Two Guys and a Gal...

Guess Which Was the Toughest?

Free Me 9 aka Two Guys and a Gal (named after the heads of the coins)

Update from last week - my solution for the Rippl puzzle turned out to be completely correct! After checking with Aaron, the critical move that I felt was too tight turned out to be the correct move - my copy of the puzzle was just a bit tighter than it should be. I persisted in doing the tight move because I felt that I had completely exhausted all other options for that section of the puzzle. The rest was an absolute delight and a bit mind boggling. Phew! I'm not as thick as I thought.

I can almost hear your sigh of relief! He finally managed it! Yes it took a hint and partial collaboration with Dominic to get there and it has taken me more than six weeks to get there but, Oh boy, was the journey worth it.

I have only been collecting the puzzles by Joe Turner for a few years and they have never failed to delight me. They are always beautifully made and a combination of wood and metal combined into a very non-intuitive sequential discovery puzzle. Usually there is just a single coin to work out how to release by activating the most ingenious mechanism his diabolical brain can come up with. The mechanisms have been so interesting that the amazing Jon Keegan even collaborated to reproduce the iconic Free Me 5 in metal - I did not have the cash to buy one at the time but they looked amazing and Allard loved it.

For this year's outing Joe upped the ante and gave us 3 coins to release - it has two JFK half dollars (guys) and a Statue of Liberty (gal) one dollar coin - I had no idea there was any such thing as a Dollar coin! This puzzle was Joe's entry in the IPP design competition but amazingly did not win anything due to the incredible list of amazing puzzles entered this year. It will certainly be on my list for top ten of the year.

As usual the coins are held in the block with a dovetail cap at each end. Starting out, progress begins reasonably quickly which gives you some (misplaced) confidence. There is a pretty classic move that Joe has used before that starts the first dovetail sliding. The interesting thing is that this confidence dissolves very fast when that first move stops dead after a mere 3mm of movement. Whatismore, not only does the slide stop dead, it also won't go back! OMG! A bit of frantic fiddling with the puzzle gets it to go back and then there's obviously something else needed. There are not a lot of clues but eventually another aha! moment happens and progress is made with the reward of the first guy. It's nice and shiny and I also receive a couple of tools. These have been causing the locking up and a quick inspection reveals the ingenious way that Joe has made it happen.

After the first coin removal, and the use of the light on my phone to peer inside, I realised that the next coin had to come out the other end. The tools were going to be useful at this point, I was sure of it. There's an obvious place for them to go except sometimes they won't fit and sometimes they will - you need to work out what to make it happen and once you do... nothing gets released! Of course, he's not going to make it easy!

Ok, let's try that classic move again at the same time as using the tools elsewhere. Hahaha! You all know that he's not going to use the same trick twice! Well I didn't know that and spent a very long time trying to make it happen. Yes, the Einsteinian method fails again. There is a tantalising little click and a few mm of play in the second dovetail but it goes nowhere. I have lost count of the sheer number of times I tried the same thing or variants of it in different orientations or with spinning and very nearly submerged in gin. I was stuck.

I was stuck for weeks! This is where Dominic came to my rescue with an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini clue. All he said, basically was to use ALL the tools given. Not much of a clue was it? Of course, I am very stupid and started looking at the coin for removable bits (similar to a classic by Boaz Feldman) but that was not it. I had misinterpreted what was meant as a tool. after another day, I had my Homer Simpson "Doh" moment and realised what tool Dominic was referring to and I heard a satisfying click inside and praise be, there was some movement. Finally! 

I have to sheepishly admit that this had taken me so long because I had gotten completely fixated on one or two mechanisms and been unable to break out of that mindset without a nudge. I dare say, Joe knew that many of us would fall into the same trap. Or maybe it was just me?

After a little more fiddling with other mechanisms I had my second dovetail end removed and my second guy out. Phew! I was on a roll! Except I wasn't. Stuck again...the gal had to come out and the only way out was through one of the existing holes but she was blocked. Looking inside, the basic approach to the removal seemed obvious and I had my tools. But again, it wasn't working. I tried the gin trick (drinking it rather than submerging the puzzle) and that helped me realise something else that was possible but I was stuck again. My goodness! This is a stupendous challenge.

I kept think©ing and kept failing. I even received the solution from Joe (he sent it out to all recipients last weekend) but I was very careful not to look at it. I HAD to solve this thing myself even if it was going to kill me - with all the swearing I was doing, Mrs S might have killed me! Then, after lots and lots of thoughts© I was hit by Mrs S a bolt from the blue and I tried something extra. Wow! That is really clever! I had my gal and a huge sigh of relief!

OMG! Brilliant!
Only took me 6 weeks

Having taken my photos and worked out the reset mechanism, I can now solve the puzzle in one swift fun sequence. It is a work of puzzling art which everyone should try - this is a simply beautiful challenge. Tanks to Dominic for the tiny clue and a special thank you to Joe for the opportunity, I cannot wait to see what you produce next year.

He Freed Me...Again

 This Time From A Box

Free Me 8 aka "The Reptile Puzzle Box"
it's a box this time

Joe Turner has created a few (6 so far before this one was released) fabulous sequential discovery puzzles and I was lucky enough to get hold of a version 5 in 2018 which made it into my top 10 puzzles of the year. It had lots of steps with quite a few moments of fear where a puzzler is left wondering whether the move he is considering is really a good idea and is going to lead to a trapped piece or lost ball bearing. I loved that frisson of fear!

