brain cannot possibly
solve all of these in that short time (especially when you realise that there
are hundreds of challenges here and some are really very difficult indeed.
<div><br /></div>
<div>Here we have:</div>
<div>Back row:</div>
<div>
<span> </span>Matchbox Playground - an extension of Oskar's
original design by Péter Gál
</div>
<div>Middle row:</div>
<div><span> Filling V by Dr Volker Latussek</span><br /></div>
<div>
<span><span> Flummox by Benjamin Heidt</span><br /></span>
</div>
<div>
<span><span><span> Appletree by Benjamin Heidt</span><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div>
<span><span><span>Front Row:</span></span></span>
</div>
<div>
<span><span><span><span> Parallel Burr Cube #2 by Osanori Yamamoto</span><br /></span></span></span>
</div>
<div>
<span><span><span><span><span> Rattle Twist Duo by Osanori Yamamoto</span><br /></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div>
<span><span><span><span><span><span> MRI by Benjamin Heidt</span><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
My picture does not do justice to the beauty and quality of them all (for
that, you should wait for the official photos from
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/puzzleguy?" target="_blank">Ivan Danik</a>
which appear on the Pelikan site.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<p>Pelikan 2024 Feb</p>
<p>
Stunning series this time with what looks like one of the most gorgeous puzzle
sets I’ve ever seen.
</p>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Filling V </span>
</p>
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4uu2XjqkHEbJmygVyX1A7IWRgC3grhvArSlrmS-p-cKc_XKWkHULL9w6eEMAijfVSArfH9bntTvN2SAKSQCW4aTmlT6ALCq6fgu8P9FYkRUGnAIkCQCu4KBKmyj1L7XHcRW9MllA9osCXaqIBM87M7epsYYj4kDKOy9UUJxhOG21MgXD4RuOoqdvxFs/s3967/Filling%20V%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3260" data-original-width="3967" height="493" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4uu2XjqkHEbJmygVyX1A7IWRgC3grhvArSlrmS-p-cKc_XKWkHULL9w6eEMAijfVSArfH9bntTvN2SAKSQCW4aTmlT6ALCq6fgu8P9FYkRUGnAIkCQCu4KBKmyj1L7XHcRW9MllA9osCXaqIBM87M7epsYYj4kDKOy9UUJxhOG21MgXD4RuOoqdvxFs/w640-h526/Filling%20V%20pieces.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Fillin V by Volker Latussek
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnN6ImLlBUn56R9_DDNi5hl4pvnk8sswTz_Cj_1cENBoI58RI8Sqom0rOeptojoGrA4M8twYxzu7sUI2nJlAkm-f4kmbI5OolzMpKVrXdNAuv45r9BEZJcTmaBeKJj5ZEs-ttA6N8w-V2tnH7A74Sa4DivH8-sfBYoFNyNdgUYdjZABIvNZkBhaXLJtGc/s3323/Filling%20V%20arrival.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2756" data-original-width="3323" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnN6ImLlBUn56R9_DDNi5hl4pvnk8sswTz_Cj_1cENBoI58RI8Sqom0rOeptojoGrA4M8twYxzu7sUI2nJlAkm-f4kmbI5OolzMpKVrXdNAuv45r9BEZJcTmaBeKJj5ZEs-ttA6N8w-V2tnH7A74Sa4DivH8-sfBYoFNyNdgUYdjZABIvNZkBhaXLJtGc/w200-h166/Filling%20V%20arrival.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Sent with just the triomino left out
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<p>
Dr Latussek returns to challenge us with another of his wonderful packing
puzzles that look much easier than they actually are. This one made of ?????
comprises 6 L tetrominoes plus an L Triomino giving us the required 27 voxels
to make up a solid cube. I could instantly see that there were several ways to
make the cube and each of these could be attempted in several orientations
with respect to the box. This box has a nice large slotted entry hole which
looks like it shouldn’t be much of a hindrance to inserting the pieces. Dr
Latussek said this:
</p>
<p>
"<i>While working on the FLOP series, I had some fun working with completely
filled boxes. I ‘d already done some preliminary work using L-shaped
tetracubes, so it made sense to me to work on Lazlo Molnar and Alexander
Magyarics’ six Ls puzzles and to combine them with the V-shaped tricube to
make one of the 65 possible cubes and then put them in a box with only one
opening. Of course, I started with my usual CASINO box, only to learn that
this recipe doesn’t produce a sufficiently challenging puzzle, and neither
does a FLOP box. Actually, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. Given
the filling of a cube-shaped box, the actual design task was to find the
correct, single, continuous opening.</i>
</p>
<p>
<i>Despite the numerous specifications, FILLING V is a challenging puzzle
whose solution still surprises me. But there will never be a FILLING I.</i>"
</p>
<p>
Having found several possible cubes, I quickly noticed that many could be
discarded because of the requirement to place an L shape (or even more than
one) in at the end as a last piece. This cut down the options considerably and
then left me with the need to place 5 pieces in the box. Here lies the
challenge for this puzzle. There seems to be plenty of space to place 5 pieces
but with lots of wiggle room and all you can do is wiggle and I needed quite a
bit more space than that. At this point it’s a request to think© and notice
what the box does allow you to do. There is a really lovely Aha! moment here
and suddenly the wiggle room becomes room to really do something. Burrtools
told me that there are 65 possible ways to assemble the pieces into a 3x3x3
cube but I found something pleasing quite early on.
</p>
<p>
I placed my last piece in the box with a huge grin on my face! This is, on the
face of it, a much simpler puzzle than the Flop series but I think is better
for it. The best description is “elegant” - it’s almost as elegant as the
classic Casino which won so many accolades.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b>It’s an essential purchase! </b></p>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Flummox</span>
</p>
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQN2rESmLTdw-xJkx3R6rb5RtGimV5Jb1PaCY4CI7W50IUWYuzqfhJnQEsO-y8Z3RYV5PRy9iOJ8kjYCQydXwxSpBpb3b56P19LVUo6wqhhghp6LoJtAaZ42tEqWe2tmyjmlg4v0lGnEoS25QuJERkTcTMNkfTr8q2eFnwnUW5gQ7PGzmZFoJFK10lu8/s3006/Flummox.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3006" data-original-width="2970" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQN2rESmLTdw-xJkx3R6rb5RtGimV5Jb1PaCY4CI7W50IUWYuzqfhJnQEsO-y8Z3RYV5PRy9iOJ8kjYCQydXwxSpBpb3b56P19LVUo6wqhhghp6LoJtAaZ42tEqWe2tmyjmlg4v0lGnEoS25QuJERkTcTMNkfTr8q2eFnwnUW5gQ7PGzmZFoJFK10lu8/w632-h640/Flummox.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Flummox by Benjamin Heidt
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
This beautiful and rather diminutive creation was designed by a new name on the
scene, Benjamin Heidt. If this is a typical example of puzzles from him then I
hope that Jakub and Jaroslav make more. It is a fabulous variant on the classic
6 piece burr with length of 6 voxels (pieces made from a vibrant Purpleheart).
The addition of little additional pieces (made from Maple) added onto the sides
of the burr sticks which interfere with the the usual movement of the pieces and
make the solution much more interesting.
<p>
The solution level is: 13.4.2.3 which is just right for all but the most
masochistic of burr solvers and is delightful to explore. From the start
position there are 4 or 5 possible moves and then further exploration after
some of them. This took me about an hour to solve using my usual to and fro
method which also meant that I could reassemble it from memory. The really
good solvers will disassemble it relatively quickly and then have a really
nice challenge assembling from scratch.
</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRVK6gUiNyponw8i-ArRdAmDTpLk29znMmDwcBqz50JfhObSs9ku9z9P6BcC87BxTn2lLC9CKObMGMfltJqXhe_hSdqujlWePrnS9mgewPAZXkLwwt1RbOYNuxJy5ZFaWG3xK7IRIHY362xD3-iO-vZSpmUnSU2ESf1OJPGKidP6of5B12KqOHuHBoq0/s3230/Flummox%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3230" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRVK6gUiNyponw8i-ArRdAmDTpLk29znMmDwcBqz50JfhObSs9ku9z9P6BcC87BxTn2lLC9CKObMGMfltJqXhe_hSdqujlWePrnS9mgewPAZXkLwwt1RbOYNuxJy5ZFaWG3xK7IRIHY362xD3-iO-vZSpmUnSU2ESf1OJPGKidP6of5B12KqOHuHBoq0/w400-h371/Flummox%20pieces.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Beautifully made pieces
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Appletree</span>
</p>
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhm4KQqn7djoJD-1RnADd2kGQP8RRbKI7DBbSx_UlT5aOJqf7JpSAqj2ITsmwe4V3czbhSgHqrtvELdw71rt-D8DNTySGKEPeCwQ7Xlh_nrDOCBjU2xDliWoyCLH_flxE2bEf_l2Bqe43C0QTlkKFo1jWnlzCpqwAjP9xL6hmuPuTVSuV479EzNoCld_w/s4026/Appletree.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4026" data-original-width="2988" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhm4KQqn7djoJD-1RnADd2kGQP8RRbKI7DBbSx_UlT5aOJqf7JpSAqj2ITsmwe4V3czbhSgHqrtvELdw71rt-D8DNTySGKEPeCwQ7Xlh_nrDOCBjU2xDliWoyCLH_flxE2bEf_l2Bqe43C0QTlkKFo1jWnlzCpqwAjP9xL6hmuPuTVSuV479EzNoCld_w/w474-h640/Appletree.jpg" width="474" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Appletree by Benjamin Heidt
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Here we have another very interesting design by Benjamin Heidt. It is a
beautifully burr made in the shape of an Apple tree complete with apples amongst
the foliage. It has been stunningly created using American Walnut, Acacia with
Padauk apples.
<p>
This takes a bit of fiddling and exploration in every direction to find the
first piece to move and after this, if you’re anything like me, it’s followed
by an “Oh my God!!!” moment as all of a sudden a whole LOT of pieces move in
various directions. Slight panic ensued and I quickly decided to return to the
beginning and discovered that it wouldn’t go - aaargh! It took a frantic few
minutes to sort of scrunch it back together and breathe a sigh of relief. I
had to gird myself before trying again. This is fun! For me it’s a puzzle
version of a rollercoaster.
</p>
<p>
Having done that several times and worked out how it locked and unlocked, I
proceeded to explore and quickly found that several pieces were removable. I
kept them in a place where I could tell the position and orientation. After
removing 4 or 5 the trunk fell off and it sort of scrunched up again. I was
lost! Despite this, the puzzle remained pretty stable even if everything was
jiggly. I actually struggled to remove the remaining pieces, they did not just
fall apart. Over the next 20 minutes I gradually disassembled it piece by
piece and, oh boy, there are a lot of pieces.
</p>
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JtiJ-CaFYGb3n9sIJcY65tCfGErm43yWdgtYGvzmP38rnlWrHDFIUNSQStgCxh_eBfTWgcwZwoZknxWhU8u6j28KomZQDXJn87B5xAn3aYU6pv24AbttLmyaJ3qCqg6EvvEhPUu-Rq30sNeg34hOexkSZFWvI4fAYbCphfdKxDfhJLfOHK8HTfgjNZ4/s4214/Appletree%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2792" data-original-width="4214" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JtiJ-CaFYGb3n9sIJcY65tCfGErm43yWdgtYGvzmP38rnlWrHDFIUNSQStgCxh_eBfTWgcwZwoZknxWhU8u6j28KomZQDXJn87B5xAn3aYU6pv24AbttLmyaJ3qCqg6EvvEhPUu-Rq30sNeg34hOexkSZFWvI4fAYbCphfdKxDfhJLfOHK8HTfgjNZ4/w400-h265/Appletree%20pieces.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Appletree pieces</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
After all of that, I had not even done the main challenge! This is not a
stunningly designed sequential disassembly puzzle as I alluded to above…it is
actually an assembly puzzle - the tree, as received, is in a "transport
configuration" - the actual aim of the puzzle is to assemble the tree again but
with 4 red apples on each side of the tree. There is no way that I was going to
reassemble the transport solution without assistance let alone the main
challenge and so I am off to Burrtools for a happy time sketching pieces out.
Great fun!
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Rattle Twist Duo</span>
</p>
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNvuXRyg-s_L1LgbJX8UsrXKG7ODO3EzRJrv_LhceoHIBJMPWt1Mu93rih1mIHwyc24532Z8QS4rSU6n5gPTlSeLksRRNFPmM8ygkIkbNj1_3k2HvlsFaIbejhprK1fw8rdCRsRXm9bXzOK-VTW9hdDP1paxjBDRNZRWqCIRnm_40ghN_eidS3evJleY/s3935/Rattle%20Twist%20Duo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2118" data-original-width="3935" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNvuXRyg-s_L1LgbJX8UsrXKG7ODO3EzRJrv_LhceoHIBJMPWt1Mu93rih1mIHwyc24532Z8QS4rSU6n5gPTlSeLksRRNFPmM8ygkIkbNj1_3k2HvlsFaIbejhprK1fw8rdCRsRXm9bXzOK-VTW9hdDP1paxjBDRNZRWqCIRnm_40ghN_eidS3evJleY/w640-h344/Rattle%20Twist%20Duo.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Rattle Twist Duo by Osanori Yamamoto
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1701H5id8xh6FoMAhMoP3a-ycdKJSUNR-6XwF3tzqBOonzgdLLgdS2TOp0U3yHqQn-WVF7t3eAZzDslzdmYgqo8ZiRXRJMvNJgxzL4Crb2itI8PwxHlJYjXb7eiKVGCx_axp97giTdEkasMW5Bi36YYxFZd-FR40j9N7zUcAfM1nCXKE9dW5KVKcCbl4/s3233/Rattle%20Twist%20Duo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3233" data-original-width="2990" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1701H5id8xh6FoMAhMoP3a-ycdKJSUNR-6XwF3tzqBOonzgdLLgdS2TOp0U3yHqQn-WVF7t3eAZzDslzdmYgqo8ZiRXRJMvNJgxzL4Crb2itI8PwxHlJYjXb7eiKVGCx_axp97giTdEkasMW5Bi36YYxFZd-FR40j9N7zUcAfM1nCXKE9dW5KVKcCbl4/w185-h200/Rattle%20Twist%20Duo.jpg" width="185" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
My friend's version
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
This beautiful interlocking puzzle designed by Osanori Yamamoto is made from
Maple (pieces) with 2 different frames: one Jatoba and the other Zebrano. This
one was so good that it was made for me by my greatly missed friend and mentor
Tsy Hung Chein (aka
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2021/05/something-happy-and-something-sad.html" target="_blank">Felix</a>). Felix had one of the best eyes for a fabulous puzzle and if he took the time
to make a copy and send it to me then you can be assured that there is something
special about it. I had absolutely adored the copy sent to me - and I am
delighted that many others will now get to experience a puzzle that looks simple
but has significant challenge to it.
<p>
Osanori-san’s documentation that he sent to Jakub said that the 2 interlocking
pieces should be sent out locked on one frame with the aim being to remove
them and place them on the other and then return it to the start position.
Like many of his creations, rotations are both possible and required. For a
puzzle with only 2 pieces to be fitted on a relatively simple frame, this
should not be so difficult. Despite having done it before, it took me a good
hour to disassemble one and assemble the other.
</p>
<p></p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPmlOvUJKf6Z2Y2XkVQAyCenY3dHc1d5ZGvaThhyOPfKViby2A-dpaKQyJTPUWypblTAvZO80YL5smP2OLqZAwCW3yVnvXcj5zF2v4zC0KDasQV5-8vOz1zM3anRoIRlfpQGy8BFge1JQhnezZOZJmDwloTze7gz62PV8oEWZ2cZPRjH_cqzImvCg8M8/s3887/Rattle%20Twist%20Duo%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2957" data-original-width="3887" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPmlOvUJKf6Z2Y2XkVQAyCenY3dHc1d5ZGvaThhyOPfKViby2A-dpaKQyJTPUWypblTAvZO80YL5smP2OLqZAwCW3yVnvXcj5zF2v4zC0KDasQV5-8vOz1zM3anRoIRlfpQGy8BFge1JQhnezZOZJmDwloTze7gz62PV8oEWZ2cZPRjH_cqzImvCg8M8/s320/Rattle%20Twist%20Duo%20pieces.jpg" width="270" /></a>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKl5dA5AT8kERwqGriJBNU0kYdRGoBNgcMnn3JBVobDbzSpPia3o6MLviPheIU8DHOk1ckm5LtQBX2B-qSMe_lptAhC4fKMjiquU1vfsY8J44BMWbc9Y94EKA0pdDnpBg0MeFWGQnWTfo9XhVREl_9PAsEuvEGui7l-L1uRgaQ-GfdQIuIX7g8Hzkor0/s3236/Rattle%20Twist%20Duo%20solved.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2922" data-original-width="3236" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKl5dA5AT8kERwqGriJBNU0kYdRGoBNgcMnn3JBVobDbzSpPia3o6MLviPheIU8DHOk1ckm5LtQBX2B-qSMe_lptAhC4fKMjiquU1vfsY8J44BMWbc9Y94EKA0pdDnpBg0MeFWGQnWTfo9XhVREl_9PAsEuvEGui7l-L1uRgaQ-GfdQIuIX7g8Hzkor0/s320/Rattle%20Twist%20Duo%20solved.jpg" width="227" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Then going back the other way after a delay to allow forgetting was just as much
of a challenge.
<p></p>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Parallel Burr Cube #2 </span>
</p>
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_fkTT3ABSAp7itci9mU3uD4zwtf5TsoEcKlU9_CLSt9pEjzOuyfd_CHc1fmz5MBsoz2SoUu-tmQ0gywQ4v6AKMBi6AnAsNOe63Lhb-YSGc1PDpCWv4zn99SfAJLV41Mna_JIdr3akqdUumo1Hade1jwEiYS5iSPtyDVHx7J8WQX2iBTI_akBeLn_NlU/s3314/Parallel%20Burr%20Cube%20%232.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3314" data-original-width="3012" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_fkTT3ABSAp7itci9mU3uD4zwtf5TsoEcKlU9_CLSt9pEjzOuyfd_CHc1fmz5MBsoz2SoUu-tmQ0gywQ4v6AKMBi6AnAsNOe63Lhb-YSGc1PDpCWv4zn99SfAJLV41Mna_JIdr3akqdUumo1Hade1jwEiYS5iSPtyDVHx7J8WQX2iBTI_akBeLn_NlU/w582-h640/Parallel%20Burr%20Cube%20%232.jpg" width="582" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Parallel Burr Cube #2 by Osanori Yamamoto
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Another challenge by Osanori-san, this consists of a Frame made from Bubinga and
a set of 6 board burr pieces made from Limba. It is strikingly beautiful.
Initially I thought that this was just a framed 6 board burr but it’s not quite
this. The boards are held apart from each other by the frame making sure they
interact loosely with each other being trapped by just the end-plates of each
board. At the beginning there are several possible moves but the paths are
mostly dead-ended after just 1 or 2 moves. This means no huge long fruitless
pathways to explore. It requires a search for something that goes somewhere and
for me, took quite a while to find the required move that opened up the puzzle
for further exploration. The first piece can be removed quite quickly after just
6 moves which then allows you to peek inside and gain some more understanding of
the interaction of the pieces. Having removed the first piece, it does not seem
to get any simpler and the puzzle transforms into almost a disentanglement
puzzle - it is like unravelling a knot inside a box whilst you can only see a
small section of the knot at a time. It is at times frustrating, sometimes
fiddly as the boards can catch on the edges as there is a little wiggle room,
but is always an enjoyable exploration. The move count is not particularly high
but it is still fun to explore and work out at each stage how to make room for
the next piece to slide.
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSK6zAjK5td8mMjojssW8XB5Z2w35HYLhNLJNO_XuL3u5WqeIszlR53oWBChHKK551xMyCWKmxO3fT9H9KWW0fY4WadmlMo8Qz7a-8YEc4qn_ufctcU1-8IZVafypPuNednAXSjFvFmA2eGi_Y0L42FbDWyfRLQBvo8izzBaV6vHdcSRwQrx6sgOvzJU/s3594/Parallel%20Burr%20Cube%20%232%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2923" data-original-width="3594" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSK6zAjK5td8mMjojssW8XB5Z2w35HYLhNLJNO_XuL3u5WqeIszlR53oWBChHKK551xMyCWKmxO3fT9H9KWW0fY4WadmlMo8Qz7a-8YEc4qn_ufctcU1-8IZVafypPuNednAXSjFvFmA2eGi_Y0L42FbDWyfRLQBvo8izzBaV6vHdcSRwQrx6sgOvzJU/w400-h325/Parallel%20Burr%20Cube%20%232%20pieces.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
You can see how the pieces are locked in place
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Having dismantled the puzzle over about an hour or more, I had kept the pieces
in order of their removal and remembered which position they had come from. All
with the aim of facilitating reassembly without resorting to Burrtools. I was
feeling quite proud of myself as I inserted the first three and then for some
reason the fourth one just couldn’t be inserted. What was I doing wrong? A
careful look at the shapes of the pieces revealed that the second piece had been
inserted upside down followed by the third correctly and this couldn’t leave
room to insert the next. OK, having realised this, take it apart again…except I
couldn’t dismantle it! <b>Aargh</b>! Minor panic ensues and I have to work out
all over again how to undo the interior disentanglement puzzle I had created for
myself. After a frantic 10 minutes, I had all the pieces and admonished myself
for being an eeejit and not keeping track of piece orientation as well as order.
After this it went back together nice and smoothly. This puzzle is wonderful -
it looks great, is sort of a burr and disentanglement puzzle at the same time
and, if you are good enough, it can be a really tough assembly puzzle as well.
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">MRI</span>
</p>
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCl84UBfCZUoTAzcWtY0Qr2icqdWfugpZquBVDjeeNK_C-amFjfLvMXcjeh99gHCKRuSRlLTP_NK2DoZn6EPj5GWdgNuNPXxJ8KLtIUdalbs3oOFVvqobROSrGGD-0JMA0sUzJX7ia3wDzV4CF5lMdy64UJHg2k_yey7uDHlNmtRIXqT7-oOK4A-lljgM/s3311/MRI.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3055" data-original-width="3311" height="553" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCl84UBfCZUoTAzcWtY0Qr2icqdWfugpZquBVDjeeNK_C-amFjfLvMXcjeh99gHCKRuSRlLTP_NK2DoZn6EPj5GWdgNuNPXxJ8KLtIUdalbs3oOFVvqobROSrGGD-0JMA0sUzJX7ia3wDzV4CF5lMdy64UJHg2k_yey7uDHlNmtRIXqT7-oOK4A-lljgM/w640-h590/MRI.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
MRI by Benjamin Heidt
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDadX8dIaeLQ6Y_iTFP4RIaKCm7NxUsI1oLhEfA3s9iOscp8JKfK5tDFbcsPOBI9gP0OL2n44OYP3tbrpQ1Xb_hSv0OkUbtpisWtyq5Pi9a6gBvgUCZLL3vEVEg3aApPbjy-p3am8anxoZhyQIstEHKuCaUZYL9cdIaj46bFWv8fzxPC9JvCmMZMwpvKg/s3374/MRI-2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3374" data-original-width="2193" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDadX8dIaeLQ6Y_iTFP4RIaKCm7NxUsI1oLhEfA3s9iOscp8JKfK5tDFbcsPOBI9gP0OL2n44OYP3tbrpQ1Xb_hSv0OkUbtpisWtyq5Pi9a6gBvgUCZLL3vEVEg3aApPbjy-p3am8anxoZhyQIstEHKuCaUZYL9cdIaj46bFWv8fzxPC9JvCmMZMwpvKg/w130-h200/MRI-2.jpg" width="130" /></a>
</div>
This new rather quirky and very attractive puzzle design by Benjamin Heidt is a
new type of puzzle for Pelikan and I am not certain how to categorise it.
Apparently Benjamin is a technician who works on MRI machines in hospitals. He
must be very used to working with magnets and there are several of them inside
this puzzle. It looks just like an MRI scanner complete with a patient (he has
hair and a nose!) on the scanning platform inside the magnet. The aim is to
remove the patient from the scanner by unlocking the hidden interior mechanism.
One thing Benjamin should know is that you must <b>NEVER</b> bring another
ferrous metal object inside the Faraday cage walls of an MRI room because it
will turn into a missile if released in the room (believe me, I have seen it
with an old Molybdenum steel oxygen cylinder - it moves very fast and does a
<b>LOT</b> of damage!) but here he has disobeyed all the rules. The puzzle has a
magnetic ball bearing on the floor held by a magnet embedded inside it and
obviously this magnetic bearing is used to somehow unlock the patient from the
scanner and remove him.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I do not know how many steps is required because I have so far not managed to
do much more than make interesting clicking noises as I move the bearing over
the surface. I am making things happen inside but so far I have made no
progress with the release - my patient may well starve to death in the MRI! I
may be reduced to having to take it to work and asking a kind radiographer to
take an Xray of it for me.
</div>
<p></p>
<div>
This is certainly something interesting which we have never seen before from
the Pelikan workshop. Well worth adding to your collection for the quirkiness
and the considerable puzzling challenge.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Matchbox Playground</span>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB8zRe_3xMTGPkLJQDFDv9Z-v9rU8GJoIhjp8NhSMEZMdnT-PIrTqD_jrt3KV9pzrbW_F8wHIjW0hAjzmVGAaqRxDT4P9jLVzSnUJhuPkFMYCbVD9xckrV6sY2YZX53cgwCOTggpv5xL7U_iOS6Zh-EELFj1XZZh_Kcoy6Y-xMgzH9OaBYzSNAm-UbXQ4/s4067/Matchbox%20Playground%20Box.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2740" data-original-width="4067" height="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB8zRe_3xMTGPkLJQDFDv9Z-v9rU8GJoIhjp8NhSMEZMdnT-PIrTqD_jrt3KV9pzrbW_F8wHIjW0hAjzmVGAaqRxDT4P9jLVzSnUJhuPkFMYCbVD9xckrV6sY2YZX53cgwCOTggpv5xL7U_iOS6Zh-EELFj1XZZh_Kcoy6Y-xMgzH9OaBYzSNAm-UbXQ4/w640-h432/Matchbox%20Playground%20Box.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Matchbox Playground - an extension of Oskar's idea by Péter Gál
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
This rather large puzzle set must be one of the most beautiful puzzle sets
that I have ever seen! It is simply stunning and an amazing scope of work by
the designer and by the craftsmen. It is the result of an epic amount of work
by the incredible puzzle designer, <a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/inventors/petergal/?p=all&a=155639">Péter Gál</a>.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QYq6-6E_ZdBAf0GNvx-INh-svRknEq49pEWl_Dk6XzR2u8xPoyXUpuCf5axfmssJ1M1dtb-yR8ZubNzYPK0F4_qCAi0erFDEZeZhuqzpp1_9Eb7eF8aOZpRI59YSO6v_9Fg0kZoFEZKjGRkR0ZgdPNXZqO6pAUA-NemweIZYaV74j2OKIWsq_9RZAqs/s4431/Matchbox%20Playground%20contents.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2200" data-original-width="4431" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QYq6-6E_ZdBAf0GNvx-INh-svRknEq49pEWl_Dk6XzR2u8xPoyXUpuCf5axfmssJ1M1dtb-yR8ZubNzYPK0F4_qCAi0erFDEZeZhuqzpp1_9Eb7eF8aOZpRI59YSO6v_9Fg0kZoFEZKjGRkR0ZgdPNXZqO6pAUA-NemweIZYaV74j2OKIWsq_9RZAqs/w400-h199/Matchbox%20Playground%20contents.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
The box opens like a matchbox<br />There are puzzle sheets and an
explainer inside
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAdZV2ZBN9jYM_KvwmwwAup343uFyPArjna8dcYFcCQp5anLTHZ0MEDU4zxGVFDSbn-DLHPHMa7-QcTdS3aJ4SQzArZ7yjqn9KANHFQp2fu8Wk2H7W-qiUCft0294dSZnZlSpC7iCqmOgUS5hbEIEus7R-5vzA-6PJQsT1x7udplMS7hnfchubv5Kphg/s2957/Oskar's%20Matchboxes%20Solved.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2957" data-original-width="2614" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAdZV2ZBN9jYM_KvwmwwAup343uFyPArjna8dcYFcCQp5anLTHZ0MEDU4zxGVFDSbn-DLHPHMa7-QcTdS3aJ4SQzArZ7yjqn9KANHFQp2fu8Wk2H7W-qiUCft0294dSZnZlSpC7iCqmOgUS5hbEIEus7R-5vzA-6PJQsT1x7udplMS7hnfchubv5Kphg/w177-h200/Oskar's%20Matchboxes%20Solved.jpg" width="177" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Cubic dissection version
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
I have quite a few burr sets and this one ranks up there alongside the very
best of them and will take pride of place in my collection. It is not a burr
set but a set of increasingly difficult assembly puzzles based on the
wonderful and clever Oskar’s Matchboxes puzzle that has been produced by
several craftsmen over the years as well as 3D printed. Oskar's original
puzzle had 5 pieces and I found that one pretty challenging. Later the idea
was extended by Alexander Kapkan with
<a href="https://cubicdissection.com/products/matchbox-play-six" target="_blank">6 pieces</a> and again by Onno Hein with 6 pieces in a different configuration.
Over more than a year Péter had performed an exhaustive computational
analysis. A smaller version of this had been released in the
<a href="https://puzzleworld.org/DesignCompetition/2016/" target="_blank">IPP design competition</a>
in 2016. Péter's analysis was restricted to a 3x2x1 matchbox with the matches
attached at the gridlines giving 14 possible match/matchbox pairs. This puzzle
set is contained in a gorgeous box shaped and sliding open like a matchbox
itself to reveal the full set of 14 possible pieces and an envelope with an
explanation and puzzle challenges ranging from using just 4 pieces up to the
maximum of 13.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2nck3hN5cpdtWisTns9ua6snEKFUjfF8pkWIpVZSWRvtde51dMprcI1yuW5nJBK0EAenRXaXrzQPtytTpMBAZcZKYVlTbkX_4xl3CrwfYu5tcuAbEEUmfMGe4VLgAtyjRNY0sN9YGRPlWvEPr9x9CKtQVgD9qflNR56dIKSNoxDF52GORUwCTqtqXk0/s4199/Matchbox%20Playground%20box%20contents.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2485" data-original-width="4199" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2nck3hN5cpdtWisTns9ua6snEKFUjfF8pkWIpVZSWRvtde51dMprcI1yuW5nJBK0EAenRXaXrzQPtytTpMBAZcZKYVlTbkX_4xl3CrwfYu5tcuAbEEUmfMGe4VLgAtyjRNY0sN9YGRPlWvEPr9x9CKtQVgD9qflNR56dIKSNoxDF52GORUwCTqtqXk0/w400-h236/Matchbox%20Playground%20box%20contents.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Just look at the presentation here - it is amazing!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
There are effectively hundreds of challenges here as each one has multiple
solutions to find. The individual boxes are stunningly made out of Maple,
Wenge and Jatoba and the case made from Maple, Wenge and Oak.
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsnSNiYlviMhS8SzamikojS-dY8nqcMimRZfzKsE6TTqL7STmB_ZghqvvUHWSUMPQjAJyL7QpIGUd9zxNg0PDDyGAHUwwKeKeJOObcidixrpK1y9fLmFkVXY1RZWqMaHRd8WqKxf-N9SrkRGhrxh4uOOObN1J1zPDk4ueM9raYCCQT-FDwJrT1jT3EuI/s3953/Matchbox%20Playground%20pieces_.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2521" data-original-width="3953" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsnSNiYlviMhS8SzamikojS-dY8nqcMimRZfzKsE6TTqL7STmB_ZghqvvUHWSUMPQjAJyL7QpIGUd9zxNg0PDDyGAHUwwKeKeJOObcidixrpK1y9fLmFkVXY1RZWqMaHRd8WqKxf-N9SrkRGhrxh4uOOObN1J1zPDk4ueM9raYCCQT-FDwJrT1jT3EuI/s320/Matchbox%20Playground%20pieces_.jpg" width="320" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
This picture will be essential if I am going to put them back!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
When I took a few out to admire them, I realised straight away that I would
need a photo of how they were arranged in the box! If you do just tip them out
then an additional challenge for you will be to pack them back in again - I
was not brave enough to do that! The challenges are really fun to do and
require considerable thought. The cards show just the required pieces and not
the eventual shape that you need to use. This means that simple entry into
Burrtools is not possible. I have managed the first couple of challenges and
really look forward to spending real time with this set. This is absolutely
fabulous! I have put 3 of my solutions to the first challenge behind a spoiler
button - if you plan to buy the set then don't look at it:
</div><div><br /></div>
<div>
<div id="spoiler" style="display: none;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalj60Gjfelkr25Tdk2wSn_dVtk4lyeTbxlN0MbC3Km8N_OSalbRO8GBh3PNcINDAjRFGnJ0u_tLygT_O7n6lBitoCnD7MazBmwstTyjBaWOUJ3VGsHafCF_-_Dk8nBvfCjjldRpjmVxzERjEbtw4SpTZf-F1Y8Iyt5zmgZWyEvhnyARY1UWJ9lZH1eiM/s3933/Matchbox%20Playground%20challemge%201a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2599" data-original-width="3933" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalj60Gjfelkr25Tdk2wSn_dVtk4lyeTbxlN0MbC3Km8N_OSalbRO8GBh3PNcINDAjRFGnJ0u_tLygT_O7n6lBitoCnD7MazBmwstTyjBaWOUJ3VGsHafCF_-_Dk8nBvfCjjldRpjmVxzERjEbtw4SpTZf-F1Y8Iyt5zmgZWyEvhnyARY1UWJ9lZH1eiM/s320/Matchbox%20Playground%20challemge%201a.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5YveIScschaF3GLNPNXQWlZjlTqIZKZQsfg7I7ohOJOqaXukgaZspP4ejnKuKHICGoXZiDugRi1IkFyb1mG4vCC8Gva_etFaERTtTDaBlcKz_TvHCVvR7hH7yPmbixz7x38OCtmPZ31gTDG5QNP_gnAjXkiq-E8ATx6nJg2T9Pvpuo4gQBEnQji3upI/s3688/Matchbox%20Playground%20challemge%201b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3233" data-original-width="3688" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5YveIScschaF3GLNPNXQWlZjlTqIZKZQsfg7I7ohOJOqaXukgaZspP4ejnKuKHICGoXZiDugRi1IkFyb1mG4vCC8Gva_etFaERTtTDaBlcKz_TvHCVvR7hH7yPmbixz7x38OCtmPZ31gTDG5QNP_gnAjXkiq-E8ATx6nJg2T9Pvpuo4gQBEnQji3upI/s320/Matchbox%20Playground%20challemge%201b.jpg" width="320" /></a>
</div>
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</div>
<button onclick="if(document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display=='none') {document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display=''}else{document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display='none'}" title="Click to Show/Hide Content" type="button">Show/Hide</button>
<br />
<p>
Should you buy this set? <b>Hell yes! </b>It's stunningly gorgeous, a whole lot of
puzzling challenges. I absolutely love puzzles that come with a booklet of
challenges e.g. the
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2023/12/interlocking-heaven-and-hell.html" target="_blank">Peanut puzzle</a>, the
<a href="http://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2013/03/happy-birthday-puzzlemad-2-years-old.html" target="_blank">cubic Mazeburr</a>,
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2013/05/something-old-something-new.html" target="_blank">Rhombic Mazeburr</a>
and
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2019/03/simply-maze-ing-puzzles-from-eric-and.html" target="_blank">Split Mazeburr</a> and this new one from Pelikan is just amazing!
</p>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<div><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-67239749274446767842024-02-11T16:30:00.001+00:002024-02-11T16:30:29.533+00:00It Eclipsed My Abilities for a Long Time<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFNVUTxmQeYdrKBcs-TX2HrI6Zk9vfqcF7Y04DNEyDDU3ba69LG8h4cAESYSqO4lUgBa842W7EJ3_T76u4r6my4hNOflvYIvMo5DcnUgwSTgmbfN5bFkWmTVjGBMIcGu0ROgYzwqgWjsETK3vV-SCpI3VMNz3ZzNoXiQzOVqD-UlRnv7cqjdo-QSJy8c/s2992/Total%20Eclipse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2992" data-original-width="2776" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFNVUTxmQeYdrKBcs-TX2HrI6Zk9vfqcF7Y04DNEyDDU3ba69LG8h4cAESYSqO4lUgBa842W7EJ3_T76u4r6my4hNOflvYIvMo5DcnUgwSTgmbfN5bFkWmTVjGBMIcGu0ROgYzwqgWjsETK3vV-SCpI3VMNz3ZzNoXiQzOVqD-UlRnv7cqjdo-QSJy8c/w594-h640/Total%20Eclipse.jpg" width="594" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metalpuzzlemaste/16318-total-eclipse&a=155639" target="_blank">Total Eclipse</a>
from PuzzleMaster
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vUJWVxkBroilS06cBRVMHDYNWGkuyNX7ImdfekEtTCc_xGAj_UD63rGaHpw3AWXtJxbgpZvgMkIwamtxM0_AG9LBJKXmkBJuDyoNx3pi-V1eVXBW_fS3yF-bQT6e-BiJEp2qPeeTYImBL8-byGkWm3p3wAo13pefoxVyAARLoiBQ2LI4vAVAW4lZOuI/s3553/Total%20Eclipse%20box.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3553" data-original-width="2694" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vUJWVxkBroilS06cBRVMHDYNWGkuyNX7ImdfekEtTCc_xGAj_UD63rGaHpw3AWXtJxbgpZvgMkIwamtxM0_AG9LBJKXmkBJuDyoNx3pi-V1eVXBW_fS3yF-bQT6e-BiJEp2qPeeTYImBL8-byGkWm3p3wAo13pefoxVyAARLoiBQ2LI4vAVAW4lZOuI/s320/Total%20Eclipse%20box.jpg" width="243" /></a>
</div>
<br />I have had the
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metalpuzzlemaste/16318-total-eclipse&a=155639" target="_blank">Total Eclipse</a>
puzzle sitting on my desk next to me in my, ahem, "backlog of puzzles to solve"
for an embarrassingly long period of time. It has been there for over a year!
