My Puzzle Collection

Math Snake

2012-02-01T16:47:00.001Z

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The Math Snake is a Creative Crafthouse exclusive design, in collaboration with Ken Irvine, who wrote the program for the block layout.

There are two versions. One with only 7 blocks, with 1024 possible permutations, and the version I have, with 9 blocks and a whopping 16.384 different permutations. As if the seven block version weren't hard enough, I got the nine block version instead.

By rotating each individual block at a time, the goal is to have a valid equation on all four sides of the snake.

The nine blocks on the snake are held together by a string and have a few particularities: fortunately, each block has a number from 1 to only 4 engraved on it, otherwise the possibilities would been even higher; each block number is alternated by one with the four operations (+ - ÷ x), and here, operation priority is not a taken into account; also, each block has a different sequence of numbers and operations. For example: by rotating counterclockwise, the first block number has a sequence of "1, 2, 3, 4", but the second has a different one of "1, 3, 2, 4", and so forth... The operation blocks follow this same logic.

I've had this puzzle for more than a month and have been trying to solve it since, although not exhaustively, as I've played with other puzzles as well. Suffice it to say, I haven't been able to solve it yet... The main problem has been to find a good strategy in order to get a more direct solution, instead of resorting to luck alone. Opening a 4-digit vault would be easier...

I believe that there's got to be a way to discard many of the possibilities by some sort of calculation, but I have no idea as to how I can do that. If by any chance, there's a math wiz reading this review, I would really appreciate some pointers. Not the solution, though.

Closing Comments:

For math lovers who like a challenge, the Math Snake is a perfect puzzle. Presentation wise, the design is really clever and the wooden blocks with the engraved numbers are worth taking a try, even if you're not that good at math.

To get a Math Snake, you can visit Creative Crafthouse website. One thing worth mentioning is the fact that there are more than 20 different solutions. Not on the same snake, though,but if you want, for example 10 snakes, just contact Creative Crafthouse customer service and they will provide you with your 10 different snake challenges. Great for schools or other projects.

Cast Keyring (対)

2012-01-31T18:28:00.000Z

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It's been a while since I've reviewed a Cast Puzzle. One of the reasons is that I wanted to review other types of puzzles as well, to keep the blog's contents varied. With that task accomplished, I decided it was time to write another Cast Puzzle review.

... And what better way to resume these reviews than an Oskar van Deventer design? - Released in December 2001 by Hanayama, the Cast Keyring is level 2 out of 6 and PuzzleMaster rates it equivalently at 6/10. As you might have guessed, it's a relatively easy one.

One curious thing of the Cast Keyring is that it can actually be turned into a key ring. If you look closely, you'll see a tiny hole at one of the extremities, which is large enough to attach a ring to hang your keys.

The puzzle consists of two identical pieces, although as Hanayama does best, they've coated one in golden and the other one in silver, to better distinguish them apart. These two pieces are interlocked, perpendicular in relation to each other's plane, and your objective is to separate them. To make things a bit more difficult, the pieces can't move freely, without some strategy. There are a couple of indentations at the front of each piece and one at the back, and a pin at the center, which will fit right into these indentations.

In order to separate the pieces, you'll need to rotate one of them so that both exits can be at the same direction of movement. Sounds complicated, but trust me, once you try it for yourself, you'll see that after a few minutes of fiddling with the puzzle, it'll be solved. For another challenge, simply put back the pieces together. However, to make sure that you have succeeded, you need to look at the words read from each piece. Seen from one angle, you can read "Key", but if you turn it upside down, you will read "Ring" instead. This nice word play is beautifully done by Scott Kim and is called an ambigram. If you need a graphical solution, check out Puzzlemaster's here.

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Closing Comments:

I loved the design of the Cast Keyring. You can't go wrong when you combine design excellence from Oskar and high-quality finish by Hanayama. The puzzle is small, but feels heavy and sturdy. The coating is flawless and the anagram with the "Key" and "Ring" words is a clever touch.

For being an easy puzzle, it's recommended to those that are new to the Hanayama Cast Series and want to have a little fun, without being too much frustrated.

The Cast Keyring and all the other ones in the Hanayama Cast Series can be found at PuzzleMaster.ca.

Links:

Hanayama's Factory Visit (Many thanks to Roxanne Wong for sharing these pictures)

Oskar van Deventer - Official Website

Bishop Cubes

2012-01-30T16:53:00.001Z

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The Bishop Cubes were yet another entry of last year's 31st IPP. Invented by Forrest Bishop, in 1992, this shape-shifting puzzle was finally made commercial available in late 2010.

A set of Bishop Cubes contains 27 colored smaller cubes in a 3x3x3 cube. Each cube has three colors (yellow, red and blue), and two types of tracks - one for every opposite face. This track design is what makes the cubes slide within the limits of the cube and allow countless shapes to be formed.

(Click to Enlarge) - The 27 Cubes

There are various challenges that you can try. The most obvious is to change the cube to a random shape and then return it to its original form. You can also change from one shape to another, but keeping in mind not to disconnect any cube from the set. By taking advantage of the cube's colors, you can try to make different colored patterns. Finally, a simple, but also challenging task is to move one particular cube from one part of the cube to another, with the same rule of not disconnect any cubes.

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To move a certain number of cubes, there are three possibilities. They will slide accordingly in one of three axis at a time (xyz). A nice feature to let you know that they were moved correctly is by a form of a "click", otherwise they would just slide off the edge.

To get more acquainted with the puzzle's mechanics, you can take eight individual cubes and build a smaller 2x2x2 cube. This way, it gets much simpler to learn how the cubes interact with each other, before attempting other more complex challenges. There are also three basic moves you should know: the slab move, which makes a sheet of cubes slide back and forth; the row move, as the name suggests, only moves one row in a certain direction; and finally the single-cube move will of course let you slide a cube at a time when one and only one face is connected to the set.

(Click to Enlarge) - 2x2x2 Cube

The first challenge that I tried was to scramble the cube and solve it to its form again. This proved to be much harder than I was expecting. After only a few random movements, the puzzle form was beyond recognition and when I tried to reverse the movements, it did more damage than good. I remember that it took more than one hour to finally get it to a cube shape again.

Making other shapes is very fun as well. There are endless possibilities, but you can expand the cubes capacity as well, by connecting two or more sets to make even more complex shapes. I have tried a few, some of them found already in the booklet, and others by trying slightly different variations. In a few of them, I admit to have cheated, as I'm a bit lazy to return them to the cube form in order to try a new shape, so I end up taking all the cubes apart and assemble the cube freestyle...

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To buy your set of Bishop Cubes, just stop by their official website.

Closing Comments:

The Bishop Cubes is an original puzzle that takes the shape-shifting category to a whole new level. It's extremely fun to solve, just by returning it to a cube form and the extra challenges are a nice way to keep it fresh, avoiding this way to get bored more quickly.

As many other shape-shifting puzzles, there's no particular goal. Your creativity is your ultimate building tool. How many different shapes can you build?

(Click to Enlarge) - The Back Faces

Apothekerschrank

2012-01-27T17:38:00.001Z

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This is my second review of a Jean Claude Constantin puzzle in a week... No wonder, I'm becoming more and more a fan of his work. Each and everyone of his puzzle designs is unique and very original. I own several puzzles of him in my collection and I love all of them.

Today, I present to you an Assembly/Packing Puzzle by the name of Apothekerschrank (that's German for Apothecary Cabinet), but it's also known as the Pharmacist's Cabinet, the Apocathary Chest or even the Drawers Chest. It seems that every store selling this puzzle, calls it a different name. The latter is named by Brilliant Puzzles, where I got mine.