As a previous customer, Joe contacted me to ask whether I would be interested in buying a copy of the Free Me 8 - this would allow him to gauge how many to make and avoid disappointing too many puzzlers (I am aware that recently the competition to buy certain puzzles has been extremely high leading to desperate puzzlers overwhelming websites). Now, you may be wondering what happened to number 7? Well me too! It would seem that Joe has had trouble with the tolerances of Free Me 7 and has had to put it on hold until next year to allow him to complete this project as well as some personal projects he wanted to make before Xmas this year. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance of obtaining another of his SD puzzles. However, I had to delay his sending it out to me...I had spent quite a lot at that time and Mrs S was starting to get urges to set fire to things again. I asked him if he would wait for a few weeks until after he had returned from his summer holiday before sending it out and of course he was OK with that. This probably saved me from a very painful insertion of puzzle into an orifice and then being burned alive on a pile of my puzzles. Unfortunately by delaying the arrival I had to endure watching pictures of people receiving their toys and tales of how good it was.

Finally it arrived and I was able to look and play. The first thing that you will notice is that it is a BOX! OMG, Joe has forced me to buy a box when I don't collect boxes - luckily it is a sequential discovery box rather that a traditional box and hence perfectly OK for me to add it to my collection.He has apparently wanted to make a box for several years and this was his chance having taken a class last year. He made quite a few (100 out of Cherry for sale and another bunch from Walnut or Maple for family and friends) - it took him 9 months from idea to finishing production.

As with the previous puzzles the coin is visible

These are a LOT more complex than the previous Free Me puzzles with 84 parts to each. The card that comes with it tells the puzzler to open the box and free the coin (just like before) and also informs that no force, no banging, no spinning, or use of gravity tricks is required. Thoughtfully he also added that no burning is required which I insisted on showing Mrs S.

On top of the box are a bunch of cute laser cut and etched lizards which will no doubt play a key part in the solution. Helpfully, to ensure nothing gets broken there is a slip of paper informing that the small lizards are fixed and not to be manipulated. The finish is beautiful and there is nothing obvious to do at first apart from to fiddle with the lizards and see what they do. Trying not to give anything away, it becomes obvious straight away that lizards are well attached but have some play in their attachment. Trying not to snap them, I make 2 discoveries and promptly get stuck. I discover magnets here and there and have no idea what to do with them. Things can happen but it seems to make no difference. I am stuck after about 10 minutes! I am rubbish at boxes. I put it down for a little while and come back to it later. Aha! That is interesting - I have found the third move and now other things seem to be possible. I play with magnets again and it is open - but NOT beaten.

I have opened the box but the coin is still trapped.

At this point I reveal my inexperience at boxes...I am stuck yet again. This time I am stuck for several days. I manage to have another Aha! moment a few days later and get somewhere but it still isn't complete.

There is a real twist to this puzzle box which I don't want to reveal for fear of spoiling things for people who follow. Needless to say, after I did the next step I got a giant big surprise and realised that I had a whole extra stage of the puzzle to solve. This was entirely unexpected and a huge bonus, there are many layers to this puzzle which just keeps on challenging you until you finally manage to complete it. Absolutely brilliant voyage which kept me going for over a week in total - well worth the wait.

Coin out!

If you get a chance to obtain a copy or even just play with one then jump at it. The workmanship is great and the mechanisms very finely tuned. It is definitely a candidate for my top 10ish of 2020. It may have been a completely awful year for life and health and the world's economies, but it has been a really great year for puzzling.

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Now I need to have a little play with something that is definitely NOT small! Big Steve and Ali's latest creation (the KickStarter thatI discussed here) has been brought to life and has arrived Chez moi. Mrs S was distinctly unhappy when the delivery driver handed her the package - 4lb of "metal mayhem" is really not her idea of something good and amongst her grumbling she threatened all sorts of physical violence upon my person including a hefty Whack! Ouch! and much more interesting, once she had seen the contents of the package, she decided that next time she meets Steve or Ali she wants to see how much of the puzzle can be inserted inside said gentlemen. Luckily for them, I will store it unassembled so that there won't have to be any insertion of any pieces sideways! As a nurse she has the training and the anger to get these pieces ALL the way up! 

A lovely carrying case

I think those brass pieces will completely fill Big Steve's descending colon! 

I am not too unhappy about her plans...for once, they don't involve pain for me and it will be fun to see Steve suffer after what he did to my happiness cubes last year! Hopefully I can drag her to an MPP after the pandemic has run its course. I'd start running now if I was you mate! 😃

Free Me From All This!

Is that something that Mrs S has muttered at me having opened the door to the UPS guy twice in one week? No, it is the motive for the latest challenge from Joe Turner - Free Me 7:

Free Me 7 (back to the usual format)

We have all been waiting quite a while for this to be released. Joe is a busy man and producing puzzles to satisfy the community's insatiable appetite is a long difficult process. The email about both Freem Me 7 and 8 came out way back in the middle of 2020 in which Joe explained that number 8 was going to be released a lot earlier than number 7 and, of course, I couldn't resist one of those. I am not entirely sure why he didn't just change the numbering so they were sent out in order but I am not clever enough to be a puzzle producer. The Free Me 7 was delayed because he was struggling with the required tolerances. It must have been a huge struggle because the offer of the next in the series didn't arrive until a few weeks ago. As you know I am never one to refuse a sequential discovery puzzle (or any puzzle for that matter) and I sent of some of my hard earned GBP (converted to USD) and risked the ever increasing ire of "She who must be feared".