First it was unsolved because I was too busy, then it remained unsolved because
I couldn't work it out, then it got, <span style="color: #e06666;">BLUSH</span>,
buried in other puzzles to be solved and finally unsolved because I kept going
round and round in circles. Yes, I am not very bright and I often use the
Einstein's madness approach of doing the same thing over and over again until
something changes.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I had bought it because it was an Oskar van Deventer design (pretty much
anything he designs is incredible - I really need to get hold of a couple of
copies of the Zigguflat puzzle that has been enjoyed by so many brilliant
puzzlers and combine into one large fabulous N-ary puzzle. I also have been
quite intrigued by the amazing series of
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metalpuzzlemaste/?p=all&a=155639" target="_blank">PuzzleMaster's own metal creations</a>. The
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metalpuzzlemaste/18111-honeycomb-metal-puzzle&a=155639" target="_blank">Honeycomb puzzle</a>
recently created as a KickStarter is now available direct from them.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
The Toal Eclipse consists of 2 interlocking rings (one chrome and one brass)
inside a black metal cage. It is about 6.5cm in diameter and difficulty score
of 9 on their odd 5 - 10 scale. I think the level is about right. The inner
rings can rotate around inside the cage freely - it is very similar in idea to
the Hanayama <a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/1553-cast-equa&a=155639" target="_blank">Cast Equa</a> (also by Oskar) which
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2011/08/hanayama-cast-equa.html" target="_blank">I reviewed</a>
after a huge struggle many years ago. It also share a small similarity
with the Hanayama
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/397-cast-duet&a=155639" target="_blank">Cast Duet</a>
(yes, another Oskar design) reviewed
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2011/05/hanayama-cast-duet.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Obviously there needs to be a spot on the cage where the rings can be
released. I found that straight away. The two rings each have a gap in them
which allows them to interlock and presumably is where they disassemble from
the cage. The reason they don't just come apart is because the gap has a
polarity and straight away it is obvious that the polarity is reversed at the
beginning the process:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq24rPaMPfiPzC2kyp5J-jGCW9Pl5j0Y13w5ozKDx5oxAwmzSrwgJxo2x4BZdrPa2STfZqM2QDjX0b032-x5TUatneiDlaTzA4BZsXx6CxaB8Fs3B5vkj0SesuJ2DMgzShTtgR8eT7nnIX2CuR3MrUpm2Yz8yVFuyRTBTW20n11VlPUkV73O9fUTZN26c/s2895/Total%20Eclipse%20removal%20piece%20captive.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2895" data-original-width="2628" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq24rPaMPfiPzC2kyp5J-jGCW9Pl5j0Y13w5ozKDx5oxAwmzSrwgJxo2x4BZdrPa2STfZqM2QDjX0b032-x5TUatneiDlaTzA4BZsXx6CxaB8Fs3B5vkj0SesuJ2DMgzShTtgR8eT7nnIX2CuR3MrUpm2Yz8yVFuyRTBTW20n11VlPUkV73O9fUTZN26c/w363-h400/Total%20Eclipse%20removal%20piece%20captive.jpg" width="363" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
The grooves in the cage are on the opposite side to the ring.<br />The
ring obviously needs to be reversed to come off.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
It is obvious that the aim is to move the pieces around so that the grooves in
the cage line up with the ring. How do you do that? There are single grooves on
the cage (different orientation to the release grooves) and the rings can be
slid from segment to segment through a maze until the ring has the correct
orientation.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
In my multiple previous attempts to solve this puzzle I had found a shortcut -
my copy has a slight flaw where the ring can be passed over the groove in the
cage with the orientation the wrong way around. I realised early on that this
was not right and did my best to avoid it. This turned the puzzle into a
nightmare for me! There are multiple ways to work your way around the cage and
tantalisingly there are a few places where the grooves occur on both sides
allowing either orientation to pass. I found this no help whatsoever! I went
round and round in circles in multiple directions and always ended up back at
the beginning with the ring unable to slide off. OMG! I began to question my
sanity which I have to say Mrs S has done many times. I kept having to put it
down.<br />
<div>
<br />
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRof-taSDYRXs0nHEOfFHSYk5kgdf99btuHm6MXyR70M1FXgSNpimJg7AEV07VjfY10yfEt3U6K-aGTH1TSBQEmY9ig9GZJpjWtDEXifeR6ArTIknxr24AmtngGdtBQe0UUwyQ6xFoYfg7aGf666_02gMy_yVopWlp0qMHTnvYDt_uH05IP5GM7-O9cw/s2644/Total%20Eclipse%20removal%20position.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="2644" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRof-taSDYRXs0nHEOfFHSYk5kgdf99btuHm6MXyR70M1FXgSNpimJg7AEV07VjfY10yfEt3U6K-aGTH1TSBQEmY9ig9GZJpjWtDEXifeR6ArTIknxr24AmtngGdtBQe0UUwyQ6xFoYfg7aGf666_02gMy_yVopWlp0qMHTnvYDt_uH05IP5GM7-O9cw/w200-h176/Total%20Eclipse%20removal%20position.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Finally lined up!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
After the recent tidy up of my hellscape of desk, I suddenly found
the Total Eclipse under a rather large pile and decided at the end of last
week to try again and be finally able to put it away. I took it to work
with me, I played in the evenings and everywhere for a bit. After annoying
everyone for a week with my jingling. I had an Aha! moment and the brass
ring came off. Yessss! The chrome ring was obviously the same and would
need the same path - except I had no recollection of how the first one had
come off. I went round and round in circles again. Each time I was back at
the beginning there was a great offing and blinding. This was a very
difficult puzzle! One more try and I suddenly noticed something about the
possible positions and found a sort of figure of eight sequence that was
able to reverse the polarity of the ring and then I had to make it back to
the double groove position. This was easier said than done but I got there
and could breathe a sigh of relief.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-jXV-zIibJVXwLTsTpS7AQvrwRGleB-_SZwHPN8wELsYEL9tIafK8ZkFs3mnTGZqJYdB5xMncDlGuUrdyxl67cFdpwBJM_Y71hWkhz1ROajWYjQaKzIYozflZ6dsm6Q2K1oDU5sc68CE0o_7A1vX0SD6U5ob3KVbnkwLxGSBxmfw3gJJilYjAblCtMg/s4118/Total%20Eclipse%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2840" data-original-width="4118" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-jXV-zIibJVXwLTsTpS7AQvrwRGleB-_SZwHPN8wELsYEL9tIafK8ZkFs3mnTGZqJYdB5xMncDlGuUrdyxl67cFdpwBJM_Y71hWkhz1ROajWYjQaKzIYozflZ6dsm6Q2K1oDU5sc68CE0o_7A1vX0SD6U5ob3KVbnkwLxGSBxmfw3gJJilYjAblCtMg/w640-h442/Total%20Eclipse%20pieces.jpg" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At last!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Having done this, it was time to return to the start position. This should just be a matter of reversing what I had done but of course, I couldn't remember what I had done! At least this time I had a vague idea of what was required and it only took me a whole day to do it. </div><div><br /></div><div>For just $25CAD this puzzle is a really good buy! It is quite attractive, very tactile as a fiddling object and most importantly, offers a LOT of puzzling without getting hopelessly lost (you always get back to the beginning even when you don't want to). At over a year to solve it, I have definitely got my money's worth.<br />
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Watch out next week for the first release of 2024 by Pelikan...<br />
<p><br /></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-75341927452194632362024-02-04T16:33:00.001+00:002024-02-04T16:33:13.628+00:00Mike Makes Me Feel Foolish and Happy!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHHdAaQzKoFc5Eb2uWYWLUg4w3NIwSjYKgaQF2QUMaNBBYXW6gEzSLiD0VTRgy9n7N4paVY6zSdzKGLFr_G-P-lSVDFkr5AjCY4IThWepLg_LGN1p4W2srHAkV1hUrLb49f3YygoUBm2miHPeHIjw7jbVGfybYRJDc-dl_ivAMjPZgDn7eiujCO8glgM/s3824/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20case%20and%20certificate.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2676" data-original-width="3824" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHHdAaQzKoFc5Eb2uWYWLUg4w3NIwSjYKgaQF2QUMaNBBYXW6gEzSLiD0VTRgy9n7N4paVY6zSdzKGLFr_G-P-lSVDFkr5AjCY4IThWepLg_LGN1p4W2srHAkV1hUrLb49f3YygoUBm2miHPeHIjw7jbVGfybYRJDc-dl_ivAMjPZgDn7eiujCO8glgM/w640-h448/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20case%20and%20certificate.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
The 234 Puzzle Cube in its' presentation box with sealed certificate
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
I actually solved something this week! Hallelujah! Back in November last year, I
received an email from a lovely friend who offered me the opportunity of being
able to try out one of his new designs as a Christmas present. That wonderful
friend is also one of the best puzzle craftsmen in the world. Yes it is the
Greek wonder,
<a href="https://puzzzlevision.com/index.html" target="_blank">Mike Toulouzas</a>. I have been lusting after quite a few of his puzzles for many years (I do own
a few from him but not enough). I am still hoping that he will make some more of
his
<a href="http://www.puzzzlevision.com/illusion.html" target="_blank">Illusion puzzle</a>
which I reserved from him way back in 2014 and he has still not managed to make
any! This fabulous offer was sent to a handful of his puzzle friends and I am so
grateful that I am considered significant enough to be included in that very
select group.<div><div><br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHIwhdurYyg2_F4gPP5laZVb-LEPvY8tsSjCl69QTiSuvTPl4Cb8pAQpmBiI_dtT5bxFOGl9H6h7mxbMv4res8ZrVllp5ozFa34Etw863YlF3CuVEOP0wmONKa7SGm1VXMAQ5CD5eEwNLl4OBrmatSEZ3cEcHGy0hrnLDsI3Jyt0lr1Nt0HbD3DCiYcI/s2178/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20-%20Mike's%20stamp.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2178" data-original-width="1798" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHIwhdurYyg2_F4gPP5laZVb-LEPvY8tsSjCl69QTiSuvTPl4Cb8pAQpmBiI_dtT5bxFOGl9H6h7mxbMv4res8ZrVllp5ozFa34Etw863YlF3CuVEOP0wmONKa7SGm1VXMAQ5CD5eEwNLl4OBrmatSEZ3cEcHGy0hrnLDsI3Jyt0lr1Nt0HbD3DCiYcI/w165-h200/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20-%20Mike's%20stamp.jpg" width="165" /></a>
</div>
<br />Mike gave no details away apart from a promise that a puzzle was
coming and when it arrived in January, I was blown away by the sheer beauty
of it. If you look at his website, you will quickly realise that he never
does anything quickly or without precision. Everything is gorgeous and
perfect. The box contained a lovely display box and an envelope with a
puzzle maker's stamp on it.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Inside the envelope was a certificate with a wax seal. The attention to
detail is amazing - the certificate is good heavy card and the edges have
been cut with pinking scissors. I almost didn't want to break the seal but
had to see what was inside:</div><div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7twpCsSADU6S9MyUWiUo51NeYL1yYnJbVPrJZvulBf8JhiJ4JpOGB_BIop8mY_52UStxTLm-eUyXvKxieCKfXbc_DMtZbXo8OSlpgzK7E2q0eCsO4bxrM4xmindAyui1esdl9bXgl8CknhTSBdry9BJzQ3umwUIaCnI8vq2GFpJIRSwlRaG_-T7X03M/s4260/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20certificate.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2919" data-original-width="4260" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7twpCsSADU6S9MyUWiUo51NeYL1yYnJbVPrJZvulBf8JhiJ4JpOGB_BIop8mY_52UStxTLm-eUyXvKxieCKfXbc_DMtZbXo8OSlpgzK7E2q0eCsO4bxrM4xmindAyui1esdl9bXgl8CknhTSBdry9BJzQ3umwUIaCnI8vq2GFpJIRSwlRaG_-T7X03M/w400-h274/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20certificate.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
All puzzles should have one of these!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
It states the woods and I think that this is the first puzzle I own that has
Lemon tree wood in it. The box is gorgeous and noteworthy because even the
hinge is made of wood with a polished brass dowel. Opening the box lid
requires a little pull and because of the design of the legs interacting with
the lid, it opens (and closes) with a satisfying click. Inside, the box is
packed with beautifully chamfered puzzle pieces:
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5DLTf3vPmXhGuBXKTNXcu-Z5LsbbYjpPSx9qvurFodMFqDR871ECTQ-SouXug-yzh0b0kW-z1JKf1O1rzUga0vOyT0NzpQH1VPF12F0v3NUa5mhbwp4qNpkSmhhkltez6gofwvJYSTzINUcf7gahD4RTKu0nUS-zE5M9L7F3xeOUPZ7HGTokcqI333A/s3692/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20case%20packed.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3157" data-original-width="3692" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5DLTf3vPmXhGuBXKTNXcu-Z5LsbbYjpPSx9qvurFodMFqDR871ECTQ-SouXug-yzh0b0kW-z1JKf1O1rzUga0vOyT0NzpQH1VPF12F0v3NUa5mhbwp4qNpkSmhhkltez6gofwvJYSTzINUcf7gahD4RTKu0nUS-zE5M9L7F3xeOUPZ7HGTokcqI333A/w640-h548/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20case%20packed.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Just look at that!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The instructions are to make a cube with the pieces and looking inside I did a
quick count/calculation. 2x2x7 is 28 which is 1 cubie too many. I tipped them
out and saw why. The pieces are stunning and more complex than expected. Mike
has signed one of them:
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBOqwke3zosYKgB53_QcxcHu_OM2jaLwmIHhoPlTSQKzdiJvSt2Mclo_DZhx5XvAK9nMKVuMwVvnOi5ESWyWxzSYLtp9a_iS_snXKDxBFTkyq2H4dsHM6jrt5N6-VcEiwLn_UBO1yZU2E9tgvJBeREEYLzBcheupBXjBm2RaXYCIjmxRtnEuED2dfdKs/s3352/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3352" data-original-width="3351" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBOqwke3zosYKgB53_QcxcHu_OM2jaLwmIHhoPlTSQKzdiJvSt2Mclo_DZhx5XvAK9nMKVuMwVvnOi5ESWyWxzSYLtp9a_iS_snXKDxBFTkyq2H4dsHM6jrt5N6-VcEiwLn_UBO1yZU2E9tgvJBeREEYLzBcheupBXjBm2RaXYCIjmxRtnEuED2dfdKs/w400-h400/The%20234%20Puzzle%20cube%20pieces.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Just 6 pieces - how hard can it be?
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Before it arrived, Mike emailed to ask that all the recipients:
</div>
<div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Time your self when you decide to play. </li>
<li>
Record three times the time (cause might be false conclusion from the
first ones.
</li>
<li>
Send me the results....and a few words as a feedback would be
appreciated.
</li>
</ol>
<div>
Having taken my photos and marvelled at Mike's skills, I set to. I should
have been doing chores but Mrs S realised that I had something special and
I reassured her that at only 6 pieces and "only" having to make a simple
cube, it wouldn't take me that long - probably just 2 or 3 minutes.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WRONG!</span></b>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<div>
I set a timer on my phone and off I went. There are 2 fairly large and
complex pieces and this seemed an obvious place to start. I tried to be
logical and systematic which is a bit of a stretch for my very simple
brain. I have very few neurons and most of them have been thoroughly
gassed at work! Everything I tried was not working - this was very odd.
In the end I solved it with the following times:
</div>
<div>1st attempt was 7min 57sec.</div>
<div>
2nd attempt was 1min 15sec. (maybe because I had remembered the first?)
</div>
<div>3rd attempt was 5min 59sec.</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
For something so apparently simple, there was definitely something
startlingly difficult. Mike has designed this deliberately to lead the
puzzler astray. Your first thoughts about how to solve this are very
much led in the wrong direction. The third time, I knew that the
conventional approach was wrong but I just couldn't seem to work out the
correct one until I had exhausted several obvious failures. When I
pointed this out to Mike, he agreed that this was a deliberate feature
and almost everyone has the same problem. He had noticed it with
"normal" people (adults and kids) and wanted to see whether us
"abnormal" people do the same thing.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I am sort of delighted to know that I am at least slightly normal but
judging from comments received from work colleagues, they do not think
of me as very normal at all. 😱😳🤣<br />
<div>
AT the moment, Mike is not planning on making these for sale but may
do in the future. If you do see an opportunity to buy any Puzzlevision
creations then you should jump at the chance.Thank you Mike for such a
wonderful opportunity and a fabulous puzzle for display!
<br />
<br />
Previous Toulouzas creations (either alone or in
collaboration with another creator):<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxjSzsDD-PfRvJMJhfMcM2INHw8rGAN-fIg43t9UnTYLshxA-ZzQ_JVORa6u8OKIvql6lO4_AD5GMbO4SmPWKO2geRFsItyiQ0jLE43Es_tHkFQw4JnA1758JkZOffN7fmUqgdFGGj2MqI5o5f0lBmX-acye0ZhSSxSxUFM59FyiFltl4sTmX81Xp7yY/s2123/Trigo%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2123" data-original-width="2008" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxjSzsDD-PfRvJMJhfMcM2INHw8rGAN-fIg43t9UnTYLshxA-ZzQ_JVORa6u8OKIvql6lO4_AD5GMbO4SmPWKO2geRFsItyiQ0jLE43Es_tHkFQw4JnA1758JkZOffN7fmUqgdFGGj2MqI5o5f0lBmX-acye0ZhSSxSxUFM59FyiFltl4sTmX81Xp7yY/s320/Trigo%201.jpg" width="303" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trigo</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjzTEGtEnHG76UyzEhqGtbwOyVj8TzNyVKh3TNIFf5Y8Iarqhr8ZKJVIWL9ET8GubhXQJfRCkABCJUnuR-ozP2h6J4h8YpNhnykvG10HrcL_abQPby17pX59M6wCjNfqukNLyREPNCUyLSXPaGaF7gRFLs1lM9ECZPJ0_jGPahJXxOUqy8kAOBMSlniE/s4171/Trinity%20solved.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4171" data-original-width="2939" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjzTEGtEnHG76UyzEhqGtbwOyVj8TzNyVKh3TNIFf5Y8Iarqhr8ZKJVIWL9ET8GubhXQJfRCkABCJUnuR-ozP2h6J4h8YpNhnykvG10HrcL_abQPby17pX59M6wCjNfqukNLyREPNCUyLSXPaGaF7gRFLs1lM9ECZPJ0_jGPahJXxOUqy8kAOBMSlniE/s320/Trinity%20solved.jpg" width="225" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trinity</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrZ4BRs7e_rVTkqYXlOIrXDBVfUVRRJn5fis9KydQXRMXWG2Hl43dDBZLYGIa_lQIamJD4PayYA018StjUdVckA1qZS_kEh8H-glFoelB83DoG8WRY5czp3QPhH3PKhLHap1C4iJL-CdfCX64W5EryZ55K5tgP9QPXCIddsylluZSqu3I64GlMzHEfUo/s3479/Puzzle%20Splines.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3365" data-original-width="3479" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrZ4BRs7e_rVTkqYXlOIrXDBVfUVRRJn5fis9KydQXRMXWG2Hl43dDBZLYGIa_lQIamJD4PayYA018StjUdVckA1qZS_kEh8H-glFoelB83DoG8WRY5czp3QPhH3PKhLHap1C4iJL-CdfCX64W5EryZ55K5tgP9QPXCIddsylluZSqu3I64GlMzHEfUo/s320/Puzzle%20Splines.jpg" width="260" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puzzle splines</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJ5roSne5M4u7Pc-IM0LkKYh4oFI5Lg6HrFfPbsTgru2uqeZkRWkOQT-ygTvkQ5GWOgK1fHdNozPtiinNSBBc4qPtr15DooQZLWE00C1tdHbsoeeQvWRvVrZMUkcol1UoWX5_xB2IVRx_oj7NOB8qPErO2H0aVs5Zn9pjU8ceGgqc0tfawwI4kpfPKIQ/s3310/Doors%20and%20Drawers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3310" data-original-width="3064" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJ5roSne5M4u7Pc-IM0LkKYh4oFI5Lg6HrFfPbsTgru2uqeZkRWkOQT-ygTvkQ5GWOgK1fHdNozPtiinNSBBc4qPtr15DooQZLWE00C1tdHbsoeeQvWRvVrZMUkcol1UoWX5_xB2IVRx_oj7NOB8qPErO2H0aVs5Zn9pjU8ceGgqc0tfawwI4kpfPKIQ/s320/Doors%20and%20Drawers.jpg" width="233" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doors and Drawers</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div></div></div></div></div><br />
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-18836534768031782082024-01-28T16:04:00.000+00:002024-01-28T16:04:02.721+00:00An Original Pelikan<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Shows where Jakub and Jaroslav Got Their Skills</span>
</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsHhG31fT0393v93JHZKvfa1su2pW1KuaoEoIlRrdH1OxAo0JRR-7ivO8E1xAPN8uAnlkg_GPcwUuZ6LFvnCg4e-sj1f3DXi1L31rELODLWNtGqGHZ1y_a-EBcCvEoeJ1BpxeIIcDBSzm35bdOn6REGb9D2KlbQ1kDw9pXUegj5c_KC2fPlNePifJNok/s3005/Four%20Corners.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3005" data-original-width="2769" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsHhG31fT0393v93JHZKvfa1su2pW1KuaoEoIlRrdH1OxAo0JRR-7ivO8E1xAPN8uAnlkg_GPcwUuZ6LFvnCg4e-sj1f3DXi1L31rELODLWNtGqGHZ1y_a-EBcCvEoeJ1BpxeIIcDBSzm35bdOn6REGb9D2KlbQ1kDw9pXUegj5c_KC2fPlNePifJNok/w590-h640/Four%20Corners.jpg" width="590" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Four Corners by Stewart Coffin
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
I have had a rather hard week at work this week and have been working on some
tough new puzzles. This has meant that I have solved nothing! Yes, Nothing! I am
rubbish at puzzles - you heard it first here. I wish I was a genius like Steve
and Derek or a puzzle solving machine like Louis but unfortunately I seem to be
much better at accumulating puzzles than solving them.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsTqstWxUVIrTi5Ro3tiZcXAEfPfDPeiUPu87axSEPQZicvQeeGXkNnR1zLSi-UjCz3R9BEiPmXccpxtHrOERqt8TkN_H2XW8BOIoykUcgKBZCKxjn-roHbn3ICkNLv0MvVYZ7W5pnKlF_tPEvsDuhNnYqCQATAFINv_OXmjyDs3VZ_peMbLFVWAeeeY/s3047/Brass%20Monley%20Sixential%20Discovery.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2985" data-original-width="3047" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKsTqstWxUVIrTi5Ro3tiZcXAEfPfDPeiUPu87axSEPQZicvQeeGXkNnR1zLSi-UjCz3R9BEiPmXccpxtHrOERqt8TkN_H2XW8BOIoykUcgKBZCKxjn-roHbn3ICkNLv0MvVYZ7W5pnKlF_tPEvsDuhNnYqCQATAFINv_OXmjyDs3VZ_peMbLFVWAeeeY/w200-h196/Brass%20Monley%20Sixential%20Discovery.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BM6</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
The Brass monkey number 6 arrived nearly 2 weeks ago and I have singularly
failed to find even the first move. Remember that if you want one then it
<a href="https://twobrassmonkeys.com/pages/announcement-brass-monkey-sixential-discovery?ref=a65xlzwkiz" target="_blank">goes on sale</a>
NEXT Sunday. I am sure that you will have a lot of fun with it and solve it in
a reasonable amount of time whilst I spend months and months trying to find
the first move.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPrwWz_TD1PiUdkAVhuuA99hbapKV31Gg7q6bTNBqWhaIfnIYqe20vb_ZfV_yoHS5TdWiGV4FoEum_EQnm_Oj_Cv65eDvp9hIVGk2rYI0pUfP6b0LlStIwkTqD6vSB2XKz3U3m7W6nUBh_jMU-NkM7DF-VVLRDHFaPZBzGTzyfe9OmTW8iZkEM7C4sQ8/s4082/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20door.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4082" data-original-width="2914" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPrwWz_TD1PiUdkAVhuuA99hbapKV31Gg7q6bTNBqWhaIfnIYqe20vb_ZfV_yoHS5TdWiGV4FoEum_EQnm_Oj_Cv65eDvp9hIVGk2rYI0pUfP6b0LlStIwkTqD6vSB2XKz3U3m7W6nUBh_jMU-NkM7DF-VVLRDHFaPZBzGTzyfe9OmTW8iZkEM7C4sQ8/w143-h200/Oleg's%20Wardrobe%20door.jpg" width="143" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oleg's Wardrobe</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br /><br />
<p>
I also received the Oleg's Wardrobe from Dedwood Crafts. It is absolutely
stunning and rather huge. It is NOT a box! Even if it has a cavity in it -
Dee has said that it is a wardrobe and there's nothing that says I can't
have wardrobes in my collection! Mrs S is muttering about storage again but
has admitted that it is very very beautiful. Again, I have played for a bit
and followed the easy first steps which lead you nowhere and then stopped
dead. Yet again, I have accumulated something and haven't managed to solve
it. Aargh! I am trying not to cry thinking about the previous 3 from Dee
which also remain stubbornly closed.
</p>
<p>
Erm! I seem to have failed at these as well - I really need to find my Mojo.
</p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 33%;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXuvAVVDncHy5TaYqbljeYhpoat5ejHCjqC1Z7_UrzHm2Q0r6YhEixXXOrMQ24FCXXNM6EPNYU6weJoQamOb72adoWHAzQUhHAat8ED8JX4fxEWgIlXYePO5SmeA3EeznGtI9vACyrPL_6pDAwEUF3Rb1CEYGfvqFfmSy0JlumKr3Y_88C-Yt6724AcU/s3235/Orbit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3018" data-original-width="3235" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXuvAVVDncHy5TaYqbljeYhpoat5ejHCjqC1Z7_UrzHm2Q0r6YhEixXXOrMQ24FCXXNM6EPNYU6weJoQamOb72adoWHAzQUhHAat8ED8JX4fxEWgIlXYePO5SmeA3EeznGtI9vACyrPL_6pDAwEUF3Rb1CEYGfvqFfmSy0JlumKr3Y_88C-Yt6724AcU/s320/Orbit.jpg" width="187" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orbit</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 34%;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUF1VVmVz2NnMTl4xox5cZfanq_iQEVxDfiOW3dJlxOx_boYfU4V_ux2MYZVWKJMeKYeofRSXo1v9KkLnIgGY-6pKVKG5q8c9FUujeDCSa02DZX3a_Z1eQjjEYdiB7E0c5XBtwlzCdqsiGL2WMcpwkc9bqNtIsoUTvQPbKsXScQvvsy9XiYZa1GMyUQGw/s3678/Uplift.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3219" data-original-width="3678" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUF1VVmVz2NnMTl4xox5cZfanq_iQEVxDfiOW3dJlxOx_boYfU4V_ux2MYZVWKJMeKYeofRSXo1v9KkLnIgGY-6pKVKG5q8c9FUujeDCSa02DZX3a_Z1eQjjEYdiB7E0c5XBtwlzCdqsiGL2WMcpwkc9bqNtIsoUTvQPbKsXScQvvsy9XiYZa1GMyUQGw/s320/Uplift.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uplift</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 33%;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFeUCUGJgiaGrdlOYc1oCD7UJTybytPZyq9-4RXWSUhp2w2rUwDtIasxowULF40PBnn7bfMiK1kcNUKJgfKVjRSJ-_mpVvGgxn7Khw6vZ8h_z_OIT4MzSAIuSiU9_oVl2nrAgdg35t7iGVEHt7CmtnnTg7aZ-Ri4uG6-p5O7zcu1GsA8MTaZLxJdT_K8/s3391/Burner.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3391" data-original-width="2275" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFeUCUGJgiaGrdlOYc1oCD7UJTybytPZyq9-4RXWSUhp2w2rUwDtIasxowULF40PBnn7bfMiK1kcNUKJgfKVjRSJ-_mpVvGgxn7Khw6vZ8h_z_OIT4MzSAIuSiU9_oVl2nrAgdg35t7iGVEHt7CmtnnTg7aZ-Ri4uG6-p5O7zcu1GsA8MTaZLxJdT_K8/s320/Burner.jpg" width="118" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burner</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
All three by Dee Dixon remain unsolved - only one has revealed any steps at
all to me!<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHQ2Ef2weQSUY7-OEgfBHAt64QNkpG3yKqCh8CqKbQjOQ-sQMKG2z8QWO4v7kPzBe4V2QIZ7uClFOBNShYFaW6x1HEvcMojxVoEKwuAloOV9h9tcosZMJgQ-ms6XH3xqCZJKeS5YGR_6h9IjTdM7ajI7iJFlMkln28BEQCoEoWtSYspSYfRpTg6Rp7OE/s4267/Al%20Bus%20all%20parts.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2773" data-original-width="4267" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHQ2Ef2weQSUY7-OEgfBHAt64QNkpG3yKqCh8CqKbQjOQ-sQMKG2z8QWO4v7kPzBe4V2QIZ7uClFOBNShYFaW6x1HEvcMojxVoEKwuAloOV9h9tcosZMJgQ-ms6XH3xqCZJKeS5YGR_6h9IjTdM7ajI7iJFlMkln28BEQCoEoWtSYspSYfRpTg6Rp7OE/w200-h130/Al%20Bus%20all%20parts.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Al Bus by Jordi Gallen
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>
Then after that, Having seen the Al Bus (designed and created by Jordi
Gallen) raved about by several people at Peter Hajek's EPP and also enthused
about by Derek, I decided that I should try and get a copy. It is available
to purchase now from
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/inventors/jordigallen/17697-al-bus&a=155639" target="_blank">PuzzleMaster</a> but when I looked at it and made my decision, a copy was put up for
auction to go to charity commemorating the late Eric Fuller. I bid and I won
and several rather gorgeous pieces of plastic arrived. I haven't had time to
do much more than fiddle so far. It is rather lovely!
</p>
<p>
Having gotten nowhere with several rather complex puzzles all I can do is
show off a rather lovely Stewart Coffin puzzle that I managed to acquire
from Bernhard. This copy of the Four Corners (STC#6) was made by Josef
Pelikan using 3 woods and is a lovely variant of the
<a href="http://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2012/10/stars-variations-on-theme.html" target="_blank">diagonal star puzzle</a>. It slides apart beautifully to show 6 identically shaped pieces with the
classic base and slightly altered ends:
</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMcehAmhyphenhyphenapSLFdJetzYDk5wvH52pJhManXScmRYJffdTBj7gXvPhe8GsqadHPVKS8ASw1S8N7vDVOfFOM-5f7AeA4YhZ_p5Zzeov9Nu_Mbx3U7ybq99Q0_lEtT65KoKZqDqaSDBKEEePy9Gb3Yvfh2RvJiE4ISAth1iTZb8m5ivOFap2RtWh1Y92byI/s4022/Four%20Corners%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2840" data-original-width="4022" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMcehAmhyphenhyphenapSLFdJetzYDk5wvH52pJhManXScmRYJffdTBj7gXvPhe8GsqadHPVKS8ASw1S8N7vDVOfFOM-5f7AeA4YhZ_p5Zzeov9Nu_Mbx3U7ybq99Q0_lEtT65KoKZqDqaSDBKEEePy9Gb3Yvfh2RvJiE4ISAth1iTZb8m5ivOFap2RtWh1Y92byI/w640-h453/Four%20Corners%20pieces.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Instantly recognisable piece types
</td>
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At this point I noticed that there are 4 different woods appearing at the ends
of the pieces (3 Padauk, 3 Wenge 3 Mahogany and then 3 Oak. When the puzzle
had arrived, as you can see at the top of the post, all the colours at the
ends were mismatched. I hadn't read anything about the puzzle and wondered to
myself whether the aim is to reassemble ensuring that each of the 4 poles is
the same colour/wood. I also wondered whether there were any alternative
assemblies. I quickly discovered that despite the simplicity of the pieces,
there seems to be no other way to assemble the puzzle. If you try to put it
together with pieces the wrong way then it is blocked.
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLamkqXh8tJ1wxtcX4HJqOb6CoUqCIWGLMjTTB-rPreroO7Ku3j44wvMBkQQfVuk3_nhE8Pjer8-ISXKUwQqKP2GW-duBgUbB5q-QRtRddEVur_hOcX7P2QG4ugns_4LA17hqepFvTwNQwCPvoExqErtUp48BzfQa_J4a0pfI9ZyCDvu3EpqVQFNvOwGM/s3228/Four%20Corners%20impossible%20assembly.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2496" data-original-width="3228" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLamkqXh8tJ1wxtcX4HJqOb6CoUqCIWGLMjTTB-rPreroO7Ku3j44wvMBkQQfVuk3_nhE8Pjer8-ISXKUwQqKP2GW-duBgUbB5q-QRtRddEVur_hOcX7P2QG4ugns_4LA17hqepFvTwNQwCPvoExqErtUp48BzfQa_J4a0pfI9ZyCDvu3EpqVQFNvOwGM/w400-h309/Four%20Corners%20impossible%20assembly.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Sliding together blocked
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After fiddling for a little while, I discovered that this one is a little awkward to assemble the halves. I found it quite confusing - I could assemble the top half with the single pole but struggled to manage the differently shaped bottom half. I got there in the end and now have the puzzle arranged with a different wood at each pole:<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlvhZPPMcbAgp903Z2gWguDA4f_q8OhfXKwOW5MR4pJtni0rqG-o1Y_MdvHQ_RBoEKk0LYuSy-OLqlmkSEaBFYwuLmzV96UvJSAdUBUtiSKesy-SsN-cs9Wkn0UR4dmXICDgsyPkK5YUjrQh4YWQAt9h1JZ1IcnYE3CMji_8hyUKP45-Sx0k-djGw8ew/s3034/Four%20Corners%20assembly%20all%20colours%20grouped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3034" data-original-width="2943" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlvhZPPMcbAgp903Z2gWguDA4f_q8OhfXKwOW5MR4pJtni0rqG-o1Y_MdvHQ_RBoEKk0LYuSy-OLqlmkSEaBFYwuLmzV96UvJSAdUBUtiSKesy-SsN-cs9Wkn0UR4dmXICDgsyPkK5YUjrQh4YWQAt9h1JZ1IcnYE3CMji_8hyUKP45-Sx0k-djGw8ew/w388-h400/Four%20Corners%20assembly%20all%20colours%20grouped.jpg" width="388" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much better!</td></tr></tbody></table>Looking at the online version of "<a href="https://puzzleworld.org/PuzzlingWorld/default.htm" target="_blank">The Puzzling World of Polyhedral Dissections</a>" kindly hosted by John Rausch, there are other challenges involving different arrangements of the colours and symmetry. The four different ways in which the Four Corners Puzzle can be assembled in color symmetry are represented in in black and white below. The one on the left, in which each "corner" is a solid color, is the easiest and most obvious and is how the puzzle got its name. Each has a pair of solutions.<p align="center" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13.333333px;"><a name="fig104"></a><img alt="fig104" height="122" src="https://puzzleworld.org/PuzzlingWorld/images/fig104.gif" width="587" /></p><p>Finally, to extract one more bit of recreation from this puzzle, discover the 24 ways of assembling it such that the patterns of all four colors are identical but not symmetrical. You may skip the 3,808 ways that do not have either property. Hint: in general, these color symmetry problems are not the type that one solves by trial and error. One must try to discover the principles involved and the simple rules that transform one solution into another. You may not even need the physical pieces.</p><p>I have managed a couple of these and then got side-tracked by other toys! Now it's time to get back to these blasted sequential discovery puzzles and hopefully solve something for next week - wish me luck!</p><div><br /></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-69012195694888187582024-01-21T16:32:00.001+00:002024-01-21T16:32:39.804+00:00Trays and Trays of Thought<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyv6oTrUbrsFFsorfRsHnuo9u-W8h5sF1g1qwIeq9MfI_1CHqoRKkk7eT-4-u3koXBMf3T-dZqoZCtBTRqTQ7pIq1nSoWzqv_4M9DGj3MWZYnQUPAiOai-fIGTo7BDMa7r_nQ-eRjwUJPGqBVPpqwDZ39uPcJntyWIHXk340KaJx75kNkk1JnoZ6Z7Uk/s4339/Magyarics%20delivery%202024-01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2997" data-original-width="4339" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyv6oTrUbrsFFsorfRsHnuo9u-W8h5sF1g1qwIeq9MfI_1CHqoRKkk7eT-4-u3koXBMf3T-dZqoZCtBTRqTQ7pIq1nSoWzqv_4M9DGj3MWZYnQUPAiOai-fIGTo7BDMa7r_nQ-eRjwUJPGqBVPpqwDZ39uPcJntyWIHXk340KaJx75kNkk1JnoZ6Z7Uk/w640-h442/Magyarics%20delivery%202024-01.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
A Plethora of torture from Alexander
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I will say it up front - Alexander Magyarics is one of the best puzzle designers
out there. I don't say it because I consider him a friend, I say it because he
has proven it time and time again! You all know it from the rather large number
of his designs that have been created by Jakub and Jaroslav's Pelikan puzzles
team that have made it into all of our collections. Quite a few of his puzzles
have made it into my
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/search/label/Top%20ten" target="_blank">top ten puzzles</a>
of the year and they include 3D packing puzzles with incredible shapes
(sometimes requiring rotations and sometimes just rectilinear moves), there are
now even a few burrs under his belt which are not just a creation made using the
Burrtoools software aimed at getting the highest level possible - the important
thing about Alex's creations are that they are interesting and require the
dreaded thought© to be solved. This requires something very special or very
warped in the head - I leave it up to you to decide.
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<div>
For the last couple of Xmases Alex has made me a lovely and not so little care
package of puzzles he has both designed and 3D printed himself (Sigh! I wish I
was allowed a 3D printer but if I wish to keep all parts of my anatomy
attached then that is not going to happen). I received 14 of them this time
and Mrs S was less than impressed (one thing about 3D printed puzzles is that
they do look like child's toys and are not attractive i.e. no "wife appeal").
I reassured "she who frightens police officers to death" that they would be
kept out of sight and not left on display anywhere and put them in my study in
yet another box of puzzles to be solved - my goodness, I have a huge backlog
just now!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
This last 10 days "she who makes the sun hide in fear" was up in Sconny
Botland visiting the outlaws and I was free to leave stuff lying around and
play with them at my leisure. I actually did not have much time to myself due
to work but the advantage of tray puzzles is that they take up very little
space and can be carried around easily. I had some other toys in transit from
various parts of the world and until they arrived had nothing that "had" to be
solved fast. Time to play with the packing puzzles.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7clnPEeYceNbKcNAm17si6b5FleZuwAN8-cSVWd9LDEYLtFeMSEykPV-Csb0bkPTGl3iQAfScXxyw0VDEV6fV2EbksSMWULjEH7CvRSKHkrInEjr-4t4Nm-fwZphH4b2TwUq8V838liKaBW6aGge-K1W9WmGYsAfTGSdw7lHUn_V-sO7G3lcuUAvx7ps/s4333/Rhinnocent.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1954" data-original-width="4333" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7clnPEeYceNbKcNAm17si6b5FleZuwAN8-cSVWd9LDEYLtFeMSEykPV-Csb0bkPTGl3iQAfScXxyw0VDEV6fV2EbksSMWULjEH7CvRSKHkrInEjr-4t4Nm-fwZphH4b2TwUq8V838liKaBW6aGge-K1W9WmGYsAfTGSdw7lHUn_V-sO7G3lcuUAvx7ps/w640-h288/Rhinnocent.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhinnocent</td>
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Alex had suggested that I start with this one (I had asked in desperation at
preserving my ego for the easier ones). Place 5 of them in the smaller tray and
then all 7 in the larger one. Usually I am truly awful at this type of thing and
find that all I do is trial and error over and over again because after a while
I cannot remember what I have tried before. I started in exactly the same way
but within a minute or so, I was able to see some vague logic to them and was
able to direct my approach. Wow! I had the small tray done in about 5 minutes
and then the larger one in a further 15 or so. Amazing - a feeling of
achievement and think©ing had occurred!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3ZDOwZnInxcx99eLXbeFarrLW3N6LvBiS5nQcYhLJKBQBW5-7iNx0_0MtQL31zBlxv3RV-XIratBk16_b8VCKxsx62c94cV7ho1Ph1QMOszY0rb8C0_BL3xPfG2jz8vM4hYk5KAr669W0gdhzOSSs-nVNJLC9wpbDgve-OTx9nxToUju9d1TZ5cs3Tk/s4255/1%20Billion.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2640" data-original-width="4255" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_3ZDOwZnInxcx99eLXbeFarrLW3N6LvBiS5nQcYhLJKBQBW5-7iNx0_0MtQL31zBlxv3RV-XIratBk16_b8VCKxsx62c94cV7ho1Ph1QMOszY0rb8C0_BL3xPfG2jz8vM4hYk5KAr669W0gdhzOSSs-nVNJLC9wpbDgve-OTx9nxToUju9d1TZ5cs3Tk/w640-h398/1%20Billion.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 Billion</td>
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This was the second one he told me to do and I really wasn't sure about it. It
is very attractive and quite clearly had been designed using Burrtools - how
else could he know that there was ONLY one solution? I found initially that I
began to place pieces randomly and quickly found myself blocked but there must
have been a reason for suggesting this as an early challenge. Alex had asked me
why I thought it was called 1 Billion? I suspected because that might be how
many years it might take me and hopefully asked whether it was because there was
actually 1 billion ways to solve it. I still don't know why the name! Having
failed a couple of times, I realised that there are some very complex shapes for
some of the pieces and they are very limited in where they can go. Why not start
with them? Then move to progressively less complex shapes. After a couple of
blind ends in the solve, I had it. Yet again, a tray packing puzzle that
required thought© and very little random placement. This is sheer genius design!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5-NOfuGojkPlM7EYll0waAEImBKQ41UPyjI_hNY3Rxll-gt4UyfkPmk5-l73mdigUZtspZYcec4SUZVuMJ4WAuYjpUtT_VuVLxihrvFk3jgPB5iOPitkZw2mFd3FcrigKEZThG7do41RSIlf3OSwXiY1TClxf3-nYg-q-uzkndb702TOvksUKUEIFDk/s4286/Pieces%20of%20my%20heart.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2657" data-original-width="4286" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5-NOfuGojkPlM7EYll0waAEImBKQ41UPyjI_hNY3Rxll-gt4UyfkPmk5-l73mdigUZtspZYcec4SUZVuMJ4WAuYjpUtT_VuVLxihrvFk3jgPB5iOPitkZw2mFd3FcrigKEZThG7do41RSIlf3OSwXiY1TClxf3-nYg-q-uzkndb702TOvksUKUEIFDk/w640-h396/Pieces%20of%20my%20heart.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pieces of my Heart</td>
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I couldn't resist this one as my next challenge - it looked relatively
straightforward - the aim being to create a full heart with it placed in the top
left corner. This is Alex's first sliding tile puzzle. I usually find these
unrewarding due to the large number of random moves to try and an enormous
decision tree that eventually gets created. This apparently can be solved with
45 moves (I did not manage to do it that quickly). Having had such a great time
with the previous puzzles I felt that there must be something special about this
one too and I was not wrong. Unusually for one of these, the first bunch of
moves are very constrained and there is only one path for quite a while. After
that, I reached a decision point and took the wrong turn (as usual) but was not
led up a huge long dead end with lots of other paths to rule out on the way. The
blind ends are relatively short and sweet, requiring a backtrack and searching
elsewhere. My memory is awful and this puzzle never required me to commit huge
long sequences to memory. I found hot quite rewarding to finally reach the end
point - I suspect that about 150-200 moves was used in the end after false paths
and backtracking. I may even try it again to see if I can do it in a shorter
sequence. Don't look if you don't want to see the end positions.