The Apothekerschrank is beautifully crafted in wood to resemble a cabinet full of drawers. The handles are made from a darker wooden tone, that accentuates the contrast between the frame and the pieces. When I first saw it online, it looked bigger, but actually it just measures 14cm x 10.5cm x 3.5cm (5.51" x 4.13" x 1.37"). By the way, the measurements at Brilliant Puzzles are wrong and apparently, I have the exact same version.

At first sight, all the drawers look exactly the same, but once you start analyzing each one, you notice that every single one has a slightly different configuration. All sixteen drawers occupy the tray area in a 4x4 arrangement and each one is unique, although they follow a simple rule when you group them together.

Before my first attempt, I was a bit afraid that it would take a long time to solve, because it seemed a lot more complex than it actually is. The unique configuration of each piece led me to think that only one solution was possible.

(Click to Enlarge) - Solved

I started by selecting the pieces that could fit in the first slot and when I chose one, I just continued with that strategy. When I was almost done, only three pieces remained, but couldn't fit them anymore. So, by swapping a couple of pieces I was able to fit one more. Now there were only two pieces left... After swapping places with just a few more drawers, the puzzle was solved... I couldn't believe it! It only had taken me just about 10 minutes to solve the puzzle and I thought to myself: "Well done, you genius!". I was a bit suspicious, though, and with that in mind, I took a look at the solution sheet provided. I was then able to confirm that it had at least, more than one possible solution.

Later, I searched for information about it and found on the designer's website, that he classified it as a two star level puzzle out of six. Moreover, PuzzleMaster classified it as a 6 out of 10. I was a little disappointed, as indeed, it wasn't a stroke of genius, because the puzzle is pretty much, easy to solve. Because of this easiness to find a solution and even though I'm not sure, I can most certainly assume that it has several other solutions.

When I was separating the pieces for the photos and grouping them in similar pieces, I discovered an even easier solution. All the pieces are different, but not in a random way. They form an easy to spot pattern that proves to be very helpful to pack them. You can see this in the photo below. Although, the arrangement seen isn't the final configuration, it doesn't differ much from the actual solution.

(Click to Enlarge) - The Pieces and the Tray

As pointed at the beginning of the review, there are a few online stores that sell the Apothekerschrank, but as you can verify for yourself, the most affordable option is the Brilliant Puzzles' version at $16.95. PuzzleMaster sells a much more stylish version with the drawers' handles in stainless steel, but at about $44 and more than two and a half times the price that I paid, to me, it's simply not worth it. There's also a version at Creative Crafthouse, very similar to the one I have, for $22 and finally, in Europe, Sloyd.fi sells another version for €33 (≈ $43).

Closing Comments:

Even though the solution is deceivingly easy, I love the concept of the Apothekerschrank and it's extremely fun to solve. It's ideas like these that makes me appreciate puzzles even more and ultimately, collect them.

Having several more Jean Claude's designs in my collection, you can expect more reviews of his puzzles soon...

Links:

Jean Claude Constantin - Official Website

Jean Claude Constantin at Puzzle Place

K-Dron

2012-01-26T17:09:00.000Z

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K-Dron is an eleven-sided geometrical form, invented by the Polish Janusz Kapusta in 1985. He found many uses for this kind of shape and one of them was the K-Dron puzzle.

The K-Dron puzzle consists of eight pieces, four black and four white. They all have the same form, but when two are placed on top of each other, they form a cube. This cube, in turn, shows different arrangements in each of its six sides, that can be used to create thousands of possible patterns (38,416 to be exact), just by turning and flipping the cubes.

(Click to Enlarge) - K-Dron Pieces and the 6 Cube Arrangements

The puzzle comes in a handy transparent case that can be used as a base to create your patterns. To make the puzzle more interesting and challenging, there's already included in the package, a leaflet with 72 challenges divided in three levels of difficulty. Many of the challenges in the harder level are quite challenging, as the patterns shown are viewed from a 45º, unlike the other two levels where the patterns are viewed as a regular square.

(Click to Enlarge) - Patterns as Viewed from the Harder Level

A curious and cool thing I've noticed when I was playing with it, is that when you finish a pattern, you can see on the opposite side, the negative version of that particular pattern. To better view this result, just close the case and flip it. In the photo below, there's an example of a pattern and its negative version.

(Click to Enlarge) - Right Pic: Negative Pattern of the Left One Viewed From the Bottom

Before buying the K-Dron puzzle, I read several negative comments about it in a few websites and honestly, I couldn't disagree more with these people. Clearly, the comments came from someone that understands very little about puzzles and doesn't comprehend what they're supposed to do with it, besides making "pointless patterns". Sure, you make patterns with it, which by the way I love to do, but what could you expect from such a puzzle? - Well, if you do get bored with making patterns, there's another use you can give to it and it's called K-Chess. This simplified Chess version reflects the society we see today, and for that reason, you play it with only eight pieces, four assigned to each player. Check the photos below to know more about K-Chess.

(Click to Enlarge) - K-Chess Explanation

There's also an interactive version of the K-Dron puzzle on their website, which requires you to have the original set. By showing you a certain pattern, you try to recreate it with your blocks in the fastest time possible, in order to advance to the next level. Each time you play, there's 10 different challenges, so there's plenty to do before you get bored.

Note: For you to have an idea of what can be done, you can see here, the challenges that came with the puzzle's leaflet as some of its possible patterns.

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Closing Comments:

Despite the negative feedback I saw from some people, I decided to buy a K-Dron puzzle anyway, and I don't regret it, because I love Pattern Puzzles. Now, the quality of the puzzle isn't outstanding, as it's made of hollow plastic, but I think it serves its purpose and I can highly recommend it to anyone who understands puzzles...

I bought my copy of K-Dron at a Portuguese online store, but I think you can get one at Amazon. PuzzleMaster also sells it, but it's been out of stock for quite some time, so it's better to send them an e-mail first and ask.

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Shapeshifter

2012-01-25T16:43:00.002Z

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Shape-shifting puzzles have been around for quite some time. The Rubik's Snake comes to mind, for example, but there are lots more. Creative Crafthouse has taken this concept and created the Shapeshifter, with larger wooden blocks and a bigger length.

The Shapeshifter, as the name suggests, can create many different shapes with a chain of 27 blocks held together by an elastic string. The puzzle comes in a cube form with a checkered pattern, but there's no single solution. The solution is just to build the shape you're thinking of. To get you started, comes included with the puzzle, 18 shapes for you to build. Some are easy to do, but others can get pretty complex.

You also have the choice of three length sizes: A smaller one with only 18 blocks for a beginner; the standard size, the one I'm reviewing, with 27 blocks in a 3x3x3 cube and finally, for experienced puzzlers, a large version with 64 blocks in a 4x4x4 cube.

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When you first try to make any given shape, you'll notice that the blocks won't just turn in any direction. They're grouped together in small rows of three blocks and only at every third block, the direction can be changed by 90º. Well, there's a reason why each block has two straight indentations in opposite directions. They are used to let the elastic string come out in a different direction, thus allowing to shorten or extend the length of a block row.

This clever features allows a wide number of possible shapes, otherwise impossible, and this is the key difference with other similar puzzles that used an elastic string. I have in my collection one of such puzzles, the Elastic Cube, and by having only solid cubes, the possible number of shapes you can build with it are greatly reduced.

Once you understand the workings of the Shapeshifter and built all the shapes provided, you can start building your own creations. If you've create something cool and want to share your design, send an e-mail to Creative Crafthouse and they'll make sure to include it in a log on their website.