When it arrived it was accompanied by a sealed packet containing specific instructions and a solution leaflet which so far I have resisted opening. As always, the aim is to take the coin out of the box whilst using only tools that are released as you play. Joe's wood craftsmanship is visibly progressing as he makes more puzzles. My first one was the Free Me 6 and, whilst a great puzzle, was not anything much to look at. Here we have a puzzle that is nicer on display and finished beautifully.

I couldn't resist! I had reached a dead end with the Abraham's Well from Brian Young and had this one on my pile'o'puzzles to solve next to me and went straight to it.

It is quite obvious that the end comes off but there is only a tiny amount of movement in the dovetail before the blockage is evident. OK, how do I release the blockage? There really isn't much available at this stage. Turning it over and over in my hands, I can hear things moving inside but no matter what direction I turn and what angle I am at I cannot release the dovetail. I consider putting it on the lapcat and spinning it but decide that isn't a good idea - it has been a few weeks since we trimmed his claws and I didn't want a "lap" injury when he zoomed off. I also wondered whether spinning the puzzle might actually be considered shaking? I carried on doing the same thing over and over again for a whole evening thinking I had a broken puzzle.

Of course, I did not have a broken puzzle! I was just too stupid to think of what else was possible. After a soothing day (?) in the hospital, I came home wonderfully refreshed and ready to puzzle again. OK, maybe that is a little exaggeration but I had been thinking about what else I could try and again with cat on lap, I tried something new. This time there was a change inside and the top slid off - yay! In my usual way, I wanted to understand what had happened and tried to reverse the process and lock it back up again but, yet again, I couldn't do it. I was able to replace the lid and lock it on but it was always trivial to unlock again. I could not seem to understand how it was properly locked. Time to give up on that aspect and continue...

Looking inside I could see that the coin was held securely in place by a piece of metal and I clearly needed to move or remove that object. I tried all sorts of orientations and moves and had to stop myself again spinning the bloody thing. It was not going to come free easily. Another evening passed and it was back to work again. The next time I played (starting from almost the beginning) I made a discovery... it is really quite important to enjoy a puzzle slowly and listen as well as feel and look at what it happening. I heard something happen at one point and repeated that move a few more times. It happened every time - Aha! What if I????

Having made a nice discovery that could be heard and felt but not seen, this started me on an interesting path of discovery. I noticed things changing but never quite enough. I need to think© a bit more. 

After I had thunk, I realised that this sequential discovery puzzle is special in that there are almost no useful tools. I had been hoping that more stuff would fall out but what was really needed was to use the tool I had properly:

That took me several days!

After my shout upset Mrs S, I went to take a photo and then reassemble it. I suddenly realised that I had not fully understood the mechanism. I could put it back together but it was quite easy to open again and remove the coin. There was more to it aka "you did it by pure luck!" 

Finally, after another evening of toil, I think I have understood the puzzle mechanism. It is all hidden and needs to be manipulated blind which is not one of my strong points. Much less complex a construction and solution than either FM 6 or 8 but requiring very accurate movements. I can see now why Joe struggled to produce these - the tolerances would have to be fractions of a mm. Delightful and really good value puzzling - I am delighted to have this in my collection. I wonder when version 9 will be coming?

Big Steve and Ali Make Me Dance

and Joe makes me grub around on the floor!

The Hokey Cokey Lock

I have been chatting with Derek on-line in the past few weeks before and after the IPP and he had mentioned that Big Steve Nicholl's exchange puzzle this year was a new design by Ali Morris and that it was absolutely superb. He didn't tell me anything more than that other than that it was a lock. I was a little surprised because I know Ali pretty well and was aware that he was a master carpenter and very good with burrs and boxes but did not know that he also could design puzzle locks. Obviously a master of all trades! Then I heard that it was called the Hokey Cokey lock and was even more mystified.

Derek had volunteered to be Steve's exchange assistant and there were rumours of much dancing going on during the exchange which mystified me even more! What did a lock have to do with dancing? and if you know Big Steve then you will also know that he is not really built to be light on his feet and nimble! At the end of the exchange day, a video came out on Facebook showing both Steve and Derek (and at least one exchange recipient) actually doing the Hokey Cokey (differently named in the US according to our puzzle box loving alcoholic surgeon friend). This must have been quite a sight to see and apparently almost everyone joined in and received their Hokey Cokey locks with the song written large in their memories.

At yesterday's Midlands Puzzle Party I had an opportunity to purchase a copy myself. If you want one for your own collection then Steve has been posting them up on Puzzle Paradise for a very reasonable price. How could I resist? I put my acquisitions away for the rest of the day and enjoyed the fun at the MPP. Then, when I got home, Mrs S was treated to the delights of me also dancing the Hokey Cokey! Why would I do that? Surely there's no reason for me to dance to solve a puzzle lock? Well, I thought so too...at first! The lock is a standard long shackle padlock which has been "got at". There is no visible evidence of it being got at but someone obviously has. It comes with 2 keys that fit the keyway...2 totally different keys! You know it won't work but you have to try. Of course, neither keys will turn! After this, last night, whilst sitting with Mrs S, I was FORCED to do the dance! I put the right key in...nope! I put the left key in...nope! In...nope! Out...nope! In...nope! Out...nope! Shake it all about...nope! Shake it about with the left key in...nope! Shake it all about with the right key in...nope! Rinse and repeat ALL those steps with the keys ¾ in...nope! and again with them ½ in...nope! and, in desperation, about ¼ in...yep! you guessed it...nope! Hmmm! Maybe I did it wrong somewhere in those steps and yes, much to Mrs S' disgust, I did the whole lot again! I have been fully Hokey cokey'd!