<div><br /></div>
<div id="spoiler_heart" style="display: none;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3jIBtN3HR0Gy7o-LM3Ioq2-SA8Law0tI40StNy3Toku_VCeCDPH0_Q8jVAj0UdOzhq4PgV0pM_EaTx2-IrJMqUfoiiTlFNG2NdZe06eprKpcPaE2vlPnT6X7vqQZfFisRLCnc6QKeZ8tPcjrJWDHFLvrz6Xvi9hjQOaHlpzh2qinP7VrK9Re7XhuDLQ/s4231/Pieces%20of%20my%20Heart%20solved.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2561" data-original-width="4231" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3jIBtN3HR0Gy7o-LM3Ioq2-SA8Law0tI40StNy3Toku_VCeCDPH0_Q8jVAj0UdOzhq4PgV0pM_EaTx2-IrJMqUfoiiTlFNG2NdZe06eprKpcPaE2vlPnT6X7vqQZfFisRLCnc6QKeZ8tPcjrJWDHFLvrz6Xvi9hjQOaHlpzh2qinP7VrK9Re7XhuDLQ/w400-h243/Pieces%20of%20my%20Heart%20solved.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Possible in 45 moves? Not by me!
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<div>
Finally, I couldn't resist one of Alex's multiple challenge puzzles. The fun
thing about a huge number of his packing puzzles from last year as well as
this year (and even some of the Pelikan puzzles like Sliders) have multiple
challenges to them. I decided to strat with the rather beautiful ICEbreaker:
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz23Pe7guNgYs4A2y_T3U82y38aGMhPdp-lP_rWyOkBT40mt0yGf0bIU6Fc0fpOVBUF0U4Xw2N2ILLGWq4AaNInUiBHRdJIvxuApe1L7MFGwmLrTLwRzRTc-xu6-_4dE7Ah50JwDcqKsIoyy7ezpuovpqOL3-TPoXdnCGR8hwwGEIm6wM71QskgVHKPQA/s3693/ICEbreaker.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2941" data-original-width="3693" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz23Pe7guNgYs4A2y_T3U82y38aGMhPdp-lP_rWyOkBT40mt0yGf0bIU6Fc0fpOVBUF0U4Xw2N2ILLGWq4AaNInUiBHRdJIvxuApe1L7MFGwmLrTLwRzRTc-xu6-_4dE7Ah50JwDcqKsIoyy7ezpuovpqOL3-TPoXdnCGR8hwwGEIm6wM71QskgVHKPQA/s320/ICEbreaker.jpg" width="270" /></a>
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<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXi5VZgtcq19hzkcbBgqHNv7MvAbL9S5ms9uwYdFN-tKJ_OEJUelS1MOMbw1g6Mk3hx7YLFa2CbSkDNZLoOyamXKzOwZhC8JWye4VqPC8Q-Rx-HFVR9uPqWD3u14xitviBUnwe3BvKfeQZSy5qFgs7CtZlF6xpIZQb3LAVFI8yOqo2huMELkCBpTlft0k/s4592/ICEbreaker%20instructions.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3448" data-original-width="4592" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXi5VZgtcq19hzkcbBgqHNv7MvAbL9S5ms9uwYdFN-tKJ_OEJUelS1MOMbw1g6Mk3hx7YLFa2CbSkDNZLoOyamXKzOwZhC8JWye4VqPC8Q-Rx-HFVR9uPqWD3u14xitviBUnwe3BvKfeQZSy5qFgs7CtZlF6xpIZQb3LAVFI8yOqo2huMELkCBpTlft0k/s320/ICEbreaker%20instructions.jpg" width="287" /></a>
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<br />
The pieces look simple (3 copies of the word ICE) and the first challenge had
256 solutions. Now, that is my type of puzzle - even I can solve it
(hopefully). Again, this has been created with the aim to make you think© and
it worked! My first trial and error attempts failed and I had to look at how
the letters interacted with each other. This made it much easier and I quickly
found one of those 256. I have not searched for lots more as I won't be able
to remember what I have done before. The next challenge with the constraint of
having alike letters touching was much more difficult but still a pleasurable
experience. Challenge 3 nearly had me giving up - fill the tray leaving gaps
in two diagonally opposite corners. I tried to be clever and look at the best
way to pack tightly and leave a voxel free in those corners. Well, me being
clever usually ends in disaster and I was not disappointed. I spent a good 45
minutes trying the same thing over and over again and it would not work. I
then tried something else that was much less clever and this ended in the
solved puzzle. I retrospectively entered the pieces into Burrtools to look at
the solution set for this challenge and was interested to see that the
tightest interaction that could leave a corner empty is not one of the
solutions - have I said that this man is a genius? He perfectly led me astray
and made me waste my time on something impossible! Challenge 4 was going to be
impossible for me and I decided to try for the anti slide challenge. Take 2
sets of ICE and put them in the tray in such a way that none of the pieces can
slide.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I have only played with a few anti slide puzzles before and have found that I
just do not have the skill set to solve them. Many people at IPPs have loved
them and a few have been entered into the design competition. I have played
and failed before. But Alex has challenged me and I had to at least try. The
problem here is that the pieces are all quite open and the tray quite big when
you are only using 2 sets of pieces. I was very surprised at how much fun this
was. I initially had pieces freely sliding in an ocean of space and then
worked to get them tangled. Progress is very much stepwise as I found that
changing positions of some pieces sort of locked bits up but not enough to
prevent them all from sliding. I gradually worked my way through moving more
and more pieces until there was a big Aha! moment. I had solved my first anti
slide puzzle and it was good! I doubt that this will become a favourite genre
but it's definitely worth a try and a big bonus as an additional challenge in
a tray packing puzzle.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I still have a whole bunch of these to try and a few will always be in my work
bag to be taken out during a quiet time. Thank you Alex for a wonderful gift
and restoring my faith in my abilities!<br />
<br />
<hr align="center" color="#cc0000" size="2" width="80%" />
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_x93YU0Xh_y2Nj0MVn4m4WKCJequhsACDQ-N48ReYCis8_WP_7VpzhHzDqchOooFjahNFGYRkISctwlc5vvzsRdmdF2e9t0zaNrU_bY9lUP4p8aYOLMpCQ1oGZGYmk6zDIhhHrYsBqfdtMZ4NffzKik01z09pCo2JQoVRfOxuMxG8q5rHYvXB5zURJL4/s3047/Brass%20Monley%20Sixential%20Discovery.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2985" data-original-width="3047" height="587" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_x93YU0Xh_y2Nj0MVn4m4WKCJequhsACDQ-N48ReYCis8_WP_7VpzhHzDqchOooFjahNFGYRkISctwlc5vvzsRdmdF2e9t0zaNrU_bY9lUP4p8aYOLMpCQ1oGZGYmk6zDIhhHrYsBqfdtMZ4NffzKik01z09pCo2JQoVRfOxuMxG8q5rHYvXB5zURJL4/w640-h626/Brass%20Monley%20Sixential%20Discovery.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Brass Monkey Sixential Discovery Puzzle (BM6)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Yes, it has arrived and the preorders close today. If you want the chance of a slightly early arrival and free shipping then get to the <a href="https://twobrassmonkeys.com/pages/announcement-brass-monkey-sixential-discovery?ref=a65xlzwkiz" target="_blank">Two Brass Monkey</a> site quickly and place your order. <a href="http://allardspuzzlingtimes.blogspot.com/2024/01/brass-monkey-sixential-discovery-bm6.html" target="_blank">Allard</a> loved his experience of solving the prototype. I have spent a several hours on mine and have not even found the first step (sigh, I am not very bright!) There is a lot of interesting stuff to be seen and it is going to be a huge challenge.</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>If you wait then it goes on sale formally on February 4th.</div>
<div><br /></div>
<br />
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-3146516284326402352024-01-14T15:38:00.002+00:002024-01-14T16:04:57.206+00:00Gravitational Burr<p>
<span
style="caret-color: rgb(204, 0, 0); color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"
>A Burr That’s Also a Maze</span
>
</p>
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<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Spyuku8CBdNRcajsO1dTW87iUR3fMxBhxJQ0Vr41pWsRKYTjgAyi5k8X6tMLLrowirx2hm-FKUW3Xo-F8k9oIf0yeqikPchPdTkJixgjSkWXRT7r9qtQKs7I_LtkqsNVflbEx30SA49kULBE9AWJxlOK5ci7lVaXvmsv3_F1GtLELvZqD9_XN5i4Sgk/s3397/Gravitational%20burr.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3279"
data-original-width="3397"
height="579"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Spyuku8CBdNRcajsO1dTW87iUR3fMxBhxJQ0Vr41pWsRKYTjgAyi5k8X6tMLLrowirx2hm-FKUW3Xo-F8k9oIf0yeqikPchPdTkJixgjSkWXRT7r9qtQKs7I_LtkqsNVflbEx30SA49kULBE9AWJxlOK5ci7lVaXvmsv3_F1GtLELvZqD9_XN5i4Sgk/w640-h618/Gravitational%20burr.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Gravitational Burr by Junichi Yananose
<br />Gorgeous wood!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Well, what a way to start the year! First, I start on the amazing PicoLock and
now I have a stunning and fun chunk of wood sent all the way from t'other
(getting in touch with my inner Yorkshireman) side of the world.<br />
<p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZNXVLzreHRfQ-dyAZu39z4fySSnGf_0Dy9a5xse9XSs2PYg8wGHE4rdU-pqp7fPsFzw1OrAEEPf38_vzT2CrNNJrkvFuH43je_0BhqyK00Wmpbkk2yrlv_ew6Tiww-p-Pp8SnOwK7xUuTBmK07zCGGJI7n8TrMMETQ-8m_yKkBjS7trDrk-dHdzdoiM/s3815/Dual%20Meanders%20Box.jpg"
style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3358"
data-original-width="3815"
height="176"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZNXVLzreHRfQ-dyAZu39z4fySSnGf_0Dy9a5xse9XSs2PYg8wGHE4rdU-pqp7fPsFzw1OrAEEPf38_vzT2CrNNJrkvFuH43je_0BhqyK00Wmpbkk2yrlv_ew6Tiww-p-Pp8SnOwK7xUuTBmK07zCGGJI7n8TrMMETQ-8m_yKkBjS7trDrk-dHdzdoiM/w200-h176/Dual%20Meanders%20Box.jpg"
width="200"
/></a>
</div>
<p><br /></p>
This beauty has been made from a rather gorgeously grained American Black Walnut
and Juno has mixed and matched the light grained pieces with the dark to make
something arrestingly beautiful (I am a sucker for lovely wood) and the fact
that it is a fabulously tactile 117mm across in each direction makes for a
really nice thing to play with. The only downside is that my Juno puzzle
collection is currently stuffed into 2 shelves of my Billy bookcases and this
(plus the equally stunning Dual Meanders Box I also received) will now no longer
fit in that space and I will need another reconfiguration.
<p></p>
<p>
Looking at it, you would think: "so what! It's just another 6 piece burr.
Surely everything interesting has been done with this type of puzzle?" You
might be right about that as I have multiple burr sets and am always on the
lookout for more but this is NOT "just" a 6 piece burr. Juno has added a ball
bearing inside and a track for it - therefore it is a 7 piece burr and the
seventh piece needs to move around inside to allow the other 6 to move.
</p>
<p>
In fact, it is even more amazing than that. It is actually a level one 6 piece
burr with a solid key piece which Juno has made into a level 2 one by having a
tiny locking move that needs to be pushed to allow the key piece to slide. The
locking mechanism is held firm by a pair of magnets. Once the key piece is
unlocked then the first movements are possible and it quickly becomes clear
where the name Gravitational burr" came from. You cannot initially see the
ball bearing but you know it is there and the only way to manipulate it is to
rock the puzzle side to side or turn it over and over. It is clear when the
bearing has moved because you can hear it click to a new position. It is only
after 4 moves that you can actually see the ball bearing and at this point a
small part of the track/maze that it is in can be seen.
</p>
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<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0vJ2QW1xh8-OJM1H3Q21BAnXvkzmHJLLoVnnW78Hpr4l48u_o7aUuAtqBR3qH7qUbmfFOxUerSTKJIJiwj3-q4q7wMewvU7XqzY7fZ09zDl4-PALFWFjM44xo0jhTZwnJiA2Kz_InaXpgTpKaIBkzCU63reLXMf2H9l_mh_lARg4WgmLTH9CZmmeJvM/s3335/Gravitational%20burr%20BB%20revealed.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3335"
data-original-width="2881"
height="400"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0vJ2QW1xh8-OJM1H3Q21BAnXvkzmHJLLoVnnW78Hpr4l48u_o7aUuAtqBR3qH7qUbmfFOxUerSTKJIJiwj3-q4q7wMewvU7XqzY7fZ09zDl4-PALFWFjM44xo0jhTZwnJiA2Kz_InaXpgTpKaIBkzCU63reLXMf2H9l_mh_lARg4WgmLTH9CZmmeJvM/w345-h400/Gravitational%20burr%20BB%20revealed.jpg"
width="345"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
4 Moves in and the BB with some maze is revealed
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Having found the bearing, I return to the beginning and try it again - it is
weirdly satisfying just rolling the ball around and controlling where it goes by
holding the key piece tight and clamping the ball in place and not allowing it
to roll or fall until I was ready. I found a choice at the 5th move and I
carried on deeper into the maze. After a few more moves I lost my courage and
returned to the beginning again...except I couldn't get back to the beginning!
GULP! Lost already? I knew that I was in good company because
<a href="https://puzzles.schwandtner.info" target="_blank">Goetz</a> had got
himself into the same difficulty. It was a little early for a full on panic and
I just wiggled it about in every direction I could whilst manipulating the
movable piece and, after a rather fraught 10 minutes, it was back at the
beginning again. Phew! I was unable to play with this whilst Mrs S was around.
She often takes the piss out of me for listening to puzzles and she very rarely
will sit in silence - there is always radio or music or TV on around her and if
it's too loud or too distracting then I cannot tell where the bearing is going.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I carried on with my exploration and found another pathway and all of a sudden
my ball bearing was peeking out at me in a different part of the maze on a new
section of the puzzle. How on earth did I get there? Back-tracking was really
hard as I hadn't been really paying attention to orientation as well as piece
position and I must have missed an opening. It took me a whole evening to
return to the start.
</div>
<div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Time to think©! Ouch! I could see that this was going to be rather complex
and maybe I was going to have to draw a maze pathway. I started off doing
just that and quickly came to the conclusion that my mapping skills weren't
going to work. The problem for me and the fun part of this puzzle is that it
is not just a burr...it is a maze and to make it extra fun it was a dynamic
maze because the pathways moved with the key piece and parts that are
blocked become available to explore only at certain positions. On top of
this, the bearing needs to be moved by gravity making it impossible to
randomly find your way through. I would go as far as to say that randomly
exploring will get you into trouble as you will almost certainly get lost
and then be in trouble.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Oh, the think©ing hurt me bad this time. I suspect that designing a hidden
maze inside a burr using Burrtools might not be that difficult for an expert
but that would almost certainly lead to a puzzle that required a lot of
random moves and luck to get through - it would not be a good puzzle. Here
Juno shows his true genius - with the Gravitational burr, Juno had designed
the maze in such a way that once the initial confusion of manipulating the
bearing and it popping up in odd places has been overcome, then the
think©ing makes you realise that he is showing you different bits of the
maze as you go. First you see the top of the key piece, then you see the
sides of the key piece and later, a bit by surprise, you get a peek inside
the body of the burr and see pathways on the fixed walls of the cavity. Each
time you see a bit more it opens up a possible section for use.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
In the end, I actually deliberately worked my way through the pathway
section by section until all of a sudden the key piece is in a very extended
position to allow the extraction of other parts and full disassembly of the
burr. Again, the genius of Juno is shown by the presence of a magnet which
holds the ball bearing in place so that it doesn't fall out and get lost in
the furniture or swallowed by a cat. In retrospect, I realised that magnet
also held the bearing in place at the start of the puzzle - there is no
rattle if you listen to the closed puzzle.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
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<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsjCJIbw-S99wy6iqoX7ePjVOLGf8LiFO4bxb7qpqzHKU9yDYqt9kPgoh65MSsMwiHVCYQLjoD2-1b4iR0OOUZcgKnl6jQUBlMFhgzlkzKguin7cAoMcOL-0T6wA_3gdlx3KgW-rtrFS8SnvVGysLgAV70UpVpGxaXLnvDoBBYHOs4CzpPBughABi_os/s3829/Gravitational%20burr%20pieces.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3158"
data-original-width="3829"
height="495"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsjCJIbw-S99wy6iqoX7ePjVOLGf8LiFO4bxb7qpqzHKU9yDYqt9kPgoh65MSsMwiHVCYQLjoD2-1b4iR0OOUZcgKnl6jQUBlMFhgzlkzKguin7cAoMcOL-0T6wA_3gdlx3KgW-rtrFS8SnvVGysLgAV70UpVpGxaXLnvDoBBYHOs4CzpPBughABi_os/w640-h528/Gravitational%20burr%20pieces.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
All 6 (7) pieces and Juno's stamp is revealed.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div>
Once the puzzle is in pieces then the true genius is on show and you can
look at the complexity of the pathway. Not really a spoiler but if you don't
want to see the key piece detail then don't click the show hide.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div id="spoiler_gravburr" style="display: none;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
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<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1yf2rQpDVEd8SYH3-MJ4G4Ve051AY3VXzXcHaLHuHZf5C2UGz2lkwGCp-_SNDzsRbch6fRUw7GLjzrgu5e-gB8jjNuM5FnXafWqdLreHh6-eXcJdCFsibuhtsz2CpZ4aqc55fLIIKnLrDst_-VEmJtNe20q07WniYUTbKjRa9WXCoLpWjFd5asZCQD0/s3434/Gravitational%20burr%20maze%20detail.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="1372"
data-original-width="3434"
height="240"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1yf2rQpDVEd8SYH3-MJ4G4Ve051AY3VXzXcHaLHuHZf5C2UGz2lkwGCp-_SNDzsRbch6fRUw7GLjzrgu5e-gB8jjNuM5FnXafWqdLreHh6-eXcJdCFsibuhtsz2CpZ4aqc55fLIIKnLrDst_-VEmJtNe20q07WniYUTbKjRa9WXCoLpWjFd5asZCQD0/w640-h256/Gravitational%20burr%20maze%20detail.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Only half the key paths shown
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<button
onclick="if(document.getElementById('spoiler_gravburr') .style.display=='none') {document.getElementById('spoiler_gravburr') .style.display=''}else{document.getElementById('spoiler_gravburr') .style.display='none'}"
title="Click to Show/Hide Content"
type="button"
>
Show/Hide
</button>
<div><br /></div>
Now it was time for reassembly. Juno has provided a quick assembly method
which doesn't use the maze at all - there is a big cavity in one of the pieces
where you can store the bearing and just assemble the 6 piece burr without it.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6ikHW5Iv3G55-4kHkxCnTHO10Bw2oh1X6FlSKY144kbhD1C6oI-mHH2FZdUxDLq36aCZ7fk6ep7ipWZCoZpDwRW4uKC2NWADJrHoVQGekzymi7Qkey01IxCxGKtKQBkgqQzcLWow68cSpVatbMnqGHIatlvXPBqABgUblrm3wTn5u6jz76rLvvIgPa0/s3318/Gravitational%20burr%20quick%20assembly.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3174"
data-original-width="3318"
height="383"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6ikHW5Iv3G55-4kHkxCnTHO10Bw2oh1X6FlSKY144kbhD1C6oI-mHH2FZdUxDLq36aCZ7fk6ep7ipWZCoZpDwRW4uKC2NWADJrHoVQGekzymi7Qkey01IxCxGKtKQBkgqQzcLWow68cSpVatbMnqGHIatlvXPBqABgUblrm3wTn5u6jz76rLvvIgPa0/w400-h383/Gravitational%20burr%20quick%20assembly.jpg"
width="400"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Ball in the hole and then assemble the burr for a level 2 puzzle
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
As usual, I had not paid attention properly to the positioning of the pieces
and which order they came out in. Have I told you before that I am truly awful
at assembly puzzles? To my eternal shame, it took me several hours to
reassemble the burr without using the maze.
<span style="color: #ea9999;">Blush</span>!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Once I had worked out the burr assembly I was then able to deliberately work
out my sequence of moves whilst able to see inside the puzzle and plan out the
true reassembly. It took me about an hour to work it out and be certain of the
sequence and orientation. Such fun even when you can see everything in place.
<div>
<p>
This puzzle is a masterpiece! It looks gorgeous, it looks simple and has
layer upon layer of complexity and is definitely not solved by chance. It
requires initial blind exploration followed by a reveal or 2 or 3 and then
definite planning of your moves. Finally the reassembly is not just a
simple backtrack - I wanted to truly understand it in its' entirety and
that took some time and a lot of fun. Thank you Juno!
</p>
<p>
The Dual Meanders Box is waiting for me and after just a tiny bit of
exploration, I have to say that it frightens me a lot - there are 506
moves to open it!
</p>
<p><br /></p>
<hr align="center" color="#cc0000" size="2" width="80%" />
<br />
<p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a
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width="320"
/></a>
</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Are you a Brass monkey fan? You should be! The BM puzzles are
amazing. <span
style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"
>The 6th Brass monkey burr has just gone up for preorder/early bird sale! The previous 5 were amazing and this is set to be the very best yet. Go buy it now.</span
>
</div>
<p></p>
<p>
<span
style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; orphans: 2; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;"
><a
href="https://twobrassmonkeys.com/pages/announcement-brass-monkey-sixential-discovery?ref=a65xlzwkiz"
target="_blank"
>Brass Monkey 6 preorder information</a
><br
/></span>
</p>
<p><br /></p>
<p><br /></p>
</div>
</div>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-122303147199630822024-01-07T16:29:00.000+00:002024-01-07T16:29:07.501+00:00PicoLock<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Definitely Not a Trillionth (10<sup>-12</sup>) of a Puzzle!</span>
</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1g2gBOo1DpDC_L_PLiPC-Oj8gB8nJjJxehn07CWh3FYbfBqgPO894qGS0sdEvbV2PIkSKr7bnLA7_9stOtIAJQdvjVEIMyRUs-3GNMh3l-Y76NwUYt_yUOaSSCclti3ETCmzZzhitW9_SdsZKZlvfDJ2_RSs30X544HoeASYvXmZtpynXtu650zFJAQc/s2445/Picolock.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2445" data-original-width="2411" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1g2gBOo1DpDC_L_PLiPC-Oj8gB8nJjJxehn07CWh3FYbfBqgPO894qGS0sdEvbV2PIkSKr7bnLA7_9stOtIAJQdvjVEIMyRUs-3GNMh3l-Y76NwUYt_yUOaSSCclti3ETCmzZzhitW9_SdsZKZlvfDJ2_RSs30X544HoeASYvXmZtpynXtu650zFJAQc/w632-h640/Picolock.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
PicoLock from Boaz Feldman
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtFIpeUdWgkZg_GHGwrkModubmPwQnudLnGcsrzhJRKGvk62hnwRB0uOaefRzzslT4qB2jTcftGo_yL1Bg3Fowg2WLb-ZuIQh-zagQuQ3ujV_PjRPjjtNXBw96NbkQQ38GohjQ2JiNzxpviowOz4hzd2IvL768LyyW1KPaIUiXEyp8VLG98sQvpajawc/s4131/Picolock%20instuctions.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3191" data-original-width="4131" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtFIpeUdWgkZg_GHGwrkModubmPwQnudLnGcsrzhJRKGvk62hnwRB0uOaefRzzslT4qB2jTcftGo_yL1Bg3Fowg2WLb-ZuIQh-zagQuQ3ujV_PjRPjjtNXBw96NbkQQ38GohjQ2JiNzxpviowOz4hzd2IvL768LyyW1KPaIUiXEyp8VLG98sQvpajawc/s320/Picolock%20instuctions.jpg" width="320" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
It's beautifully presented
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>Ouch! <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allodynia" target="_blank">Allodynia</a> after surgery is a bit of a bugger! It is not helping me solve puzzles! It is very hard to prevent clothing touching your groin whilst sitting or moving or doing much of anything. I'll leave you with an image of me maybe solving puzzles naked to try and decrease my pain! 🤣🤣🤣😈<br /><div><br /></div><div>
I watched as a bunch of people picked up the latest locks from
<a href="https://puzzlocks.com/collections/all" target="_blank">Boaz Feldman</a> and always intended to buy them for myself. This was especially
reinforced when Allard reviewed both
<a href="https://allardspuzzlingtimes.blogspot.com/2022/12/loophole.html" target="_blank">Loophole</a>
and the
<a href="https://allardspuzzlingtimes.blogspot.com/2023/11/picolock.html" target="_blank">PicoLock</a> and really seems to enjoy them. But with me being me, I kept buying
gorgeous wood and kept running out of money before I bought the new shiny locks.
Eventually, I managed to save up enough cash and quickly sent it to Boaz before
any more wood showed up and both the latest puzzle locks arrived at the
beginning of December. I took my customary photos and set to work on the
<a href="https://puzzlocks.com/products/loophole" target="_blank">Loophole</a>
first (encouraged by Allard's review) and having failed to turn the key I looked
elsewhere and, you guessed it, failed to find anything else! Yep so far I have
found NOTHING useful. I put it down and played with a few other
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2023/12/" target="_blank">shiny things</a> that had arrived at roughly the same time and then, having been coshed by
Tramadol, stopped solving anything for a little while. I put the locks aside on
my newly cleared desk for later investigation.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Then, just before New Year's eve a bunch of us attended Peter Hajek's End of
year Puzzle Party (EPP) and had to show off our favourites from 2023. A few
people did mention the PicoLock as in their top three from the year and with
the sheer calibre and experience of these puzzlers, I was very quickly enticed
back to the locks. This time I decided to try and decrease my frustration and
try the PicoLock. I had been Think©ing about the Loophole but my mind was
blank.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
PicoLock is a standard Nabob padlock from Israel which has been obviously
tampered with. There is a hole in the side through which you can sort of see
into the keyway and on the opposite side something has been drilled and
filled. Boaz always provides the key on one of those wire keyring things keep
it safe.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Yes, I know that it won't be helpful but I have to do it - I put the key into
the lock and turn. We all know that it won't be helpful but if we don't do it
then those pesky voices won't stop muttering in the back of your head ("maybe
it might to something or maybe you might learn something"). I probably should
worry about those voices in my head! I turned the key and.... it wouldn't
turn! Not entirely unexpected. Time to inspect it properly and see what you
can see/do. I often use the light on my phone to illuminate holes etc and as a
man of a certain age, use the magnifier function of the phone to be able to
properly see inside said holes. Not terribly helpful. Poking at the holes with
the tip of the key and my fingernails is not helpful and I'm beginning to
worry that it will be another total failure.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
As is pretty common for me, I completely ignore what I have already learned
(Mrs S says it is because I am not terribly bright and I can't argue with her)
and I reinsert the key into the keyway and this time it turns. Huh!!!! Why
now? Some further fiddling revealed something interesting and gives a hint of
what Boaz might have done. He's a sneaky bugger! This interesting thing starts
me on some of my usual tricks to try on locks and for a very long time, I
couldn't to anything until, Aha! I could do something. It was only a small
thing I did but it opened up a very unusual step. In fact, I don't think I
have ever seen a puzzle lock do that before. After this unusual step, I
received a tool and had no idea what to do with it. I was stuck for a while.
Time to Think© yet again... Ouch!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
At this point, I realised that something special might be possible (no clues
here!) The next part of the sequence was classic Boaz - stuff was hidden from
you in very clever ways and only Think©ing would find it. I then found another
wonderful thing which led to a really clever manoeuvre - in fact, I really
cannot believe that he managed to do what he did. After the best part of a day
of play, I had an open lock and a huge grin on my face:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4QluaCEDbpQvaMTSg2XJ3uDl5_sc7r7YemOc8lorSr9vE55IdOXv9tK6PR19Ic1jaAkp9pVNVwvBG3_PwGttLIidSe3LEXlmzDq1ZH8mlUmxwfT7T2clXo1-V7BaPY0xiRFhBdhdyqPNPpWhMpC5Rfu4Iv7Kxa-3LDWQm8jFDqq_5mRQd2nDqjW-0qs/s4091/PicoLock%20solved.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2694" data-original-width="4091" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4QluaCEDbpQvaMTSg2XJ3uDl5_sc7r7YemOc8lorSr9vE55IdOXv9tK6PR19Ic1jaAkp9pVNVwvBG3_PwGttLIidSe3LEXlmzDq1ZH8mlUmxwfT7T2clXo1-V7BaPY0xiRFhBdhdyqPNPpWhMpC5Rfu4Iv7Kxa-3LDWQm8jFDqq_5mRQd2nDqjW-0qs/w640-h422/PicoLock%20solved.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
There really are NO spoilers here
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
I can see why this was in the top three puzzles of 2023 for several puzzlers. It is fabulous! I was significantly helped by buying and paying with two at the same time. There is a subtle difference between them that gave me a little clue for one of the steps. You definitely need to buy two puzzles to help Boaz and definitely help yourself with a clue.<div><br /></div><div>I think this might be one that I might take to work to show off to colleagues. I think the orthopods in particular might appreciate the metalwork that has been created here.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you live in the Americas then it may be easier for you to buy it/them from PuzzleMaster <a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/puzzlelocks/metallocks/17965-pico-lock&a=155639 " target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/puzzlelocks/metallocks/17002-loophole-puzzle&a=155639" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<div>
<br />
<p><br /></p>
</div>
</div></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-10456317227628560582023-12-31T00:00:00.002+00:002023-12-31T00:00:00.128+00:00 Happy New Year! My top ten(ish) puzzles of 2023<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJ1XGiVbXT3xayiUr5ZFjeKY51QBC0d3kMCT1ECLNGeOHf8wStZ8jakyBbydJwZLxP0YgFLRPu0_-O8r6i5RIOdKpzSbamVPVmOEuKw6GYBbNTSkB4t7QzQ4TmZbjssi26HcDOxyfFV_i_JDGoNAEj2pZxIKzkMqjroJlNqETbKGbf7BuGU6HP3BcMbU/s4032/Desk%20cleared.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJ1XGiVbXT3xayiUr5ZFjeKY51QBC0d3kMCT1ECLNGeOHf8wStZ8jakyBbydJwZLxP0YgFLRPu0_-O8r6i5RIOdKpzSbamVPVmOEuKw6GYBbNTSkB4t7QzQ4TmZbjssi26HcDOxyfFV_i_JDGoNAEj2pZxIKzkMqjroJlNqETbKGbf7BuGU6HP3BcMbU/s320/Desk%20cleared.HEIC" width="373" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Finally cleared my desk
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3y3aFYRUQO7pwTJJrYKXgPWS9n2v0Viu3grWmXWXwbxaaXuglW53XCzIpToselaf_GpkjP0fxHgeQXhLDhso18AUehMSz9bf3m75rBsprVz-h4fSZX-dLZfy7XOEUUAJWO2pQd4wt6HR-AyGEvb9D_oiJZx4fVdU8ezbe7bUHvADsMwzcPASzLZtaNo/s4032/Cube%20problem.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3y3aFYRUQO7pwTJJrYKXgPWS9n2v0Viu3grWmXWXwbxaaXuglW53XCzIpToselaf_GpkjP0fxHgeQXhLDhso18AUehMSz9bf3m75rBsprVz-h4fSZX-dLZfy7XOEUUAJWO2pQd4wt6HR-AyGEvb9D_oiJZx4fVdU8ezbe7bUHvADsMwzcPASzLZtaNo/s320/Cube%20problem.HEIC" width="210" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Cubes-a-fillin
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yES-hQtyqqeWdVcyLT9HA_BmfZ_wEwVKdKYtfe438_PQIDLG04e-l44CBiYI2rvxTQ5qiQBt88ZnpmkkyN7BP5XMT34qc1lNXwVSIDW7m02mbVZ414l30wcp1k-x0dQSE5Yw5NmQinrA7Ee_a1pHdOtCmHt_mn7qycb6FEIQiyae3cpCankJMjTXX8M/s4032/Puzzle%20room%202%20shleving.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yES-hQtyqqeWdVcyLT9HA_BmfZ_wEwVKdKYtfe438_PQIDLG04e-l44CBiYI2rvxTQ5qiQBt88ZnpmkkyN7BP5XMT34qc1lNXwVSIDW7m02mbVZ414l30wcp1k-x0dQSE5Yw5NmQinrA7Ee_a1pHdOtCmHt_mn7qycb6FEIQiyae3cpCankJMjTXX8M/w400-h300/Puzzle%20room%202%20shleving.HEIC" width="400" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Now I have a REAL puzzle room!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />Happy New Year to you all! I have no idea what happened to 2022 - it
seems to have disappeared without me noticing.
</div>
<div>
Welcome to my customary end of year post looking back at how I did over 2023
and which were the best puzzles I managed to solve. As always, thinking about
it was triggered by Peter Hajek's request for the top 3 acquisitions of the
year. Peter wants to know the best arrivals in the collection and I always
write about my best puzzles solved which makes it a little harder to come up
with a good list. Whilst I have had a pretty good year of puzzle arrivals
(much to the disgust of "she who must be feared"), it has felt like a bad year
for me in terms of puzzle solving. I feel that I have worked my little arse
off in the various hospitals and don't think that I solved very many. Except
that after looking back through my archive of blog posts and my database, can
I see that I didn't do that badly.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Nowhere Near Solving!</span>
</div>
<div>
I did purchase quite a lot of puzzles that I have so far completely failed to
solve (some despite months of trying)! So here is a quick list of what look
like absolutely fabulous puzzles purchased that I cannot solve:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhar8HMafaGZcKbWHFwAixRGyMBzAuVdsZ7EBLLsXEedhgp3FnbaF6lL-FwhWshSEFpi5sovSzPX-tr-O2nFuiFJFam7I_CSiA2BY2mHJ33TI3pc920Su6bdVxFxoRxLqJrPkbUhVD5Z2564M9-b1M-NwdTHPbxwYAWdYHrydBBhZlyQu0JtMU0d-45n5s/s3235/Orbit.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3018" data-original-width="3235" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhar8HMafaGZcKbWHFwAixRGyMBzAuVdsZ7EBLLsXEedhgp3FnbaF6lL-FwhWshSEFpi5sovSzPX-tr-O2nFuiFJFam7I_CSiA2BY2mHJ33TI3pc920Su6bdVxFxoRxLqJrPkbUhVD5Z2564M9-b1M-NwdTHPbxwYAWdYHrydBBhZlyQu0JtMU0d-45n5s/w200-h187/Orbit.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</div>
<br />
</div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Orbit</span></b> by Dee Dixon (I've found
nothing useful whatsoever!)
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3mgZOJarRiI_faH9XUj9zKmKdqMSN43TsOqaJ6tJ7wD7mzljQglUwrpaVtUp_VccMkCSWYc6-vW576tK8LdIvfY8T0N-wgHFf2_EdKChEDWooXbV4RhxypNcE5UhQ7AdJduPTuxqt0GaTs9Ur9NYIIo2Jm_4hXugnlAWkyUM6kWcF59tSsNLTj6UlsA/s3678/Uplift.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3219" data-original-width="3678" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3mgZOJarRiI_faH9XUj9zKmKdqMSN43TsOqaJ6tJ7wD7mzljQglUwrpaVtUp_VccMkCSWYc6-vW576tK8LdIvfY8T0N-wgHFf2_EdKChEDWooXbV4RhxypNcE5UhQ7AdJduPTuxqt0GaTs9Ur9NYIIo2Jm_4hXugnlAWkyUM6kWcF59tSsNLTj6UlsA/w200-h175/Uplift.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Uplift</span></b> by Dee Dixon (It rotates
and a button pushes but that's it!)