(Click to Enlarge) - Right Pic: The 27 Blocks Unfolded

Closing Comments:

Having played with various shape-shifting puzzles, the Shapeshifter by Creative Crafthouse is a welcome addition to any collection and a fun puzzle to keep around for killing time. If you have a creative mind and can come up with all sorts of shapes and forms, I strongly recommend getting one and give it a try. If you're feeling ambitious, why not try the 64 block version instead?

The Shapeshifter can be ordered directly from the Creative Crafthouse website $9.95. The 18 block version costs $7.95 and the 64 block version costs $15.95 USD.

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Glühbirne (Light Bulb)

2012-01-24T17:02:00.004Z

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I have reviewed many great puzzles by the German designer Jean Claude Constantin and the Glühbirne (German for Light Bulb) is no exception.

As of now, this is my favorite Wire/String Puzzle. The design concept and theme is so original and funny, it captures a puzzler's attention right away. The wire frame in the shape of a light bulb is perfectly achieved. In fact, it's just about the same size as a standard light bulb and the goal is to remove the wooden plug and rope from its wire frame.

The puzzle itself is not very difficult to solve. It's rated by PuzzleMaster as a 5/10 and I think it's about right, although I don't mind the easiness, because it's a break from the routine of having to try and solve other insanely hard Wire Puzzles. It took me just around 10 minutes to remove the plug, and returning it to the initial position was equally easy.

There's no solution at the PuzzleMaster website for this one, but I'm sure you won't be needing one. Nonetheless, I will try to explain the two movements necessary to break the plug free. Don't read the next paragraph, if you want to try it on your own:

When you first analyse the puzzle, you'll notice a small ring at the bottom of the frame. This ring is constraining the movement of the string just to the inside of the frame and blocking it from moving into the outer parts of the frame. So, the first step is to get the string to this very outer part of the frame and in order to do that, you're gonna need to pass the string through the small loop at the center of the light bulb and go around the wire that in turn also goes through this small loop. When you've done that, you're going to repeat that movement, but this time, you have to first make the string pass inside that small ring at the bottom. After the loop movement, just pull the plug with the string and it should just come out. To return the string to its original position, just repeat both steps backwards.

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Closing Comments:

No love/hate towards the Glühbirne like the other Wire Puzzles, just love... Yes, it's easy to solve, but fun, and after all, not all puzzles need to be complex and tough to be appreciated. I loved the theme of the puzzle and the whole concept of removing the plug from the light bulb was very well thought and executed. Well done Jean Claude!

The Glühbirne (Light Bulb) is available at PuzzleMaster for $12 CAD (approx. €9).

Links:

Geduldspiele's Solution for the Glühbirne

Jean Claude Constantin - Official Website

Rob's Puzzle Page - Wire/Tanglement

Jean Claude Constantin at Puzzle Place

Revomaze Obsession-Black V2

2012-01-23T17:24:00.002Z

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Over a year ago, I reviewed the plastic version of the Revomaze, called Obsession by Chris Pitt (please, refer to that review for more info on the Obsession series). At that time, I also reviewed what was supposed to be the next design version of the Obsession series, but apparently the design was never commercially available. Even though they didn't use the new look, they still took a few of its design features for the V2. They still use the rubber bubble badges, which I think gives a very stylish and polished look.

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For the newcomers, the Revomaze is a Hidden Sleeve-on-Cylinder Maze Puzzle, where you navigate through an internal labyrinth and the goal is to remove the white shaft from the black sleeve. Not recommended if you easily loose your patience with puzzles, though... Right now, the V1 versions of the Obsession series are discontinued and no longer available, and the only ones you can choose from are the Blue V2, the Blue Pro V2 and the Black V2.

The first new feature, which is quite useful, is that they flattened part of the bottom sleeve, to avoid rolling on a flat surface. In comparison to the older version, now most of the sleeve surface is smooth instead of straight groove lines across it. The edges of the sleeve were rounded, making it more slick and elegant, but on the contrary, the changes in the shaft are worse. The older version had a rough surface on the shaft, which was much better to get a grip, but now the new shaft was smoothed and it's more difficult to hold it, especially if you sweat from your hands... And believe me, after a while of playing with it, you'll probably understand what I'm saying.

(Click to Enlarge) - Bottom View w/ Flattened Surface

Another new feature, and this one is the best, is that finally the shaft comes out. With the older version, when you solved the maze and didn't see the actual shaft coming out, it seemed that the challenge wasn't complete and it was a bit of a let down. Now the solving experience is much more rewarding.

Given the fact that I already owned a Blue Revomaze, I decided to go for the Black one (difficulty: 65/100), even though the new Blue Pro V2 version was available and was six times longer (difficulty: 70/100). The Black was apparently a good choice, although after more than two weeks, I'm still nowhere near the end of the maze.

It took me about 8 hours to open the first Blue Revomaze, but the Black one has been a whole different beast. I've made some progress in the first few days, but after that it's been really difficult to keep going. It seems I always end up in a dead-end. Although I don't see the actual mazes, there seems to be a major difference between the blue and black versions.

In most of the times, the blue was easy to navigate through the maze. It was like going leaning to a wall and follow a path, but with the black, a good analogy is like walking most of the time on top of a bridge, with no protection from the sides and if you deviate just a little off-path, you fall down. That's exactly my feeling whenever I hear that damned clicking sound announcing my failure once again. I'm guessing it will take, at least a few more weeks until I finally solve it.

Note: In one of my "failures", I noticed that the shaft almost came close to the end. It didn't came out, but it was sufficient to see the tiny hole holding the paper with the serial number (this was how you'd know you had solved the puzzle in the V1 and the serial number was proof that you had indeed solved it). If it wasn't for the new feature of getting the shaft to come out, I could say that the puzzle was solved, but no... Design flaw? - Honestly, I don't know what to think of it, but I'm assuming it wasn't supposed for you to get access to the serial number before solving the puzzle. You can see a photo of this below.

(Click to Enlarge) - No, not solved?!

Closing Comments:

Overall, I have mixed feelings about the new V2 Obsession series. I love most of the new features, but compared to the Extreme versions, it's a shame there are no more different levels. I understand that the Extreme Revomaze is the flagship of the company, but if they want to reach a broader audience instead of only the "elite club", they need to come up with more captivating and affordable options. That means more different Obsession levels.

Honestly, I still find very hard giving more money for a puzzle, just because it's made from metal. The whole experience of having and solving a metal version might be better, but in the end, the concept of the puzzle is the same, and to me, that's what really matters.

If having the same mazes on the Obsession, just like the Extreme, would probably "steal" a portion of the market from the more expensive ones, why not more plastic versions, but with completely different mazes. That way, the Obsession market is pleased, but there might be a chance to also captivate the interest of collectors and solvers, who will probably buy every different challenge available. Food for thought...

The Revomaze Obsession V2 can be bought directly from the Revomaze website, with prices starting from £20.

Phil Exley's 3D Puzzles (Updated)

2012-01-20T16:43:00.002Z

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EDIT (Jan. 20): Since I first reviewed these two puzzles from Phil Exley, roughly three weeks ago, I got two more beautiful examples of his work. Read about them further below in this review or jump to here.

Phil Exley is an English wood turner and puzzle craftsman living in the Algarve, Portugal, with more than three decades of experience. His great work with 3D puzzles was what caught my attention when I first stumbled upon his website. The original designs, created by him, combined with this new type of interlocking puzzles that I've never seen before, has captivated me to continue browsing and find out more about them...

You can think of his puzzles as some kind of an interlocking 3D jigsaw puzzle. When taken apart, the pieces of a puzzle have a specific way to connect in order to reassemble it. You have to follow a particular sequence and solve the puzzle in steps.