A very innocuous comment from my friend Otis on Facebook made me think - ©. I stared at the lock for another 30minutes and an idea popped into my head. This is quite a feat because my head is pretty dense but it definitely popped in. A few minutes later I was the proud owner of an open lock!

This is MARVELOUS!

I actually showed the mechanism to Mrs S and even she was impressed which as far as I can remember has never happened before! Well done Ali for a tremendous design and well done Steve for making me, and a large number of other puzzlers (including Derek) look very foolish indeed - that takes great skill! Buy one on paradise whilst they are still available.

Next up, we have a delightful new design by Joe Turner - the Free Me version 6:

Free Me 6

Last year, in Paris, Joe had entered the Free Me 5 into the IPP design competition where it won a well-deserved Jury honourable mention prize.  I recall playing with it in the competition room and really enjoying a well made sequential discovery puzzle which involved wood, ball bearings, steel rods and a fair bit of courage as one had to decide whether to do something decidedly dangerous (at least it was in the eyes of most puzzlers) before eventually releasing the half dollar coin. I loved it!

I missed out on purchasing the version 5 last year but this year, my friend Matt Dawson, informed me when the Free Me 6 came up for sale and I quickly sent off an email and some PayPal.

The new version seemed slightly smaller and for the first few minutes of play, nothing would happen. After a little thought (which hurt considerably!) I managed the first move and released some pieces. It all works very smoothly. I could see another tool but could not reach it so tried closing it and a few other things but that did not help. There are a number of holes around and after a while, one has to resort to poking things in those holes...as I have said above a fair bit...nope! Time to examine the puzzle and in doing so I gave my cat a Whack! Ouch! as a ball bearing dropped on his head from a decent height! It does say in the instructions that one should NOT play where parts can roll away or get lost but I am not very bright and who reads instructions anyway?

I now have 4 tools/things and no idea what to do next. The following day, over an hour or so, I do a fun little dance (yes! again!) with a ball bearing! At the end of the BB dance, I have even more pieces - this is SUCH fun! Time to put it down again as it's bedtime. I cannot resist taking it to work the following day as I have a huge long case to do (a 9 level spinal curvature (scoliosis) correction with spinal cord monitoring) - there will be a couple of hours of setting up to do which will give me time to play before the surgery actually starts.

My workstation goes from far left, right across to the right

Once in the operating theatre (OR to the yanks out there) and the spinal monitoring boys are doing their thing, I get the Free Me 6 out and just hold it, contemplating...and they stimulate the patient's spinal cord - they twitch violently about on the table which scares the bejeezus out of me and the BB goes flying! I end up grubbing around underneath everything to find it.

During the ½ hour or so of getting everything ready, I have a brainwave (maybe it was their machinery?) and I try other things with the BB. There are some VERY strong springs in this puzzle and a number of times the BB shoots off across the room and I go grubbing around on the floor again! and again! and again! and again! My surgeon is watching me as if I am completely crackers - which, of course, I am! Then, everyone is delighted when I have my Aha! moment in front of the whole crowd and I free the coin...just in time for us to do an operation! Phew!

The coin is free at last! Awesome puzzle!

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Shane has been at it again!

The Haleslock 5 is about to be released! 

Shane Hales is a sucker for punishment! Not only is he trying to run a new business as a Master Locksmith, but he continues to work as a Master builder in his local area too. On top of all of that (whilst bringing up 2 kids and an expensive wife - I know that feeling! Whack! Ouch!) he continues to design and manufacture his own puzzles. I bought some new keys for the amazing Ultion locks from him and also purchased the 5th in the series of Haleslocks - it is very robust and beautifully made! They will be coming up for sale from the usual puzzle lock purchasing outlets quite soon.

Not only has he made his own new lock but he has also made not one but 2 more lock puzzles for others to give as their exchange puzzles at the San Diego IPP. So only another couple of hundred lock puzzles to be made with a short deadline! Yes! He definitely is a sucker for punishment!

Goldilock

Silver Lock Exchange #1

So far I have got absolutely nowhere with either of these 3 puzzles but I will keep at it and will let you know in a future blog post! It may be a while because I am RUBBISH at locks!

I Think I Cheated...

Did I?

Rippl by DDK

I had hoped to be able to review a different type of puzzle for you today but despite weeks and weeks of trying, I have still not managed to finish the Free Me 9 puzzle from Joe Turner. I had been stuck on the second coin up until early in the week when a good puzzle friend and I started a combined attempt at solving it. Dominic gave me a little teeny hint and I suddenly found what I needed to free the second coin and now the two of us are stuck on the third - we are both noticing the same things, trying the same things and despite two of us doing the same thing over and over and over again, nothing seems to be changing for us...sigh!

In desperation and in the many many moments when I put down the Free me in disgust, I started playing with the Rippl puzzle from Aaron and managed to get very confused very quickly. The rings are threaded such that they straddle two "lanes" of the spirals and the shuttle is through all 8 of them. I thought that this would be a simple N-ary puzzle and with "only" 8 rings should not be too arduous. After all, it's ONLY a level 9 puzzle which must make it relatively simple?