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorK3Q2tJMjyj-YeFs94CiYJ8CctdeDQ0SZ5NAqxQxEywH1qrNLx0LQMnJlsHgdnretNtP9G1ch58djRXeoncMZ0RZSpzka1lAwzuSHRYReixN-GZF-liIenvwO5HjEr23wwHE-1pWZ-xw4ISbYynVtLs4j6fMEU1LBm3x_olC_8CwK6Y1ccMFZIUx09c/s3391/Burner.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3391" data-original-width="2275" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorK3Q2tJMjyj-YeFs94CiYJ8CctdeDQ0SZ5NAqxQxEywH1qrNLx0LQMnJlsHgdnretNtP9G1ch58djRXeoncMZ0RZSpzka1lAwzuSHRYReixN-GZF-liIenvwO5HjEr23wwHE-1pWZ-xw4ISbYynVtLs4j6fMEU1LBm3x_olC_8CwK6Y1ccMFZIUx09c/w134-h200/Burner.jpg" width="134" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Burner</span></b> by Dee Dixon (only arrived
a few days ago)
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-U-mu5oyEsWIf6sYIdv6UXZriVCAIoqYfrp__AKzS1FtG-TQXO_MMad9iPkctSVETK4dl8SWwsJvsahLkUtuz2RwtuYeEQhqXACgMv0HesK_3hQDBFR5-HVPyul-JfauXXccf3_bu6BwgnK4i3hpCUyN3pYp3N79eZrh0Clo6Am3WLuK5KkX3dRZ4JQo/s3424/Stickman%20Smack-N%20Moles%20box.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3424" data-original-width="2953" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-U-mu5oyEsWIf6sYIdv6UXZriVCAIoqYfrp__AKzS1FtG-TQXO_MMad9iPkctSVETK4dl8SWwsJvsahLkUtuz2RwtuYeEQhqXACgMv0HesK_3hQDBFR5-HVPyul-JfauXXccf3_bu6BwgnK4i3hpCUyN3pYp3N79eZrh0Clo6Am3WLuK5KkX3dRZ4JQo/w173-h200/Stickman%20Smack-N%20Moles%20box.jpg" width="173" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Smack-N Moles</span></b> by Stickman
(gorgeous and I have no idea what is going on inside)
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N0xOChEp_Yhc7L44FV5q2wVq4xJEHy4eVXQtO97rJeoP_viDKgOL5F6iPcQpu6MVIIuoxSJlYhiHIz1Wh8pzReCIYAqslPZ9lLGjJxwvbwcTgusF2MQLZIzw_ygaOf1x7dvf9TANVi48i5fvsQBHL5O27e0EIlND4CLZvUBE2rMTUZ77Ll8l-oZDKC8/s3782/WDIGMI%20Puzzle%20pieces.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2981" data-original-width="3782" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N0xOChEp_Yhc7L44FV5q2wVq4xJEHy4eVXQtO97rJeoP_viDKgOL5F6iPcQpu6MVIIuoxSJlYhiHIz1Wh8pzReCIYAqslPZ9lLGjJxwvbwcTgusF2MQLZIzw_ygaOf1x7dvf9TANVi48i5fvsQBHL5O27e0EIlND4CLZvUBE2rMTUZ77Ll8l-oZDKC8/w200-h158/WDIGMI%20Puzzle%20pieces.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">WDIGMI</span></b> from Tanner Reyes (a gift
that looks gorgeous and compelling and is completely beyond my meagre packing
skills)
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhut784Suk5IWYtZY0XCdpy8FVqDyvrzhKAyoMsmaJ3U2huXsDvdtcG_VA2n2I_l-vcBseZb9e6CYKBPyZLVzE9SUI6MLgi3JI0mLozEHn9AZv5vW4pbBegCA4lu8Q65h-HVLN0EIH3Oztblui2RwfN1zPicOT3kaVkEgOEvji_FtbuPdy8BKyjZMybfjk/s3874/Aaron%20delivery%202023-07.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3300" data-original-width="3874" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhut784Suk5IWYtZY0XCdpy8FVqDyvrzhKAyoMsmaJ3U2huXsDvdtcG_VA2n2I_l-vcBseZb9e6CYKBPyZLVzE9SUI6MLgi3JI0mLozEHn9AZv5vW4pbBegCA4lu8Q65h-HVLN0EIH3Oztblui2RwfN1zPicOT3kaVkEgOEvji_FtbuPdy8BKyjZMybfjk/w200-h171/Aaron%20delivery%202023-07.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</div>
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<div><br /></div>
<div>
A whole bunch of
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">N-ary wire puzzles</span></b> from Aaron Wang
- they should be lovely and logical and yet I am still stuck! Thank heavens
for the quick reset!
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCekLIymg6eLy_vjQGbS0YuK4z_Z0IzaQ4NATuFPuNJwzIcddHMFtyErY7IJMCIn-b7Y4TTlBR5_cQ1j-gIIpfsknguzkDkJxI7LqqS7M0RGizTMlCYtxt-qCIEmY6Sh93in7PEbRhoHBYpSG31bYVVsD7tICmZlD4Ueet1GSAuZxOVav9K_bZUfdgbA/s3152/Double%20Crazy%20cube%20adjacent%20face%20scrambled.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3152" data-original-width="2954" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCekLIymg6eLy_vjQGbS0YuK4z_Z0IzaQ4NATuFPuNJwzIcddHMFtyErY7IJMCIn-b7Y4TTlBR5_cQ1j-gIIpfsknguzkDkJxI7LqqS7M0RGizTMlCYtxt-qCIEmY6Sh93in7PEbRhoHBYpSG31bYVVsD7tICmZlD4Ueet1GSAuZxOVav9K_bZUfdgbA/w188-h200/Double%20Crazy%20cube%20adjacent%20face%20scrambled.jpg" width="188" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Crazy Double Circle Cube</span></b> -
Encouraged by Jason Burgo to give it a try and was getting somewhere when the
black version broke on me. I have since replaced it with a coloured plastic
one and am too frightened to touch it again!
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA961vK_vZvZc47o8m4RmjFsl2-3H-A5O-o8yu06vpG5Ug5RujKZqKKbCNVqXZMu-5bL_Kwv57Fi9mn4eCJmGldR1nzAuOirU-HBD_ue8xMK1r018_T9oqsco7lKH2n-Q83XYFPLt5w00PStXXPRXDLObhOvI5EzomYQxNUCxmdZB1g2N-wFwdmG1XqHI/s3236/Free%20the%20washer.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3236" data-original-width="2961" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA961vK_vZvZc47o8m4RmjFsl2-3H-A5O-o8yu06vpG5Ug5RujKZqKKbCNVqXZMu-5bL_Kwv57Fi9mn4eCJmGldR1nzAuOirU-HBD_ue8xMK1r018_T9oqsco7lKH2n-Q83XYFPLt5w00PStXXPRXDLObhOvI5EzomYQxNUCxmdZB1g2N-wFwdmG1XqHI/w183-h200/Free%20the%20washer.jpg" width="183" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Free the Washer</b></span> from Phil
Wigfield. Phil is quite a character and creates some absolutely beautiful
puzzles from brass and steel. He has got rather side-tracked on dexterity
puzzles which I cannot do but also an SD puzzle earlier this year. I've been
trying for months (9 of them) and only managed to find one move!! Aargh!
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpopNi5igYdhIoqXyURgLG7XzvIYK8k1oWML94uaRxEfaGQayGpjuVdivhFllxFzaq139fjgEiCCbJL3SH8CBOkfLMJ9BJLXiGehPYvlTNPJxs_RTiJtOFAyIx3KQBq3AQECJbvInXjVtCBvkrDXfd4h3ojU6e2ewAW7KoLBntVteFhHgQ6zUceFma8s/s4390/Euroka%20Whoops!.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2768" data-original-width="4390" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpopNi5igYdhIoqXyURgLG7XzvIYK8k1oWML94uaRxEfaGQayGpjuVdivhFllxFzaq139fjgEiCCbJL3SH8CBOkfLMJ9BJLXiGehPYvlTNPJxs_RTiJtOFAyIx3KQBq3AQECJbvInXjVtCBvkrDXfd4h3ojU6e2ewAW7KoLBntVteFhHgQ6zUceFma8s/w200-h126/Euroka%20Whoops!.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Euroka</span></b> - stunning design by Juno.
I dismantled it and it now sits in its' cloth bag in pieces because I cannot
put it back together despite having a video to look at.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Almost there</span>
</div>
<div>
In this section I always place a few fabulous puzzles that in anyone's year
should be a top ten puzzle but because I am greedy and have bought more
puzzles than Mrs S thinks are good for me, I have to place a few fab toys in
this section just to highlight how great a year it has been:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Magyarics Amazement</span></b>
</div>
<div>
Alexander continued to work with Pelikan as well as 3D print some of his own
puzzles and they are all so SO good but due to some amazing challenges also
produced this year, they have been dropped down to the "almost there" list and
believe me, they really are almost there! It is a mark of how good a year it
was that these are down in this section:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWKY7HoIdFnG3Qhq5T7FEnKorYcXsH-mKF7udrLG3W7nskS-qadHOKGxTmXBtqLcqBwhtpSRM0noAk2dcDYvuXHPIZG_KRfzqYHrSD8CSWlhzeVWScrhpY7vq4GbRzcxE-ripjrruA81jFQo09eziw374IWpTXslKuOCofUQD6DvC0JybzPL-0ECCkKE/s2905/Captain%20Hook.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2896" data-original-width="2905" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMWKY7HoIdFnG3Qhq5T7FEnKorYcXsH-mKF7udrLG3W7nskS-qadHOKGxTmXBtqLcqBwhtpSRM0noAk2dcDYvuXHPIZG_KRfzqYHrSD8CSWlhzeVWScrhpY7vq4GbRzcxE-ripjrruA81jFQo09eziw374IWpTXslKuOCofUQD6DvC0JybzPL-0ECCkKE/w200-h199/Captain%20Hook.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain Hook</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<div>
I almost feel guilty that one of Alexander's puzzles is in this position. His
stuff is all incredible and with Captain Hook, his entry into burr design has
the usual Magyarics flair with some very unusual shaped pieces and a very
confusing yet fun sequence to assembly as well as disassembly. In a normal
year this would be right up there at the top.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYEmlTlQQhClJqY1rySqrr7YeuWhxjfD5mRO7zWY1WOprMXOZGNoH9Gyy1q1TrAvhXTJT0sB0QZ7hvmU-L5WuwG4N6NfSLr-j-UNkEN6BoFxBNZwteUANWBsQ966As_oG08Rl1XBotenLMnfM5OHUQtphSAm4G5flvW5qwMCeJ-5VD4X0GQNcrB7lrgk/s3201/Infinite%20arrival.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3201" data-original-width="2937" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYEmlTlQQhClJqY1rySqrr7YeuWhxjfD5mRO7zWY1WOprMXOZGNoH9Gyy1q1TrAvhXTJT0sB0QZ7hvmU-L5WuwG4N6NfSLr-j-UNkEN6BoFxBNZwteUANWBsQ966As_oG08Rl1XBotenLMnfM5OHUQtphSAm4G5flvW5qwMCeJ-5VD4X0GQNcrB7lrgk/w184-h200/Infinite%20arrival.jpg" width="184" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Infinite</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br /><br />
</div>
<div>
This is CLASSIC Magyarics design! A packing puzzle with restricted entry.
Alexander has done many of these over the years and all are fun. Many of them
(erm Tigridia) are almost too difficult for a
[numpty](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/numpty) like me.
The Infinite puzzle, however is just spot on! It is difficult but not
impossible and supremely logical! It is possibly the best of Alexander's
designs to date!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Stupendous Osanori</span></b>
</div>
<div>
I received puzzles by Osanori-san both from himself as well as recreated
beautifully by Pelikan. I am continually amazed at his design skills. There
were some of the best puzzles ever from him this year
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWj9lI1FEmhCY-wGdD4fvahmm46KQsKGHd7qoBqeLjFDzwNetDZMWEGSoYIkWwapBZtjgExeq68aB2ut_HvTxuzs4c7RcuP3s0wfQqRabywqucD2MM5mlfDib_rPtfZFHmRCged9g6PDAnUurRH2Sn0aC8Ez6d2iErBEVwowzzdFs5qhh9FimI9UmZut4/s3806/Gem%20pieces.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3291" data-original-width="3806" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWj9lI1FEmhCY-wGdD4fvahmm46KQsKGHd7qoBqeLjFDzwNetDZMWEGSoYIkWwapBZtjgExeq68aB2ut_HvTxuzs4c7RcuP3s0wfQqRabywqucD2MM5mlfDib_rPtfZFHmRCged9g6PDAnUurRH2Sn0aC8Ez6d2iErBEVwowzzdFs5qhh9FimI9UmZut4/w200-h173/Gem%20pieces.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gem</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />Gem was an incredible design both as an assembly puzzle when bought
direct from the designer but also still fun as a disassembly puzzle from
Pelikan. It is a remarkably simple design but the sequence to discover is
fabulous.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJFzSQGlqyX5t4rUWeNYdr8gqoZkjfvQprLc5yrMKkG9rpug6lcyY-ev5KXRBrcQGMYX2e4sXp-ZU4fvwfZvDPMa0GIhKCv4LTv8CDFeb7QKfLkgOJ23-ruFIFQJRiGCOat2aaS8aQGGS_fKSMGVWhaiGEALNt050zJ8_kj-mTduXSwgk6iuK8-mPks7k/s4104/Shutout%20(Pelikan).jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2711" data-original-width="4104" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJFzSQGlqyX5t4rUWeNYdr8gqoZkjfvQprLc5yrMKkG9rpug6lcyY-ev5KXRBrcQGMYX2e4sXp-ZU4fvwfZvDPMa0GIhKCv4LTv8CDFeb7QKfLkgOJ23-ruFIFQJRiGCOat2aaS8aQGGS_fKSMGVWhaiGEALNt050zJ8_kj-mTduXSwgk6iuK8-mPks7k/w200-h132/Shutout%20(Pelikan).jpg" width="200" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shutout</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br /><br />
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Shutout won a prize at the IPP in 2022 and for a very good reason. The
version from Osanori himself as well as the Pelikan version is stunning and a
perfect challenge for all levels of puzzler.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<hr align="center" color="#cc0000" size="2" width="80%" />
<div><br /></div>
Finally...On with my top ten(ish) puzzles solved in 2023:
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">12) Japanese packing delights</span>
</div>
<div>
I have bought rather an embarrassing number of packing puzzles from Mine and
have only managed to solve an even more embarrassingly low number of them. The
tray packing puzzles are a particularly difficult challenge for me but there
have been a few that were loved at MPPs and by a certain fellow puzzle blogger
and so I worked extra hard on those.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttgN_b1JdeLbiInzQpZFvIZBQ3orUQ2Ozp0V_qYn57mt0a7gcmXE4Qod8ZVUzzcGhJpzo4Agq4SqtT8irwiZmrE2YFWnpjT1T9VYPaqetrjT13GbjEcCfqR34e3eu_AWTRCZBCPnY91523W0a-EjMHBJzpMHcu4xGvpidwL1JB8UVJDry5YbYpOS9Qvo/s644/IMG_2325.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="644" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgttgN_b1JdeLbiInzQpZFvIZBQ3orUQ2Ozp0V_qYn57mt0a7gcmXE4Qod8ZVUzzcGhJpzo4Agq4SqtT8irwiZmrE2YFWnpjT1T9VYPaqetrjT13GbjEcCfqR34e3eu_AWTRCZBCPnY91523W0a-EjMHBJzpMHcu4xGvpidwL1JB8UVJDry5YbYpOS9Qvo/w200-h136/IMG_2325.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Chained Lumbars looks so easy with identical sized sticks held together by a
chain - that chain really gets in the way so you have to work out how best to
use it.
</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCn_nWhmqWewnHWbJav7IDppDYJ5zx3rWtv6ZDvD5GOWoIdq2P6aP7JP8h4cRRYY0K5QpMO4Y6JzwxmNaJBf6SkFRDcPdu2tRVaXzxfwiJskOgeox130THN8ixS0Bko66E0NMKAmmFf4qkJm_ZxoVPqidjH4HZLj9M_AqOmp0BEcpZfB1w0-dxe8gUmVU/s1200/IMG_0400.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="1200" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCn_nWhmqWewnHWbJav7IDppDYJ5zx3rWtv6ZDvD5GOWoIdq2P6aP7JP8h4cRRYY0K5QpMO4Y6JzwxmNaJBf6SkFRDcPdu2tRVaXzxfwiJskOgeox130THN8ixS0Bko66E0NMKAmmFf4qkJm_ZxoVPqidjH4HZLj9M_AqOmp0BEcpZfB1w0-dxe8gUmVU/s320/IMG_0400.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Coin Wallet - Piles of coins to be inserted through a limited opening into a
plastic wallet. Can it be that difficult? I spent quite a long time working on
it and really loved the final sequence - I keep it in my work bag to torture
colleagues with.
</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynXtcNJ0vZTIM6Hdrl2PvfAhpUPvVMhVF8BLtuEkcaJ1eYD44PKDWi0Tdm-m18HC4ls6Gf_M5O11NNd7EhnYFk0FvKI1BcLr3ATXgK3v2Dq7chJnSLTt9DrhUEAlD29JsNreJXtQXMjU61Dwlnfm4K6v2HMUZKGQyfuHs4MEjdC_3yZECMmbBwpQ7cOk/s1200/Karakuri%20packing.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynXtcNJ0vZTIM6Hdrl2PvfAhpUPvVMhVF8BLtuEkcaJ1eYD44PKDWi0Tdm-m18HC4ls6Gf_M5O11NNd7EhnYFk0FvKI1BcLr3ATXgK3v2Dq7chJnSLTt9DrhUEAlD29JsNreJXtQXMjU61Dwlnfm4K6v2HMUZKGQyfuHs4MEjdC_3yZECMmbBwpQ7cOk/w200-h200/Karakuri%20packing.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Karakuri packing - Allard loved it, Michael Q loved it and I couldn't solve
it! Finally, I had to impress a young lady at work and worked on this during a
very long boring operation in the angio suite. I amazed both myself and my
colleague by doing it within an hour or so. The required moves are beautifully
hidden!
</div><div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">11) Peanut puzzle</span>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kApeZmhud3JXhhh2Aj6zwaxdWvgCB2RT_k9VXrptGPN86G-yKst8i5TiGyrna-9-qrNJex_asmT2yTJQ5_zbSFIX_qRTL0hTaJ-UjaIK73Agt0ZIZizO6z-M7rsSbd9h1OMxdxDXTWA8VVKmrZ5R3D8O47tRHBjRMNJzJwmsfy9HNRPxZ0kbuYqDY5U/s3318/Peanut%20Hexagonal%20Ring.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2920" data-original-width="3318" height="529" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kApeZmhud3JXhhh2Aj6zwaxdWvgCB2RT_k9VXrptGPN86G-yKst8i5TiGyrna-9-qrNJex_asmT2yTJQ5_zbSFIX_qRTL0hTaJ-UjaIK73Agt0ZIZizO6z-M7rsSbd9h1OMxdxDXTWA8VVKmrZ5R3D8O47tRHBjRMNJzJwmsfy9HNRPxZ0kbuYqDY5U/w640-h564/Peanut%20Hexagonal%20Ring.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</div>
The Peanut puzzle is an incredible design by the Puzzle Master himself,
Stewart Coffin. I have never managed to get a beautiful wooden version but was
sorely tempted when I saw the cast resin versions created by Lewis Evans. They
look amazing and he has recreated Mark McCallum's work as a ring bound booklet
giving a whole lot of wonderful challenges. I am terrible at this sort of
puzzle but absolutely adore playing with these amazing designs.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">10) Parasitic Burr</span>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfYDOxiW9CjwQrVjUslBIYp_bxwbu-dgnafswzYWgxZq0T8x5nqrSntn6AXbcGmZdOznmhLXVpkzzc3dBtsYpmfOiYwZN9M1rOSNstO92w28U69CioRUupouEHCcyVyvA45H3nQct0qB_GJfyORXDziGkDoSDUn38MBZ7vsY_C2oYNSWvK5sOyhIkNJ4/s4041/Parasitic%20Burr.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2698" data-original-width="4041" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfYDOxiW9CjwQrVjUslBIYp_bxwbu-dgnafswzYWgxZq0T8x5nqrSntn6AXbcGmZdOznmhLXVpkzzc3dBtsYpmfOiYwZN9M1rOSNstO92w28U69CioRUupouEHCcyVyvA45H3nQct0qB_GJfyORXDziGkDoSDUn38MBZ7vsY_C2oYNSWvK5sOyhIkNJ4/w640-h428/Parasitic%20Burr.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<div>
The whole puzzle world was shocked when our dear friend Eric died so suddenly
and unexpectedly. We mourned him and we even mourned his business as many
thought it would go with him. I was delighted when Steve, Tom and Jeff decided
to continue his legacy and create beautiful puzzles with incredible precision
and also choose designs that are so much fun to solve. I could not resist the
Parasitic burr by Tyler Hudson (who has designed some really fabulous puzzles)
and was delighted to receive something not only beautiful but also a lovely
fun challenge that took me nearly a month to solve without resorting to
Burrtools.
</div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">9) TIC Food</span>
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</div>
I was delighted to receive 6 food based TICs designed by Laszlo Kmolnar and
made by Jeff Baz in the spring from a new friend of mine (Neil Seidlitz) and
spent a very happy month working out how to put them together. Even though I
am terrible at assembly puzzles, I seem to be getting almost "fair to
middling" at these TIC puzzles. The wonderful assortment of shiny woods makes
them particularly wonderful!
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<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">8) A whole bunch of animals</span>
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</div>
Jakub, Jaroslav and team have had a tremendous year in 2023 producing some
absolutely stunning puzzles for us in multiple different genres. The thing
that has stood out this year for me has been the sudden arrival of Kumiki
themed puzzles either of their own design or designed by some other fabulous
designers. They were all gorgeous and clever in their own way. I think my
favourite has been the crab but it is very hard to choose just one.
</div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">7) Amazing Twisty Puzzles</span>
</div>
<div>
I know, I know! Most of you are not that interested in Twisty puzzles but you
really should be! They are relatively cheap, have some incredible geometries
in them and, once you have gained some experience with them, can be reduced to
relatively simple ideas requiring only the use of rather basic techniques and
often a lot of intuition.
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</div>
<br />The Crazy Pyraminx crystal looks horrific but literally can be solved
using the old up, up, down down sequence in creative ways. It is almost solved
by intuition alone. It is fabulous!
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</div>
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</div>
<div>
The Son-mum 4x4 is another tremendous puzzle that looks horrific but again is
almost entirely solved by intuition until you then have to solve a standard
4x4 cube. It is wonderful and fun.
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<div>
The Master mixup cube type one looks even worse than the others because when
scrambled it looks like a Porcupine. I was worried that I would need some
fancy commutator (which I am not good at finding) to solve it but yet again,
that was not the case and it solves mostly by intuition - amazing!
</div>
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<div>
Finally I have to shout out the creators at Sengso for producing various crazy
cubes. I thought they might be relatively easy but have been delighted to see
internal bandaging which adds a whole level of complexity to the solve
process. They include the Crazy 2x2 plus set, the crazy 4x4 versions and on my
list to buy is the Crazy 5x5 versions too
</div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">6) Handy Burr</span>
</div>
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</div>
Jerry McFarland makes it into my top ten pretty much every year! His brain is
just not normal - he seems to discover something new and beautiful to do with
wood and magnets every year. People do complain that he doesn't manufacture
enough to keep up with demand but that's because his attention span is just
too short to stick at any one thing for very long. I am always very grateful
when he contacts me to sow off a new creation. The Handy burr made me laugh
out loud when I realised what he had designed and seemed to be wanting me to
do. Fabulous!
</div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">5) OMG Packing Heaven or Hell</span>
</div>
<div>
Almost every time I type Dr Latussek's name I have to comment on his
incredible (warped) mind! Volker has had an amazing year with multiple designs
produced absolutely beautifully by Jakub and Jaroslav's Pelikan puzzles. There
were so many to choose from and all have differing geometry and difficulty
levels. I have to stress that some of the ones I highlight here are the ones
that were not too difficult for me but I am so delighted to have a good
collection of them. My utter faves from 2023 were:
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<div>
Tube in cube - the use of cylinders with slanted cuts in a cubic packing
puzzle was bamboozling for me but very rewarding when I finally worked it
out
</div>
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<div>
Ode to the Bevel - was not terribly difficult to work out various assemblies
but all but one was blocked. It had such a lovely move to get that last piece
placed.
</div>
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</div>
<br />Fritz Flop - The Flop series are really very difficult and most required
me to head to Burrtools to find possible assemblies (I really loved Tetra flop
despite having to use BT) but the Fritz flop has a more restricted set of
pieces and was actually solvable by me within a few hours. Three of the set
are still available now and Fritz flop is on sale!!!
</div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">4) Bad Moon</span>
</div>
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</div>
<br />Another incredible creation from Dee Dixon! His craftsmanship is
stunning and choice of woods inspired. His puzzles are all nice and chunky
which makes them a tactile delight to play with. The logic is superb and great
fun to work through. I particularly loved the use of curved surfaces and
tracks in this which confused my usually rectilinear brain. In fact I got
myself into some trouble and had to use my anaesthetic skillz to get myself
out of trouble (Thank heavens for the Glidescope!)
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcJTo1XY5y_U_epWHuB4RR-kufz4z31_-dBF0RpqLnHDw1C3QZi1X2gzpYIyO9mGy_jiFnH_j0cZl2qGJnqS21F1742dS_et-0fKBpss1ilcsfEVJkETEWhWL2dddzr4Pp1LNSYMLztXtW-Qe_JPSI_XodNouvUPAWzLaq5WX1FPhhiVQiRlHEAvpJmk/s2682/Fishing%20it%20out.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2269" data-original-width="2682" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcJTo1XY5y_U_epWHuB4RR-kufz4z31_-dBF0RpqLnHDw1C3QZi1X2gzpYIyO9mGy_jiFnH_j0cZl2qGJnqS21F1742dS_et-0fKBpss1ilcsfEVJkETEWhWL2dddzr4Pp1LNSYMLztXtW-Qe_JPSI_XodNouvUPAWzLaq5WX1FPhhiVQiRlHEAvpJmk/s320/Fishing%20it%20out.HEIC" width="248" /></a>
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<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPfEd417dGpamNibkNofwE09wGJfxzI8UK4qt8s45f3tGxoy-xE4esfWauKKoCv8EcyY08DPdcgezNnDxaR75RIQhlom_84P97iq2pkUIabJ_Zc99b4nqso5uHHrJ5eRl7X1tvzAZM-yjXQN9llCsxFnFxWcYzR-RDg2vlDWTLoKPPUs8zTejqZ6u0no/s3773/Trapped%20piece.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2482" data-original-width="3773" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPfEd417dGpamNibkNofwE09wGJfxzI8UK4qt8s45f3tGxoy-xE4esfWauKKoCv8EcyY08DPdcgezNnDxaR75RIQhlom_84P97iq2pkUIabJ_Zc99b4nqso5uHHrJ5eRl7X1tvzAZM-yjXQN9llCsxFnFxWcYzR-RDg2vlDWTLoKPPUs8zTejqZ6u0no/s320/Trapped%20piece.HEIC" width="319" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">3) Dial Case</span>
</div>
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Juno has had a relatively quiet year this year but his foray back into SD
puzzles was not a disappointment. In any normal year, this would be my
absolute number one puzzle of the year but there were so many incredible
puzzles to choose from that this amazing creation came 3rd! This was a
significant challenge with multiple steps and as always, all pieces
beautifully made from wood. The sequence of Aha! moments was marvellous and
some of them really quite hard to find. I also really love how Juno always
teases me about boxes!
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">2) Walter's Radio</span>
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Yes, Dee Dixon has two slots in my top ten this year!
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Last year Angry Walter only made it to number 4 in my top ten. It was an
incredible puzzle and the amazing thing is that Dee managed to surpass even
that this year. It was less beautiful than Walter had been with his gorgeous
cacophony of wonderful woods but the puzzling steps were very complex and
confusing. This one took me 3 months to find all the steps - it was
stupendous!
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">1) TIC Vault</span>
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I heard about the TIC Vault at last year's EPP and contacted Andrew Crowell as
a result, shortly afterwards. Boy! I was not disappointed! A combination of
sequential discovery puzzle and difficult TIC is very hard to beat! The only
possible way this could have been improved would have been to have been
manufactured from wood. The puzzle was/is a masterpiece of design in multiple
genres and made me laugh out loud as I completed all of the complex sequences
on the way to finding my way inside. Andrew is the master of the TIC and also
becoming a master of SD puzzles!
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<br />
<div>Do you agree with my top 10? If you have any different thoughts then please comment below or even use my <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/p/contact-me_13.html" target="_blank">Contact page</a> to tell me how wrong I am. I look forward to your thoughts. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><b>Happy New Year to you all!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>I really hope that you all have a wonderful year in 2024 with good health, success and plenty of wonderful puzzling. I look forward to entertaining and maybe helping many of you in this year. Hopefully there will not be any skipped blog weeks either (I've had enough of being operated on now for quite some time 🤞🤞🤞).</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
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<br />
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-39531878904887913962023-12-24T16:07:00.002+00:002023-12-24T16:07:40.845+00:00I Can See Why Elon Wants To Go To Mars...<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Jupiter is MUCH too hard!</span>
</p>
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Crazy 2x2x2 Plus cubes
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Thank you for your well wishes after last weeks' "too spaced out" post. I had
completely forgotten how painful a hernia repair is and how long the pain lasts.
I am recovering well and have stopped the stronger pain killers to allow me to
think a little straighter (let's face it - my thoughts are never what one would
really refer to as......ordered at the best of times). I had bought these Sengso
Crazy 2x2 cubes a while ago and thought they could not be too hard and I was
kinda wrong.
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<br />I reviewed the 0,0,0 variant at the
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2023/10/a-cube-without-edges.html" target="_blank">end of October</a> after spending quite a long time working out how to understand the odd
way it moved. It should have been fairly easy as all the circles on the cube
were zero faces (that means the inside is fixed and the outsides move around
them - this means it is what is called a "circle cube" and should require just
turning the outer faces and solving them having fixed the inner parts. The
complicating feature was that there are ONLY outer faces and the inner
circles are a sort of bandaged 3x3x3. Yes, my head hurts just typing about it!
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I then scrambled the 0,1,1 version thinking that with only a single fixed
centre then it should effectively solve like the
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2012/07/maybe-im-craaaazy.html" target="_blank">Jupiter Crazy cube</a>
and
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2014/05/six-faces-arent-tough-enough-try-these.html" target="_blank">Jupiter Crazy Megaminx</a> which looked absolutely horrific but were surprisingly easy to solve as
they needed only a tiny bit more than a standard cube and standard megaminx
(which solves like a cube).
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qlvWa1n4aQo/T6-wjQA9bEI/AAAAAAAAChY/XsOE3RgH-x0/s1600/P1000609.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1442" height="275" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qlvWa1n4aQo/T6-wjQA9bEI/AAAAAAAAChY/XsOE3RgH-x0/s320/P1000609.JPG" width="248" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy cube Jupiter</td>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwY2gBUNwPoTf1rSeDPcqZjVsvIR50QEe9xOueGaqOXvGAeo_GUKPBQzJVJEVgJSdUBfmLQmrzaGisUv_bovJnzruVng-2AUwv_DUTAJgIJHJybmSJwu-M5IIgFekwIp1bxpmYgHGInQGS7xpAIggXdvFvAvCkBplTt-Wh0UrHyXu6oxDoAyFu4SnqQ_g/s3177/Crazy%20Megaminx%20Scrambled.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2914" data-original-width="3177" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwY2gBUNwPoTf1rSeDPcqZjVsvIR50QEe9xOueGaqOXvGAeo_GUKPBQzJVJEVgJSdUBfmLQmrzaGisUv_bovJnzruVng-2AUwv_DUTAJgIJHJybmSJwu-M5IIgFekwIp1bxpmYgHGInQGS7xpAIggXdvFvAvCkBplTt-Wh0UrHyXu6oxDoAyFu4SnqQ_g/s320/Crazy%20Megaminx%20Scrambled.jpg" width="299" /></a>
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Crazy Megaminx Neptune reconfigured as Jupiter
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The whole point of the Jupiter cube and Megaminx is that there is just one single face that will allow the inner and outer circles to be split apart. This means it takes a while to scramble the puzzle properly because all the pieces need to be moved to that 0 face and turned at least once before being moved elsewhere. But then it has the extreme solving advantage that "all" that is required to do to solve the puzzle is move all the pieces onto that 0 face and align the inner and outer parts before moving them off for storage elsewhere until all of them have been aligned with their partner pieces. After that solve the zero face before turning it to the bottom and solving the rest of the cube without moving the bottom face. If you know the beginner's approach or the "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbE5BzqvA87JwsQ1WSSNodtBVZQd5lf2T" target="_blank">Ultimate solution</a>" then it's pretty simple to solve the puzzle without having to move that bottom face again.<div><br /></div><div>I set to the crazy 2x2x2 (0,1,1) thinking that this was effectively just a Jupiter version of the 2x2x2 crazy cubes and would involve the same sort of approach as described above. In my particular version all the faces were effectively turning as 1 faces with inner and outer parts turning together and the white face alone had the outer part turn leaving the inner circle unmoved. With my theory loudly bailing in my empty head, this meant that I scrambled it straight away without any preparatory exploration and stared trying to pair up the inner and outer pieces using just the white face. </div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Oh dear, what had I done?</u></b></div><div>
<div><br /></div><div>I suddenly realised that this was definitely not a Jupiter 2x2! It was MUCH more complex than that. The reality of this puzzle is that the zero face can change. 😱😱😱</div><div>The zero face is actually which ever face holds the white inner piece that is opposite the blue/red/yellow cube (which itself cannot ever be scrambled). OMG what do I do now? </div><div><br /></div><div>I have learned over many years from <a href="http://allardspuzzlingtimes.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Allard</a> that I mustn't just stop and give up, I must Think© - that's a pretty impressive thing to learn considering that he doesn't do twisty puzzles. Luckily, I was working on this before I had my little operation and started the mind-altering medication so think©ing was still possible. I quickly realised that, with a bit of "fannying around" (that's a twisty technical term!) I was still able to use my Jupiter face to pair everything up as I should and leave myself with what looks like a 2x2x2 cube to solve. </div>
<div><br /></div>
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPx2VHZ1gkQnsNWG9JEuOxSwzeMzGMzb5uSXR7Nl2ZIHBsoGq7-ErlGdH87yUzQy28NQuzZgynZLQQ2DzyjC6vmXedF7LAqaQdfC8CEdvSFYNouk5KQzzDlSHN6ABTnQ7lsdKuaO8VcVxtpraQWN9rcD1V3j8C-mNsNxRHPwGGqvaHcgT8SFXKM59P_0/s2934/Crazy%202x2x2(0,1,1)%20reformed.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2934" data-original-width="2664" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEPx2VHZ1gkQnsNWG9JEuOxSwzeMzGMzb5uSXR7Nl2ZIHBsoGq7-ErlGdH87yUzQy28NQuzZgynZLQQ2DzyjC6vmXedF7LAqaQdfC8CEdvSFYNouk5KQzzDlSHN6ABTnQ7lsdKuaO8VcVxtpraQWN9rcD1V3j8C-mNsNxRHPwGGqvaHcgT8SFXKM59P_0/w364-h400/Crazy%202x2x2(0,1,1)%20reformed.HEIC" width="364" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This looks promising! Or is it?</td></tr></tbody></table>Having done this, I tried the "simple 2x2x2 solve and quickly realised that it was NOT the same as the 3x3x3 Jupiter puzzle - I did not have the ability to move all faces apart from that 0 face. Any movement of a face that included the bandaged corner (blue/orange/yellow) would move the crucial white corner and move the zero face about. In reality, I had to solve the 2x2x2 using ONLY two faces - on the photo above, I could only move the front right and front left faces to solve the cube. This is a HUGE restriction and proved a massive problem. Almost every single approach that I know requires at least 3 faces to be movable. I was stuck! </div><div><br /></div><div>After a week or so of playing about and remembering the large corner bandaged 3x3x3 cube with one huge 2x2x2 fused corner and three movable faces, I did manage to solve the puzzle just once after multiple scrambles and failures and realised that this would be possible about 1 in 12 scrambles by just sheer chance arriving in the right solvable state. I needed more think©ing time and to work out a restricted way to solve the 2x2x2 this way. It is quite simple to solve the back 4 corners leaving just the front 4 using just intuition. At this point I realised that there was a very neat feature of this puzzle. I could not always solve that from 4 corners every time because they had been recreated incorrectly mismatching the centres and outsides. All I needed to do was use my two faces to rotate the faces correctly on that top white face and rotate out the incorrect pairing and put them back in again correctly. This then leaves you with a solvable 2x2x2 cube:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukF-DJgGdcjOy_wfSVgMGsQlRnpwUpznRbigaGVa0e9b4clqujRBGrjokYzbAqHAkKhKQGlyk9lCNf_RECLECrK-SyYvUOzoCxokJ5HfFiQMgGFpNO8z1R0l8L1Ex0f59ui4m7i9AEgEvv7Wl_4LTYxXPiCyWVTSEA77_TEcyHuc1YKsqW7Ia7pdrknk/s3050/Crazy%202x2x2(0,1,1)%20corners%20placed.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3050" data-original-width="2774" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukF-DJgGdcjOy_wfSVgMGsQlRnpwUpznRbigaGVa0e9b4clqujRBGrjokYzbAqHAkKhKQGlyk9lCNf_RECLECrK-SyYvUOzoCxokJ5HfFiQMgGFpNO8z1R0l8L1Ex0f59ui4m7i9AEgEvv7Wl_4LTYxXPiCyWVTSEA77_TEcyHuc1YKsqW7Ia7pdrknk/w364-h400/Crazy%202x2x2(0,1,1)%20corners%20placed.HEIC" width="364" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All corners placed but not oriented</td></tr></tbody></table>Orienting the corners is a trivial thing to do when you know the SUNE algorithm - it only needs to move 2 sides. It's not quite trivial because some setup moves need to be done and undone but it is a fun thing to do (I need a notebook by my side to keep track of the moves). Using this technique, I was able to solve the puzzle multiple times - it was quite mind bending but did not require a lot more than standard cube techniques and the ability to warp my mind a lot. I was soooo pleased with myself until I did this:<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iK7VeEb1JXBz35WuJ7vkjeNIbYRxANo48H51Iy7O8ayqZhYOHDNqF2ynyrV5zOFwjyCwH2gPisXHkPhq9wLeSX-xXavFMwPOf61jhsK1tGfVgrCp9SKhqiP3VYOvloibMBXzR-M2fbWgSoATOmsYVahkzkx9MLwJtHNaFnz25wHzsx4zpgibOf8CdLI/s3172/Crazy%202x2x2(0,1,1)%20odd%20parity.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3172" data-original-width="2829" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iK7VeEb1JXBz35WuJ7vkjeNIbYRxANo48H51Iy7O8ayqZhYOHDNqF2ynyrV5zOFwjyCwH2gPisXHkPhq9wLeSX-xXavFMwPOf61jhsK1tGfVgrCp9SKhqiP3VYOvloibMBXzR-M2fbWgSoATOmsYVahkzkx9MLwJtHNaFnz25wHzsx4zpgibOf8CdLI/w356-h400/Crazy%202x2x2(0,1,1)%20odd%20parity.HEIC" width="356" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All solved with 2 pieces to be swapped - impossible!</td></tr></tbody></table>Anyone who solves cubes knows that a single 2 way swap is an impossible situation. What had I done here? In the end I had swapped out 2 pairs of pieces but one was not easily seen being the centres that move but not easily visible. <div><br /></div><div>With a little thought© and planning, I was able to move bits around (fiddly little bugger) and finally could say that I properly understood this puzzle.<br /><div><br /><div>These Crazy 2x2s were bought with the initial thought that they might be a little easy entry into the crazy cube series being only 2x2 cubes - I initially felt that this might a nice Jupiter solve. But in reality, having now solved 2 of them, they are definitely not a gentle introduction at all. The hidden internal bandaging makes these incredibly challenging and properly interferes with the ability to move pieces where you want them to be and use basic algorithms. If you are into Twisty puzzles then these are in the "MUST BUY" category.</div><div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><p></p></div></div></div></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-46599791385896729342023-12-17T14:03:00.001+00:002023-12-17T14:03:31.326+00:00Sorry, too spaced out!<p>Yes, it’s time for my weekly blog post and I’ve only let you down 3 or 4 times in the last 13 years. Unfortunately, I had some surgery on Thursday and am much too spaced out on the pain killers to write anything coherent. I know that coherence is never my strong point but just now, I’m quite off my face which is amusing for Mrs S but not great for puzzle reviewing.</p><p>Hopefully back next weekend.</p>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-40193612071520631732023-12-10T15:33:00.002+00:002023-12-10T15:33:32.847+00:00Interlocking Heaven and Hell<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8FYd8xKjeJsY86qEZZYYe4oyPGGb6119izJY-okB9Sv0j45y8IaiipnHIcYaxb4y6ZUD1hQtYGIfPL6aROHkjVKJuXdHpuuqjBlClYN3agTFuSxT479rUmR8zwhI9mMe4-o5nSjOxtC0AeAQTAEo-EMm2pPh6SSX302x7mqVQ2qMYeSggUAab_Zpe_A/s3158/Peanut%20puzzle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3011" data-original-width="3158" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx8FYd8xKjeJsY86qEZZYYe4oyPGGb6119izJY-okB9Sv0j45y8IaiipnHIcYaxb4y6ZUD1hQtYGIfPL6aROHkjVKJuXdHpuuqjBlClYN3agTFuSxT479rUmR8zwhI9mMe4-o5nSjOxtC0AeAQTAEo-EMm2pPh6SSX302x7mqVQ2qMYeSggUAab_Zpe_A/w640-h610/Peanut%20puzzle.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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Do you recognise those shapes?<br />Peanut puzzle by Stewart Coffin
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I saw this on Facebook a few months ago and, despite the fact that it is not a
wooden version (which I have lusted after for years and never managed to
acquire) I fell immediately in love with it. Lewis has gotten into casting
beautiful puzzles using acrylics and had managed to model the pieces of the
Peanut puzzle (#67) well enough to make moulds and and then create his pieces
using one lovely clear transparent blue acrylic and another using a mixture of
yellows and reds and black acrylics made into a gorgeous swirly pattern. I do
already have a copy of this puzzle 3D printed by big Steve which I got a few
years ago and which I completely failed to solve having dismantled it from the
ring shape it arrived in. This was my motivation to try again. It looked
heavenly but would I be in hell?