There are various difficulty levels available, from the simplest and smaller 4 to 9 piece puzzles, to the more complex and larger 49 to 64 pieces, with beautiful designs on whichever one you choose.

The ones I chose for a first time purchase are relatively easy and small, compared to others. Both of them measure about 45mm height by 37mm length (1.77"x1.46").

9 Pieces, Celtic Design

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The first one is a 9 Piece Celtic Design. You can choose two colors: one for the actual design, which can be red, black or plain wood and the other one for the surrounding puzzle or the corners, also from the three available colors. My combination of choice was red for the design and plain wood for the corners. This way, the puzzle has a good level of contrast, while enhancing the actual Celtic design.

There is a bigger version of this Celtic design available, which is three times bigger, but actually maintaining the same 9 pieces and obviously, an equal level of difficulty. The end result is very nice and elegant, measuring about 40mm by 80mm (1.57"x3.15"). There are also other cool and stylish designs to choose from, like the Sea-Horse, the Lizard or the Yin/Yang puzzles.

Taking the puzzle apart is easy and very intuitive. Essentially, the pieces can be divided in three layers, each with three pieces. Excluding the middle layer, the other two are a mirror image from each other. The part that can be more tricky, but nothing complex, is assembling it again.

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If you mix the pieces after taking it apart, it can take a few minutes to correctly guess where each one goes, giving the fact that some pieces are similar, but not actually identical. The only distinguishable piece that has not even a similar counterpart is the middle piece from the middle layer, so it'll be much easier to start assembling the puzzle from this one.

25 Pieces, 2 Colors

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The second puzzle I got was a small 25 Piece 2 Colors with wavy patterns. This one has a slightly bigger color palette to choose from, with five colors: red, blue, green, yellow and plain wood. This time, I chose blue combined with plain wood. Since the puzzle has five layers, it will create a nice alternate effect between the two colors.

The size is the same from the above one, but the larger number of pieces do make it a bit more difficult. Another different aspect is that almost all the pieces look similar, with no unique ones. Actually, to be more exact, every single piece is unique, but in a subtle way. What I mean is that, if you look at them at first glance, there's no apparent distinguishable one among all the others, like the 9-piece puzzle.

What makes every piece unique is the fact that all of Phil's puzzles are handmade, so the smallest cut imperfection on a piece will make it fit perfectly on just another one, although it might appear to fit with others. This is sort of like what you feel when building a jigsaw puzzle - sometimes a piece looks like it fits on a particular part of the puzzle, but it doesn't actually have that perfect fit, like all the others... This is actually a good thing, because when you're solving the puzzle, it adds a higher level of difficulty to it.

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Solving the 25-piece puzzle is no different than the first one. You start by building the five layers, one at a time and then sliding each to the corresponding one. The only noticeable detail between the layers is that the middle one is a bit wider than the other four, so it'll be easier to pick the five larger pieces and connect them first. Next, you can build the two colored layers and slide them onto the middle one. Spotting the colored edge pieces from the middle ones is easy, because they have a darker blue tone. You'll be then left with only ten pieces after this, to build the remaining edge layers, and you're done.

Update (Jan. 20):

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The two new puzzles that I got from Phil Exley are a 4 Piece Puzzle - 4 Colors and a Lizard Puzzle.

4 Piece Puzzle - 4 Colors

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This 4 piece puzzle is a little smaller than the Celtic Design above and the 25 piece one, measuring about 35mm length by 40mm height (1.38"x1.57").

Its particularity, though, is that it has four colors instead of the standard two - yellow, red, green and blue. Another nice feature is that, instead of one design in its four sides, it has two, alternating between a wavy spiral design and a straight lines spiral design.

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Solving this puzzle won't give you headaches, but it's definitely a nice display puzzle for a desk or it will be a nice addition to a collector's shelf.

Lizard Puzzle

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The Lizard puzzle is fascinating. This 9 piece puzzle is described as to have an Escher-like feel to it and I totally agree. The lizards merge into each other within the block and sort of creates a fantastic pattern, alternating between one straight up lizard and one upside down.

The color combo is black and plain wood for the design, and although it consists of 9 pieces, the Lizard puzzle is a bit bigger than the standard 9 piece puzzles, measuring about 70mm height by 35mm length (2.76"x1.38"), which makes it look even better.

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What amazes me the most in Phil's work is that the pieces aren't laser cut, but manually cut instead one by one. The level of precision it requires to make all these shapes are astounding and something worthy of appreciation.

The puzzle itself is not hard to disassemble or reassemble, but in a puzzle with an appearance like this, that's not really important. It's truly another collector's item, but then again, which of Phil's puzzles isn't...

Closing Comments:

I was very happy to have found Phil's 3D puzzles. Even more, because they're found right here in Portugal, where I live, which unfortunately, doesn't have a known mechanical-puzzle tradition or variety of stores, for that matter.

Worth mentioning is the "green way" all Phil's puzzles are built: He uses wooden offcuts from local carpenter shops, which would otherwise be used just as firewood, and then selects and cuts what he can take to build his puzzles. Also, all his machines are powered by solar panels.

So, for this and for the actual fantastic "green" puzzles I got, for a very reasonable price, I highly recommend paying a visit to Phil's website and check out all the different designs available. Not only they're really fun to solve, but they're also great decorative and display items. Definitely worth returning for...

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Breadbox

2012-01-19T19:52:00.004Z

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David Litwin is best known in the puzzle community for his great sequential movement designs. The Elemental puzzles and the Kilominx are just two examples of his beautiful work.

The puzzle I bought from him, though, doesn't belong in that category (sequential movement category, of course), as this is his first attempt at something different. With Packing Puzzles, especially 2D, being among my favorite type of puzzles, it's no wonder I had to get his Breadbox puzzle when I first saw it.

The original design was what caught my attention first. The concept was Bram Cohen's, with two sizes of eight rectangles each, but David added the bread theme with curves on the pieces to make the challenge a little tougher. It was David's exchange puzzle for last year's 31st IPP.

The puzzle is nicely presented in a silver tin case and inside, you can see that the frame has an elegant maple bread shape. There are eight pieces of two sizes from laser cut laminates, plus a small bread crumb piece for a second challenge. The cut pattern is very well done, resembling slices of toast. The smaller piece sizes are made of walnut and the bigger ones are made of cherry. Both sides of the pieces can be used and since they're not symmetrical, orientation matters. David has made several other combinations from those three wood types. You can find out more about them at the end of the review.

The goal is very simple to understand, even by a casual puzzler, although solving it is another whole different matter. You have two challenges: the first one is to simply place the two loaves of bread, neatly packed inside the frame. The other, which is a little more complicated, is to add the bread crumb to the already tightly packed frame. Looks almost impossible, right? - But there's enough wasted space there to find a way. You're very lucky if you can solve the second challenge in your first try. I'm saying this, because you need to understand first, how the pieces are packed and then, when you have overcome that task, you can think of a better way to pack the pieces, and find the necessary space to add the tiny piece of bread.

It took me about two hours of experimentation with the pieces to solve the first challenge. What makes this packing puzzle so special and very different from others is that it has 17 pieces, and that, in a packing puzzle is a lot. There are so many wrong ways to combine and fit the pieces together, that it's very hard to find a solution in just a few minutes of play. The pieces have these curvy lines that will waste a lot of space in the frame and in most of the attempts, the last piece on a row will stubbornly not fit in the bounds of the frame. The reason? - Probably, placing the pieces in rows or columns is not the best strategy, after all...