Oh boy! I got a shock! Yet again! I explored this over the last week or so every time I put down the Free me puzzle. Mrs S was most displeased with me because this one really jingles a lot.

The shuttle comes off the first ring and the second very easily but then the third ring is completely blocked. I figured it was N-ary and went back to the first ring and replaced it hoping to get access where I needed it. Nope! That didn't work. I am sure that you noticed that the shuttle can be threaded through the rings both forward and reversed and after an embarrassingly long time, I also noticed that and after trying it with both the first and second rings, I found the one that worked. I had my access to the third ring and the shuttle was off of that one. 

And here I remained for over a week! I tried every combination of forward and back with the shuttle, through the rings forwards, through them in reverse and every single time I was blocked from releasing the shuttle from the fourth ring. What on earth was going on? I just could not get any further! What sort of puzzle blogger am I? A bloody useless one, I think - I should be ashamed of myself! There was a significant chance that there would be no blog post for you today! I have only ever missed one due to illness or death and really didn't want to do it again with no adequate excuse. Is being rubbish at puzzles an excuse?

Finally after 5 or 6 days I found a move. It had the desired effect of getting me access to the next ring but I wasn't happy with it. I kept putting the puzzle back to the beginning because that move I found did not seem right. It required me to slightly flex the spiral to allow the shuttle to be pulled through, I don't think any of DDK or Aaron's puzzles have ever needed even that tiny amount of force. So I kept returning to the beginning and trying afresh. Finally, this morning I bit the bullet and continued with that move and it opened up a whole new section of the puzzle which got very interesting very quickly. It also got really quite confusing but I was determined and carried on. Finally, just minutes before starting this post, I had a solved puzzle:

I have taken it apart but...
have I actually solved it?

Once I had taken my picture, I felt that I had better put it back together and check with Aaron whether I had cheated (I am pretty sure that I did on that one step). 

Erm...putting it back together was a whole extra challenge! I had, as usual, not really paid enough attention to how it came out and then got mightily confused when it would not go back in and when I did get it started on the return journey, I found that I could not seem to get the second ring on the shuttle. Wow! Despite being "only" a level 9, this was a really really tough challenge. Eventually I got to the mid point and tried the final moves to return to the start. Unfortunately one of the rings had unwound itself and was only held on one of the arms of the spiral and I hadn't noticed it. Another 30 minutes of swearing at it when I couldn't get it back to the start and then another 30 minutes swearing at my own stupidity when I noticed the problem. Finally it is back at the beginning and I am hoping to find out whether I had done something wrong at that crucial early step.

Yet again, an absolutely amazing and incredibly difficult puzzle from Aaron and DDK. It shows that disentanglement puzzles with wire only really can be incredibly tough and confusing - it has N-ary elements to it but only a couple of parts are - the challenge is navigating between them. Great value and a hugely bamboozling challenge. My head hurts now and I think I need to lie down for a while.

Juno Sequentially Discovers a Cube

Sequential Discovery Cubed Box

I am unfortunately at work again today and have rushed to solve something and have posted this in advance to keep you amused. My backlog seems to be getting bigger and I may be looking for someone to let me sleep in a spare room soon because Mrs S might well chuck me out the house when the bunch of puzzles that Mine has posted arrives!

Previous puzzles in the series

We have all known that Juno has been planning something big, something special, something to continue the puzzling line of the Sequential discovery burred boxes (reviewed here, here and here). The anticipation has been rising and many puzzlers have been worried that the puzzle flippers would get hold of it quickly to make a quick buck. True puzzlers absolutely hate those people and none more than Juno (and Yukari) who has written a blog post about how he plans to prevent it from happening - I really hope that he was successful. He will in the future choose not to sell to people who he discovers flip his creations for a quick profit. I whole-heartedly agree with him. I am aware that I am privileged to have a good job and can afford to buy but selling within days is just a sign of disrespect to the creator. At some point I may have to sell some puzzles either to make space or to downsize my house or, more likely, to prevent a murder in my home but at the moment my collection is my pride and joy and I love owning and displaying them as well as solving them.

Ages - still not solved!

The sequential discovery cubed box went on sale and sold out completely in 4 minutes (all 140 copies) - I got a warning from a friend that it was about to happen (thanks so much Jay) and was logged in and ready when the site loaded with the puzzle and boom...in and out with my preciousssss. Postage from the other side of the world was remarkably fast considering the pandemic has trashed world wide flights and post, I got my mitts on it on Thursday night and set to work. Turning it over and over to admire the beautiful workmanship revealed a rattling noise inside - what could it be? It is an absolutely lovely object - Fijian Mahogany is used for the main part of the puzzle, and the wood used for the internal parts is mainly Iroko, Jarrah and sapwood of Bubinga, with Jarrah being used especially for the parts that require durability and wear resistance. The base is not part of the puzzle, it is there to display the puzzle - it is made from Spotted Gum.

You might be wondering why I started work on this puzzle when my most recent additions have also been wonderful sequential discovery puzzles from Brian Young and Joe Turner? Lets just say that one has been solved without understanding how it works (I'll get there before long) and the other has me stumped at the moment - in fact I am still stumped on the third move of Brian's Ages puzzle bought way back in November 2019. I also could not resist starting on the Cube because as soon as I picked it up I could feel something moving...just a few mm but definitely moving.