<div><br /></div>
<div>
One of the features of this version that particularly excited me was that
Lewis had recreated a booklet of construction problems to go with the puzzle.
I had had no idea that there was any other challenge other than to use the 6
pieces to make the ring but apparently there are at least 31 achievable
challenges. I say achievable with no real hope of this being achievable by me
as I am absolutely hopeless at assembly puzzles. Stewart's original
instruction sheet said:
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>From Stewart's original instruction sheet:</div>
<div></div>
<blockquote>
<div>
"<i>The Peanut Puzzle is based on a two-piece dissection of the rhombic
dodecahedron. The half pieces are joined different ways to make this
set of six Peanut Puzzle pieces. There are twelve ways that the
half-pieces might have been joined in pairs to make usable pieces
having no axis of symmetry. This special set of six was found by Mike
Beeler, using a computer, to be the only one of 924 possible sets that
will construct all the symmetrical shapes below.</i>
</div>
<div>
<i>If any closed loop is considered a Peanut Puzzle construction of
sorts, then many others are possible, some having symmetries and some
not. See how many you can discover; then sketch them and invent names
for them.</i>"
</div>
</blockquote>
<div></div>
<div>Also from Puzzle Craft 1992:</div>
<div></div>
</div>
<blockquote>
<div>
<div>
"<i>The object of this puzzle is to join the pieces together in a closed
loop to construct all sorts of different geometrical figures, such as
those shown below, using three, four, five, or all six pieces. Or you
can invent your </i><i>own. The pieces are fun to just play with. In order to fit together
all different ways, the pieces must be very accurately made, so this
is not a project for the beginner.</i>"
</div>
</div>
<div></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
The quality of the casting of the pieces and their sheer beauty is
breathtaking and it even makes me forget about gorgeous wood for once. The
booklet shares the same attention to detail. Beautifully printed and spiral
bound with instructions on what shape to try for and how many pieces to use.
For example puzzle one is as follows:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnQru_mU7_DS5zE1ye1-RgO1ntU3xY9X1Ryyw1q88sve04FoJOsLt5fpMEJ0IpfKzhNj-GtfDqvgaU5vYLcDvgFYj-rFxIDGJ7mqS7gjJrAZskcT9UEj0zQ2S7fbLiUrZu-RQu3xZ-dqnDrSI5CdpwDY1Huqlw_tCUZr65ZmWDKYlSSc-3TpafAHfZVs/s2770/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2770" data-original-width="2713" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgnQru_mU7_DS5zE1ye1-RgO1ntU3xY9X1Ryyw1q88sve04FoJOsLt5fpMEJ0IpfKzhNj-GtfDqvgaU5vYLcDvgFYj-rFxIDGJ7mqS7gjJrAZskcT9UEj0zQ2S7fbLiUrZu-RQu3xZ-dqnDrSI5CdpwDY1Huqlw_tCUZr65ZmWDKYlSSc-3TpafAHfZVs/w391-h400/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%201.jpg" width="391" /></a>
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Excuse the poor photography
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This just invites you to have a play. I struggle with assembly puzzles when
the pieces are rectilinear and the pieces used here are anything but... they
use a rhombic grid and the interlocking of the pieces is an interesting
diagonal mating process. Each piece can unite with two others at each end.
Therefore to make whatever shape is required you need to effectively make a
ring form for them all. Embarrassingly, it took me about 45 minutes to solve
the first and easiest challenge! Aargh!
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay! Solved one!</td>
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It is hugely satisfying to do this and unbelievably difficult for a man of my
scant brains. Challenge 2 was slightly harder:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNLnzkKokGFLA7D2tKVPOLCcpmr56h-9KMpq0TbP3vyEiBKvik7uPCWbwgXvXNSez94HuKRq9eUOR9GxVgF_SHNuiyaI11wAOomgXe1dyAJVZ1thMCf4HExS52Bvg4hNKQdY7fbu53u5DQmd4jCRvfxg8i_IZy5RqnAwH6fd6LIv7EFEf5npm-W3DKuE/s2982/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2982" data-original-width="2262" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNLnzkKokGFLA7D2tKVPOLCcpmr56h-9KMpq0TbP3vyEiBKvik7uPCWbwgXvXNSez94HuKRq9eUOR9GxVgF_SHNuiyaI11wAOomgXe1dyAJVZ1thMCf4HExS52Bvg4hNKQdY7fbu53u5DQmd4jCRvfxg8i_IZy5RqnAwH6fd6LIv7EFEf5npm-W3DKuE/s320/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%202.jpg" width="232" /></a>
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How hard can it be?
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7RI6AkR5TLwhYOi5DNK6i8xM8GTum3bn59ZGypwuD7HD8pNxXiohwm7QczHN45CvkIbG-V9qGD6rZTcI7wUfJC9FAb33C7_MB5OcYp9e5BMJ37xRdPbpCnt8oIbRg1flGPfvesVthjw1vU6uXJ0_tt0VrF-E_HqdyrypxwhDxW_l_zzdBYi7FN2sHks/s2941/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%202%20solved.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2799" data-original-width="2941" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7RI6AkR5TLwhYOi5DNK6i8xM8GTum3bn59ZGypwuD7HD8pNxXiohwm7QczHN45CvkIbG-V9qGD6rZTcI7wUfJC9FAb33C7_MB5OcYp9e5BMJ37xRdPbpCnt8oIbRg1flGPfvesVthjw1vU6uXJ0_tt0VrF-E_HqdyrypxwhDxW_l_zzdBYi7FN2sHks/s320/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%202%20solved.jpg" width="320" /></a>
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Blush! Took me 2 hours!
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OMG! This is humbling. The first two challenges should not have been so
difficult as they are effectively planar challenges. Obviously the interaction
is in 3D but the shapes to be created are all in the 2D plane and I was spending
enormous amount of time trying to find the right interactions and with my
Goldfish memory probably trying the same interlocking over and over again. Sigh
- not terribly bright. The following day it was time to venture into 3D shapes
with just the basic Tetrahedron:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxY7-tw0_mQ3OyQl0aFkGh0ecxRn10ct6BZQh0Oe_8N2FvspsOL90hkVTwN0swtKg196KdecBRQYd-GZDwtlqsqd3r73jZsJDrI55qleEd9QSktA1xcZ-XoIO63YMsR5FD-cV1xKteE4Kmt-I0E6zjqD7k2C-ggvmKj8uK5dLRD6XTTRjy4J5dw5zzZU/s2877/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%203.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2877" data-original-width="2673" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjxY7-tw0_mQ3OyQl0aFkGh0ecxRn10ct6BZQh0Oe_8N2FvspsOL90hkVTwN0swtKg196KdecBRQYd-GZDwtlqsqd3r73jZsJDrI55qleEd9QSktA1xcZ-XoIO63YMsR5FD-cV1xKteE4Kmt-I0E6zjqD7k2C-ggvmKj8uK5dLRD6XTTRjy4J5dw5zzZU/s320/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%203.jpg" width="278" /></a>
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Still "just" 4 pieces!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVzhuM2uKX3Dsm-ASCdusrJwpo4fEBfO71AmUSCYtW5e75OWrG-bjun9Icjq7SJvelkOQwzXMb3ylx19sJWhCpvjliu4SccIqBb8v5wRA6UxdewLt0rQFTP09DkgqNI9bKEizeZA3nWsvOdVxQoEnp3rBH9Igiilu_tUxUfJAyYIVmv7YvbBHolH9yJ0/s2847/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%203%20solved.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2847" data-original-width="2606" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVzhuM2uKX3Dsm-ASCdusrJwpo4fEBfO71AmUSCYtW5e75OWrG-bjun9Icjq7SJvelkOQwzXMb3ylx19sJWhCpvjliu4SccIqBb8v5wRA6UxdewLt0rQFTP09DkgqNI9bKEizeZA3nWsvOdVxQoEnp3rBH9Igiilu_tUxUfJAyYIVmv7YvbBHolH9yJ0/s320/Peanut%20puzzle%20challenge%203%20solved.jpg" width="275" /></a>
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Took me a whole day!
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<br />I was seriously intimidated! I had a little try at the 4th challenge of a
Diamond shape and after another whole day, had completely failed to manage an
assembly even remotely close! It is great fun trying but after a while I had to
put it down. Then I decided to be a complete sucker for punishment and attempt
the hexagonal ring which is the shape most commonly associated with it. The
picture to the left is from John Rauch's
<a href="https://johnrausch.com/PuzzleWorld/cat/category.htm" target="_blank">Puzzleworld site</a>.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
And of course, you guessed it! I have completely failed to assemble this
shape. Is it just me? Or are these seriously seriously difficult puzzle
challenges. I am fairly certain it is me!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I then wondered whether the puzzle could be modelled in Burrtools and maybe I
could create a full set of the assemblies in BT format. Do I consider this a
"cop out"? Only a little bit. It is all about having fun and I have said many
many times on the site that the making of a BT file for a puzzle is a crucial
part of the fun for me. I have no real experience of using the non-rectilinear
grids with BT so this would be a good chance to try it out. And here is where
I hit a brick wall for a while. When starting a new design the options are:
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Brick</li>
<li>Triangular prism</li>
<li>Spheres</li>
<li>Rhombic tetrahedra</li>
<li>Tetrahedra-octahedra</li>
</ul>
<div>
I had no clue! I started with the obvious Rhombic tetrahedra grid and could
not manage the creation of any useful shapes. I cannot recall which grid O
settled on but I think it might have been the triangular grid which allowed
me to model the 6 pieces (with huge difficulty).
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<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRW1Kh3NY9chzYESQIwrZUSAqIvj0P4aDJrkXBdC8WjWrbCjkr1fnOk6d02QweXjz6oqRsZaEdp5xRvdxz5TZhdW-gLU80n7OQ8yc9sYaGidCefD_rVKuwi55nUJHanOwbfkaYKSWO1yM5oHTearfXy6Fms5un-NwS7mjvgonDmXTS9x2gQkqsRe-ZMfY/s1326/Screenshot%202023-12-10%20at%2015.22.39.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1326" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRW1Kh3NY9chzYESQIwrZUSAqIvj0P4aDJrkXBdC8WjWrbCjkr1fnOk6d02QweXjz6oqRsZaEdp5xRvdxz5TZhdW-gLU80n7OQ8yc9sYaGidCefD_rVKuwi55nUJHanOwbfkaYKSWO1yM5oHTearfXy6Fms5un-NwS7mjvgonDmXTS9x2gQkqsRe-ZMfY/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-10%20at%2015.22.39.jpg" width="280" /></a>
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<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsuXzD21lhx9oil_B-giK2b84AdNEhevsrtumW7b7IU5aWfew0ERNp-WQc4ApzA88SCOtHPjhUlT4_MAC5Xj97fzmZ9j9fAz7QKbj8gtXEpMZ322HaQ8RwlSR0bvQc04cjW2YJN52wjVL0SkJY_VjgNqVgM3RMW6T27yVK2xGiUHHcPkMSdk5nRb0DpQ/s1286/Screenshot%202023-12-10%20at%2015.22.15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1286" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsuXzD21lhx9oil_B-giK2b84AdNEhevsrtumW7b7IU5aWfew0ERNp-WQc4ApzA88SCOtHPjhUlT4_MAC5Xj97fzmZ9j9fAz7QKbj8gtXEpMZ322HaQ8RwlSR0bvQc04cjW2YJN52wjVL0SkJY_VjgNqVgM3RMW6T27yVK2xGiUHHcPkMSdk5nRb0DpQ/s320/Screenshot%202023-12-10%20at%2015.22.15.jpg" width="266" /></a>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Two of the pieces successfully modelled in Burrtools</span></div>
<div>Time to model the challenges then - this is a whole lot harder! In fact so hard that I cannot do it. I think I will need to ask an expert for advice on how to go about it. The difficulty I am finding is that the shapes in the 2D representation of the grid change with each layer as you go up the z-axis.</div><div><br /></div><div>If anyone is able to help with this then please let me know. It would be a fantastic resource for the puzzling world to have a BT file with all the challenges in it. Please use my <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/p/contact-me_13.html" target="_blank">contact page</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a fantastic puzzle design by the Master, Stewart Coffin and has been fabulously recreated by Lewis. They are quite time consuming to make but I am sure that he will be making more if you want to buy one from him. </div>
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Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-80393098137203104792023-12-03T16:36:00.006+00:002023-12-03T16:36:55.300+00:00Maybe a Xmas Present is Here?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DjBTOj3X5QUOC_28SxZpf8LOFhRUL9yZwkBLo1KudHdagvXz8rVAnjPLknpAglybVtSHGMMQqsPlq_5HVc4XjW94i3ymV5rzpU3R6KeTmRapjXd1PgAUR3l7V8q344lK1kAJIwmBtBBkpx4JfkHmcbVf3gTDZqTvwebC97tp-7e7W9u0ac4kdudmwI4/s3661/Pelikan%20collection%202023-12.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2334" data-original-width="3661" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DjBTOj3X5QUOC_28SxZpf8LOFhRUL9yZwkBLo1KudHdagvXz8rVAnjPLknpAglybVtSHGMMQqsPlq_5HVc4XjW94i3ymV5rzpU3R6KeTmRapjXd1PgAUR3l7V8q344lK1kAJIwmBtBBkpx4JfkHmcbVf3gTDZqTvwebC97tp-7e7W9u0ac4kdudmwI4/w640-h408/Pelikan%20collection%202023-12.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
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<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.pelikanpuzzles.eu/shop/" target="_blank">Pelikan</a>
release for December 2023
</td>
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</table>
On Tuesday, I received 6 more beauties from Jakub with a request to review them
as quickly as possible because he is already being asked about when they are to
be released. The pressure is on.
<div>From Back left we have:</div>
<div>Rug Rug by Alfons Eyckmans</div>
<div>Who Filled The Sorter Cube by Volker Latussek</div>
<div>Kreeft by Alfons Eyckmans</div>
<div>Padlock by Tabor Mikloš</div>
<div>Kuchenstuck by Tyler Hudson</div>
<div>Rhino by Theo Geerinck (and the late Symon Hovinga)</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I have worked my little fingers off to do as many as possible in the 4 days I
have had them and have managed to solve 4 and play with the other 2 for a bit.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Rhino</span>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxtz1hEsQ5p2-JDCwe18rv2YWg2zGBsD35tZaoMyzFDfrSTavWAawxAz1WmRcwbKS4-gCE942vNTnuawibWK92NHOSpeoDESDGdtO1JiatTHS6HBmXGR-COhDe69LsmVduJYEsnwATWMj2c84xh4MhIuNQNZH91rwwzIvnKIKYBD6x-dnNsEaFy2s0Ii0/s3745/Rhino%20front.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3044" data-original-width="3745" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxtz1hEsQ5p2-JDCwe18rv2YWg2zGBsD35tZaoMyzFDfrSTavWAawxAz1WmRcwbKS4-gCE942vNTnuawibWK92NHOSpeoDESDGdtO1JiatTHS6HBmXGR-COhDe69LsmVduJYEsnwATWMj2c84xh4MhIuNQNZH91rwwzIvnKIKYBD6x-dnNsEaFy2s0Ii0/w640-h520/Rhino%20front.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
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<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Rhino by Theo Geerinck (and the late Symon Hovinga)
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
I had gotten used to the Pelikan own designs for their continuing series of
animal shaped puzzles and was expecting another one. This time I was
delighted to see a wonderful design by Theo with his good friend Simon to
accompany the earlier creation of the Bison from Jack Krijnen. They
obviously had been either working together or competing to create puzzles on
the theme. The Rhino has been beautifully crafted using American Walnut and
Maple and is scarily realistic with a white horn and even pupils in the
eyes.
</div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SNPkU5VhUfToowtav6EOTkcwId6HGnMgMbDWKOUhXpbVk8q0rOmdRezgK7xWTMKMq8UBUYI1Vrp1JgNaYM6F_ZO_f_bwUAu5OsiBvoi1tf6SwsCOZAckmMVF0Aiko_kRkSvr3p8szGtzILYLnpDHQweVOyhp1kybtWc_mz01eCUWGm9t4Yu8Me7bAL8/s4356/Rhino%20pieces.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2748" data-original-width="4356" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SNPkU5VhUfToowtav6EOTkcwId6HGnMgMbDWKOUhXpbVk8q0rOmdRezgK7xWTMKMq8UBUYI1Vrp1JgNaYM6F_ZO_f_bwUAu5OsiBvoi1tf6SwsCOZAckmMVF0Aiko_kRkSvr3p8szGtzILYLnpDHQweVOyhp1kybtWc_mz01eCUWGm9t4Yu8Me7bAL8/w200-h126/Rhino%20pieces.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</div>
<br />The sequence for disassembly is not terribly difficult since the
puzzle is mostly a series of plates on a spine but they don't just slide off
and there are a couple of gotcha moments during the disassembly and a nice
Aha! moment as well. Once it is apart, the reassembly is not hugely tough
but having left it for a while, I had forgotten the orientation of a few of
the plates and struggled to get them back in line on the spine. It's a
lovely idea and will look amazing on display with the Bison (don't tell Mrs
S!)
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Kuchenstück</span>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span>
</div>
<br />
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAJyIZSo-MDsS-wL_Iur53MDlPH28nwHCzlQ_3zXcqo8ukqpa7utsmaA-aeThKijohsSQMsyZQYOXibW_6F1ek-Y_wzV07qyy7gHia_H3DaFhJ6nfwIEWxxIvjw5vGDgLnSLGtbq9ngplGGo_ihpCbtvvZoC-2CQ1-LNsgn3YMgXjDCi_BNfLQPo43RI/s3307/Kuchenstuck.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3091" data-original-width="3307" height="561" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAJyIZSo-MDsS-wL_Iur53MDlPH28nwHCzlQ_3zXcqo8ukqpa7utsmaA-aeThKijohsSQMsyZQYOXibW_6F1ek-Y_wzV07qyy7gHia_H3DaFhJ6nfwIEWxxIvjw5vGDgLnSLGtbq9ngplGGo_ihpCbtvvZoC-2CQ1-LNsgn3YMgXjDCi_BNfLQPo43RI/w640-h598/Kuchenstuck.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Kuchenstuck by Tyler Hudson</span>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Yes, it's a piece of cake complete with layers of sponge and a glacé
cherry on top! Beautifully made from Wenge, Maple, Padauk and Cherry
woods, this design from Tyler Hudson is anything but a piece of cake to
solve. The puzzle is actually a trio of maze plates that interact with
each other and with the outer box producing a maze that effectively
changes as you navigate it. Initially there are a few options for the
pathway before you will find the one that proceeds further into the
solution.
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizWlTGcXYph1QheBSfhRFwXqrEIBnJ3-YyfM4j-AnKnLBvylbCOotj9bUXdRgpVyDQpwGpfpIVJ6lEq9Nicq7OCjQXZsI0TA1I5zs3XOqjDZeaR6a-mHUew2A-aRuwC99MU2oA4RUcjOrqM9nmVi3__5yemL_WF_2KSORpPqZp2XLIs3VCRF1Zckl6Ung/s4428/Kuchenstuck%20pieces.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3257" data-original-width="4428" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizWlTGcXYph1QheBSfhRFwXqrEIBnJ3-YyfM4j-AnKnLBvylbCOotj9bUXdRgpVyDQpwGpfpIVJ6lEq9Nicq7OCjQXZsI0TA1I5zs3XOqjDZeaR6a-mHUew2A-aRuwC99MU2oA4RUcjOrqM9nmVi3__5yemL_WF_2KSORpPqZp2XLIs3VCRF1Zckl6Ung/w200-h147/Kuchenstuck%20pieces.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</div>
<br />Once you have set out on this path the options open out. I found
mapping impossible because everything changed with every move. The
exploration is fun and gradually you get a feel and then a glimpse for how
the plates are interacting with each other and even can see the gaps in
the pates where presumably they will come apart from each other. There are
quite a few dead ends and loops in the solution and I got lost many times.
Despite this, it seems to always be quite easy to find your way back to
the beginning again.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I was beginning to lose hope because I could not find any new openings and
put it down for a while. I picked it up again the next day and suddenly
found something new and a whole new section of the puzzle pathway opened
out. The sequence is a huge 28.2 for disassembly and will leave you with a
whole new sense of achievement when you finally manage it. This one
definitely required the use of Burrtools for the reassembly.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Kreeft</span>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupx4egBdGv1MTDtAWm3Y72icglNxKFaWC_BJ4C9qD6h6KzxEp5_IkFlQygyyMEvYkGtI7BSFNLcH_CfKjQiJa6xQN1TSKjxfkGLV2FEm9RLu3ML3sNfcdHTDa9m6Jyf90i5gAyFucrIc1jaPMI-i8FVbdS2HQg_XaDTmq5_PqBBIfB2EMJiwkX_8JsGg/s3392/Kreeft.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3342" data-original-width="3392" height="591" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgupx4egBdGv1MTDtAWm3Y72icglNxKFaWC_BJ4C9qD6h6KzxEp5_IkFlQygyyMEvYkGtI7BSFNLcH_CfKjQiJa6xQN1TSKjxfkGLV2FEm9RLu3ML3sNfcdHTDa9m6Jyf90i5gAyFucrIc1jaPMI-i8FVbdS2HQg_XaDTmq5_PqBBIfB2EMJiwkX_8JsGg/w640-h630/Kreeft.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Kreeft by Alfons Eyckmans
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgF4ta6jQNAszVPh5U0h0_HmqDmciVePHmSfaC-nb6mLW8kMbYy_5B-RNqCpMAwb8PHy7OjnJ4xC4ePjGBIkWSlEDSEui2AtKAE1eUWg_VhwfoVYbMd7xJ8Au8dyLF3jK9I7PJhA-OiV9WCDUSGY5g1yVp3EPToL06ZDEFuUKZrg4CcSWIynUM3_vRRA/s4216/Kreeft%20pieces.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2392" data-original-width="4216" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgF4ta6jQNAszVPh5U0h0_HmqDmciVePHmSfaC-nb6mLW8kMbYy_5B-RNqCpMAwb8PHy7OjnJ4xC4ePjGBIkWSlEDSEui2AtKAE1eUWg_VhwfoVYbMd7xJ8Au8dyLF3jK9I7PJhA-OiV9WCDUSGY5g1yVp3EPToL06ZDEFuUKZrg4CcSWIynUM3_vRRA/w200-h114/Kreeft%20pieces.jpg" width="200" /></a>
</div>
<br />This is a lovely chunky 9 piece burr by Alfons made from Wenge, Acacia
and Purpleheart. It has a lovely size to allow easy play and from the outset
there is a nice exploration. There are 3 possible moves as the first move
and only one leads anywhere but it quickly becomes apparent that all of the
found moves will be useful at some point. The progress is delightful right
up until you can't find where to go next and you wander round and round in
circles. Again, I had to put it down for a couple of hours to rest my weary
brain and then start again later. The rest did me good and after following
my previous paths, I found another lovely Aha! moment as another sequence
opened up and shortly afterwards I removed the first piece. This did not
lead to a sudden sequence of disassembly and there was a fair bit more
backtracking and looking for another path to remove the next piece.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
As is usual with Alfons' puzzles the difficulty level and exploration is
just perfect at 15.5. The puzzle remains quite stable for quite a long time
and I was even able to reassemble it without Burrtools. Of course a
Burrtools file challenge is all part of the fun after you have done it.<br />
<div><br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Padlock</span>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
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<tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIh2LRC6tC4DMwOlZDDXNEh_o9DMOdMiStWt3wu5kqtTRMQGxJ6ka9IdpiodIzkfB_SM5fSOM7WoXzKEf6GEyoErEqgIDa0u7qg_3Ln8OtnLWsnnLAfOWim_sZYC4VrJhLxv6nX4yxFa69QEBno2093lwesFusbEUjMIsUt6Oq65UkAuuoPXL1IUudI4/s4270/Padlock.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4270" data-original-width="2716" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIh2LRC6tC4DMwOlZDDXNEh_o9DMOdMiStWt3wu5kqtTRMQGxJ6ka9IdpiodIzkfB_SM5fSOM7WoXzKEf6GEyoErEqgIDa0u7qg_3Ln8OtnLWsnnLAfOWim_sZYC4VrJhLxv6nX4yxFa69QEBno2093lwesFusbEUjMIsUt6Oq65UkAuuoPXL1IUudI4/w408-h640/Padlock.jpg" width="408" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Padlock by
<a href="https://puzzlewillbeplayed.com/-/designer/Miklos.xml" target="_blank">Tabor Mikloš</a></span>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Tabor has been designing interlocking puzzles for a few years now and they do
look interesting. This stunning puzzle, made from Wenge and Limba resembles
one of those little combination padlocks that we use everywhere to secure
lockers etc. There are 6 keys and a shackle which need to be manipulated to
open the lock. There are a few that can move immediately and one or two
straight away open up some much more interesting moves involving the shackle.
This then opens up a whole lot more choices and you need to decide what is the
best way to go. I chose wisely and made good progress. After 13 moves the
first piece can be removed and the rest follows in a nice sequence.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4mfhMhyphenhyphenrm6zrW9LJ0PSRX59HRdwFLPUahMC0gDjJ4efKYma5zoPMIqWmcJbWEVZgflGDv-2xKPeU10270_P8GxjS69n-tvcTsTEhnOI1DoZXzk5ZDlcbRoEUYoS5vwx4LscfzCTIgCPhGb-Jw2fq0OJ7mYNrNetoncTvXOrCw5GMpeqCSt4ZSCgn9t4/s3306/Padlock%20pieces.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3306" data-original-width="3192" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4mfhMhyphenhyphenrm6zrW9LJ0PSRX59HRdwFLPUahMC0gDjJ4efKYma5zoPMIqWmcJbWEVZgflGDv-2xKPeU10270_P8GxjS69n-tvcTsTEhnOI1DoZXzk5ZDlcbRoEUYoS5vwx4LscfzCTIgCPhGb-Jw2fq0OJ7mYNrNetoncTvXOrCw5GMpeqCSt4ZSCgn9t4/w193-h200/Padlock%20pieces.jpg" width="193" /></a>
</div>
<br />I was staggered to see that the buttons of the burr are only of 2 very
simple types and this should mean that the reassembly without Burrtools should
definitely be a possibility. I did not have time this time to attempt it but
had a lovely time with Burrtools making the reassembly. If you collect
padlocks then this is a must buy. I have quite a few wooden padlock puzzles
now and this one is a very welcome addition to the collection.
</div>
<div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Now onto the two puzzles that I have not yet had time to work on and only
just had a little play with so far:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Rug Rug</span>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmmWMsIWM6JnZdVqGT7LgC7ojsXxJuCoGo_pKxE6_AwA423Rwep6kedixzPSplduTwUUbbDF2_02b4j51S0YVsLgmnihOq3tEDECmhwIYp4HVO0EgaNHph8fenWV7pLPY5zCSdpQS4Drt_SfkUSaK-QQckxVI2woiYPONKBm6aVXHW_2te0hthZSmp1w/s3183/Rug%20Rug.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3182" data-original-width="3183" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmmWMsIWM6JnZdVqGT7LgC7ojsXxJuCoGo_pKxE6_AwA423Rwep6kedixzPSplduTwUUbbDF2_02b4j51S0YVsLgmnihOq3tEDECmhwIYp4HVO0EgaNHph8fenWV7pLPY5zCSdpQS4Drt_SfkUSaK-QQckxVI2woiYPONKBm6aVXHW_2te0hthZSmp1w/w640-h640/Rug%20Rug.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Rug Rug by Alfons Eyckmans
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
This gorgeous and chunky burr from Alfons is made from Wenge and Limba. It is
formed from a 6 piece burr that contains a smaller 12 piece burr inside. I
suspect that this will be a huge challenge. The disassembly level is "only" a
meagre 13.2.1.2.2 but with so many pieces interacting with each other the
number belies the actual difficulty of the disassembly. My initial exploration
has showed only a single initial move being possible and then a whole array of
choices for moves 2 and 3. The solution will need to use my too and fro
approach. I am greatly looking forward to it.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">
Who Filled The Sorter Cube</span></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKPA9D_MXFhLHevekukK2dNmZv7ble6gxS8PBGQUhZ1y6B-D9_P2l-0BDrgGvyeCbYF2AlinFoEHCwz1Qah-_GxUygDjM-gviAwRwEDWo5Jq2nuMk5jIcCiCBgkGn8Sf9uoFNnX8hCUraZ6Ab-ISO9drz8U4zXK7tya89wwV64-CEpPyi7ge9t5p29Lo/s3142/Who%20Filled%20The%20Sorter%20Cube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3142" data-original-width="2954" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKPA9D_MXFhLHevekukK2dNmZv7ble6gxS8PBGQUhZ1y6B-D9_P2l-0BDrgGvyeCbYF2AlinFoEHCwz1Qah-_GxUygDjM-gviAwRwEDWo5Jq2nuMk5jIcCiCBgkGn8Sf9uoFNnX8hCUraZ6Ab-ISO9drz8U4zXK7tya89wwV64-CEpPyi7ge9t5p29Lo/w602-h640/Who%20Filled%20The%20Sorter%20Cube.jpg" width="602" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Who Filled The Sorter Cube by Dr Volker Latussek</span></td></tr></tbody></table>This incredible creation almost made my heart stop! There seems to be no end to the amazing manipulation of geometric shapes by Dr Latussek. It consists of the same box (albeit a good bit larger) as the wonderful <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2019/10/lets-focus-on-doctor.html" target="_blank">Bastille puzzle</a>. Packed inside are prisms made from the first 6 simple regular polygons (Circle, Triangle, Square, Pentagon, Hexagon and Octagon). They are made from Wenge, American Walnut, Bubinga, Jatoba, Walnut and Maple and the box made out of American Cherry. It is gorgeous!<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78-WFq_73bfBeHQV1MSbZA12DIA-hLkQ8rjp9mvi98pkKf2M8ms3MnybuF8AgZnDKQQ5p3JrgZs3QSKU2X81i2nYMkAMWfj6LZWYxcOmlqGVy4-zVivZ4waIsTFWUNmpWzMfNyTfjtleRiJlEM6VZHx0LauG_Yo_6YZ2pG5U6HMlGs2lsUUuOdi7qWdE/s3386/Bastille.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3386" data-original-width="3140" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78-WFq_73bfBeHQV1MSbZA12DIA-hLkQ8rjp9mvi98pkKf2M8ms3MnybuF8AgZnDKQQ5p3JrgZs3QSKU2X81i2nYMkAMWfj6LZWYxcOmlqGVy4-zVivZ4waIsTFWUNmpWzMfNyTfjtleRiJlEM6VZHx0LauG_Yo_6YZ2pG5U6HMlGs2lsUUuOdi7qWdE/w186-h200/Bastille.jpg" width="186" /></a></div><br />My first thought when I received this was "thank goodness that this is an unpacking puzzle and not a packing puzzle! It is almost a disentanglement puzzle. I look at this and marvel at how Volker's mind must work. It is 9cm in each dimension and the holes are all 4cm across in the middle of each face.The holes in the sides are big enough to hook your fingers in and manipulate the pieces but not big enough to allow a decent grip. You must use gravity as well as your fingers to make the pieces roll over each other to make space for the first one to be pulled out through a hole. It looks incredibly tough and I am worried that I will never manage it but it will be a lot of fun trying.<br /><div><br />
<div>If you are looking for a Xmas present for you significant other puzzler or even a big hint for your non-puzzling significant other to buy you then you will not be disappointed with these. Also, the last time I looked there were still a few of the designs from the last release available including most of the Flop puzzles from Volker and the lovely Octopus.</div>
<p><br /></p>
<p><br /></p>
</div>
</div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-36291517905023933992023-11-26T15:24:00.003+00:002023-11-26T15:24:15.138+00:00Hanayama Hyrule Crest<table
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src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVdEs4veQmdbeTACydKj6H7DALHRJRXilCO6qKsKThw9cR6ypgMGHAlwpItJpbK5keGBP5xzCRlTJemj8XoCOpclntqbAjbHEsXfIQJpS3eEntwCXpVYi9TsiA8WWdMxuwJrC5tU06GBlKqa7kn9UbZq0qKNgYBKBBrdpCTUes9Dpyz526O6xA_5Nl6Tg/w640-h570/Hyrule%20Crest%20assembled.jpg"
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Hanayama Hyrule Crest
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a
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><img
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src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01EEeb4oFmHIx_-fTtch_xoyDyclIjKKnuXAitZCRrGOAnhsUswvBpmYHegO8geoLav82V_ekRwnfMhpo27IXSFNVGJzArNZ0JhQfT_74Ei3x8uxOMjWAr-1pTSDv8FrmQiJnmV3JpRZgtS5XHZ1qe6I36r6uCUdIXJ-ITYgS47nNb1Cogwx02L6lFkw/s320/Hyrule%20Crest%20box.jpg"
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<br />Following on from
<a
href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2023/11/hanayama-master-sword.html"
target="_blank"
>last week's review</a
>
of the
<a
href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/17884-the-legend-of-zelda-master-sword-puzzle&a=155639"
target="_blank"
>Hanayama Master Sword puzzle</a
>, I finish the trilogy with a quick review of the
<a
href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/zelda/17883-the-legend-of-zelda-hyrule-crest-puzzle&a=155639"
target="_blank"
>Hyrule Crest</a
>. This puzzle obviously has the shape of the emblem found everywhere in the
Legend of Zelda game from Nintendo and not quite so clearly visible is the
Triforce knotted up by the chain. At the ends of the chain are 2 more Triforce
shapes which prevent the chain passing through the emblem. The aim is to remove
the large triangular Triforce from the puzzle and then put it back.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
This puzzle is rated as 4 out of 6 by Hanayama and 8 out of 10 by PuzzleMaster
and I think that is a little high - it is not a really simple puzzle but I
would make it a 3/6 or 7/10. It is a very nice bronze type colour and a good
size for playing with at 10.4 x 1 x 6.2 cm.
</div>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Details of the knot revealed
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It is not clear from the initial positioning how the chain is fastening the
Triforce in place and so I pulled it down to reveal that there are 3 holes in
the crest and the chain loops through them all and around itself to hold the
Triforce in place.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
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<br />It may be that I have gotten to be quite good at disentanglement puzzles
over the years but as soon as I looked at the configuration the solution just
screamed out at me - I knew immediately what the sequence should be. But
something was bugging me... I usually have a terrible memory and can find
myself solving the same puzzle several times with absolutely no recollection
of having done it before (don't tell Mrs S) but I distinctly remember that the
<a
href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/321-cast-heart&a=155639"
target="_blank"
>Cast Heart</a
> (also a level 4/6 or 8/10) has a very similar configuration (I am very
impressed with myself because
<a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2014/10/cast-heart.html" target="_blank"
>I reviewed</a
>
that puzzle way back in 2014). Going back to my pictures of the solved puzzle
I can see that it is identical but with modified pieces. At $18 CAD the Heart
is considerably cheaper but I would say a bit less attractive and is also a
good bit smaller and more fiddly if you have fat fingers. If you are a
Nintendo or Zelda collector then you will have to get the more expensive one.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Just like the Cast Heart, I was able to see the solution straight away and had
my Triforce removed very quickly. The hardest part was manipulating the fiddly
chain through some rather small holes:
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solved</td>
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I left the puzzle for a day or so and reassembly was still pretty straight
forward for me. Is it worth buying? If you are a Zelda freak then definitely, if
you are a Hanayama completionism then definitely again. If you already have the
Cast Heart then probably not. This is a nice puzzle for newbies and definitely
looks good in a display.<br />
<div><br /></div>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-35527940255245487972023-11-19T13:56:00.000+00:002023-11-19T13:56:22.102+00:00Hanayama Master Sword<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw58mAwzZU6qtPz8XMGQAeEfBqI8ZRaOgnFfEX0cm6XlQyG38rVQ8mP47JnRJO9KAEbRKId9SJSc6Yb4CChbmhMVhxJHXpWcGxsZ403ySJGawGmKQ4BgYMsVLNUrsQSuR6icaz-PaijM2TY1230biCRu4LNVECqiGHAgSVQS8JQ5DYbAmNmkanbGvrE3s/s3412/Master%20Sword.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3412" data-original-width="2275" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw58mAwzZU6qtPz8XMGQAeEfBqI8ZRaOgnFfEX0cm6XlQyG38rVQ8mP47JnRJO9KAEbRKId9SJSc6Yb4CChbmhMVhxJHXpWcGxsZ403ySJGawGmKQ4BgYMsVLNUrsQSuR6icaz-PaijM2TY1230biCRu4LNVECqiGHAgSVQS8JQ5DYbAmNmkanbGvrE3s/w426-h640/Master%20Sword.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/17884-the-legend-of-zelda-master-sword-puzzle&a=155639" target="_blank">Hanayama Master Sword</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6PHBH5sYvO1BdElUBWQmE-YHSRDfHFo0w66N1Dtsdor5tP5NXZF3WtYbQVi7VHiYl9X7KkE8BH5SR4jBeqlMWGqgrTKvV3tRKrVQiRpGia8pGZAWCXFHfqxUQYMGQRK1Tp9NOkdIZlbXS4f2efzEJsRo4sRX5WW3kKLcn6H7Yn7PwY5Jj2-QVPff0lA/s3349/Master%20Sword%20box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3166" data-original-width="3349" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6PHBH5sYvO1BdElUBWQmE-YHSRDfHFo0w66N1Dtsdor5tP5NXZF3WtYbQVi7VHiYl9X7KkE8BH5SR4jBeqlMWGqgrTKvV3tRKrVQiRpGia8pGZAWCXFHfqxUQYMGQRK1Tp9NOkdIZlbXS4f2efzEJsRo4sRX5WW3kKLcn6H7Yn7PwY5Jj2-QVPff0lA/s320/Master%20Sword%20box.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The box is more beautiful than the puzzle!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I just realised that the photo above is not actually a terribly good pic! Depth of field issues - sorry about that. At the end of October <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2023/10/triforce-from-hanayama.html" target="_blank">I reviewed</a> the <a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/17882-the-legend-of-zelda-triforce-puzzle&a=155639" target="_blank">Hanayama Triforce</a> puzzle which I broadly enjoyed even if it was actually much easier to solve than the advertised level of 5 out of 6. The other two in the series have been sitting in my pile of to be played with toys but I seem to have had very limited time this last week and I only managed to start playing with this last night.<br /><p>This is another in the Legend of Zelda series produced in collaboration (or maybe just with permission from) Nintendo. The Master sword is Link's weapon and here it is captive in a stone with the Hyrule crest insignia on it. Your aim is to free the sword from the stone. I think this might be better marketed in the UK as an Arthurian legend puzzle and called Excalibur.</p><p>The puzzle has a sort of pewter coloured metal for the base and collar and the sword is a chromed metal. The base has a weird sort of feel to it - I felt that I was going to get a discolouration or staining of my hands (this did not happen). It is 9.5 x 4.4 x 3.4 cm in size which makes it a little fiddly to grip the parts of the collar and has been ascribed a difficulty level by Hanayama of 6 out of 6 and by PuzzleMaster as 10 out of 10. I sort of agree with this assessment.</p><p>On the underneath of the puzzle you can partially see inside but the view does not help during the solve. There is a collar around the sword which is split into two halves. These collar pieces can move up or down and intermittently rotate in either direction depending on position of all the various pieces. This effectively makes the challenge a hidden maze type puzzle which is made more difficult by the fact that there are 4 pieces that can all move independently with certain restrictions which you cannot see. With my puzzle origins being with the <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/search/label/Revomaze" target="_blank">Revomaze</a>, I expected to enjoy this challenge and begin mapping fairly early. With such a limited size, I did not expect it to be anywhere near as tough as a Revomaze.</p><p>Fiddling early on, it is worrying to discover that the collar can rotate in either direction and also one of the pieces can be pulled up to allow more limited rotation with the piece in this position. I started taking some notes and very quickly realised that there were lots and lots and lots of possible moves after each decision that you make. It is really hard to make a decision tree for it to help keep track. This was rather disheartening and then at some point (not that far in), I must have either allowed a piece to move without me realising or forgot to note a move and I was lost in the maze. Aaaargh! </p><p>I was unable to go back to the beginning by following my notes and I was now left blindly wandering around a maze in the hope that I could either randomly get out or find my way to a reset. I got quite close to a disassembly a few times with everything protruding from the base quite a long way but not enough to allow a release. After about 30 minutes of fiddling blindly I managed to release the pieces:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLddkGnltmvu5x_JH1Rp4GACLIcapUi2HhQ83aOYbd35jXPzj9zJWZQKZkWsyLfthQH1ohaDDr6tnp0ngvMFj7gy0AeOUm5dB6u3O3dIUhs4cgwVh8QB9W8qXJ6JHw2YyRzdhyUilI4iW7tA6W-Nm5rYhoAGNn6KjFQLUe9DanWGzAjsJq4tBVCzpcyxs/s4294/Master%20Sword%20Pieces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2786" data-original-width="4294" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLddkGnltmvu5x_JH1Rp4GACLIcapUi2HhQ83aOYbd35jXPzj9zJWZQKZkWsyLfthQH1ohaDDr6tnp0ngvMFj7gy0AeOUm5dB6u3O3dIUhs4cgwVh8QB9W8qXJ6JHw2YyRzdhyUilI4iW7tA6W-Nm5rYhoAGNn6KjFQLUe9DanWGzAjsJq4tBVCzpcyxs/w400-h260/Master%20Sword%20Pieces.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sword has been released (spoiler free)</td></tr></tbody></table>It is interesting to see how the pieces are able to interact and also interesting to look in the prism at the maze obstructions but this is singularly unhelpful in attempting a reassembly.<br /><p>To put it back together, obviously, the exact reverse of the movements done is required. Except, I had absolutely no idea what I had done. So far I have failed to get this back to the start after an hour. I have got frustratingly close but each time been blocked and ended up inadvertently dismantling again (with a fair while being lost in the maze). I am sure that I will get there eventually but I have to say that I didn't really enjoy this puzzle. It was too random for me with very little thought.</p><p>Obviously, if you are a seasoned puzzler then you will be better at it than me and have no problem with it and probably find it quite enjoyable. If you are a collector then this along with the <a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/zelda&a=155639" target="_blank">rest of the set</a> is an essential purchase. Zelda fans should probably buy as well.</p>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-5530727473176330182023-11-12T15:47:00.000+00:002023-11-12T15:47:28.328+00:00Crazy Pyraminx Crystal<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>Crazily Logical Solve</span
>
</p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfheM6OEcB0qWE2iKm560gUZ3531JlObnkTzKgZsg_6RVoYtdBBM39iy0NBkaxmw4XWk6tpXysCt7QA_B2pQ0c5SW-nxgajWXfnfa8y2oivPleyev6MRdw1xSmOcwDtsVny5q3Xka5FGfTPjr5XJYMEeYAY5xrsPIeMXtg6qkNn6EE5aItAjUYz-U4HiQ/s3290/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3290"
data-original-width="3132"
height="630"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfheM6OEcB0qWE2iKm560gUZ3531JlObnkTzKgZsg_6RVoYtdBBM39iy0NBkaxmw4XWk6tpXysCt7QA_B2pQ0c5SW-nxgajWXfnfa8y2oivPleyev6MRdw1xSmOcwDtsVny5q3Xka5FGfTPjr5XJYMEeYAY5xrsPIeMXtg6qkNn6EE5aItAjUYz-U4HiQ/w610-h640/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Crazy Pyraminx Crystal
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="float: right;"
>
<tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCOmul1Q-CZ_tPYl6fjNyCtbuqZqqOZyHBTH1LHruf80rO-ZjhoEOqGj-VbxdvmQb12kG996c5KvEh44Lzej0GwezZ7Qep4FT-2HfZN8Ped5l09hLZ2T8U4MzQYmOs47j6IUjWPtog1OKEODB9C13HI9IwVj_eHPJ_ux2k6dJENVN3gKMvq3qTlYrLSE/s3402/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20scrambled.jpg"
style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3304"
data-original-width="3402"
height="311"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCOmul1Q-CZ_tPYl6fjNyCtbuqZqqOZyHBTH1LHruf80rO-ZjhoEOqGj-VbxdvmQb12kG996c5KvEh44Lzej0GwezZ7Qep4FT-2HfZN8Ped5l09hLZ2T8U4MzQYmOs47j6IUjWPtog1OKEODB9C13HI9IwVj_eHPJ_ux2k6dJENVN3gKMvq3qTlYrLSE/s320/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20scrambled.jpg"
width="320"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
OMG! What have I done?