Spoilers Ahead - The next two italic paragraphs will describe a couple of strategies to get to the final solution. If you're not interested in reading anything about it and just find out about it for yourself, jump to the closing comments instead (just below the tin box photo).

As I hinted above, placing the pieces in a straight row won't get you anywhere. I had to give up that strategy after many failed attempts, so I started to experiment with a four piece combination. The goal is to get the best possible fit between the pieces, in order to save the most space. At first, I made these combinations in the middle of the frame, but I always ended up short of one piece to fill the first half. So, after several other attempts I was getting somewhere: The best I could come up with, was a checkered pattern between one small and one big piece in a four-piece square. When I placed another four piece combination, I saw that it fit almost perfectly and filled half of the frame, with just a very small space between the pieces. It was my best arrangement so far... I continued next with two identical combinations and to my surprise, all the pieces were finally packed, except for the bread crumb...

My first thought after I have solved the first challenge was: "Do I need to find another whole different arrangement for the pieces or do I have to make just a few adjustments?" - I found that out, approximately 10 minutes later. Dividing the pieces into four sets of four pieces each (in a square), the answer is to mirror two or all four sets, depending on your final arrangement, so that the bread crumb will fit in the middle. By mirror, I mean to flip the four pieces, as if you were turning a page and saw through the other side of it, or you can just place a small mirror beside the pieces and see the result. Do this a few times, always keeping in mind that the solution is very symmetrical. If you've read through all this and still feel the need to look at the solved puzzle, you can see an image of the two challenges, first here and second here.

(Click to Enlarge)

Closing Comments:

As I stated above and also in several other reviews, I just love Packing Puzzles, and this particular one by David Litwin is among my favorites now. The concept is absolutely brilliant for this category and I think it's perfectly achieved. For a first timer in this type of puzzles, David sure outdid himself. I look forward to see what he will do next.

At the time of writing this review, David still has 5 Breadbox puzzles for sale in four different wood combinations (you can also see this information on the TwistyPuzzles.com forum). This is a very unique design and after they've gone, it might be a while before you see new ones available, if ever, so be quick to get one if you're really into this type of puzzles. The price is $40 USD with free world wide shipping:

1x Cherry Frame, Walnut Large Slice, Maple Small Slice

1x Cherry Frame, Maple Large Slice, Walnut Small Slice

1x Walnut Frame, Maple Large Slice, Cherry Small Slice

2x Maple Frame, Walnut Large Slice, Cherry Small Slice

For reference, the one in the review is Maple Frame, Cherry Large Slice, Walnut Small Slice.

EDIT: They now have all been sold out.

Links:

History about the Breadbox production

Get My Goat

2012-01-18T16:53:00.006Z

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Creative Crafthouse has been responsible for bringing new life to some nice classic puzzles, that otherwise would've been very difficult to obtain. Get My Goat, which dates back from 1914 and designed by J. I. Wiley, is one of such examples.

This classic design is a Slide Puzzle with a very original theme. By sliding the pieces, the goal is to get the goat block inside the octagon cage (at the center), without disturbing the correct orientation of the blocks.

The puzzle is very well done, all built in hardwood with its own base and cover, and the patterns of the blocks are deeply laser engraved. The cover is also engraved with the starting position, in order to get the puzzle ready for solving it.

(Click to Enlarge) - Cover

Not counting with the piece that's supposed to be removed to play, there are 10 blocks in the puzzle, with one of them having a 2-piece length (it's the one where it reads "USA patent 1914"), which will block some of the movements. Because of its size and having only one free space to move, the large piece can only move in the upper row, back and forth.

If you've seen many slide puzzles, you'll notice that this one is a little different, with an area of 4x3 units. Usually, most puzzles have an area of 3x3 or 4x4 (like the 15 puzzle). With the 2-piece block, the strategy to solve this puzzle will also have to be different.

It takes a minimum of 28 steps to solve it, although it's very difficult to achieve that goal (John Rausch has an online Java version of this on his website, by Nick Baxter). My objective, though, was just to get the goat where it was supposed to be, and that was a hard challenge on its own. After many tries, I think I have solved it, but here's the catch: (Spoiler Ahead) - If you look closely, the top left piece of the cage is identical to the bottom right piece. Both have a pattern of forward lines. When I solved the puzzle, I noticed that these two pieces exchanged places, because even though they have identical patterns, one is slightly darker toned than the other.

(Click to Enlarge) - Left: Starting Position; Right: Solved Position

After having noticed that unusual feature on the puzzle, I think that it has indeed, a very clever solution.

Closing Comments:

Although I'm still not certain if I actually solved it (I am certain now, after reading the first two comments left by Coaster1235 and George - Thanks), the Get My Goat puzzle is a very nice example of a different take on a classic and simple concept. I recommend it to anyone interested in Slide Puzzles.

You can get your own copy at Creative Crafthouse for $20 USD. If you can afford it, there's an original from 1914 for $95 USD here.

Links:

Online Java versions of classic sliding block puzzles

Transposer Puzzles

2012-01-17T18:40:00.001Z

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The Transposer Puzzles are a series of plastic (polypropylene) puzzles manufactured by Toysmith. The ones I have here today for review are the Transposer 6 and the Transposer Genesis.

These Pattern Puzzles consist of a certain number of layers and the goal is to stack them in a correct order and orientation so that they show a unique color on one of the sides or as a harder challenge, on both sides. Each layer has a cell color arrangement that can vary from one color up to four and some of the cells are cut out to allow cells of lower layers to be seen through.

First, the Transposer Genesis. I got this one from PuzzleMaster:

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The Transposer Genesis is shaped like a 6-point star and has seven layers. Each layer has a combination of colors or cut out cells, except for two layers, which only have one solid color on each side, used as the first to solve a particular color.

There are eight different challenges you can attempt. Four of them are to make just one color on one side: red, yellow, green and blue. These first challenges are easy enough to understand how the layers can be stacked on top of each other. When you solve those ones, the other four challenges are a little harder, as you have to solve them to show one single color on both sides at the same time: the first one is to make one side solid yellow and the other side red; the second is a combination of green and blue on both sides; the third is red and green and finally, the last one is a combination of blue and yellow.

(Click to Enlarge) - Yellow and Red Combo

Even though the harder challenges take a little more time to solve, the overall difficulty of the puzzle isn't that tough. PuzzleMaster rates this as a 7/10 (challenging) and and I agree, because every solution is accomplished with just a bit of patience and the good old trial and error. With a careful analysis, though, you can also eliminate many possibilities, thus making it much easier.

... And next we have the Transposer 6:

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As the name suggests, this one has only six layers instead of seven, like the Genesis puzzle and it's triangular shaped. The use of one less layer does make it easier than the previous puzzle, but it can also be challenging.

The object of the Transposer 6 is very similar to the Genesis. You have four colors and you need to solve each particular one to show on either side of the puzzle or both sides at the same time. The colors are the same except orange is used instead of red. The harder four challenges are: green/orange; blue/yellow; yellow/green and orange/blue.

(Click to Enlarge) - Blue and Yellow Combo

The packaging for the Transposer 6 says that the Transposer 7 is also available, but I'm yet to see one at a store.

Closing Comments:

The Transposer puzzles are a very affordable choice for a nice puzzle. Currently, PuzzleMaster only sells the Transposer Genesis for about $6 CAD, so you can't go wrong with that. The use of plastic ensures that it will last long and the concept is interesting enough to try it.

Links:

Jaap's Puzzle Page - Info and solutions for the Transposer puzzles by Jaap Scherphuis.