This something moved and stopped and then moved back. It felt "odd". It's a bit like having something painful on you - you just can't stop yourself prodding at it. Each time nothing would happen and it would return to the original position but one time it went clack when I wasn't really looking and I had a really big hole. OMG what had I done? It wouldn't return to the start position and I realised I was committed to working on it properly. I managed to take the photo at the top of the post with the puzzle in the moved position and the changes were carefully hidden from view. We had to have dinner and then it was time to play with a customary cat on my lap and the TV on. Having made that first inadvertent move that I couldn't reverse, the puzzle started to move in ways that a lot of interlocking cubes do. I have hidden the later pictures behind spoiler buttons - I have tried to avoid showing off too much but don't look if you don't want even a small chance of a clue.

It moves and reveals "stuff"
I can't get at this stuff or get beneath it but it is there for later

After some of this movement we see Juno's classic hand made tools - one is available for the picking and others are stuck in place ready for later. The first tool is now available and easily used (it's just asking for it) and I have the opportunity to return to the beginning. I have a huge grin on my face because the way that first move works is now understood and it's delightful. I put it all back together and have my nice springy area again and OMG! cannot do that first move again! Lord! I am rubbish at puzzles. It is at this point that I recall looking inside and noticing something that didn't really impinge on my consciousness at the time. What if I??? Oh yes that is delightful. A really nice touch to the first move that happened accidentally the first time but should be done with thought.

Couldn't do it without him!

Time to continue the journey. I do my first few moves again and get to further configurations before coming to a halt. Stuck again and time to Think© which seldom works for me. I then get reduced to randomly trying stuff before realising that metal has a very interesting property. He's a very clever devious man is Juno. More progress but only momentarily as it suddenly undoes itself. Stuck again, I look at the cat for assistance and he suggests something. Should I listen to a cat? Well, this cat did manage to solve my disentanglement puzzles recently so I took not of his suggestion and I tried something new. Yet another Aha! moment and the whole puzzle became rather unstable. Gulp! Time to backtrack...except, yet again, I couldn't! One of the moves seems to have been irreversible! Stupid cat! At this point it is time for bed and I carefully put it down in such a way as to not let it fall apart. Another day at the hospital and I was ready to continue my assault.

The next evening, I am back and listening to the cat. I refuse to continue until I understand what has happened and am able to reverse my current position. It takes a while and a bit of deduction. I have a plan and manage to carry it out in both forward and backward directions although I cannot seem to do it every time I try. Time to move on I think to myself. At this point we see that it will come apart (like most interlocking cube puzzles) but there are still compartments to open. Again...if you are awaiting this puzzle or just don't like spoilers then stay away from the next image (don't press the button).

We have several pieces of the cube with grooves and compartments to open
There really isn't much of a spoiler here

I now have a number of pieces and only my original tool. Now what? I need more tools. Coming right up said Juno and the cat. Actually it took me quite a long time to find the next tool and then another long time to work out how to use it. It continues along like this and then we reach the final compartment - oh that is a clever locking mechanism. I now have found the source of the rattling noise - at least this time it is not bread!  

One cube inside another cube! Solved it.

Reassembly is a nice process with only the difficulty of the quirky move that I struggled to understand the first time. With a bit of practice, I can solve this puzzle at will. I am delighted - it is not the most difficult of puzzles but is truly delightful. I really hope that Juno has more ideas for puzzles in the series - I will definitely be wanting to continue adding these to my collection. Now I need to get back to Free Me 7 and Abraham's Well and maybe play with Derek's latest dastardly creation made by Big Steve, Polar Burr

Remember to stay safe guys - our numbers are rocketing up and the younger unvaccinated population are the ones who are now being admitted to hospital and our ICU. If you haven't yet, go get a vaccine as soon as you can!

Happy New Year - My Top Puzzles of 2018

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that it's a great one for you!

In 2018 I seem to have done rather well in my accumulation of toys that Mrs S says have no purpose other than to prevent me from doing something useful! She might be right as they are a major distraction and that was why I got into puzzles in the first place. I will try and take photos to update my "state of the union collection" post soon.

My aim in this post is to highlight the very best puzzles of the year - I only include puzzles that I have actually managed to solve this year in this list - if I receive a puzzle in a previous year and solved it in 2018 then it stands a chance but others that I have bought this year but not solved may appear in next year's list.

I try to make it a top 10 but that is totally impossible and so I cheat by bunching puzzles into groups too. It might not be technically right but it's my blog and I'll do whatever I want as long as Mrs S lets me. Whack! Ouch!

So let's start off with my close 11th puzzles (yes plural!)

Honourable Mention(s)

We had an absolutely amazing year for new and complex twisty puzzles! Some of them had flaws and were difficult to turn or difficult to keep from exploding on you during a solve but we also had some absolutely incredible puzzles for solving! I am not a great twisty puzzler but here were four amazing puzzles which looked absolutely horrendous but I managed to solve them myself without asking for help from the internet. The complexity of these puzzles is fabulous - we live in a great time for twisty puzzles. Every time I am asked for advice from new puzzlers on what to focus on, I always encourage them to look at twisties and spend the time learning the techniques (not algorithms!) and it really pays off - they are impressive to non-puzzlers, actually do look quite lovely in a collection and provide a LOT of puzzling for a small outlay. Here were the best for me this year.

Multicube - a 3x3 inside a master skewb!	Son-mum cube - split centres and 45º turns
Ordinary Unicorn cube	Crazy Unicorn cube

Interestingly the Crazy unicorn and the ordinary version have completely different solve processes making them both essential purchases! I still have a bit of a backlog of other twisties to attempt.