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />Having spent a good 10 days desperately
<a
href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2023/11/a-bumper-pelikan-crop.html"
target="_blank"
>working on</a
>
the wooden puzzles from
<a href="https://www.pelikanpuzzles.eu/shop/" target="_blank">Pelikan</a>, I
decided to take a completely different puzzling track after that and play with
something that scared the living daylights out of me but weirdly, enticed me as
well. The Crazy Pyraminx Crystal looks absolutely horrific but the reality of it
is that it is an entirely logical puzzle that can be solved by anyone who can
use either the beginner's solution to Rubik cube or the Ultimate solution. Yes,
it literally requires nothing more than a standard approach to a simple puzzle
and a bit of thought.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I had absolutely adored the original Pyraminx crystal and even bought a shape
modifications of it from Traiphum - the Hexaminx crystal.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
The most important thing I learned from the Pyraminx crystal solution was
that, despite having so many pieces, it actually solved as 2 completely
different puzzles which were solved one after another. Neither of those
puzzles, individually, were terribly hard to solve.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4YO9DAeRby8ahnR9VGI-5yaTFWDFaVxOAbJdgCjKm-miHZV8pfaaJ8A3447rUeB77diRVxaDY8Su45efNnU9s0VOc570-C9SBx1gxKbA3La0SeoerJZlsT54S57qJwAg6e4HRoNR1bDg95LdNInsUGu8PH80gID2qQql7787bbUvxGnFc7JLlwOQnuY/s3310/Hexaminx%20Crystal.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3310"
data-original-width="3057"
height="200"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4YO9DAeRby8ahnR9VGI-5yaTFWDFaVxOAbJdgCjKm-miHZV8pfaaJ8A3447rUeB77diRVxaDY8Su45efNnU9s0VOc570-C9SBx1gxKbA3La0SeoerJZlsT54S57qJwAg6e4HRoNR1bDg95LdNInsUGu8PH80gID2qQql7787bbUvxGnFc7JLlwOQnuY/w185-h200/Hexaminx%20Crystal.jpg"
width="185"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Hexaminx crystal
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />My initial worry with this enhancement of that original puzzle was that
the crazy centres which split all the pieces in half would completely confuse
me and make it impossible to solve. Before I embarked on the odyssey, I did
quickly have a look at the Twisty puzzles forum posts on it to see the general
approach that others had taken. Everyone seemed to have worked out a fancy
commutator to cycle 3 of the inner circle pieces around and I found one myself
which was not hard to do in reality. As is usual for me, during my
exploration, I inadvertently scrambled the bloody thing and in the end went
all the way. As you can see from the picture above, it is really quite
attractive when scrambled so would not be the end of the world if it stayed
that way.
</div>
<div>
<p>
My memory of the non crazy version was that all the corners were solved as a
Kilominx (i.e. a 2x2 version of the Megaminx) which can be done by anyone
who can solve a standard Rubik cube. Then the edges of the non-crazy
version were solved independently of the corners using just the usual up,
up, down, down algorithm to cycle them around. Maybe the approach with the
crazy version would be similar?
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Aha! YES!</span>
</p>
<p>
There are a couple of wonderful Aha! moments with this puzzle. The first was
that the 2 separate puzzle approach would work and the second, even bigger
Aha! moment was that the crazy version is not based on the Kilominx - it is
actually based on a Megaminx. If you can solve a Rubik cube then the first
part of the solution to this is definitely possible for you. It will require
you to alter your orientation when looking at it but certainly no worse than
any other shape modification.
</p>
<p>
So what am I talking about? The corners are still the corners of a Megaminx.
The edges that look like they should be part of the Megaminx are NOT! Just
like the original Pyraminx crystal, you need to ignore the obvious edges
just now. The true edges of the Megaminx are actually the inner circle
corners. When turning the faces, it quickly became apparent that the
inner circle corners moved with the corners and the ones on opposite ends
are effectively bound together. The edges of the Megaminx are effectively
internal with only the very ends visible. Having realised this, I refreshed
my Megaminx solve and started on it.
</p>
<table
border="0"
cellpadding="2"
cellspacing="2"
style="text-align: left; width: 100%;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0cNs9WXvfr1q_DG3hLIU9wgDdVHbDgp1nd09fwLkbJNQ1RA-LtbDV_GTfSnvW6vIHzZP5kTvZYDoVyU0ST1PletVnW069xJYI3BwfhmuOVikMTWDuyGej_bbznYipffXiLt_2FTpjCniy5ZrpBj_8cYWKQFHhDPK1dDUcJhZe1cOphJ5i-8k7lwbRPY/s3167/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20Bottom%20megaminx%20solved.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3160"
data-original-width="3167"
height="269"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0cNs9WXvfr1q_DG3hLIU9wgDdVHbDgp1nd09fwLkbJNQ1RA-LtbDV_GTfSnvW6vIHzZP5kTvZYDoVyU0ST1PletVnW069xJYI3BwfhmuOVikMTWDuyGej_bbznYipffXiLt_2FTpjCniy5ZrpBj_8cYWKQFHhDPK1dDUcJhZe1cOphJ5i-8k7lwbRPY/s320/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20Bottom%20megaminx%20solved.jpg"
width="270"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Top and middle faces solved all edges and corners
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-d6SCjCTaEpjLmssladIhlrpUpSNlGC4DnjwgLDdu-D62y0cAyUHwTrlyCCxpHUjcFTJki_DCujl7aeBln5vrD52z0OKJ8x0wrAvV3-Jf-B7TZ29jET0nQ17JtSSUWhFS9JTWgC8BK4-y7M46OlCQdZdl0BF8llY2eL9RyYkfwgWcGdnm4-Aar6n8YUM/s3057/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20Top%20Edges%20to%20solve.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2952"
data-original-width="3057"
height="269"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-d6SCjCTaEpjLmssladIhlrpUpSNlGC4DnjwgLDdu-D62y0cAyUHwTrlyCCxpHUjcFTJki_DCujl7aeBln5vrD52z0OKJ8x0wrAvV3-Jf-B7TZ29jET0nQ17JtSSUWhFS9JTWgC8BK4-y7M46OlCQdZdl0BF8llY2eL9RyYkfwgWcGdnm4-Aar6n8YUM/s320/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20Top%20Edges%20to%20solve.jpg"
width="279"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Final face to be solved
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
As you can see in the pictures above, the corners are solved everywhere apart
from the grey face and the apparent edges (which are not edges) have been
ignored. The real Megaminx edges are the inner circle corners. To help you
visualise - in the left pic, the frontmost edge with the blue and red corner
pieces on it has a red/pink edge which we are ignoring just now but the inner
circle corners with a white at the top and the pink at the bottom is the real
edge that I am visualising. It is hard to get your head around thinking this
way but once you can do it then it is literally JUST a Megaminx. Just like a
standard Rubik cube, the top face takes a bit of work but it is just standard
cube algorithms (slightly altered for the pentagonal faces. The end result is
solving the Megaminx:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITxhCzKwXqVIJQxHoL4Kqxk2qt9or6EIlI_zvtXwljHn_UinUUDBi2zhzqzjys4rgnewiXGn7QK8hWd4W385EAhqqKvN_dLeoLpBZ-_Vw-BZHQRJ7f-XwOhwC_rBbx8JEaaUCzaCBWezAFTQjYV6nHGrYtoqDqY8QnvJ8yly2C9MPFFvf9ha31Tu6nqw/s3031/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20Top%20corners%20oriented.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2969"
data-original-width="3031"
height="391"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITxhCzKwXqVIJQxHoL4Kqxk2qt9or6EIlI_zvtXwljHn_UinUUDBi2zhzqzjys4rgnewiXGn7QK8hWd4W385EAhqqKvN_dLeoLpBZ-_Vw-BZHQRJ7f-XwOhwC_rBbx8JEaaUCzaCBWezAFTQjYV6nHGrYtoqDqY8QnvJ8yly2C9MPFFvf9ha31Tu6nqw/w400-h391/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20Top%20corners%20oriented.jpg"
width="400"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Megaminx solve completed
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Having solved your Megaminx and completely ignoring the crazy circle part of the
puzzle you can see that quite a lot has been done. Time to focus on the true
edges of the puzzle. I was not sure how best to go about it. I had a commutator
worked out so I could just solve the outer edges like the original pyramids
crystal and then move the inner edges later using that but it would require a
lot of setup moves and could be fraught with the danger of inadvertent
scrambling. Just for giggles, I thought I would try to reduce my edges one at a
time and then place them. As long as I always just do my up, up, down, down
algorithm and undo the setup moves then the Megaminx solve should NEVER be
disrupted.<br />
<table
border="0"
cellpadding="2"
cellspacing="2"
style="text-align: left; width: 100%;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 33%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17KNUSOchwV_1VpQx4YesuZv40-IfUv_hCKsqnJgT1KMAhTCTWMjB6gPCbvTfP-rUTv8msWutLwIL8kyjNqM0Ubc0BvT11g4z7ogEvuBnJrPkdcmmB5M32Pp_cdXdtqbcPwUmgGVWyBkzUm87_DEKTsi9Hi1WUz9PEfvQrUL8Xvwwz1aghWovL5iTdds/s2523/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%201.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2144"
data-original-width="2523"
height="128"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17KNUSOchwV_1VpQx4YesuZv40-IfUv_hCKsqnJgT1KMAhTCTWMjB6gPCbvTfP-rUTv8msWutLwIL8kyjNqM0Ubc0BvT11g4z7ogEvuBnJrPkdcmmB5M32Pp_cdXdtqbcPwUmgGVWyBkzUm87_DEKTsi9Hi1WUz9PEfvQrUL8Xvwwz1aghWovL5iTdds/w200-h170/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%201.jpg"
width="150"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Focus on R/W edge
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 34%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzLeXi8YAW7rnRKdhFo3S1E4Qq1eS9Ok4hWPQOhqCo9OlBhYLPfRpqBgrf78NbACBVFKs_VmeX1qZf-35KGwIoBTppD8t1SA07xjHY0lwu5R5R1WeoraYXjFwfSIsTwszONbNce41BxqbDT9HogXXIT5pXrSGsmLj264IH8CCOJP9FmI16V9PRxGdPQ0/s2641/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%202.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2188"
data-original-width="2641"
height="128"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzLeXi8YAW7rnRKdhFo3S1E4Qq1eS9Ok4hWPQOhqCo9OlBhYLPfRpqBgrf78NbACBVFKs_VmeX1qZf-35KGwIoBTppD8t1SA07xjHY0lwu5R5R1WeoraYXjFwfSIsTwszONbNce41BxqbDT9HogXXIT5pXrSGsmLj264IH8CCOJP9FmI16V9PRxGdPQ0/w200-h166/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%202.jpg"
width="154"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Twist to pair it with W inner
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 33%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDI2s-Pnj3bNcVMSQPM2OsX5FhdtF9WDW9GHIRCzL2MiYTE-IhaTcmrBzMKZttdMCoACX-qPcKJpgKSzgaoOIGXhyKjGdnYBsC-Gd53CSr9lvsh6BR8XzZMVA0PfCweZWvZ_6-sS5USIY88ahNr3gQmGnidlHEUMPVKm8Zc1ta7s4IetnfcovpUms2KA/s2431/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%204.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2041"
data-original-width="2431"
height="128"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDI2s-Pnj3bNcVMSQPM2OsX5FhdtF9WDW9GHIRCzL2MiYTE-IhaTcmrBzMKZttdMCoACX-qPcKJpgKSzgaoOIGXhyKjGdnYBsC-Gd53CSr9lvsh6BR8XzZMVA0PfCweZWvZ_6-sS5USIY88ahNr3gQmGnidlHEUMPVKm8Zc1ta7s4IetnfcovpUms2KA/w200-h168/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%204.jpg"
width="152"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Move edge over and reset twist
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Working systematically, pairing up inner and outer edges, flipping it over and
then doing the other side<br />
<table
border="0"
cellpadding="2"
cellspacing="2"
style="text-align: left; width: 100%;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 33%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-I8AzRZ7QgzxZnpmDT6b-soASgh228bDWiFf2D5XLVYfaDqxNSRjoOn9ALQX1gO4bDZoZuiX0Luv0zRYZZvrbsLiwmUkaqxB0_NOjHnq3DWnrxnp7woGGvYl8n0mpD305bq5vFlnogJm7zlbCywYqgrPZRiAIt4UvUN05MnTHR7DNoVpCW2J1gMBLaoI/s2341/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%205.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2101"
data-original-width="2341"
height="147"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-I8AzRZ7QgzxZnpmDT6b-soASgh228bDWiFf2D5XLVYfaDqxNSRjoOn9ALQX1gO4bDZoZuiX0Luv0zRYZZvrbsLiwmUkaqxB0_NOjHnq3DWnrxnp7woGGvYl8n0mpD305bq5vFlnogJm7zlbCywYqgrPZRiAIt4UvUN05MnTHR7DNoVpCW2J1gMBLaoI/w200-h179/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%205.jpg"
width="165"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Move it to face with R inner
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 34%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_RYGOdq6G1aaGLyMvetGf1ot2M9hiwCrSGLE_WNXyJWOcaJxmVGxw19RwktezBcUvk_aZWQzRbmCWZY68Ydnuk-AMK64SUKCsXi5kRKsus2b55fxdl2LrACp1zZ6yYL-UOkyDNj7rkz0nnELtj9rpb_YR3ER3VeCIMyzpdlDhgHsStp-vuaFp6TX3C0/s2397/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%206.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2316"
data-original-width="2397"
height="147"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_RYGOdq6G1aaGLyMvetGf1ot2M9hiwCrSGLE_WNXyJWOcaJxmVGxw19RwktezBcUvk_aZWQzRbmCWZY68Ydnuk-AMK64SUKCsXi5kRKsus2b55fxdl2LrACp1zZ6yYL-UOkyDNj7rkz0nnELtj9rpb_YR3ER3VeCIMyzpdlDhgHsStp-vuaFp6TX3C0/w200-h193/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20tredge%206.jpg"
width="152"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Pair them up
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 33%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdiBeB8UgpT1q6BxZtwhCT4sN7xmAv-kxBxt2SlwIC2X5WyZe_agB9ceRpaMTCEF28nNDsF_7OQELRS3CiYhBe4i3IxvdlIDKkDzpNa69tVU_o7FOFztcblQwsBaW7Q_fUquKTubsgOs4S5a113uK597fraAhLrF6ygb7Z1hO2CgV-AAsqTstmeakX-4/s2596/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20first%20tredge%20placed_.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2531"
data-original-width="2596"
height="147"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdiBeB8UgpT1q6BxZtwhCT4sN7xmAv-kxBxt2SlwIC2X5WyZe_agB9ceRpaMTCEF28nNDsF_7OQELRS3CiYhBe4i3IxvdlIDKkDzpNa69tVU_o7FOFztcblQwsBaW7Q_fUquKTubsgOs4S5a113uK597fraAhLrF6ygb7Z1hO2CgV-AAsqTstmeakX-4/w200-h195/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20first%20tredge%20placed_.jpg"
width="150"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Place completed edge
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Here I have reduced and placed one single Pyraminx edge. All that is required is
to use my up, up, down, down sequence to move the edges around and then twist in
place and move them back out and into place. Simple! Do this repeatedly over and
over again being careful not to ruin what you have done before - luckily with a
dodecahedral shape there is plenty of space for most of it.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
The final few require a bit of thought and planning and will usually require
you to break up some of your nice careful placement but nothing too
catastrophic:
</div>
<table
border="0"
cellpadding="2"
cellspacing="2"
style="text-align: left; width: 100%;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 33%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk37Hd_ito1usOyRhj04FpgLuoDft2cnlVsQbepf2ttxf0_ySUagHsuJS3AraxD5QSYkLY-16-1sZITT1z6GX-9iAc_qGmHqCnQfVjtHniLz4ARgCIs34zHHEsAVRPT1jOe6cki1Ox39AdTh6Ddcyp27llj8u43kjFzF1HjNVUtFvg1jPpUddESKA-3KQ/s3134/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20final%20tredges.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3134"
data-original-width="3070"
height="160"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk37Hd_ito1usOyRhj04FpgLuoDft2cnlVsQbepf2ttxf0_ySUagHsuJS3AraxD5QSYkLY-16-1sZITT1z6GX-9iAc_qGmHqCnQfVjtHniLz4ARgCIs34zHHEsAVRPT1jOe6cki1Ox39AdTh6Ddcyp27llj8u43kjFzF1HjNVUtFvg1jPpUddESKA-3KQ/w196-h200/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20final%20tredges.jpg"
width="157"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Final face of edges to reduce
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 34%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBbtBQsYku25zzD-qIDy27FUcRqmM7gT3xvsV83c2YAUWZ_1i18d3Szl8OYI7MEu_68QIPbStyZBHWbB64riHZn_IpsPRxAIZPxVuu-fhe5TN7wv_Vee-6XEuGkM6KuW9Q6-kEb346o5AttYFATtSsPABEDL8q08kqc9sJCXbi9ZAunqRSsz_FlsGQLc/s2957/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20last%20tredge.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2957"
data-original-width="2777"
height="160"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBbtBQsYku25zzD-qIDy27FUcRqmM7gT3xvsV83c2YAUWZ_1i18d3Szl8OYI7MEu_68QIPbStyZBHWbB64riHZn_IpsPRxAIZPxVuu-fhe5TN7wv_Vee-6XEuGkM6KuW9Q6-kEb346o5AttYFATtSsPABEDL8q08kqc9sJCXbi9ZAunqRSsz_FlsGQLc/w188-h200/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20last%20tredge.jpg"
width="150"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Last one will need some extra moves
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 33%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheG9SJp94t-bI1SB2QEyKZJYtYTznw6r66zAr5EkKmd8zgg5QaHjMp3i1RV37mzKrdc23QzznBSf07h2fe3avsEmaPkkT21LxCgqJ5EEh6rUjaEgo-GQFhzLrBy6DEm7p9JYF5-5Q_LMSpbb2ZUuixHMcZJaj_IoiG3hAcp6SHAOfzppLXC5tYeNYV-WU/s3004/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20reduced%20to%20Pyraminx%20crystal.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2987"
data-original-width="3004"
height="160"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheG9SJp94t-bI1SB2QEyKZJYtYTznw6r66zAr5EkKmd8zgg5QaHjMp3i1RV37mzKrdc23QzznBSf07h2fe3avsEmaPkkT21LxCgqJ5EEh6rUjaEgo-GQFhzLrBy6DEm7p9JYF5-5Q_LMSpbb2ZUuixHMcZJaj_IoiG3hAcp6SHAOfzppLXC5tYeNYV-WU/w200-h199/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20reduced%20to%20Pyraminx%20crystal.jpg"
width="159"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
All reduced but placed ones moved
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Once the triple edges have all been recreated and most of them placed then the
end game is just like the original Pyraminx crystal:
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGXxtpCzb6iNNrV2UGpq6qx3i6FUu_ywbSkzUIycLkcNbQqMkZcrrEKWFffkf8C4UQewQz7dTyL3wJhyphenhyphenIFJfV0x3bWA-_eGiNV5qJ1zRLVxOkm5L4AtRKmGqZAxxAK8ITJzXIFRXjZuC162h_BT0rlzna6TMa-rz37hNzblR2vsdL0rQouurxe0zpt3s/s2917/Pyraminx%20crystal%203%20cycle.jpg"
imageanchor="1"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2917"
data-original-width="2692"
height="400"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtGXxtpCzb6iNNrV2UGpq6qx3i6FUu_ywbSkzUIycLkcNbQqMkZcrrEKWFffkf8C4UQewQz7dTyL3wJhyphenhyphenIFJfV0x3bWA-_eGiNV5qJ1zRLVxOkm5L4AtRKmGqZAxxAK8ITJzXIFRXjZuC162h_BT0rlzna6TMa-rz37hNzblR2vsdL0rQouurxe0zpt3s/w369-h400/Pyraminx%20crystal%203%20cycle.jpg"
width="369"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
In the end just have a 3-cycle
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Re-solving the equatorial edges that had been dislodged will eventually leave
you with just 3 pieces to be cycled. Yet again, it's just an up, up, down, down
move to have it completed. Yesssss!
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I have carried out multiple solves using this technique and there is nothing
extra to it. The end-game occasionally needs a bit of fiddling to get to the
last 3-cycle but if you can solve a Rubik cube and by extension the Megaminx
then you can solve this puzzle without learning anything new. A truly
wonderful puzzle design and puzzling challenge!<br />
<div>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_tQqh8_QzglB5yRyBaFDoWtxzmqD1E_w_ZSAxGor8d72Nilc5no3-e7MN-e9Dvhl9M07ItzbIHREXSjlBqnKvM-ZoAsSH9_ewZuznUOEFdsOv9hsOx5__rKx73hAnYnamUcblGjQLHC_yumchEaI0yovpEV5z6R-Z_PGFRqKNN6MgU95mxnpbvzAky4/s4398/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20family%20type%20pic.jpg"
imageanchor="1"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2982"
data-original-width="4398"
height="407"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_tQqh8_QzglB5yRyBaFDoWtxzmqD1E_w_ZSAxGor8d72Nilc5no3-e7MN-e9Dvhl9M07ItzbIHREXSjlBqnKvM-ZoAsSH9_ewZuznUOEFdsOv9hsOx5__rKx73hAnYnamUcblGjQLHC_yumchEaI0yovpEV5z6R-Z_PGFRqKNN6MgU95mxnpbvzAky4/w640-h434/Crazy%20Pyraminx%20Crystal%20family%20type%20pic.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
A puzzle progression<br />
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Can you solve the 3x3 Rubik cube using Beginner's approach? Then a simple
progression through Kilominx, Megaminx and Pyraminx crystal is just a matter
of thought and no new techniques.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-69605457078069223632023-11-05T17:10:00.003+00:002023-11-05T17:10:49.262+00:00A Bumper Pelikan Crop!<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwDi_FC5LHWNB4VN9qs4ddAzNY7-nMvKmbYhsM_uN9pL_8s8bMid7O71zBKawlRW-ZwxN-ULsHhDyf5S8Q9qNs4dXsBiCIoesoWRbc0EXqbHSZVSrJ_56MUFX3CkuqIC-A2xXv-uH4twA2IP89DxaLwKPQPXyN7ZJiuQajCXwRvZ4iok2QYxuywFOcS4/s3792/Pelikan%20release%202023-11.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2289"
data-original-width="3792"
height="362"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwDi_FC5LHWNB4VN9qs4ddAzNY7-nMvKmbYhsM_uN9pL_8s8bMid7O71zBKawlRW-ZwxN-ULsHhDyf5S8Q9qNs4dXsBiCIoesoWRbc0EXqbHSZVSrJ_56MUFX3CkuqIC-A2xXv-uH4twA2IP89DxaLwKPQPXyN7ZJiuQajCXwRvZ4iok2QYxuywFOcS4/w640-h386/Pelikan%20release%202023-11.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
The biggest bunch of Pelicans ever!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
From back left:<br />
Egg - Pelikan (mixed woods)<br />
Hooks - Alfons Eyckmans (Wenge & Cherry or Bubinga & Cherry)<br />
Octopus - Pelikan (Limba, American Walnut and Wenge)<br />
Infinite - Alexander Magyarics (Mahogany & Wenge)<br />
Captain Hook - Alexander Magyarics (Maple, Wenge & Padauk)<br />
Tigridia - Alexander Magyarics (Limba & Ovangkol)<br />
Gem - Osanori Yamamoto (Purpleheart)<br />
Den 3 - Osanori Yamamoto (Acacia & Padauk)<br />
Waltz - Osanori Yamamoto (Wenge, Maple and Zebrano)<br />
3 Piece Burr Flower - Osanori Yamamoto (Wenge & Limba or Wenge &
Jatoba)<br />
Dick-Flop - Dr Volker Latussek (Walnut & American Walnut)<br />
<p>
In no particular order but mostly the order I worked on them or solved them
in:
</p>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>Octopus</span
>
</p>
<p></p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohC5bJh0H71Tbzpm9GqL1A2C0ss9Td-YwfDtE0sbhT7k58idlY6KeIB4LyawpJQzULK3Zo1rlO_ToEIyX7hAJjp3-nwgBbohQHQDJrzsY2Fr0IDRKiaa2mZi3hw76XewZ12XMdHBFNrloYZkhL988hF7-1QxWCk3NYtCE_CyStAnuj42LZxZiE05k5Is/s3249/ctopus%20face.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3249"
data-original-width="3032"
height="640"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohC5bJh0H71Tbzpm9GqL1A2C0ss9Td-YwfDtE0sbhT7k58idlY6KeIB4LyawpJQzULK3Zo1rlO_ToEIyX7hAJjp3-nwgBbohQHQDJrzsY2Fr0IDRKiaa2mZi3hw76XewZ12XMdHBFNrloYZkhL988hF7-1QxWCk3NYtCE_CyStAnuj42LZxZiE05k5Is/w598-h640/ctopus%20face.jpg"
width="598"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Octopus complete with 8 tentacles!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
It seems that no new Pelikan release is complete without one of their own
designs, beautifully visualised as some kind of animal. We have had Turtle,
Snail, Ladybug and Crab so far, all of which reside on display in my living
room. The arrival of the Octopus in the PuzzleMad asylum/loony-bin was greeted
by me with a whoop of delight and by Mrs S with a groan of "Oh no, not more!!".
She did admit that it was very beautiful.
<p>
This was the one I began with because it's just irresistible. It's pretty big
at 13.3x13.3x9.8cm and made of Limba, American Walnut and Wenge. The beady
eyes just look at you. Like the crab, it is not just a simple slot together
Kumiki puzzle. It is a burr with pieces that interlock in all directions. It
all fits beautifully together and the first sliding move is easy to find but
after that it gets more awkward. I was able to remove the first two pieces
quite quickly and realised that I had not really paid attention to the
orientation they came out - the shape of them meant that they rolled off the
cat who sleepily acted as my tabletop. Having realised I was going to be stuck
soon, I just proceeded with the disassembly. Usually after half the pieces of
a burr have been removed it suddenly gets easier but not with this one. I
really struggled for another 20 minutes to find the way to remove the final
pieces. The main challenge with this will be the reassembly after scrambling
the pieces. I almost gave up and went to Burrtools but luckily before I lost
the last remnant of my mind, I finally found the correct assembly.
</p>
<p>
This puzzle is an essential purchase if you collect Kumiki type puzzles or if
you have the rest in the series. For the rest of you it's worth getting
because it's adorable and very clever.
</p>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Egg</span>
</p>
<p></p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFCDQnEnY3XJbKyrPU8cIaGgFPeaDEE1Sx2tk_3ohhiV-GqHSF0Kx6IVJbMU9a0V4vCy2SDGvJETEiPtH-DSU6hHw2MQvUyszfSzDHBuL0RyYdgOs4RrG8KmcxmVJusyy7onXgTYAyIZE5jDb0lq7r2_r4AYOjEV7q6gov3ggmncCi_kUdxkfLA599h8/s3898/Egg%202023.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3898"
data-original-width="2562"
height="640"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFCDQnEnY3XJbKyrPU8cIaGgFPeaDEE1Sx2tk_3ohhiV-GqHSF0Kx6IVJbMU9a0V4vCy2SDGvJETEiPtH-DSU6hHw2MQvUyszfSzDHBuL0RyYdgOs4RrG8KmcxmVJusyy7onXgTYAyIZE5jDb0lq7r2_r4AYOjEV7q6gov3ggmncCi_kUdxkfLA599h8/w420-h640/Egg%202023.jpg"
width="420"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egg by Pelikan</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
I had to check with Jakub about this one as it looked familiar but I barely
remember yesterday, let alone something I saw in 2016. This is a re-release
using European woods of the beautifully turned Egg puzzle. It comes complete
with its own lovely turned stand. These puzzles from Pelikan are wonderfully
tactile things to hold and caress. The egg is <b>NOT</b> coordinate motion like
some of the other spherical puzzles made previously. When it comes to
disassembly, the puzzle is not particularly difficult - it is just a matter of
finding the correct places to put your fingers to hold it and and push/pull in
the right directions. It is not immediately obvious where to put your fingers to
do it and it is so wonderfully smooth that you get no clue from running your
fingers over it. If you have it just right then you are rewarded with a
beautiful sliding motion as it smoothly separates. After a few minutes you have
four pieces which look nearly identical and which will only fit back together in
one way. Re-assembly is just a matter of thinking it through. This is a joy to
fiddle with and looks lovely on display.
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>Dick-Flop</span
>
</p>
<p></p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoICTM6l9IZpsvkQ624LEtuDOqFv24XeGi90Qjrv9XgSV3nKidHbr_oE9F2LdeNt-0gMgedKdWIKvlFGJjz0_o-bZU6oezczJlWs8SFzN9cZ9PBIxgAYUz_M5KT2JQQcIO-1hpaK0pkdLz85uuNJO0gX0F9Gpo-d_lPD_4Gbf91v0SfGhvsiMfSVYzI0/s4249/Dick-flop%20pieces.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="1993"
data-original-width="4249"
height="281"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoICTM6l9IZpsvkQ624LEtuDOqFv24XeGi90Qjrv9XgSV3nKidHbr_oE9F2LdeNt-0gMgedKdWIKvlFGJjz0_o-bZU6oezczJlWs8SFzN9cZ9PBIxgAYUz_M5KT2JQQcIO-1hpaK0pkdLz85uuNJO0gX0F9Gpo-d_lPD_4Gbf91v0SfGhvsiMfSVYzI0/w640-h300/Dick-flop%20pieces.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Dick-flop by Dr Volker Latussek<br />It's just 6 tetracubes from the
Soma cube
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Here we have another masterpiece from the warped brilliant mind of Dr Volker
Latussek! This is what he had to say about it:
<blockquote>
<p>
"<i
>When Dick Fosbury died in March this year, I had no idea that I would
find a small series of packaging puzzles and name them FLOP after the
high-jump technique named after him. A sports journalist ran the headline
"Fosbury Flops Over Bar" after his 1968 Olympic win, comparing the jumping
style to a fish flipping onto its back and curling its body after being
caught.</i
>"
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
DICK-FLOP with its six tetracubes follows FRITZ-FLOP with only five pieces.
The boxes are each completely filled and the opening is restricted so that
some of the pieces have to flop out of the box. This is the fourth in
his Flop series in which he takes a subset of the standard Soma cube pieces
and insists that we stuff them into one of the standard shape challenges that
come with the Soma cube. Except.... he makes it much more fun by making us do
it into a box through a limited entrance hole. And then, not completely happy
with that restriction, he ensures that the entry hole is not a whole number of
voxels wide which forces some very interesting and difficult to find
rotational moves on the non-planar pieces. It looks like the entrance is 2mm
too small to allow two voxels through.
</p>
<p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69I7jN3Fe6crZEzZ8KefsiCE5cCrzNczQrZpXj6JL_DT7c7LLQFLojI3T26RgLAtuzG6hQy9POkFpFlYMa039yjy5yRSNZ6GJ4RMnWiNhsF3tDPUnTTUR1bbKq7fR2Sff5DY4P-5mXGESzOSB2miO1fH38yn6vSHMHj6VsDL7d8eQPT4zpOFtnGhC8t8/s3394/Dick-flop%20arrival.jpg"
style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3239"
data-original-width="3394"
height="305"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69I7jN3Fe6crZEzZ8KefsiCE5cCrzNczQrZpXj6JL_DT7c7LLQFLojI3T26RgLAtuzG6hQy9POkFpFlYMa039yjy5yRSNZ6GJ4RMnWiNhsF3tDPUnTTUR1bbKq7fR2Sff5DY4P-5mXGESzOSB2miO1fH38yn6vSHMHj6VsDL7d8eQPT4zpOFtnGhC8t8/s320/Dick-flop%20arrival.jpg"
width="320"
/></a>
</div>
<br />The assembly configuration (Volker always stipulates the assembly shape)
is a "near miss" and when you take the pieces out of the box, you get a small
hint at the deviousness of that man! Some of the moves just to get the pieces
ready for play need them to be perfectly placed before it can happen. The
incredible precision of the manufacture by Pelikan is simply stunning - when
some of the pieces move and you can almost feel the suction holding them in
place as the tolerances are perfect to a tiny fraction of a milimeter.
<p></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>
A quick play with Burrtools told me that there are 78 possible ways to
assemble a 2x3x4 cuboid from the pieces provided and I was definitely going to
struggle to try them all from memory. I then scrolled through them to find
only the ones that have a planar piece arranged vertically along the end (i.e.
it can be dropped in last) and after about 15 I stopped counting and decided
to peek with squinted eyes at the solution. I just managed to restrict my view
to 2 piece positions in the end shape and from here restricted the number of
assemblies to be tried down to just 3. I was rather surprised at one of those
piece positions that I had peeked at but it really helped me. Even having just
3 assemblies to choose from, actually getting them inside the box was still a
massive challenge. It took me about 3 days!
</p>
<p>
This puzzle is an <b><u>essential buy</u></b> for anyone enthused by packing
puzzles or the Soma cube. It has been stunningly created by Jakub and team and
will be a huge challenge to any puzzler. The Aha! moment is wonderful.
</p>
<p>
The Fritz-flop and Soma-flop are still available from the Pelikan website and
you should definitely buy the whole set for an amazing challenge!
</p>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>Captain Hook</span
>
</p>
<p></p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSQao_QEaAkUaQlvKv-ih0qdRHLWd8g9xcghB4n9nTGWTG2h4Qjq0W4wopk9uCXQqXWjDlozFonBd82JxpgqrbrqFUGlm9vYJ_YaaCu7Qqj5ITGpd9nvIOvvy8-hpRWpt0C_RE3w0-LB7RIlQD-qY9Sl5m35CRBJGI5ZrvwxtiyJqUnF4z65VIBh_Xzo/s2905/Captain%20Hook.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2896"
data-original-width="2905"
height="598"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSQao_QEaAkUaQlvKv-ih0qdRHLWd8g9xcghB4n9nTGWTG2h4Qjq0W4wopk9uCXQqXWjDlozFonBd82JxpgqrbrqFUGlm9vYJ_YaaCu7Qqj5ITGpd9nvIOvvy8-hpRWpt0C_RE3w0-LB7RIlQD-qY9Sl5m35CRBJGI5ZrvwxtiyJqUnF4z65VIBh_Xzo/w640-h638/Captain%20Hook.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Captain Hook by Alexander Magyarics
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Captain Hook is a very interesting board burr made from Maple, Wenge &
Padauk. The tolerances are absolutely perfect - this puzzle slides so smoothly.