Remove The Yolk

2012-01-13T16:38:00.002Z

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A few days ago, I reviewed Robrecht Louage's 4 Steps Visible Lock and I was very impressed with the concept of removing a coin from the puzzle. It's like getting a reward for solving it...

Today, I have another one of Robrecht's puzzles to review and this one requires to remove a coin as well. How does it compare to the previous puzzle? - Continue reading to find out.

Remove the Yolk was entered at the 2010 30th IPP Design Competition and it's about the same size as the 4SVL, also built with trespa and manufactured by Robrecht himself. The appearance of the puzzle is made to resemble an egg and the coin represents the yolk. The goal is to remove the coin, but for that you have to work out how a hidden locking mechanism works.

The mechanism consists of what appears to be small steel balls, judging by the rattling inside, and they lock some movements depending on the way you're holding it. By tilting the puzzle at different angles, it will make some of the balls inside shift back and forth, allowing this way the sliding platform with the coin to move.

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The big difference between the Remove the Yolk and the 4 Steps Visible Lock is that the latter had most of the mechanism visible and you knew what you were doing, despite the last step being a "blind step". In this puzzle, however, there's no visual perception of what's going on inside, so you have to rely only on your hearing and your sense of touch.

I solved this puzzle after the 4SVL one, and my impression is that it's a bit harder. It took me about an hour to get the coin out, and even when I solved it, I wasn't sure what I had done specifically to accomplish that. It does have its advantages, because since you don't know exactly how to do it, you can solve it multiple times and still enjoy it, until eventually you figure out the exact process to get it opened.

I found a YouTube video showing how to solve it, and after seeing it I had another try and it did work. If you have one and had enough of frustration, you can see the video here.

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Closing Comments:

After solving two of Robrecht Louage's puzzles, I can honestly say that I've became a fan of his work and I will look forward to seeing other designs by him. He also entered in other two previous IPP's with La Cerradura Doble in 2008 and La Cerradura 3D in 2009. I'm very curious to see what he prepared for his next puzzle entry at this year's IPP.

If you'd like to buy a copy of the Remove the Yolk puzzle, contact Robrecht Louage.

Cube Art

2012-01-12T17:55:00.001Z

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Cube Art was one of the 72 entries in last year's IPP Design Competition. Unfortunately, it didn't win an award, as it faced some tough contestants, but it doesn't mean that it's less interesting.

Inspired by the work of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, Durandus Dijken from The Netherlands, invented and designed the Cube Art. It comes in a nice plastic container cube with a sliding lid and it sort of reminds me of the Pattern Puzzle Instant Insanity, where you had to arrange four cubes in a row, so that it showed four different colors on each side.

In the Cube Art, the goal is similar: you have eight blocks divided in three categories: a 1x1x1 cube, a 2x2x2 cube, three 1x1x2 and three 2x2x1 blocks, and they can have a combination of six colors, although some blocks won't feature all six different colors on them. Instead, they can have a repeated color, which adds to a much higher level of difficulty. By choosing a four different color combination, you have to assemble the blocks into a cube and repeat that combination on each of the cube's six faces.

To maintain the blocks into a cube form without falling apart, the designer implemented magnets on each piece and a magnetic plate between the two layers. This way, it becomes much easier to assemble the cube.

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At first, your task is simplified at choosing the right color combination, because you are given the three known solutions. You can see three small pictures in a sticker, found at one of the magnetic plate's sides, showing which colors are part of each of the three solutions. Solution 1 has white, yellow, red and blue; solution 2 has orange, red, green and blue and solution 3 has white, yellow, orange and green.

Don't think that because you know which colors to use, that the puzzle is halfway solved. When you receive the puzzle, it already comes solved with one solution, to better give you an understanding of how it works. It took me about two hours to find the first solution, or second, if you count the one it came solved, although a while after you take it apart, you don't remember anymore, how the blocks were organized. There were many times when I had only one block left to place, but it resulted in disappointment and frustration every time, until finally in a surprising moment, I had solved it. Not easy, at all...

(Click to Enlarge) - Solution 2

Finding the last solution, however, it was much faster for me. It only took me about half an hour. Not sure if it was a stroke of genius or just pure luck, though, but the important thing is that I solved it. Now, all I need is just to find the correct block placement for the first solution, the one that the puzzle came in... Or is it? - I wish it were that simple...

(Click to Enlarge) - Solution 3

One of the coolest things about the puzzle is that, after you solve the three known color configurations, you have a much harder challenge in your hands, which is to find a fourth secret solution. This time, you don't have any information regarding the colors you're supposed to use, you're simply on your own. I still haven't found this solution yet.

The fourth solution was found by the designer himself, after the puzzle had been published, by analyzing it in further detail. In theory, there could be 15 possible configurations with the six existing colors, but only four of them are solvable. Is it really possible to have more solutions? Now there's a nice challenge for a mathematician...

Closing Comments:

I enjoyed very much, playing with the Cube Art. Besides using magnets, which is always cool in a puzzle, I liked the challenge. It requires just the right amount of frustration from you, so that it never feels overcomplicated, and yet providing a satisfying rewarding feeling.

To buy your copy, you can visit the puzzle's website or contact Durandus Dijken directly.

Shipper's Dilemma

2012-01-11T17:02:00.005Z

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The Shipper's Dilemma (or Conway's Packing Box) by mathematician John Horton Conway is no ordinary Assembly Puzzle. The version I have, manufactured by Creative Crafthouse is a puzzle solver dream, but it can also turn into a nightmare in just a few hours of failed attempts.

There are 17 pieces and they can be grouped into three categories. Counting the smaller five cubes as a unit area, the other two types are 2x2x3 and 1x2x4 cuboids with six pieces each. Your task is to unpack the pieces and be able to assemble them again into a 5x5x5 cube.

The mathematical relations between the three types of pieces is fascinating. For instance, two 3x2x2 side-by-side pieces standing up, have the same length as a 1x2x4 piece lying down... And there are several more lengths relationships between the pieces. You will notice them as you try to solve and analyze the puzzle yourself.

I have seen this concept before, where you have to assemble a certain number of regular-shaped pieces into a given shape. I have two small puzzles in my collection that fall into this category, but with less pieces (both with 9), thus much easier. See here and here. Since I've solve these two in a relatively short time, I thought that the Shipper's Dilemma, while having more pieces, shouldn't be that hard. How wrong I was...

Usually, I like to solve a puzzle before writing a review for it. Not just as a personal goal, but also to have more insight and understanding of the mechanics involved, behind the puzzle itself. This time, however, that requirement wasn't met and I'm yet to solve it. I have been trying unsuccessfully for more than a week and I've lost count how many different ways the pieces were packed.

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An interesting observation by the inventor himself is that the puzzle is almost impossible to solve by randomly assembling the pieces, and I have to agree. The number of pieces involved, which is uncommon for most Assembly Puzzles, makes a random approach pointless, because the possibilities are almost endless. You do have to carefully analyze the puzzle and try to do it in steps, always keeping in mind the very important length relationships between the pieces.

I'm not sure how many solutions are there for this puzzle, but I'm assuming by the nature of the pieces and by the large number of packing combinations, that there are several possible solutions. Finding one might prove to be a tough test to your patience and solving skills. If you know the exact number of solutions, let me know by leaving a message in the post's comments.

EDIT: Thanks to the quick answer by Coaster1235 and contrary to what I previously thought, I know now that the Shipper's Dilemma has indeed 1 unique solution. Proof that this is one devilishly hard puzzle... Feeling challenged enough now?