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10) Sequential Discovery Puzzles

Rex Rossano Perez' Barasoain puzzle

I have known Rex for many years and seen him develop from a twisty puzzle modding specialist into a very skilled puzzle designer now working in Acrylic. I reviewed a few of his creations recently and the Barasoain was my favourite (reviewed here) - there is much more to it than appears at first sight. This is truly a sequential discovery puzzle as a tool has to be found and used correctly. Absolutely stunning and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next.

Free Me 6

The Free Me 6 puzzle is another sequential discovery masterpiece from Joe Turner was an entry in the IPP design competition this year and a thoroughly fun puzzle to solve. There are a good few pieces to play with and the ever-present risk of losing a piece or having a ball bearing shoot across the operating theatre into an operation site definitely kept me thinking! I would love to get copies of his previous creations one day. This also needs to be in the top 10 somewhere and there have been so many wonderful toys that I've been forced to put it all the way down at number 10!


9) Interlocking puzzles - a BIG part one

I absolutely adore interlocking puzzles. I especially love the puzzles that are different from standard burrs. If there are rotational moves involved then that is even better. Here are one or two or... of my best acquisitions this year.

Spiral Lock

The Spiral Lock (reviewed here), designed by my good friend Christoph Lohe and made by the incredible craftsmen, Jakub Dvořák and Jaroslav Švejkovský of Pelikan puzzles created a beautiful puzzle in the shape of the lock - it was tremendous fun and the reassembly also a brilliant challenge that is definitely achievable.

Ka'apuni

Another cube called Ka'apuni (reviewed here) from Brian Menold was received by luck from my friend Jamie. It is one of my favourite types, the Turning Interlocking Cubes and caused significant difficulty for me and one of my colleagues at work! Like all of Brian's puzzles it is beautifully made and a wonderful challenge - one of my favourites of the year.

Interlocking Cube #4

Another very special challenge this year was, unusually for me, a 3D printed plastic puzzle. the Interlocking cube #4 (reviewed here) was an absolute triumph as an assembly puzzle. I would never usually have taken this away in pieces but my friend Shane had taunted me earlier at an MPP that some puzzles were far too easy for me to have as disassembly puzzles and he forced me to assemble them from pieces. This gave me the confidence to take this one from Rich Gain as pictured above and spend quite a few days working to put it together. When I finally managed it the triumphant feeling was simply wonderful!

Finally let us not forget the 2 most amazing simple designs that were sent out as assembly puzzles and which took me months and months and months to solve! These interlocking puzzles were incredible. Trenta designed by Chris Lohe which took me a whole year before I finally solved it in June 2018 and Osanori Yamamoto's Lucida which I obtained in 2017 but did not manage to solve until January 2018. These puzzles were simply amazing!

Trenta - sent out as an assembly. It took a whole year!

Lucida - so simple but such a huge challenge!

8) Wire/Chinese ring puzzles from Aaron

Aaron Wang has been incredibly prolific this year and I have bought pretty much every single puzzle he has produced! The quality is amazing and the complexity and solution process just superb. I have solved a bunch of them but certainly not all - many are so difficult that even Goetz, the master of the N-ary puzzle, has not managed to solve all of them. The ones pictured below have been my favourites from the ones that I have solved - Of course, the wire puzzles that I put in my "top ten" have got to be N-ary!





7) Boxes, boxes - are they really boxes?

Ixia Box

I know, I know! I don't collect boxes! For someone who makes that claim, this number 7 in my list is rather embarrassing! But, in my defence, these all have something extra to the puzzling. Juno has been absolutely amazing this year - his creations have been spectacular and the puzzling has been very clever. One of the first of his boxes that I bought from him was the Ixia box (reviewed here) and this was purely down to the enthusiasm of Messers Strijbos and Coolen at an MPP. It took me the best part of 6 months to solve it and even then it required help from a blind man before I was able to manage it - Thanks, Ed!

I can't really just mention that one because, embarrassingly, I might have a few more that have kept me very entertained for quite some time:

Quartet Box

Heart Case

The Quartet box, whilst being stunning, also did something that I have never seen any other puzzle do before - it had fancy hinges allowing shapeshifting during the solution - incredible! The Heart case is a case and NOT a box but is fairly unique in that Mrs S approved of it! She's a softie really. Whack! Ouch! Maybe not! Both were reviewed here.

Juno even left me something funny inside for me to counter the protection provided by George!

I also cannot leave out a box that involves a mathematical constant. The Pi Box was a stunningly beautiful puzzle from Jesse Born - I thought it might just be the most beautiful puzzle that I had ever seen. I had a few issues due to the incredible heat and humidity we had this year but after fixing the issue, this now forms a centrepiece in my puzzle collection.

It is just BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful!

6) Cubes - oh, so many Cubes
Interlocking puzzles - an even BIGGER part 2

Arne's Cube

Anke's Cube

This is Interlocking puzzles - part 2!
I absolutely adore interlocking puzzles and burrs. When I saw that Alfons Eyckmans had designed a couple of wonderful looking interlocking cubes with a medium difficulty level, I could not resist. They reminded me a lot of the Cutler cube which took me several years to solve and were a hugely fun couple of puzzles to work on - then playing with Burrtools topped off my enjoyment. I reviewed them here and was careful to let it be known that they were not my fault!