It is something quite new from Alexander Magyarics, whom I am beginning to
wonder whether there is anything he cannot turn his hand to and master. I know
that you are all familiar with his amazing 3D and 2D packing puzzles and he has
designed a few burrs with frames or boxes over the years but I am not aware of
any board burrs from him. This looks very like a standard 6 piece board burr
when viewed assembled but within a few moves it quickly reveals that it is not
what it seems. The movements are interesting and in one case a little unexpected
with a very nice pathway to be found. No big blind ends to get caught in and
after 10 moves the first piece can be removed. After that 2 moves each for the
next 2 pieces and the fact that it is a 5 piece board burr is revealed. I don't
think I have ever seen one before. I tried to reassemble it immediately after I
had taken it apart and, whilst I had memory of the relative positions of the
pieces, there was a critical tricky step that I could not achieve straight away.
There is a very well hidden essential move to allow the disassembly and
reassembly and if you haven't memorised it then it will cause you to think© for
a moment.
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>Infinite</span
>
</p>
<p></p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhjBMm0hBBJDtWyWaQkAvmfFxi6QE_wTU9cRzaw-Pv_JgWbKysbxqTGiTQk9U9huwTpe-j9FE-VeI0YgT0CisoPv9nHOG7TI0vI2ak1hnIzpJbXG21qUGfrKz_azb7GdioMEE_U0iw9etDHmRl6Ma-EmUGvVWs2B0rDbbLlSUQC9IvfsXj-CYqNfhePE/s3201/Infinite%20arrival.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3201"
data-original-width="2937"
height="640"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhjBMm0hBBJDtWyWaQkAvmfFxi6QE_wTU9cRzaw-Pv_JgWbKysbxqTGiTQk9U9huwTpe-j9FE-VeI0YgT0CisoPv9nHOG7TI0vI2ak1hnIzpJbXG21qUGfrKz_azb7GdioMEE_U0iw9etDHmRl6Ma-EmUGvVWs2B0rDbbLlSUQC9IvfsXj-CYqNfhePE/w588-h640/Infinite%20arrival.jpg"
width="588"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Infinite by Alexander Magyarics<br />That left side when viewed straight
on looks like an infinity symbol
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Here we return to classic Alexander Magyarics and it is really, REALLY,
<b><u>REALLY</u></b> good! It is a beautiful packing puzzle made with a very
chunky Mahogany box and just 3 lovely Wenge pieces to be packed. Just 3 pieces?
They aren't even that complex! How hard can it be? Oh boy! This is a
<b>TERRIFIC</b> challenge. The entry-ways into the 3x3x3 voxel box are quite
restricted and must be completely occluded once packed. In fiddling with the
pieces I was able to find quite a few arrangements of the pieces into a 3x3x3
cube but none that I found would fit through the openings.
<p></p>
<table
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_tPZyuVDxWheTDddcN0v57uP0sgDsLPuiS0uRBh-6Y_DtKwi8qYW3zXsskdjg_QcNEKIzb6NG2-OimKWN4Rka4gXBMDbQ1fgmvQXNck4ACizKS0WwWLyVVDi0ytHrhyphenhyphenmL6veh_njpa6bfgQz74BbSEno2XEN6HYw8xdoDdf38cpYK9zXzdSGAGv24U3I/s3279/Infinite%20false%20packing.jpg"
style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3279"
data-original-width="3234"
height="200"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_tPZyuVDxWheTDddcN0v57uP0sgDsLPuiS0uRBh-6Y_DtKwi8qYW3zXsskdjg_QcNEKIzb6NG2-OimKWN4Rka4gXBMDbQ1fgmvQXNck4ACizKS0WwWLyVVDi0ytHrhyphenhyphenmL6veh_njpa6bfgQz74BbSEno2XEN6HYw8xdoDdf38cpYK9zXzdSGAGv24U3I/w198-h200/Infinite%20false%20packing.jpg"
width="198"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not solved but fun</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />Retrospectively, I found 59 cubes with the relevant solid areas using
Burrtools but this was unknown to me at the time. Usually I start outside the
box and find the required shape but there were too many possibilities and I
needed to combine the very restricted entry requirements with my assemblies to
narrow it down. The fascinating thing for me is that the smallest piece has the
most limitation and ultimately is the reason for a very interesting solution. I
found 2 "almost there" solutions with single holes visible through the entryway
and I got stuck for quite some time at this point. I then went to Burrtools in
desperation and found that it was unable to find a solution which means
something special. I relaxed my rules and started again - it took me another
whole day of play to find the solution with a wonderful Aha! moment. This is one
of Alexander's best designs - make sure that you find all the near solutions as
well as the correct one.
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>Hooks</span
>
</p>
<table
border="0"
cellpadding="2"
cellspacing="2"
style="text-align: left; width: 100%;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCyJNRvz8vPGw_x9x7VR4YqahFSrMHd9XdlxUGxz5u-yLKtAjrSHjBiR7ciwfUlPLOt9CXAZa3Wlu8j3APpBHv8g55G-gvuh637kqH8DnVPf-GdjYYiB9FK7d2QKJT6Mh7m3BKV4-r_mAkt2YOCnkKzsS3rzGvKfFVnViXEW7guPr6pV9lHtDWSfR1aA/s3356/Hooks%201.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3356"
data-original-width="2781"
height="320"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCyJNRvz8vPGw_x9x7VR4YqahFSrMHd9XdlxUGxz5u-yLKtAjrSHjBiR7ciwfUlPLOt9CXAZa3Wlu8j3APpBHv8g55G-gvuh637kqH8DnVPf-GdjYYiB9FK7d2QKJT6Mh7m3BKV4-r_mAkt2YOCnkKzsS3rzGvKfFVnViXEW7guPr6pV9lHtDWSfR1aA/s320/Hooks%201.jpg"
width="265"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Bubinga & Cherry</span>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfR20eGbKIQYoBExoTTdf30M9juK1Me8hVGStKXOiZu7RHG5EABc4FxFoRriAUg81NTKNoJ8x237KkocalZFpyr4hfAzEJzdU-JKpeDqABiwOuwyRTL1kMnS9ZHpnLqlxUPggNh2A6mNONOhcvCBxgtf-TY4_TzxlFMiSZE2JMY7tLUnJdKwwbkL6-XI/s3171/Hooks%202.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3171"
data-original-width="2689"
height="320"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfR20eGbKIQYoBExoTTdf30M9juK1Me8hVGStKXOiZu7RHG5EABc4FxFoRriAUg81NTKNoJ8x237KkocalZFpyr4hfAzEJzdU-JKpeDqABiwOuwyRTL1kMnS9ZHpnLqlxUPggNh2A6mNONOhcvCBxgtf-TY4_TzxlFMiSZE2JMY7tLUnJdKwwbkL6-XI/s320/Hooks%202.jpg"
width="271"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Wenge & Cherry</span>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"
><div style="text-align: center;">Hooks by Alfons Eyckmans</div></span
>
I am always delighted when a Pelikan release includes something from Alfons
Eyckmans. There are two versions of this beauty - one made from Wenge &
Cherry and another from Bubinga & Cherry - they are gorgeous! Alfons is the
absolute master of interesting burr design. Many people are not keen on burrs
and cannot understand why I (or anyone else) love them. I always say that it is
like exploring a maze that changes as you work your way through. Often there are
hidden pathways that are tough to find and sometimes blind alleys or loops. I do
agree that many of the very high level burrs are beyond most human's abilities
to follow but this is where Alfons is a master...the designs are always
interesting and fun to explore. The Hooks burr is one of my favourite types - a
caged 6 piece burr which takes the idea of a standard burr and extends it. The
cage is incomplete being formed from 4 "hooks" on a base and looks like it
should not make a huge difference. The pieces are 3x2x7 voxels which allows for
much more interesting interaction. There are a few moves possible early on and
no long blind alleys. Quite quickly some complex fun compound multi-piece moves
occur and this opens up even more possibilities. Process seems swift until
suddenly it's not. After 11 moves, I was stuck and could find no way to
progress. I must have either missed something along the way or be missing
something crucial to progress on my existing path. I got stuck here for a few
hours going back and forth - at least it was creating a muscle memory to help
with the reassembly. With only 6 pieces and such an open frame/cage it is
possible to see inside the maze quite well. Eventually after multiple failed
attempts I realised that I had left a single piece in the wrong position and it
had blocked the next move. Having worked that out, the progression was fast and
fun and the first piece was removed after a total of 18 moves. The remaining
pieces remain stable in the frame for the rest of the disassembly.
<p>
Having spent so long searching for the pathway, I was able to reassemble it
without help but making a Burrtools file is always fun. I think that most burr
aficionados should be able to reassemble this without help.
</p>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>3 Piece Burr Flower</span
>
</p>
<table
border="0"
cellpadding="2"
cellspacing="2"
style="text-align: left; width: 100%;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqcuuiSXdx-PW_5oxTZocKt5BeHJkEpw8iD_bhNL5iDIQ3YWrv_4SjyEpffwnv3uXyqdcX4Mn20MufHc1T-95jdHmYmRjc6P147PCGFkDfCwGLuSdrX1cJ7k3m5KAqmlSHROozQiupTVS31ODGGLpxn3Y18VOKf3s7KLyY1pl9SzFH6JTjbDafQuzQmM/s3353/3%20Piece%20Burr%20Flower%201.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3353"
data-original-width="3010"
height="295"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqcuuiSXdx-PW_5oxTZocKt5BeHJkEpw8iD_bhNL5iDIQ3YWrv_4SjyEpffwnv3uXyqdcX4Mn20MufHc1T-95jdHmYmRjc6P147PCGFkDfCwGLuSdrX1cJ7k3m5KAqmlSHROozQiupTVS31ODGGLpxn3Y18VOKf3s7KLyY1pl9SzFH6JTjbDafQuzQmM/s320/3%20Piece%20Burr%20Flower%201.jpg"
width="265"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Wenge & Jatoba</span>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcFDACabZT1ne26zI8n-MLcwtWUVM66bAdncQNkZtX2KQ1VXXYU5QCdWSK4j95hBEoZAMoSjOae4BtXBvazUS-oLj00poeJkgHSyzHbvak52Zew1BTmyigm6Pkq0mYh2ieF9BzzGkbR3M0KoOTIVdPdAPEyMOlRrG2Ih5Aj-tG7bcXXVBut0bqLaLETM/s3150/3%20Piece%20Burr%20Flower%202.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3150"
data-original-width="3038"
height="295"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcFDACabZT1ne26zI8n-MLcwtWUVM66bAdncQNkZtX2KQ1VXXYU5QCdWSK4j95hBEoZAMoSjOae4BtXBvazUS-oLj00poeJkgHSyzHbvak52Zew1BTmyigm6Pkq0mYh2ieF9BzzGkbR3M0KoOTIVdPdAPEyMOlRrG2Ih5Aj-tG7bcXXVBut0bqLaLETM/s320/3%20Piece%20Burr%20Flower%202.jpg"
width="285"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Wenge & Limba</span>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"
><div style="text-align: center;">
3 Pice Burr Flower by Osanori Yamamoto
</div></span
>
This stunning design by Osanori Yamamoto has been beautifully created by Pelikan
in Wenge & Limba or Wenge & Jatoba. As the name states, it looks like a
flower on each face of the cube structure but it has been made from 3 rather
complex burr sticks which interlink with each other inside the cube. Once you
have found the first piece to move, the pieces then slide on each other and the
flower opens up to reveal the interior. Over a rather delightful 6 move sequence
the pieces get further and further apart until the first one comes out and then
the other two can be separated. It is not terribly hard to find that sequence
but then the real challenge begins - can you put it back together after
scrambling the pieces? There are only 3 pieces and the way they fit together at
the end looks straightforward but it took me a good hour to find the correct
order and position for the pieces to fit back together. This is a very clever
puzzle utilising what feels like a knot inside the faces to control the
movements. <br />
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>Waltz</span
>
</p>
<p></p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfJuUaS49Wk_576vJxjg9JquI7_ZR-2h0qVAVyKTOn9_gUyzaDsoSXYWw9iMEceVSTouLFKD4jKugDQQ1pBDwl8K6IabTc5ngZObjCD1Yu9NZ8-xaSlCg-KNfXx2yl9EjbntYPzbW_NOEaRzaCeBFPhJ4EwkohFol__4LeO5QZfC_TQlT2Y5Fg0pxYCo/s3992/Waltz%20pieces.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2920"
data-original-width="3992"
height="439"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfJuUaS49Wk_576vJxjg9JquI7_ZR-2h0qVAVyKTOn9_gUyzaDsoSXYWw9iMEceVSTouLFKD4jKugDQQ1pBDwl8K6IabTc5ngZObjCD1Yu9NZ8-xaSlCg-KNfXx2yl9EjbntYPzbW_NOEaRzaCeBFPhJ4EwkohFol__4LeO5QZfC_TQlT2Y5Fg0pxYCo/w640-h468/Waltz%20pieces.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Waltz by Osanori Yamamoto
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Another fabulous design by Osanori Yamamoto, stunningly visualised in Wenge,
Maple and Zebrano. This one is almost as if Osanori-san has seen the wonderful 3
piece challenge by Alexander Magyarics and said to himself: "I can beat that"!
It is another packing puzzle with a limited entrance and a requirement to block
the entry once solved....but this time, just to make it even more interesting,
there are only 2 pieces to be packed in the 3x3x3 cavity and filled the 2x2
entrance. Not only are there only 2 pieces but it quickly becomes apparent that
one of them <b>HAS</b> to be the entry blocker. I was rather over-confident with
this one and thought it would be relatively easy. Oh no! it wasn't easy
for me! I spent a day failing completely and did wonder whether I was going
about it wrong - I looked at the name and thought about the cardinal feature of
the Waltz and then decided to explore rotational moves. I was successful and
managed to assemble the puzzle with the entry filled but something didn't feel
right. This was especially true when I found that I couldn't take it apart!
Aargh! In a bit of a panic, with a fair bit of dexterity and swearing, I was
able to unravel what I had done and decided to try again the more conventional
way. But this time I was determined to think© about the name as well but not be
so stupid. The cardinal feature of a Waltz is rotation with minimal rise and
fall. The 18 moves to achieve the assembly are a masterpiece. The gauntlet has
been thrown down and is there anyone who can design something more simple with
more beautiful moves than this? Over to you Alexander-san!
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Gem</span>
</p>
<p></p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_0HZsYc2XBf7xHi2uppiReKHNGNDbrI2PqCzP3AOKL2fwDsHjLp514v879huqgedCi1Zd1ALUoIyFRScTZ_xxkBTjRXj6wDax1Do3fVr06_7cRaHPnRXJU2cKYK6DdeKvEJIeV2evn9fY7a9J1F59z_UyGd4Z6shIpic-YbtRmIUafl6pWkl-y90sV4/s3320/Gem%20assembled.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3320"
data-original-width="3014"
height="640"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_0HZsYc2XBf7xHi2uppiReKHNGNDbrI2PqCzP3AOKL2fwDsHjLp514v879huqgedCi1Zd1ALUoIyFRScTZ_xxkBTjRXj6wDax1Do3fVr06_7cRaHPnRXJU2cKYK6DdeKvEJIeV2evn9fY7a9J1F59z_UyGd4Z6shIpic-YbtRmIUafl6pWkl-y90sV4/w582-h640/Gem%20assembled.jpg"
width="582"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Gem by Osanori Yamamoto
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
This gorgeous gem of a puzzle by Osanori Yamamoto is simply stunning made
here from Purpleheart. I have
<a
href="http://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2023/04/complex-heaven-and-simple-hell-from.html"
target="_blank"
>previously bought and solved this in April</a
>
where it was an extra puzzle that I chose to "make up the postage" from Japan!
Osanori's version was a gorgeous creation and Pelikan have lived up to the same
very high standards. When I bought the original, Osanori-san told me how pleased
he was because it was his favourite puzzle.
<p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfYxGjs6s3OjBuuPMDHdRiXM1b7STB5v4D1-fQ0X7L8KcXTeQqjnBDfTwwx95KeG6Jrm6ZjWQPzxI8MQ9jm4N39JgPVx8fxjAl56a6P5YLrFUL4oHnju9oR4mwXyXxE8R6-Q7W8Gh2NISnqlQQApWY-t3gM1foWZ3VUMhJo1g-Fq4Plvbn8GEqUygcJI/s3975/Gem%20pieces.jpg"
style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2722"
data-original-width="3975"
height="219"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfYxGjs6s3OjBuuPMDHdRiXM1b7STB5v4D1-fQ0X7L8KcXTeQqjnBDfTwwx95KeG6Jrm6ZjWQPzxI8MQ9jm4N39JgPVx8fxjAl56a6P5YLrFUL4oHnju9oR4mwXyXxE8R6-Q7W8Gh2NISnqlQQApWY-t3gM1foWZ3VUMhJo1g-Fq4Plvbn8GEqUygcJI/s320/Gem%20pieces.jpg"
width="320"
/></a>
</div>
<br />The original was sent out as an assembly puzzle but this one arrived
already assembled. Either way, it is a fun puzzle to explore. If you are good at
assembly then it might be a good idea to get someone to dismantle it for you
before you play. It consists of 3 rings of wood that are interlocked and
inserted into slots in the cube with one at 90º to the other 2. When
disassembling it the sequence it is fun that you cannot see the shape or how the
rings are interacting inside the cube. The sliding of the pieces over each other
shows off the extreme precision that this has been made with. Having taken it
apart, leave the pieces scrambled for a while and then try it as an assembly
puzzle
<p></p>
<p>
The solution took me only about half an hour but again a lovely aha! moment
made better by the silky smoothness of the pieces and how they glide over each
other. I could see why this was one of Osanori-san's favourite puzzles. It is
delightful. Another piece of Japanese puzzling heaven.
</p>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>Den 3</span
>
</p>
<p></p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWTAlmYKRjOqFqGBzFTIepaE_0BfVkkSvkxfx06lxJOmk7haZKc4Q0_nl0h6kuvC7Wm1KE8ch8G8p-ZyIBmw3jV9NaSz5CPK0jbxcmDwo9zJNbl6H_EyFj8pj2QPADGUUJhHCnLMhhamk9GuyL_xEb7_k9vJFk-vGUmGYJUR9egDZmTsc3k5JgGva9fc/s3739/Den%203%20pieces.jpg"
imageanchor="1"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3141"
data-original-width="3739"
height="504"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWTAlmYKRjOqFqGBzFTIepaE_0BfVkkSvkxfx06lxJOmk7haZKc4Q0_nl0h6kuvC7Wm1KE8ch8G8p-ZyIBmw3jV9NaSz5CPK0jbxcmDwo9zJNbl6H_EyFj8pj2QPADGUUJhHCnLMhhamk9GuyL_xEb7_k9vJFk-vGUmGYJUR9egDZmTsc3k5JgGva9fc/w640-h538/Den%203%20pieces.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Den 3 by Osanori Yamamoto
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVJUW0t92sB3NZo5XMAPJsdfVtaAz24A8ovnx744N5uRMmXmdAzw6sEGjtVIqoC1QTlyPWfO8hqGmb-8ZH5t4Z6BMudWgbOYVdpndAMy1O3-wEOH-5y8bsya9OIFaEqf-iw7n3f_lM3aeSe4VRXLl5ZBnGv7REOUJUlVsACYIMU7yU8XLTeu_An0hWF4/s3062/Den%203%20base%20detail.jpg"
imageanchor="1"
style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="3062"
data-original-width="2781"
height="200"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVJUW0t92sB3NZo5XMAPJsdfVtaAz24A8ovnx744N5uRMmXmdAzw6sEGjtVIqoC1QTlyPWfO8hqGmb-8ZH5t4Z6BMudWgbOYVdpndAMy1O3-wEOH-5y8bsya9OIFaEqf-iw7n3f_lM3aeSe4VRXLl5ZBnGv7REOUJUlVsACYIMU7yU8XLTeu_An0hWF4/w182-h200/Den%203%20base%20detail.jpg"
width="182"
/></a>
</div>
<br />In this packing puzzle designed by Osanori Yamamoto the aim, as usual is
to assemble the pieces (3 of them this time, made from Padauk) into the nice
chunky Acacia box. I must point out the incredible detail that Jakub and team
have put into the box - Acacia is a relatively plain wood in terms of colour but
with having very nice grain and shading. To make this one even more spectacular
the top and bottom faces have been assembled with a diagonal line of differently
placed cubes of wood - this makes this wonderful puzzle even more precious for a
man addicted to gorgeous wood! The cavity of the box is the usual 3x3x3 cube
but, with this one, the areas that must be occluded by the pieces are quite
extensive over quite a lot of the puzzle which should limit the number of
possibilities to go through. I used Burrtools to count the possible assemblies
after I solved it and there are 124 ways to assemble a cube from the 3 pieces of
this puzzle but when restricting the positions to allow the occlusion of the
holes, this number shrinks down to a more reasonable 22. This number is still
too high for me to go through and try them all (I find that I can't remember
what I have tried after just 3 or 4 attempts) and necessitates using the
restricted entry to significantly decrease the cubes to be tried.
<p></p>
<p>
The solution of this took me an embarrassingly long time to find. I think I
played with this on and off for 4 or 5 evenings before I found a cube that met
all my criteria and then really struggled to place the pieces inside the box.
I ended up solving it outside the box starting from cube shape and attempting
all the moves that should be possible and gradually dismantled the cube. It
should not be that difficult with just 3 pieces but I kept getting stuck 10 or
12 moves in. The disassembly of this puzzle has an incredible level 26
(19.4.3) - if you do manage to solve this then you can be very chuffed at your
puzzling prowess.
</p>
<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;"
>Tigridia</span
>
</p>
<p></p>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVepwomWtqWBZmcZP2h0kcjuV-Yf_cmxt3_yzSuBRa8BEO8nFwK_7elntk8SKsCmlT3y8KUnWC3hfa41SIOhDbDibdmlkL-kdcjAShFW8fOlKNWwZINay67FBqFeOEUzt7Va61Vebfzx39ousbIC1HYBkOHF1_NP_sQdFNQkTrSWTOWNoErXwttWxIsI/s4069/Tigridia%20pieces.jpg"
imageanchor="1"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2489"
data-original-width="4069"
height="368"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVepwomWtqWBZmcZP2h0kcjuV-Yf_cmxt3_yzSuBRa8BEO8nFwK_7elntk8SKsCmlT3y8KUnWC3hfa41SIOhDbDibdmlkL-kdcjAShFW8fOlKNWwZINay67FBqFeOEUzt7Va61Vebfzx39ousbIC1HYBkOHF1_NP_sQdFNQkTrSWTOWNoErXwttWxIsI/w640-h392/Tigridia%20pieces.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Tigridia by Alexander Magyarics
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The final puzzle I played with in this new batch was Tigridia by the amazing
Alexander Magyarics (last, mostly because my initial play revealed it to be a
very difficult challenge). Beautifully made from Limba & Ovangkol, it
consists of 4 pieces to be placed as a 3x3x3 cube inside one of the most complex
boxes I have seen in one of these puzzles. The entryways are very limited but
there are 3 of them to be used. There are lots and lots of holes in the box
which need to be covered by the final filling. Your usual approach outside the
box quickly reveals that there are a LOT of possible cubic assemblies (Burrtools
later told me that there were 64) and obviously each one that you find will need
to be tested in every possible orientation. I very quickly got quite confused
and lost track of what I had been trying. Most of my potential assemblies, when
I found one that also fit the brief to cover the holes, quickly revealed
themselves to be impossible to move inside the box and could be discounted.
After a couple of days trying and a deadline to hit, I went to Burrtools to at
least give me the correct cubic assembly and then I could work out the method to
place it inside the box. Even this proved to be a problem! I had the correct
cube made but I really could not work out how it could be inserted inside the
box, After a very frustrating and then satisfying hour, I found the critical
move and it was something rather special that is only possible with a box with
this many holes in it. The Aha! moment is wonderful when you find it but that
might well take you a VERY long time.
<p>
I am rather humbled by the fact that Ivan Danik (the
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Puzzleguy" target="_blank"
>Puzzle Guy on YouTube</a
>) managed to solve this one and did not find it terribly difficult! I found
this one amazingly hard. I agree with him that the frame is stunning!
</p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>
Pick what you love guys and get them all tomorrow (6th November at 10am
central European time) at the
<a href="https://www.pelikanpuzzles.eu/shop/" target="_blank"
>Pelikan store</a
>
</p>
<p><br /></p>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-12070813919640504252023-11-01T16:14:00.001+00:002023-11-01T16:14:03.685+00:00A Kickstarter Opportunity<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeD40Bf9RA_vG_FdRxeZioaliU2FrIVmq39ZjJUaXpYeCl2wbm6-uFLU8Auei4vlL00Lhp6DRTunDzAcTqIW8GXV9eBiEdzz7Fmqzk_LW3I8kv5VNbxdJjzs__MEvsRcBI9492CSYxxUNNBcfuK2ZUAfWCApl8yo6tF7OWYwsCMnoOzKOIDBO3B0QvEmo/s3282/Honeycomb.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2977"
data-original-width="3282"
height="544"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeD40Bf9RA_vG_FdRxeZioaliU2FrIVmq39ZjJUaXpYeCl2wbm6-uFLU8Auei4vlL00Lhp6DRTunDzAcTqIW8GXV9eBiEdzz7Fmqzk_LW3I8kv5VNbxdJjzs__MEvsRcBI9492CSYxxUNNBcfuK2ZUAfWCApl8yo6tF7OWYwsCMnoOzKOIDBO3B0QvEmo/w640-h580/Honeycomb.jpg"
width="600"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/puzzlemaster/the-honeycomb-metal-puzzle-brain-teaser-from-puzzle-master?ref=f01qvz"
target="_blank"
>Honeycomb</a
>
by Oskar van Deventer
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
I received an advance copy of the Honeycomb puzzle designed by the great Oskar a
month or so ago and the Kickstarter for it just went live today. The cells of
the honeycomb are threaded and can be removed one at a time (at least up until
several have been removed). Scramble the pieces and see whether you can
reassemble it in place. Obviously, if you have taken a picture then that would
be a big help but try not to do that.
<div><br /></div>
<div>The kickstarter is at:</div>
<div>
<a
href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/puzzlemaster/the-honeycomb-metal-puzzle-brain-teaser-from-puzzle-master?ref=f01qvz"
target="_blank"
>https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/puzzlemaster/the-honeycomb-metal-puzzle-brain-teaser-from-puzzle-master</a
><br />
<div><br /></div>
<div>
It is beautifully packaged like all the
<a
href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metalpuzzlemaste&a=155639"
target="_blank"
>Puzzlemaster own brand metal puzzles</a
>
and will make a nice addition to any collection.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table style="text-align: left; width: 100%;" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: middle; width: 50%; text-align: center;"><table
border="0"
cellpadding="2"
cellspacing="2"
style="text-align: left; width: 100%;"
>
<tbody>
<tr></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHNdJ0le-z0IdU1DZCr79joAfklhhn6ORKDAquXi1OCbVS0CS-Vei2D61f_ZdU9En4mzP1eoy5hL13IdY2lD6kVlpaiAqoBPgZa-2OnHqdcF_MtlvkR_WYyeg_myNREK2vSCWEVOCDb5sjdTUejyYBgqyo59GdsKjbv8uf-TJCiO9Q2NrCAm4Hg8LQnQ8/s4547/Honeycomb%20box.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="4547"
data-original-width="3208"
height="300"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHNdJ0le-z0IdU1DZCr79joAfklhhn6ORKDAquXi1OCbVS0CS-Vei2D61f_ZdU9En4mzP1eoy5hL13IdY2lD6kVlpaiAqoBPgZa-2OnHqdcF_MtlvkR_WYyeg_myNREK2vSCWEVOCDb5sjdTUejyYBgqyo59GdsKjbv8uf-TJCiO9Q2NrCAm4Hg8LQnQ8/s320/Honeycomb%20box.jpg"
width="212"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice box</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: middle; width: 50%; text-align: center;"><table
align="center"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
class="tr-caption-container"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2znIRVGGvo8IkDKkVT9q0c7-f69yrbrizAyr5K7P9pb2HvAQEuteVzyrjSzKY4BbfKbzQ_Qw5MQ3HghnsNDS2_j6E5VGeBHn12xPfjAKiIu_Ny6ygz0l38u-CAnACk6ihDZA-U7ojJiQk6Bn42dONPNK1VJtSy79dU2h-pnhv3acHCTo-LGCqydszY0/s3217/Honeycomb%20first%20piece%20removed.jpg"
style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="2968"
data-original-width="3217"
height="300"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2znIRVGGvo8IkDKkVT9q0c7-f69yrbrizAyr5K7P9pb2HvAQEuteVzyrjSzKY4BbfKbzQ_Qw5MQ3HghnsNDS2_j6E5VGeBHn12xPfjAKiIu_Ny6ygz0l38u-CAnACk6ihDZA-U7ojJiQk6Bn42dONPNK1VJtSy79dU2h-pnhv3acHCTo-LGCqydszY0/s320/Honeycomb%20first%20piece%20removed.jpg"
width="325"
/></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beautifully made</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-41047240953810512602023-10-29T15:06:00.002+00:002023-10-29T15:08:25.338+00:00Triforce From Hanayama<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4cHnKPXycWmZaZhklAwgJtmrzsQHBnD_xAFrQe-GvXkAQ2ERtrViCC1OUl99jiYolNY9FF9mTfCP58XtfVQMoKlE3UZJFC1byCzETP4x8qMMJB5fG_2sc3dsjyJV4lrk-mAVUKSCSbQaG0S89R2-Hjhg2T_xG6RlRonKTJ7IuRjrpk3tlO8OgpttpBc/s3165/Triforce.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2426" data-original-width="3165" height="459" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4cHnKPXycWmZaZhklAwgJtmrzsQHBnD_xAFrQe-GvXkAQ2ERtrViCC1OUl99jiYolNY9FF9mTfCP58XtfVQMoKlE3UZJFC1byCzETP4x8qMMJB5fG_2sc3dsjyJV4lrk-mAVUKSCSbQaG0S89R2-Hjhg2T_xG6RlRonKTJ7IuRjrpk3tlO8OgpttpBc/w640-h490/Triforce.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Hanayama
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/17882-the-legend-of-zelda-triforce-puzzle&a=155639" target="_blank">Triforce</a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Just a very quick review today. At the last MPP, I got the opportunity to buy (thanks <a href="https://twobrassmonkeys.com/?ref=a65xlzwkiz" target="_blank">Steve</a>) all three of the latest Hanayama Legend of Zelda related puzzles (<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/17882-the-legend-of-zelda-triforce-puzzle&a=155639" target="_blank">Triforce</a>,
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/17883-the-legend-of-zelda-hyrule-crest-puzzle&a=155639" target="_blank">Hyrule Crest</a>
and
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/17884-the-legend-of-zelda-master-sword-puzzle&a=155639" target="_blank">Master Sword</a>). They do seem to have increased in price considerably compared to the other
<a href="https://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/metalpuzzles/metal/&a=155639" target="_blank">Hanayama cast puzzles</a>, presumably there is a premium that the Hanayama company are having to pay to
Nintendo for the rights to use those names and the imagery that goes with it.
Whether the extra cost is worth it to you will be something that you have to
decide but, let's face it, most of us are completely addicted and cannot really
resist a new one and, in the grand scheme of our puzzling habit, these are
really relatively cheap.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrw7uUYrYnZXn8AzOYEnkOZDrPGlf6JfRrfpH5RsBnnWVv9HjmCvOwXFCg8QQwXhV9e2hmaxdB7WDYd_cN9lsVFg3lE4Ez_qx60BZ12x8HwAv10HpvtNY-PQVhPBahUEWVKFm5U6YYZQO8lXfDgPTyJJSCy8jwmvXwr9uOVIQxosUOZEE22c3mYw9ztE/s3419/Triforce%20box.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3256" data-original-width="3419" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrw7uUYrYnZXn8AzOYEnkOZDrPGlf6JfRrfpH5RsBnnWVv9HjmCvOwXFCg8QQwXhV9e2hmaxdB7WDYd_cN9lsVFg3lE4Ez_qx60BZ12x8HwAv10HpvtNY-PQVhPBahUEWVKFm5U6YYZQO8lXfDgPTyJJSCy8jwmvXwr9uOVIQxosUOZEE22c3mYw9ztE/s320/Triforce%20box.jpg" width="300" /></a>
</div>
<br />The Triforce has been rated with a difficulty level of 5 out of 6 by
Hanayama and, by PuzzleMaster, as 9 (gruelling) on their odd scale of 5 to 10.
I must say that I completely disagree with these ratings. I would place it as
a 2 out of 6 or 6 out of 10 (PM).
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
The puzzle is quite attractive made from 2 colours of matt metal (brass and
pewter colour) and looks like it has been aged. The puzzle is a diminutive 6.2
x 5.3 x 1.2cm and feels well made. The Zelda Royal Hyrule Crest insignia is on
the front of the centre piece.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Obviously, the aim is to separate all four pieces and then put it back
together again.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Initially, when playing there is absolutely no movement at all apart from a
very slight wiggling of the pieces which might give you a hint of what is
supposed to happen. At this point nothing else is possible. With a little
"manipulation" there suddenly is more possible and then you seem to be almost
there. Almost...but not quite. There has been a good amount of sliding as the
description mentions but the pieces are still locked together. Thinking©
further along the lines of what was the initial move will quickly have you
separate the pieces. The picture of the pieces doesn't really spoil it but I
have hidden it behind a button.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div id="spoiler_triforce" style="display: none;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRAJbCb9nbSXYA7g3FO8RmMNJkdLjW84WwAYcqkFuF2k6Uio3SwZPi0eo-KxVNLbz2svaySlmnduNJZ8WsCX7LIIkiujqQCgfinGPybPzHUc8tEg0ldXnZNK0BFRIi58DhVsDeezzKWHdMfBoNFa1G8ThRkP7nSjk5413PSFxyVCJrn2AIJbfMO2oTTAk/s3710/Triforce%20solved%20%20mechanism%20hidden.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2682" data-original-width="3710" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRAJbCb9nbSXYA7g3FO8RmMNJkdLjW84WwAYcqkFuF2k6Uio3SwZPi0eo-KxVNLbz2svaySlmnduNJZ8WsCX7LIIkiujqQCgfinGPybPzHUc8tEg0ldXnZNK0BFRIi58DhVsDeezzKWHdMfBoNFa1G8ThRkP7nSjk5413PSFxyVCJrn2AIJbfMO2oTTAk/w640-h462/Triforce%20solved%20%20mechanism%20hidden.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
No real spoiler here
</td>
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<br />
</div>
<button onclick="if(document.getElementById('spoiler_triforce') .style.display=='none') {document.getElementById('spoiler_triforce') .style.display=''}else{document.getElementById('spoiler_triforce') .style.display='none'}" title="Click to Show/Hide Content" type="button">Show/Hide</button>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Having scrambled the pieces for a while then reassembly takes a little thought to work out what orientation and position everything should be but not a huge amount. I did find for a few days that it made a rather pleasant worry bead to fiddle with. This one will not give any seasoned puzzler much of a challenge (do please ignore the difficulty rating) but it is another one for a collection and is a nice one for newbies. The Zelda theme may attract a bunch of non-puzzlers to try it and maybe they will be hooked in our hobby too.<br />
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</div>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-67803708838191686452023-10-22T16:14:00.002+01:002023-10-22T16:14:36.374+01:00A Cube Without Edges<p>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Solves With ONLY The Edge Piece Series!</span>
</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqdEFIjzTu4zspAnIpo_h7lCLDcp7QSl5PFwF46DvgEECpGnK3sqWaF65t96wU0RngEzsrGhFbvTbmvYIC7sxWRIBlF8xRauhU_39xJ0T-LwyGm0Lm2MreE07-dK-ZDhno0zgdr1MrJsybTj96yb5le5paBeFXaS_27ZiOwYGdkgxwn3VNcQ3k5svy6E/s4104/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20set.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1822" data-original-width="4104" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqdEFIjzTu4zspAnIpo_h7lCLDcp7QSl5PFwF46DvgEECpGnK3sqWaF65t96wU0RngEzsrGhFbvTbmvYIC7sxWRIBlF8xRauhU_39xJ0T-LwyGm0Lm2MreE07-dK-ZDhno0zgdr1MrJsybTj96yb5le5paBeFXaS_27ZiOwYGdkgxwn3VNcQ3k5svy6E/w640-h284/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20set.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
The Crazy 2x2x2 trio<br />They all look identical but the numbers on the
face describe different turning
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
I have had a bit of a splurge on some twisty puzzles recently and have been
exploring them this last week or two with some success (to my great surprise).
Here I discuss the Crazy 2x2x2 (0,0,0 version) and how it looks ferocious but
solves with the simplest technique and a lot of thought.
<div>
<br />
<div>
<div>
I pretty much always have a standard 3x3 and 4x4 Rubik cube in my bag at
all times. Partly because people finding out about me for the first time
always ask whether I can solve a cube and then I have to show them when
they don't believe it. I also have it to make sure that I don't forget my
basic techniques and it does make a wonderful fidget toy.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
One thing that a lot of non-puzzlers seem to think is that "there is a
single magic algorithm that you can do over and over again" and the cube
will miraculously get solved. I have to disabuse them of this idea but
always tell them that it is possible to solve the entire thing using
just one simple technique but it requires a lot of thought and planning.
If I am to solve a cube quickly (ish - I have no interest in learning
dozens of algorithms to discern and move quickly) then I solve layer by
layer with a very basic system for the top layer which is obviously the
hardest. Doing it this way, I average about a minute and I'm happy with
that. Alternative techniques include the Rubik ultimate solution
described by Philip Marshall and evangelised really well by Rline with
his
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbE5BzqvA87JwsQ1WSSNodtBVZQd5lf2T" target="_blank">Twistypuzzling YouTube channel</a> in which one solves all the edges first and then the corners.
This technique relies on two simple algorithms - the 4 move edge piece
series (EPS) and the 8 move corner piece series (CPS). It requires a bit
of thought and understanding but is the simplest way to do it. I also
use a block building solution, a corners first solution and for fun I do
it using the EPS only.
</div>
<div>
<p>
<b>YES! You can solve the Rubik cube with a single algorithm of just 4
moves!</b>
</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTdiQpYs08BukxODF9BGumY04HqFOY-iSKQSOjEvzziEfVKpL1SUxyaBhbSQhRkAdpvbzfsSPIhoImKh2FyK5x9-01rdBMx6CQCzi5Ryb6U-HjvCr1aSma1ivoEj-nTm-fPewtG-0aa5-EtOwbDAu7zkj3IlalKLCBfjSVk8cdJ9_u2JnJ4pXFz09rpA/s3130/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20(0,0,0)%20scrambled.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3130" data-original-width="2772" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTdiQpYs08BukxODF9BGumY04HqFOY-iSKQSOjEvzziEfVKpL1SUxyaBhbSQhRkAdpvbzfsSPIhoImKh2FyK5x9-01rdBMx6CQCzi5Ryb6U-HjvCr1aSma1ivoEj-nTm-fPewtG-0aa5-EtOwbDAu7zkj3IlalKLCBfjSVk8cdJ9_u2JnJ4pXFz09rpA/w354-h400/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20(0,0,0)%20scrambled.jpg" width="354" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Scrambled
</td>
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</table>
<br />
<p>
I was quite surprised when I started to investigate this puzzle which,
as a 2x2, has no edges and I realised that it does have edges in a way
and that it absolutely requires to be solved using JUST the EPS!
</p>
<p>
The 0,0,0 designation means that 3 of the 6 faces are 0 faces i.e.
turning those faces leaves the centre circles unturned (the red, green
& white), whereas the other 3 have 1 faces and the circles are
fixed to the outer parts. The result of this is that the
blue/orange/yellow corner never separates from its' circle and you can
only really scramble it or solve it by turning the 3 zero faces.
</p>
<p>
Does this sound confusing? It is a bit of a mind-bender but is not
that tough if you have mastered the EPS completely.