EDIT 2: Dave Janelle from Creative Crafthouse has sent me a presentation with analysis and instructions of the Shipper's Dilemma written by Mike Czerwinski. I gotta say, the analysis is brilliant and it just makes the whole concept seem so simple, that it's used by educators to explain various mathematical principles, such as areas and volumes or size relationships between different cubic shapes. If you're interested in knowing more about this, please contact Dave at Creative Crafthouse.

Closing Comments:

Even though I haven't solved it yet, doesn't mean I dislike the puzzle any less. On the contrary. The Shipper's Dilemma is one of the hardest Assembly Puzzles I've tried and I will continue to try it. You are provided with a solution sheet, but I will resist to look at it for as long as I can... Until I give up someday...

Besides the solving part, the presentation of the puzzle is very nice and the quality is flawless. I love the straight lines that criss-cross the entire outer box, which gives it a more elegant look. Oddly enough, I also love this smokey smell of the pieces, particularly coming from inside the cover. Not very commonly "seen" in puzzles, but I still like it.

The Shipper's Dilemma can be found at Creative Crafthouse and you can choose between two size models. $13.5 USD for the 0.7lbs version or $16.95 USD for the 1lbs version.

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Mad in China

2012-01-10T18:26:00.000Z

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Puzzle designer Jean Claude Constantin from Germany has an extraordinary collection of mechanical puzzles with his name on them. Ranging from Packing Puzzles to Wire Puzzles, he has such a wide variety of original designs, I bet you have one in your collection that you probably didn't even know it was designed by him.

Mad in China (no, it's not a typo), pun intended, will drive you mad and it's one of those examples of Constantin's genius.

The puzzle is a classic Packing problem, where you have to fit a given number of pieces into a tray, when at first glance, just seems impossible. There are four laser-cut wooden pieces, all different from each other and they resemble what you usually see in a maze pattern. In the tray, there are four small protrusions that seem to be an extension of the pieces themselves and may or may not be part of the actual solution.

PuzzleMaster rates the Mad in China puzzle as an 8/10 in difficulty and they are probably right. It is in fact, quite challenging to solve. When you try to fit the pieces into the tray, you realize that in order to pack them all, they need to overlap at least, part of another piece, since their combined areas are greater than the packing area... And this was the hardest part to figure out - How to find the correct way to connect them?

Looking at each individual piece, they look almost the same from both sides, but you can feel that the backside is much smoother than the front side. The question is, can you use any side of a particular piece in the solution? - After solving it and analyzing the result, the answer is no, leaving less possible combinations and a unique orientation. Even though this is true, it doesn't make it much less harder, because you still need to find the correct overlapping position for each piece.

I won't show a picture of the solved puzzle here, because there could be someone reading, that doesn't want any spoilers. Instead, if you really want to take a look at the puzzle in its solved state, click this link.

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Closing Comments:

Everyone that reads my reviews regularly, knows that I'm a sucker for Packing Puzzles, and Constantin's Mad in China is no exception. I love how different it is from other puzzles found in this category, so previous experience on how to solve them won't do you much good at solving this one. Definitely worth a try.

The Mad in China puzzle can be found at PuzzleMaster for $17.99 CAD.

Links:

Jean Claude Constantin - Official Website

Rob's Puzzle Page - Packing Puzzles

Jean Claude Constantin at Puzzle Place

4 Steps Visible Lock

2012-01-09T18:12:00.003Z

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Robrecht Louage is a puzzle designer from Belgium. His latest design, the 4 Steps Visible Lock, has earned him the Jury Grand Prize at the 31st IPP Puzzle Design Competirion, held last year in Berlin, Germany.

The puzzle is made of acrylic and a material called trespa. There are four steel balls, two for each different size and it measures 11.5cm Length x 6.5cm Width x 2.5cm Height (4.53"x2.56"x0.98").

The 4 Visual Tricks Puzzle, as it was first called and suggested by its name, consists of four distinct movements that keep a coin well locked inside. Your objective, as you might have guessed by now, is to slide the platform enough, so that it reaches the hole found at the right, to be able to remove the 1 Euro coin.

The beauty of the 4 Steps Visible Lock is that there are actually 5 steps you need to complete, in order to solve it, but the 5th and last one is hidden... And that's all I can say about this (un)visible step, without spoiling the solution too much.

As you first pick up the puzzle, you'll notice that the first step is a two-part locking mechanism done by a couple of small steel cylinders, located at the top and bottom of the sliding platform. The intriguing part is that, if you try to get one of the cylinders out of the way, by tilting the puzzle at the opposite direction, the other one falls into place and locks the mechanism again. You have to be patient and come up with a strategy to free both of them, at the same time and get to next step. After you overcome the first part, the three following steps are easier to achieve.

(Click to Enlarge) - Top View

The second step is related to the larger couple of steel balls at the bottom. As you tilt the puzzle to get each ball to their specific spot, they tend to follow each other, because of the nature of the movement you're trying to do. This is not that hard to achieve though.

The third and fourth steps are similar and are interconnected, as they need to be done at the same time. The two paths are executed by the two smaller steel balls and are easily accomplished.

The tricky part however, besides the first one, where you had the cylinders, is the one that you can't really see and when you finally solve it, it's when you realize its whole purpose and use for the actual coin.

Closing Comments:

After solving the 4 Steps Visible Lock, I can understand the reason why it was awarded the Jury Grand Prize at the 31st IPP. The concept is brilliant and the elegant and attractive design is what makes it so appealing to a puzzle lover.

To get a copy, you can contact Robrecht Louage by e-mail at "rlouage(at)telenet(dot)be".

(Click to Enlarge) - Solved

Culica

2012-01-05T19:24:00.007Z

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There have been quite some interesting puzzles and games coming out of the UK lately, and already reviewed by me. The iball3 and the Dioctipoid come to mind, and of course the Revomaze (V2 soon to be reviewed).

My latest discovery from the UK is the puzzle/game Culica, released in 2011 and was created by the Mad Inventor Duo (M.I.D.), with James Eadon as the game's inventor and Chris Ollivier as the entrepreneur and the business brains. What inspired the inventor to create the Culica was actually an iPhone App that James designed in 2008, called Culica Mobile. Since then, his company has already launched two new games based on the real Culica, the Culica Plasma and Culica Quest, which can be bought from their website's online store.

Now, to the actual game of Culica. The great thing about it is that there's not one, but a wide variety of single player and multi-player puzzles/games that you can play with the Culica, ranging from easy to advanced. Inside the package comes a cube and 84 pegs (28 red, 28 yellow, 14 blue and 14 green). Why less blue and green pegs? - Because with two players you can fill the entire 54 slots (9 per face) available in the cube and with four players there's no need to have more than 14 pegs assigned to each player for that to happen. Also inside the package there's a bag to store all the pegs and 4 cards with instructions and information for 5 single player and 5 multi-player games. You can find several more on the game's website and new ones are being added regularly.

Every game or puzzle played with the Culica have the same thing in common: you win by placing pegs onto the cube, following a set of rules correspondent to each game you're playing. The pegs have a design, identical on both sides, that easily allows two or more game cubes to be connected and extend the game's area. There are at least two games that require more than one cube to be played, the CuPoker and the CuFootball.

Single Player Games/Puzzles:

Being a puzzle lover as I am, I liked the single player games more, but that's what's good about it, because it can please everyone. Since there are many games available for you to play solo, I'll just describe for you, the three ones that I enjoyed most:

CuColours - This is an easy one to start with, but a bit tricky to solve. The basic idea is to have all pegs on the cube, such that no two of the same colours are touching, whether they're side-by-side or diagonal, counting face edges as well.