Of course, Alfons could not stop there and started to design a bunch more which I just "had" to have in my collection - three are even named after my cats! I have not actually managed to dismantle all of these. At that point, I thought he would stop there but he decided to branch out into the Happiness cubes from the Japanese puzzle designer, Sekog Yukiyasu. I started with "just six" of them!

Houston, I have a problem!

Holy shit! A HUGE problem!

After the last MPP, I really had a problem - the B%$t@&ds dismantled them all and left them in a pile! I still have 5 of them in pieces in a bag at my feet!

Aaaargh!

Erm! Whilst I'm in the mood for a confession...Bernhard might also have helped me with my cube fetish!

Interlocking #1	Interlocking #2
Juha's 10	Rotacube

Thanks, Bernhard - you are a great friend and enabler!


5) Jigsaws - yes, you read that correctly!

Jigsaw 29

Jigsaw 19

I cannot believe that I have a jigsaw (or even 2) in my top 10 of the year but these puzzles were a huge hit at the IPP in San Diego this year and I had to find out why. After contacting the truly delightful Yuu Asaka and arranging for the purchase of a puzzle (and then another puzzle) I saw just why these were so so good! Jigsaw 29 (reviewed here) and 19 which I also really loved were a truly amazing challenge with quite a few aha! moments and ending with a huge grin after my rather prolonged solve process. Absolutely brilliant - keep an eye out for more from this designer, he is very talented.


4) Locks, Locks, Locks!

This was an amazing year for lock puzzles! I am not particularly good at solving them - the Popplock T10 still sits on the shelf above my desk waiting for me to have a miraculous aha! moment. I still buy them when they become available (especially as my very good friend Shane Hales has become a Master Locksmith and produces the most fabulous puzzle locks and I cannot possibly let him down by failing to solve one of his fantastic creations). There were 3 absolutely standout puzzles this year that I have cheated with and bunched together - they are all fantastic for different reasons.

Rainer Popp's incredible and very large Popplock T11

The T11 (reviewed here) is a tour de force of a puzzle! It took Rainer a very long time to manufacture them and the sheer extent of the puzzling has to be seen to be believed - this is one of the most amazing puzzle locks the world has ever seen. However, I cannot leave this number 4 slot alone with just the T11 because we had 2 other great puzzle locks which were far more accessible to the every day puzzler and also were created from existing real locks.

Hokey Cokey Lock

HalesLock 5

The Hokey Cokey Lock was designed and produced by 2 more very good friends - Ali and Big Steve have collaborated on a new venture making machined metal puzzles of very high quality - the Hokey Cokey lock (reviewed here) was Steve's exchange puzzle and with the fabulous dance that went with it, made it a big hit with the puzzle community and an essential purchase for me. Their puzzles can be found on their Etsy store here and there is even a single Hokey Cokey lock available as I write this. When solving you need to think of the dance and that gives a big clue!! Shane's HalesLock 5 was reviewed here - this also was a modified lock and involved several mechanisms to get to the rather outstanding solution - I have never seen a lock like this and did not understand at all how it worked, thus, it took me rather a long time to solve. Again, a clue to the solution is in the name of the puzzle. Both these are fabulous additions to my collection! Thanks so much, guys!


3) Burrnova 3D - aka Magnetic Madness
Interlocking puzzle - a well deserved part 3

Just a glance and you can see that it is a McFarland puzzle!

In third place is the Burrnova 3D (aka Magnetic Madness) puzzle from Jerry McFarland (reviewed here). This is the third mention of interlocking puzzles in this years top ten and this particular one is incredible. This is the usual McFarland magic of interlocking burr pieces and an even more impressive self-solving section than the previous year. It was made even more challenging by the addition of an extra locking mechanism and then the requirement to disassemble completely to rescue the princess inside - great humour too when discovering that she has been dismembered. Beautifully made with a wonderful sound effect too.

2) Sequential discovery burred box

Just a six-piece burr? Hell no!

Second place has to go to Juno's Sequential Discovery Burred Box (reviewed here). He already has puzzles in my best of year list but this is right up there at the top - hard to separate my top 3. It could be in any of the 3 categories but for me, the use of tools makes it a truly delightful sequential discovery puzzle. It looks like a totally innocuous six-piece burr but once inside the masterful craftsmanship shows through - there are very few craftsmen who can work with wood and metal but Juno makes it look easy. The puzzle is not particularly difficult but there are several wonderful Aha! moments that put this up there with the very best puzzles ever. I loved it!


1) Casino

Casino

Finally, my puzzle of the year for 2018 is "just" a simple packing puzzle! Except it is anything but simple - the Casino (reviewed here), designed by Volker Latussek and beautifully made by Pelikan can only be described as a puzzle masterpiece. The premise is just so simple but finding the solution is just such a challenge and requires wonderful thought and planning. This puzzle kept me occupied for a happy hour or so and is still a challenge now - just BRILLIANT. It is perfect for advanced puzzlers and newbies alike - I carried it with me to work for months to show it off and challenge colleagues.

I am so delighted that Jakub and Jaroslav get to be my number one - they work so very hard and almost everything they do is a masterpiece but this one is on a whole new level - I cannot wait to see what they produce for us all next year! Well done guys!


It just remains for me to wish you all a very Happy New Year - I hope that 2019 will be a happy, healthy and certainly very puzzling one for you all. I look forward to either meeting you in person or hearing from you by email or my Contact page.