</p>
<p>
So what is the EPS? It is a simple 4 moves (up, up, down, down)
or the other way around. If done just once then it does what it says
on the tin - it swaps three edges amongst the front edge and the UR
and UL edges. It muddles up the corners but in Marshall's method we
don't care about the corners yet. That does seem very simple but the
fun this happens when you do it more than once. On a solved cube if
you do the EPS three times (D, D, U, U) then it leaves all the edges
alone and moves the corners:
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLSz5ngcEK0v9WMz9SNUY9Wt1JMXHAoTv5_M_kTQHCCWpB_CM5ts1qZreFgMGUDDEumJ2yqeDK85at3sLGc5Uk56jJH4qvshN2H3oAJ_xkqGl-COqDw2CwxHjd7mAOZOQitWTHjU-Kgj61f9AISn0yBiYa9mtlGFiEHreNUhSZ0paLUwKkb-VxqkGLxA/s3163/3x3%20EPS%20x%203%20effect.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3163" data-original-width="2952" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLSz5ngcEK0v9WMz9SNUY9Wt1JMXHAoTv5_M_kTQHCCWpB_CM5ts1qZreFgMGUDDEumJ2yqeDK85at3sLGc5Uk56jJH4qvshN2H3oAJ_xkqGl-COqDw2CwxHjd7mAOZOQitWTHjU-Kgj61f9AISn0yBiYa9mtlGFiEHreNUhSZ0paLUwKkb-VxqkGLxA/w187-h200/3x3%20EPS%20x%203%20effect.jpg" width="187" /></a>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
Having done the EPS 3 times, the top 2 diagonally opposite corners have
swapped and the two from corners have swapped up and down.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
This can be used to move corners where you want them to be using just a
4 move sequence and some setup moves - it's ingenious and devious!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<p><br /></p>
<p><br /></p>
<p>
This all sounds great - you can move edges around easily (and orient
them) with the 4 move sequence, you can move corners around using the
same sequence multiple times but what about orienting those corners?
Yes, you guessed it, that same sequence can be used to rotate the
corners without moving them. It is destructive when done once but if
done 3 times or done in the opposite direction immediately afterwards
then the destruction is undone:
</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmtocR8lk_pi2WNZONuy51eaijUNW5Gtd_AMEqB8nNXuk4tPsu4MwLsT4ORRF582Mxs9nuh2GTfLmuuaIy1h7IR7FqXYZ7iIAqev-fTkNiGBh7VBQu1iU5oKJx6f0GL5ij_AB2vd8bz2QitPxhDTHGI4qYn4RAhU2EvdXrJCHcC73Kc9-5JH0oPReSKzY/s3215/3x3%20EPS%20x%202%20effect.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3215" data-original-width="2913" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmtocR8lk_pi2WNZONuy51eaijUNW5Gtd_AMEqB8nNXuk4tPsu4MwLsT4ORRF582Mxs9nuh2GTfLmuuaIy1h7IR7FqXYZ7iIAqev-fTkNiGBh7VBQu1iU5oKJx6f0GL5ij_AB2vd8bz2QitPxhDTHGI4qYn4RAhU2EvdXrJCHcC73Kc9-5JH0oPReSKzY/s320/3x3%20EPS%20x%202%20effect.jpg" width="136" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
EPSx2 starting L - destructive
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYi1tEcz8XeJx3U2HkUWcozIXdBXGkp11NkdBU9J6kFDZ0WSNKziMbkGhM3yALMw8WjTHz_QcJOWhJ0obylvnzCBUDSQ1eGPSqA9p1nr1GFDtKvrqv7qvQVZYJuFgxBz6hbloBrLbRjLBvem72J4L1fVeepJMP8woU5Ay7du2seNuW6_6vC8VWzdwX90c/s3292/3x3%20EPS%20x%202%20effect%20followed%20by%20U'.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3292" data-original-width="3138" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYi1tEcz8XeJx3U2HkUWcozIXdBXGkp11NkdBU9J6kFDZ0WSNKziMbkGhM3yALMw8WjTHz_QcJOWhJ0obylvnzCBUDSQ1eGPSqA9p1nr1GFDtKvrqv7qvQVZYJuFgxBz6hbloBrLbRjLBvem72J4L1fVeepJMP8woU5Ay7du2seNuW6_6vC8VWzdwX90c/s320/3x3%20EPS%20x%202%20effect%20followed%20by%20U'.jpg" width="143" /></a>
</td>
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<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Turn U face anticlockwise
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 33%;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1ng8_39KiV6yYGbujqeHD47WjzRiLCnEDdCkYf-p_NM2l9jpiRmtUwbohBmER_iO04dogiAtFCQkX-ZQojCxQWHTZjdazyw35p-qnbi0Olv6_tV8jJxmgKfzl-8W7dxAXu6gUroWM5g8Pm2PT9gO_jc6lqXdlnccI8s0uJOMghIBLZ6hCn2ZLItiSIQ/s3188/3x3%20EPS%20x%202%20used%20twice%20in%20opp%20directions.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3188" data-original-width="3004" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1ng8_39KiV6yYGbujqeHD47WjzRiLCnEDdCkYf-p_NM2l9jpiRmtUwbohBmER_iO04dogiAtFCQkX-ZQojCxQWHTZjdazyw35p-qnbi0Olv6_tV8jJxmgKfzl-8W7dxAXu6gUroWM5g8Pm2PT9gO_jc6lqXdlnccI8s0uJOMghIBLZ6hCn2ZLItiSIQ/s320/3x3%20EPS%20x%202%20used%20twice%20in%20opp%20directions.jpg" width="142" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
EPSx2 starting R - undoes it
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
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</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
So now you can see how it can be possible to solve every part of a Rubik
cube using just that 4 move algorithm. It's not easy the first time that
you do it but it is fun. How can this be applied to the crazy 2x2x2?
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
During my initial look at the crazy 2x2 I realised that the blue orange
yellow corner was the source of the craziness - it was fixed to the
central circle and I effectively could not turn the blue, orange or
yellow faces since doing so would move that fixed corner around and
would prevent any useful moves on new faces. I needed to orient the
puzzle with that corner bottom? back and then solve it moving just the 2
front and the top faces. This is an odd way to look at a cube - I had to
stop thinking of it as having a front, left and right face as I normally
do.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Having scrambled the crazy 2x2 it became clear that the circle centres
are effectively edges. The white and yellow opposite colours are
attached to each other. If I rotate the white face then the white circle
pieces don't move. If I turn the red face then it moves the white and
yellow circle pieces attached to that side but moves them together, the
same is true when turning the green face. Therefore the circle pieces in
a pair are effectively and edge but marked by the colours of the face at
either end. It takes a while to get your head around this but once you
do then start solving edges first:
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-36wzo1KLhLda00TfQX_XtgMddlaebbtC2-i6r3lH9aO5qQZ9L075rF1_tOMsHm_V-p6TFGQbuVeVA1tEeJz-XZ2OWt-2XWOSNcUkiIYPFHvv0tAJPNfQEWa5fZ2ogfsihbApvilEgmWs8UDIMtw-CEEJWaQ6BkyIGuBHZC-Er_lw4elQNb9fUoZ7KNA/s2739/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20(0,0,0)%20pseudo%20edges%20solved.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2739" data-original-width="2460" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-36wzo1KLhLda00TfQX_XtgMddlaebbtC2-i6r3lH9aO5qQZ9L075rF1_tOMsHm_V-p6TFGQbuVeVA1tEeJz-XZ2OWt-2XWOSNcUkiIYPFHvv0tAJPNfQEWa5fZ2ogfsihbApvilEgmWs8UDIMtw-CEEJWaQ6BkyIGuBHZC-Er_lw4elQNb9fUoZ7KNA/s320/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20(0,0,0)%20pseudo%20edges%20solved.jpg" width="251" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Pseudo-edges all solved
</td>
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</tbody>
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</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4LxlX2XsKvXoNvcEoZIqbwJM4wB3oGgVkRQH_YXGt-YQO6dOFMqcEQ4JQZGmxeB6OXqhHlLU02eIPBWBjnPMXxmtEOMU9Oic1D69XodJKyyEJSvbJzcRP53EmyXKSI15HlCwYm2eNvyuZPZZsIbRwZCp1IPayydp0bvp0piI7hzAILj9hP_VHkejoTk/s2966/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20(0,0,0)%20pseudo%20edges%20solved%20showing%20unmoving%20block.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2966" data-original-width="2639" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie4LxlX2XsKvXoNvcEoZIqbwJM4wB3oGgVkRQH_YXGt-YQO6dOFMqcEQ4JQZGmxeB6OXqhHlLU02eIPBWBjnPMXxmtEOMU9Oic1D69XodJKyyEJSvbJzcRP53EmyXKSI15HlCwYm2eNvyuZPZZsIbRwZCp1IPayydp0bvp0piI7hzAILj9hP_VHkejoTk/s320/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20(0,0,0)%20pseudo%20edges%20solved%20showing%20unmoving%20block.jpg" width="249" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Opposite sides (corner block visible)
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<div>
Interestingly, it is possible to get the same sort of parities with this
one. The first happens to me almost 50% of the time:
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ccSlc9cbHWzduPtHdef6Nb7iHgSbX39e_gHuo4xHgNaocXYZlKFWqyk1mVG8kALkV1QVA5m7UlaI71I2qSgO4mBqLtIdS5q0zUD7WQAwsr1qPiYRSJeaJ580nQHzmySkUrYqOavSsQ9ha8mIPNr3U7DyBhAgt9kmumMSGxoRlUqvSKkiqofPUgOGt34/s2981/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20(0,0,0)%20pseudo%20edge%20parity.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2981" data-original-width="2664" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ccSlc9cbHWzduPtHdef6Nb7iHgSbX39e_gHuo4xHgNaocXYZlKFWqyk1mVG8kALkV1QVA5m7UlaI71I2qSgO4mBqLtIdS5q0zUD7WQAwsr1qPiYRSJeaJ580nQHzmySkUrYqOavSsQ9ha8mIPNr3U7DyBhAgt9kmumMSGxoRlUqvSKkiqofPUgOGt34/s320/Crazy%202x2%20plus%20(0,0,0)%20pseudo%20edge%20parity.jpg" width="250" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
2 pseudo-edges to be swapped
</td>
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</div>
<div>
This is a "parity of false equivocation". Each of the faces' edges have
the same two colours on them for each side (i.e. there are 4
white/yellow edges and the same for each colour pair) it is possible to
place them in any of 4 positions on each face and all that is required
is to take one from a top edge and place it in the other top position.
It is, again, just a matter of the simple EPS.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<div>
Once the circles (edges) are solved then the aim is to solve the rest
of the puzzle by turning only those front three faces. It sounds awful
but it really isn't too hard. Using the EPS only in multiples of three
the corners can be moved around into position until they are all in
place.
</div>
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Again, every other solve there seems to be a parity - I am left with 2
corners that need to be swapped. If you know the Rubik cube then you
know that swapping 2 pieces is impossible - there is ALWAYS another
piece or pair of pieces that need to be swapped...even if you cannot see
it. In this case, the parity is caused by the edges first solution to
the cube. If you try to solve edges first on a 3x3 then it frequently
turns out that all the edges are in place apart from 2. The reason for
this is that when solving edges first, it is possible to have the top
face turned 90º without realising it and the solution is to turn it that
90º and then re-solve those edges. It is very easy and the end result is
all the circles (edges) solved.
</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="text-align: left; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 50%;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZxbM9TpylFBAyXdKaqkz7kgrRgn-IbUBoUNnV_U7tc27cVxlza_KRIVUxShb2oe9-OtM4kDaphAU0xncMSKDt5OhguBc-Mm9O5q_uFjt-C1jy_JG6kFUW6s0Rn2EnvZDymammDfOW3hfciXF9SHAKuAO4tD5LGHc3_4iJM0X2CojcDknNG1TwKRsJJo/s3223/3x3%20edge%20swap%20parity.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3223" data-original-width="2951" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZxbM9TpylFBAyXdKaqkz7kgrRgn-IbUBoUNnV_U7tc27cVxlza_KRIVUxShb2oe9-OtM4kDaphAU0xncMSKDt5OhguBc-Mm9O5q_uFjt-C1jy_JG6kFUW6s0Rn2EnvZDymammDfOW3hfciXF9SHAKuAO4tD5LGHc3_4iJM0X2CojcDknNG1TwKRsJJo/s320/3x3%20edge%20swap%20parity.jpg" width="256" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Equivalent 2 top edges swapped
</td>
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</tbody>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6Jes8yFJ2BEbyIqOzP_hm_mkgMAK4dVme-tgOn_Esq7XH76X8jXuZhyphenhyphenS5aYLic1_EG1enyKIKAs7-5JbXkQjvjCsX3sQyVrM-ed6o0FBpxeVEF1XA8iPUmTYqkul412_c-bNYt3jy4hqO0n97uAAZhgQTuDWlULsExg_laDqC0LgSRpBIUY0FM4h5Cg/s3163/3x3%20EPS%20x%203%20effect.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3163" data-original-width="2952" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6Jes8yFJ2BEbyIqOzP_hm_mkgMAK4dVme-tgOn_Esq7XH76X8jXuZhyphenhyphenS5aYLic1_EG1enyKIKAs7-5JbXkQjvjCsX3sQyVrM-ed6o0FBpxeVEF1XA8iPUmTYqkul412_c-bNYt3jy4hqO0n97uAAZhgQTuDWlULsExg_laDqC0LgSRpBIUY0FM4h5Cg/s320/3x3%20EPS%20x%203%20effect.jpg" width="262" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
All edges solved
</td>
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<div>In the crazy 2x2 it is impossible to discern this scenario until we find 2 corners alone needing to swap. Unfortunately, the solution is to go back and resolve those edges/top circles again with the top face rotated 90º in either direction. Having done that, the next time that the corner positioning is done, all the corners will be placed correctly.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTaJ2mYkI9NgRgX5fgQt5HlyOZKA8vYVMLx94s3n3U39xm_NGaQwM0FXPkDZ1gleZX3PMqx2SY1zAVWE59tUjvnvM-bE4Xi2F1XKFQAYYWgQkaWR8hibbOfekf8xL0jiYqYndkrOIRAtmjc1yvBF_L6oGbqZz9byNvmJzyaIcqt5sLlNUh6n2cYXnIBo/s2749/_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2749" data-original-width="2583" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTaJ2mYkI9NgRgX5fgQt5HlyOZKA8vYVMLx94s3n3U39xm_NGaQwM0FXPkDZ1gleZX3PMqx2SY1zAVWE59tUjvnvM-bE4Xi2F1XKFQAYYWgQkaWR8hibbOfekf8xL0jiYqYndkrOIRAtmjc1yvBF_L6oGbqZz9byNvmJzyaIcqt5sLlNUh6n2cYXnIBo/w376-h400/_.jpg" width="376" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corners ready for orientation</td></tr></tbody></table><div>In the beginners method we would use the down face but cannot turn that here. We need to orient those corners using just movements of those 3 faces. Easy peasy! Remember what happens when the EPS is done twice? It rotates a corner and destroys a bunch of stuff. Turn the top face until the next corner is at the front and do the EPSx2 the opposite way and it undoes that destruction (see the pictures at the top of the post).</div><div><br /></div><div>If the rotated corners are on the bottom face then rotate the cube about that fixed corner until the required corners are on the top face and do it all again. This is continued until all the corners are done.</div><div><br /></div><div>Solved it! Effectively, you have solved a 3x3 with hidden edges and used just the EPS. It is great fun and a lovely, not too tough, challenge. I urge you all to go back to your standard 3x3 and learn the EPS only solution. It is not hard and just needs some thought and planning.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-11863423982101991332023-10-15T15:17:00.004+01:002023-10-15T15:19:29.861+01:00Did I Pack My Dowels Properly?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18VYnWuEnGcFeNvVKKJORxDE0nvkxJJ3hk0kndjOW94T2-Jq8Ho36IT_UxCb36kacigoePucW0j11RICXeEXguAOwZx-F7kC8a6TKI0e1iqAGsA1E5nLqYCgjSDvfaqOEWhPf1LB2jZlZ_ArNdFHKCTSD_3adPidLANFc-tBctLnVhr2XLQi3UkmNxEA/s1200/Karakuri%20packing.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18VYnWuEnGcFeNvVKKJORxDE0nvkxJJ3hk0kndjOW94T2-Jq8Ho36IT_UxCb36kacigoePucW0j11RICXeEXguAOwZx-F7kC8a6TKI0e1iqAGsA1E5nLqYCgjSDvfaqOEWhPf1LB2jZlZ_ArNdFHKCTSD_3adPidLANFc-tBctLnVhr2XLQi3UkmNxEA/w640-h640/Karakuri%20packing.jpg" width="600" /></a>
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Karakuri Packing by Yasuhiro Hashimoto<br />
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During my week off a couple of weeks ago, I was "forced" to construct and mount
a bunch of new Billy bookcases with doors in my second puzzle room. Whilst this
is a wonderful thing and I WILL be forever grateful to the present wife for
allowing/forcing this on me. But...it did mean that the week of leave was filled
with DIY and chores and gardening (plus a little private practice which helps me
pay for my rather expensive addiction) and I did not get to do much puzzling and
did not manage to generate a nice cushion of solved toys to write about.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1078588421005487-gr1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S1078588421005487-gr1.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching this is like watching paint dry!</td></tr></tbody></table>The first day back at work did give me a little time (actually quite a lot of
time) to try and get something in the bag for the blog. That day was a
vascular list to be done down in the bowels of the hospital (no sunlight, cold
and with no prospect of a break or early release. The case was a very elderly
frail lady with a rather large aortic aneurysm to be
<a href="https://www.circulationfoundation.org.uk/help-advice/abdominal-aortic-aneurysm/endovascular-aneurysm-repair-evar#:~:text=What%20is%20endovascular%20aneurysm%20repair,there%20is%20no%20abdominal%20surgery." target="_blank">repaired endovascularly</a> using a rather complex
multi-branched fenestrated graft. Now, I know that you don't really want to know about that but it helps
explain the very depths of my boredom. I am a bit of an excitement freak - I
like big juicy and bloody operations that require me to concentrate and keep
resuscitating as well as anaesthetising. I do a lot of large open vascular
operations, big spinal operations (including scoliosis repair) and lots of
<a href="https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/treatment/revision-total-hip-replacement/" target="_blank">revision arthroplasty</a> which tends to prevent not only boredom but also puzzling. That fateful
Monday, I discovered (again) that absolutely NOTHING interesting happens
during a FEVAR! Nothing happened of any interest to me (apart from
intermittent requests to stop the patient breathing for a minute at a time)
for over 7½ hours. When you do your very first one it is moderately
interesting but now after a decade of doing them, I have lost the ability to
watch them moving a wire back and forth on an Xray screen for hours at a time.
I only have a tiny mind according to "she who frightens the bejeezus out of
everyone" and that tiny mind had left the building about 4 hours in. It was
puzzling time!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
In my bag there are always toys just in case. Sometimes it is to torture
colleagues , sometimes to torture med students whilst I do a chore that can't
involve them and I'm always hopeful that I might get a little time to play
myself. The Karakuri packing puzzle from Yasuhiro-san had been waiting my
attention for months. Allard had
<a href="https://allardspuzzlingtimes.blogspot.com/2023/05/karakuri-packing.html" target="_blank">absolutely loved it</a> and others I had met at the MPP had also said that it was fabulous.
That Monday was my time and the pressure was on - I had to solve it before I
lost my mind completely and also because the delightful Libby was watching me
as I worked on it and asking rather pertinent questions. I couldn't allow
myself to fail under Libby's gaze!
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
The Karakuri packing puzzle had won a Jury Honourable Mention award at the
<a href="https://www.johnrausch.com/DesignCompetition/" target="_blank">2023 IPP design competition</a> and I really had to see why. It has been created for us by Mine from
some rather beautiful woods and consists of 5 oddly shaped pieces (one of
which has a dowel sticking out) and two 2 voxel dowels. The box has a 3x3x3
cavity which is partially sealed by a 1 voxel lip and the pieces have 26
voxels plus the captive dowel would make 27. There are enough dowel shaped
holes drilled into the pieces which would allow the 2 dowels to be included
inside and also a hole for the captive one. Part of me did wonder whether the
captive dowel was just supposed to protrude into the missing voxel but this
would not be elegant and I very quickly abandoned that idea. Neither Mine-san
nor Yasuhiro-san would make/design anything inelegant.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
As I explained to Libby, the first thing to do is work out how to make the
cube shape that might fit inside and then see whether the dowels would fit and
finally assemble it in the box - easy peasy she said! I proceeded to make
multiple attempts in front of her and she quickly realised that this was a
proper challenge. I pointed out that having found a few cubic assemblies, it
was possible to discount some because they required one of the pieces to be
oriented in a position which was physically impossible to insert into the box.
I quickly narrowed it down to a couple of possibilities and had to stop
someone breathing a few times which gave me a breather to think about it (pun
intended).
</div>
<div>
<p>
When I got back to the puzzle and the patient could breathe again, I made a
rather special discovery...there was always one particular piece that would
not fit in the box. Or, if I did fit it in early then it blocked the rest.
Time to think©. I knew there was a rather special Aha! moment to this puzzle
that separated it from the standard packing puzzle. I always seemed to get
stuck on one particular piece which made me wonder about special techniques
and, in front of Libby, I got struck by the Aha! moment and did something.
The pieces all slid into place and both me and Libby had our wonderful
jaw-dropping moment. Of course, she managed to look attractive doing it
whilst I just sat there looking stupid with a big grin on my face. This is
very very clever. I think it took me about 30 minutes including several
breath-holding phases which is just about right. I think it is probably not
very suitable for a newbie or non-puzzler but is an essential purchase for
everyone else. The assembled puzzle is behind a spoiler button even though
there is almost nothing really there to provide any info. Don't look if you
are worried.</p>
<div id="karakuri_spoiler" style="display: none;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmLJAp70nD-F8urgXFWRLmIPCWoxE7hgDLDuI8WEFmyaVwg5XfIVhAXc9Sqe1LI2lOQ1Ad4CepxbFweskUVPyPdogfDX1rgx0XpU4tXWTxGG535J6m7zFSmWhtQiMUhK3F1QqEz1Vj7BqnyYtK3hG-sxApTI-Jr8MU5d_y5r-doyWRdGIulpxl3xaT2I/s3371/Karakuri%20Packing%20solved.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3371" data-original-width="2977" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmLJAp70nD-F8urgXFWRLmIPCWoxE7hgDLDuI8WEFmyaVwg5XfIVhAXc9Sqe1LI2lOQ1Ad4CepxbFweskUVPyPdogfDX1rgx0XpU4tXWTxGG535J6m7zFSmWhtQiMUhK3F1QqEz1Vj7BqnyYtK3hG-sxApTI-Jr8MU5d_y5r-doyWRdGIulpxl3xaT2I/w354-h400/Karakuri%20Packing%20solved.jpg" width="354" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Solved it in half an hour - delightful!
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<button onclick="if(document.getElementById('karakuri_spoiler') .style.display=='none') {document.getElementById('karakuri_spoiler') .style.display=''}else{document.getElementById('karakuri_spoiler') .style.display='none'}" title="Click to Show/Hide Content" type="button">Show/Hide</button>
<br />
<p>If you get a chance to play then go for it.</p><p>In the meantime, I was forced to start clearing my desk which I had not seen in months</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinan3Gs1u1LceSNpe6lRlf2fot2qWKteEXLN9NPOsrEL5naf4ngjFlUoPdDOwnl0nIEZ2ZgDsE0VF1RysfIcA2D7vyTmbI3ZlWQ7RV6bICKHrsHtxl7MAR7FC2mSbSZk9SXDPrcS9M5vLjYpOqV4NBdzbkDTDcfrvySk7TztwJKYimHNxmgFXxJicLP5Y/s4032/Desk%20hell.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinan3Gs1u1LceSNpe6lRlf2fot2qWKteEXLN9NPOsrEL5naf4ngjFlUoPdDOwnl0nIEZ2ZgDsE0VF1RysfIcA2D7vyTmbI3ZlWQ7RV6bICKHrsHtxl7MAR7FC2mSbSZk9SXDPrcS9M5vLjYpOqV4NBdzbkDTDcfrvySk7TztwJKYimHNxmgFXxJicLP5Y/w400-h300/Desk%20hell.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was from months ago and it had gotten worse</td></tr></tbody></table>Finally after multiple moves up and down stairs, I could see where the desk had once been:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzOxkeKqw9-0DX0VqVA8kKhHZC6J9SoBgYXvoa0UpBB5hz6utP-xcuV8Q-vKryTBk-d04-UGcRiXWItvnnm50UyKIJOuRQll89tf4JHo9BEns_ifQPylUI69EQyEf1wcFYbfLpIlFDjAyEfFW_6N-SKCDep5876ZPdhVc4CdwS-9ABo4Rb0qf7czDLCI/s4032/Desk%20cleared.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzOxkeKqw9-0DX0VqVA8kKhHZC6J9SoBgYXvoa0UpBB5hz6utP-xcuV8Q-vKryTBk-d04-UGcRiXWItvnnm50UyKIJOuRQll89tf4JHo9BEns_ifQPylUI69EQyEf1wcFYbfLpIlFDjAyEfFW_6N-SKCDep5876ZPdhVc4CdwS-9ABo4Rb0qf7czDLCI/w400-h300/Desk%20cleared.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooray! Nearly there - soon my ears will stop bleeding.</td></tr></tbody></table>I did find a puzzle stand without a puzzle:<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvBMDuQZaEMpq2y7Ev_eW4H43Y5aSrJex8gVs6Wp3hRdGr4CINsQrV7gG1yf36b6zWJwuKsu3L4lbriowl9mbY4HOkAlKU42bMOIVXWULDt3DEktEIonYI1cOflZSzGP4SxJmmVhDOtDHwRm7RfJQRQqYcu8ASdb9P0pbVK0e8t7QSae-DEBT9qbhd9s/s4032/Stand%20problem.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvBMDuQZaEMpq2y7Ev_eW4H43Y5aSrJex8gVs6Wp3hRdGr4CINsQrV7gG1yf36b6zWJwuKsu3L4lbriowl9mbY4HOkAlKU42bMOIVXWULDt3DEktEIonYI1cOflZSzGP4SxJmmVhDOtDHwRm7RfJQRQqYcu8ASdb9P0pbVK0e8t7QSae-DEBT9qbhd9s/s320/Stand%20problem.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had no idea what this belonged to</td></tr></tbody></table>The helpful guys on FB chipped in to tell me that it was from Juno's <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2021/08/juno-sequentially-discovers-cube.html" target="_blank">SDCB</a> but Shane, being even more helpful said that it was to display a <b>VERY</b> special "Rubic cube" - please note that was <u>his</u> spelling and, if you know Shane, then that's pretty good for him! So I found a bunch of VERY special Rubic cubes to show the stand off properly:<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJIgjFyc02Qnv9yHVq2nsnozkC-9hJTVBMZX8YatFiLsqjhIetEqafMc8dnxdRgETIb9IGvV2Nomig4v9Cm23Eomnw-hYDYny3BsHHlDAj9YN9bmmYOOc8_DVZCLSjr9SVQx11O8tR_r9DeCe2-biwM4tpbTSr2xOWb7wmZmbiDMEReJeQOwEVgY2pXno/s4032/Stand%20problem%20solved.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJIgjFyc02Qnv9yHVq2nsnozkC-9hJTVBMZX8YatFiLsqjhIetEqafMc8dnxdRgETIb9IGvV2Nomig4v9Cm23Eomnw-hYDYny3BsHHlDAj9YN9bmmYOOc8_DVZCLSjr9SVQx11O8tR_r9DeCe2-biwM4tpbTSr2xOWb7wmZmbiDMEReJeQOwEVgY2pXno/w480-h640/Stand%20problem%20solved.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The one in the stand is one of just 3 Hexaminx crystals ever produced, to the left is a Master Rex cube and the right is a Master curvy copter (both very rare and special). Behind it is <a href="https://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/2013/03/its-good-to-have-puzzle-friend-or-is-it.html" target="_blank">Kevin’s burr</a> designed and made for me by Jose Diaz (later produced in greater numbers by the late Eric Fuller).</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><div><p>My new cabinets now have a few lovely cubes inside:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFGRP92AiDRF4VJxnCZH1Tfr2xEgo3HJc5If363iEg6uvC5462caibnlIhJnDTwI-J4VF4nYWg_EcUBp42z6EVcOyw_p7ZxHvvJcz46bhE1kBBmlHdCXzbi9F-RGWa-JlS9rQkdFEfmp1ReCh3PHQ2JY3BItqDZKnCKKp2cfIf0G4vhDXZlY7vbsyMf4/s4032/Cube%20problem.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFGRP92AiDRF4VJxnCZH1Tfr2xEgo3HJc5If363iEg6uvC5462caibnlIhJnDTwI-J4VF4nYWg_EcUBp42z6EVcOyw_p7ZxHvvJcz46bhE1kBBmlHdCXzbi9F-RGWa-JlS9rQkdFEfmp1ReCh3PHQ2JY3BItqDZKnCKKp2cfIf0G4vhDXZlY7vbsyMf4/w480-h640/Cube%20problem.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>
</div>
</div></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3341941751324943000.post-18534991103293480192023-10-08T16:36:00.000+01:002023-10-08T16:36:27.749+01:00It Would Be Nice To Have Enough Hands For This Burr<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONpZRQbR-PkcqCwTUsQMZT-KD3edzr2pcl75T5jhS-R9-IzriErkjE7TtLZX56w8ysLUYzm_4Khspgst-B8BUF9xGrEFGa3Ol9Jt8cUI48kbllwNQ0n_qln8JW3rdmtvOlAPzoztjDtf4R2mCile2VuyWcLaVIjM4FR_LCAACsFzbikBTAYG7_4-OmFs/s3479/Handy%20Burr.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3479" data-original-width="2939" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONpZRQbR-PkcqCwTUsQMZT-KD3edzr2pcl75T5jhS-R9-IzriErkjE7TtLZX56w8ysLUYzm_4Khspgst-B8BUF9xGrEFGa3Ol9Jt8cUI48kbllwNQ0n_qln8JW3rdmtvOlAPzoztjDtf4R2mCile2VuyWcLaVIjM4FR_LCAACsFzbikBTAYG7_4-OmFs/w540-h640/Handy%20Burr.jpg" width="540" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Handy Burr by
<a href="http://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/search/label/Jerry%20McFarland" target="_blank">Jerry McFarland</a>
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</table>
Jerry McFarland has an attention span problem! He makes fantastic puzzles which
are always immediately recognisable - I am sure that all serious puzzlers could
look at the photo above and know the creator without reading the caption. He gets inundated with requests to make his toys by the puzzling community and happily
starts manufacturing puzzles and earning some money and then he quickly gets bored and
distracted. Before he knows it, he's thinking about something new and abandons
his order book to play with his beautiful wood and, if you've been following his creations from the last few years, his very strong magnets.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
He contacted me a few weeks ago to ask whether I would be interested in
looking at his latest creation - the Handy Burr and I practically bit his
keyboard off and sent him a bunch of PayPal. The puzzle winged its way across
the Atlantic faster than I've ever seen and I got my grubby hands (due to DIY)
on it in just 4 days! I did not get much chance to do more than fiddle and
admire for the first few days because of said DIY but I could tell straight
away that the magnetism was strong in this one.
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<div><br /></div>
<div>
It is a beautiful cuboid containing 23 pieces of wood and an unbelievable 32
magnets (16 of which are in the key piece - Jerry says this must be a record).
There are 2 obvious pins in the puzzle too with some obvious tracks for the
pins visible in the key piece. The wood choices are stunning - Mahogany,
Bubinga, Walnut, Cherry, Maple and Bloodwood.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
Jerry had been initially working on a 3D coordinate motion puzzle but this did
not work out so he moved on to a springy puzzle with magnets and this is
definitely that.
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<div><br /></div>
<div>
I started work after I had finally finished constructing my cabinets (still
empty) and found that there are 6 pieces that can be pushed in varying
directions and need quite a bit of pressure to push them - those magnets are
STRONG! If you loosen your grip even momentarily then it all springs straight
back into the original shape. Having played with quite a few of Jerry's
creations over the years, I sort of had an inkling what to do and managed with
6 fingers plus holding on to various other bits of the puzzle for stability
and suddenly the key piece sprung upwards. Progress!
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhXwTnamCFQ7tPw8imCOw3O_dlvu-H7jmDOyQ403l1txPkEWBQZ9oeSInvnY2oMq5O6Avgj6L2Q6cei_xdsLwfeNX7wF625Jqe6JmacTzQ5oZyQeiZraT9eoTXDZCJ5oiIoTZC34wI4o6nng3hLQPAhxT5x-qCcmgP5VAUVYN4_aver62xVujrHXbn6Y/s4122/Handy%20Burr%20extended.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4122" data-original-width="3223" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhXwTnamCFQ7tPw8imCOw3O_dlvu-H7jmDOyQ403l1txPkEWBQZ9oeSInvnY2oMq5O6Avgj6L2Q6cei_xdsLwfeNX7wF625Jqe6JmacTzQ5oZyQeiZraT9eoTXDZCJ5oiIoTZC34wI4o6nng3hLQPAhxT5x-qCcmgP5VAUVYN4_aver62xVujrHXbn6Y/s320/Handy%20Burr%20extended.jpg" width="250" /></a>
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<div><br /></div>
It only sprung up one voxel and the magnetic pieces stabilised. I was then able
to work on manipulating the pieces and getting the key piece extended further
and further until it stopped dead. Time to explore and find the release
mechanism. Here I got stuck for a while and in the end I reset the puzzle by
pushing it all back to the bottom and manipulating the magnetic sticks as I
went. The final push of the key piece flush with the top releases the magnetic
pieces all together and there is a truly wonderful CLACK! as it all reset.
<div><br /></div>
<div>
I got stuck here for rather a long time - back and forth to the almost
released position and stopped dead in my tracks each time. I couldn't seem to
find the correct path - Jerry had hidden it all just out of sight inside.
Despite doing this dozens of times, I never tired of the wonderful noise of
the reset (this is a feature of a few of his magnetic puzzles).<br />
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<p>
After a whole day of trying the same thing multiple times, it was time
to think© which did hurt quite a bit. I know that Jerry is quite sneaky
and I got wondering in the evening whilst watching TV. What if I??
</p>
<p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguDrCbvYdPIW9NPedfDPnDCqi9gai5MShJqufRa3MwPNl_IfCSEfqGllcxRuASfZFs1ClDfU8NxcOm0TP3raRt7t83DZxkec_L_x3p87zkHL8BOZ6WQumZPndgMv2FDJUSs-hxfq4dpAcG4XFpFuloFbIczHpHQMNy0wSd2AFzMAYg3QfiErqW3szy9Q/s4032/IMG_5095.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguDrCbvYdPIW9NPedfDPnDCqi9gai5MShJqufRa3MwPNl_IfCSEfqGllcxRuASfZFs1ClDfU8NxcOm0TP3raRt7t83DZxkec_L_x3p87zkHL8BOZ6WQumZPndgMv2FDJUSs-hxfq4dpAcG4XFpFuloFbIczHpHQMNy0wSd2AFzMAYg3QfiErqW3szy9Q/w200-h150/IMG_5095.HEIC" width="200" /></a>
</div>
<br />I tried my new idea and found that I needed more than 2 hands -
Jerry had sent me a couple of little envelopes with clues in it and
afterward I had finally saved it, I opened the envelopes and had a proper
laugh out loud moment. I had looked at she who must be feared during the
evening whilst wishing I had more hands/fingers/useful body parts. Each
time I thought of asking her, I decided that was probably not a good
idea.
<p></p>
<p>😱😱😱</p>
<p>
Eventually after I dislocated a digit moving it into an appropriate
place, I suddenly had the key piece free and I could see how well
disguised the path had been.
</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipXUJH4yMPgyb4pvEGYLVCtHN45SFyopyrDebdaAPH6lGu792Bj6hS8KM1YbiH0qvoPs0QvLWYAFMTh10G2Y777jznqXNJOE4hV_v2JA1fSOC7xy3luL5kM4pjcAfXOwlqJeN6V4w48iWtOzYbrZbR6N200gtfLnBlG3VT0OGs8YxeKrMbvxlT7jwGtY/s3927/Handy%20Burr%20key%20piece.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2834" data-original-width="3927" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipXUJH4yMPgyb4pvEGYLVCtHN45SFyopyrDebdaAPH6lGu792Bj6hS8KM1YbiH0qvoPs0QvLWYAFMTh10G2Y777jznqXNJOE4hV_v2JA1fSOC7xy3luL5kM4pjcAfXOwlqJeN6V4w48iWtOzYbrZbR6N200gtfLnBlG3VT0OGs8YxeKrMbvxlT7jwGtY/w400-h289/Handy%20Burr%20key%20piece.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Key piece removed (JM mark revealed with serial number on other
side
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The cat was not impressed with me dropping more wood on his head but he
puts up with it. I put it back together immediately and then found that I
could not repeat the process - that will teach me to watch TV at the same
time as playing with something complex.
</div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>
The following day, I managed to work it out again and was delighted with
how it resisted solution but when you do the right thing it shoots out. I
couldn't resist a full disassembly:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccjyYTN-iI7hE1enc57Ai6j3fHh3i6aYXrPQq0tOMprZ5J2sWbBq3pVjsHenY0OKoYckIRK2LDbmkUKe9rD3d8qfLdaTpOJ3uAntEj95JNApGWx6CGGcabX7nF2o_2fSXWVP-DlOWLUmf4GAGj80n7Wx4LgrtXkOraWIQGMGxXmIrdEMVb2217LdcDWQ/s4264/Handy%20Burr%20pieces.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2319" data-original-width="4264" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccjyYTN-iI7hE1enc57Ai6j3fHh3i6aYXrPQq0tOMprZ5J2sWbBq3pVjsHenY0OKoYckIRK2LDbmkUKe9rD3d8qfLdaTpOJ3uAntEj95JNApGWx6CGGcabX7nF2o_2fSXWVP-DlOWLUmf4GAGj80n7Wx4LgrtXkOraWIQGMGxXmIrdEMVb2217LdcDWQ/w640-h348/Handy%20Burr%20pieces.jpg" width="600" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Awesome puzzle!
</td>
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</table>
After taking the above picture I did scramble all the pieces and then
attempted the reassembly - Jerry very helpfully writes the frame piece
portions on them to ensure that the fit is good when reassembled and then I
got a bit stuck on the assembly of the mechanism and had to create it
outside the frame before attempting the final assembly - picture of
mechanism is hidden behind a spoiler button:
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<div id="spoiler" style="display: none;">
A<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GUgqus_2s7QO0hUIcbMCmNjn133b0NbKY-jbEZHQii-yoO7LXkXYEou0PLjAb6V-CzVVi1DS8vG1sI7RsmFVGD96Wt60a0Q-yTMkBBmpUiXQm3Pc6HPKB9aKOTm-nPBCp-8ianlx685lMf_fwFmM03ik7cKyXtsONWO-vnpaI_QEFeZYxMD8l62jF5A/s4141/Handy%20Burr%20reassembly.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2631" data-original-width="4141" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GUgqus_2s7QO0hUIcbMCmNjn133b0NbKY-jbEZHQii-yoO7LXkXYEou0PLjAb6V-CzVVi1DS8vG1sI7RsmFVGD96Wt60a0Q-yTMkBBmpUiXQm3Pc6HPKB9aKOTm-nPBCp-8ianlx685lMf_fwFmM03ik7cKyXtsONWO-vnpaI_QEFeZYxMD8l62jF5A/w400-h254/Handy%20Burr%20reassembly.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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<button onclick="if(document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display=='none') {document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display=''}else{document.getElementById('spoiler') .style.display='none'}" title="Click to Show/Hide Content" type="button">Show/Hide</button>
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<br />
This is a very satisfying solve and after reading the supplied solution sheet,
I realised that there is another aspect to it that I had not seen. I tried the
suggested approach by Jerry and this was even better and adds more understanding to the name. Jerry will be making a few more of these in the future and it will be worth while contacting him to ask to reserve one.</div><div><br />
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Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05649523779226834414noreply@blogger.com0