You can start by placing a peg on the middle of a face and put pegs around it, following the game's rules. When you complete an entire face, start the next by keeping in mind that the edge pegs of the previous face have to comply by the same rules, so no diagonals or straight lines allowed between faces.

(Click to Enlarge) - CuColours Solved

Although it's not that easy, it's perfectly possible to fill the cube's six faces with pegs. When you complete two or more faces, you can see that a colour pattern has been produced. Just follow that pattern in order to solve the rest of the cube.

CuWizard - You can think of this one as a version of the popular Sudoku. The objective is to have a straight row of four different colours, with two on one face and two on another. Do as many rows as possible, until you can fill the entire cube.

(Click to Enlarge) - CuWizard Solved

This one was quite hard to solve. I had to remove an entire face of pegs several times before I was able to fill the 54 slots on the cube. Like the CuColours puzzle, after you complete the first two or three adjacent faces, you'll notice a repeated colour pattern that you can use for the rest of the remaining slots.

CuRing - This one is very challenging. Haven't yet been able to completely solve it. The goal is to have 48 pegs in the cube, with only six slots remaining, so that no two colours are closer than 4 spaces apart, although it's possible to have two pegs close to each other in diagonals.

(Click to Enlarge) - CuRing Partly Solved

Given the fact that every peg has to be separated 4 spaces from another one of the same colours, it will be very hard to place all 48 pegs into the cube. The photo above shows only a portion of this challenge solved.

Multi-Player Games:

Even though I liked the single player puzzles more, I still tried a few multi-player games and they were a lot of fun. Some of the games can take up to 12 players, so there's plenty of action to enjoy.

Two of the multi-player games I enjoyed most were the CuFrog and the CuSol. The CuFrog requires that each peg you put in the game, one turn at a time, be one space apart (hop) from the previous peg placed in the cube until there's no more valid moves. You win by being the last player standing.

The CuSol is similar to the classic marble game, Solitaire. Here, players start by completely fill at random the cube with 27 red and 27 yellow pegs for two players, 18 pegs of each three colours if it's for three players or for four players, then you'll fill the cube with 14 red, 14 yellow, 13 blue and 13 green pegs.

With each player taking turns for their colour, you remove a peg by hopping over it side-by-side, with diagonals being illegal moves. If you can't take an opponent peg, then you must remove one of your own. The game continues until there's only one player left.

There are still many more games and puzzles you can try and with the Culica team releasing new ones very often, there's a lot to expect from them in the near future, so stay tuned. If you want to see some videos by the Culica team, to better understand the game's dynamic, here's their YouTube Channel.

(Click to Enlarge) - Game Contents

Closing Comments:

The Culica is very different from what I've seen, in a good way, and as a puzzle collector, I've seen a lot of puzzles and games.

After you've played all those games and still feel unchallenged, why not create a game or puzzle with your own set of rules, if you're feeling creative, or just play with it to create cool patterns with the coloured pegs. The game is very versatile and you have everything you need to create very interesting games. You can also share your creations in the Culica Forum.

The game's company think that the Culica can be ranked alongside chess and playing cards as one of the most important games in history. Will this become true? - Well, it has many things in its favor, such as lasting appeal, variety of play and it's very affordable, so only You will tell...

Half Hour Puzzle

2012-01-04T16:46:00.003Z

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The Half Hour puzzle is Stewart Coffin's #29 on his extensive list of more than 200 original designs. It was designed in 1980 and it was Stewart's (successful) attempt at creating a Soma-type cube with a unique solution.

The copy I have for review today, is made by Creative Crafthouse, all made with wood with the cover measuring about 7,5cm (approx. 3").

There are a couple of key differences between the Half Hour and the Soma Cube. What they do have in common is that they're both 3x3x3 cubic dissections.

- The first difference is that the Half Hour has six pieces instead of seven, all dissimilar. The Soma Cube had two similar pieces, but they were mirror images from each other.

- The Half Hour has only one unique solution and the Soma Cube has 240.

These differences are what makes the Half Hour puzzle so interesting. The name comes from the fact that Stewart thought half an hour was a good time to solve the puzzle.

As the puzzle has this very unique particularity with its name, I was actually curious to know the time it would take me to solve it and so, I timed my first attempt (about two weeks ago)... Well, it didn't take me exactly 30 minutes or less, but 36 minutes can't be that bad, can it? I was surprised to solve it so close to the actual 30 minutes, so I guess Stewart was absolutely right when he said that. My second attempt, just before writing this review was about 12 minutes. Probably the first attempt was still fresh in my mind, though, as I remembered how certain pieces should be placed...

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You might be asking yourself, how does the Half Hour puzzle compare in difficulty, to the Soma Cube? Is it more difficult just because it has only one solution, or the fact that it has so many placement restrictions for a given piece, makes it even easier? - In fact, I can answer those questions, because I have a Soma Cube in my collection and gave it a try, to see how long it took me to find one of the 240 solutions. Answer: 2 minutes! I guess it's clear which one is harder...

Closing Comments:

Creative Crafthouse's own version of the Half Hour puzzle is definitely worth a look. The puzzle is very well made and contrary to what I thought it was, what appears to be the lid, is meant to be the actual base for solving the puzzle and the longer part is the cover. For what you get, the price is also very affordable at $16 USD.

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Cupid's Dart

2012-01-03T17:45:00.000Z

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The Cupid's Dart is PuzzleMaster's own version of Uncle's Suffacator puzzle. PuzzleMaster's version does have a more attractive design, instead of some random figure though.

As I've said in previous reviews of Wire/String puzzles, my relationship with them is somewhat of a love/hate type. They can seriously frustrate you for several weeks or months straight without even a slight advance in figuring out its solution. But when you do finally discover the so much coveted solution, the rewarding feeling is worth the wait.

I have to be honest, I fear String puzzles even more than all-Wire Puzzles. They're quite sturdy and can stand up to most attempts at bending or breaking them, but you can mess up a String puzzle pretty good with some serious knots, which is quite scary, actually. Some of them can be messed up almost beyond repair, so when you're solving one and you're uncertain of the end result, proceed with caution. You've been warned...

The Cupid's Dart has its name because of its appearance, which really looks like a dart. The object is to remove the string from the wire frame. To make your task even tougher, the string goes through a ball that's large enough so that it doesn't pass inside the two ring loops in the frame. It does go through the arrow part of the puzzle, though.

The difficulty of Cupid's Dart is rated as a 9/10 (Gruelling) by PuzzleMaster and I wouldn't be surprised if it were indeed a 10/10, although its solution was kind of spoiled for me.

When I was trying to solve the puzzle for the first time, I noticed that one of the loops found at the arrow part (not to be confused with the actual bigger ring loops), was a bit more open than the other. This gap in the frame was actually big enough to let the string pass, so before I knew it, the string was out.

I became a little suspicious after solving the puzzle so fast, in about 10 minutes. It seemed much easier than I was expecting, so, even though I don't normally see the solution, unless I gave up completely, I had to download PuzzleMaster's solution and take a look to see what was going on. I should've known better... The solution had nothing to do with what I did to solve it. Then, after a moment of pure discontentment for my poor attempt at solving it, I put the string back to its original state. If you have given up, you can find the solution here.

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I have to say, from what I saw in the solution, it is quite hard to figure it out, even after several hours dedicated to it. I guess it's one of those companions for months of hard work... I'm gonna have to give it another go, when I don't have the solution so fresh in my head.

Closing Comments:

Despite the fact that I didn't actually solved it, I liked the Cupid's Dart. It has a recognizable shape, which not all Wire/String puzzles have and it's a real challenge if you're feeling courageous enough.

The Wire/String puzzles have something that it's truly hard to achieve and not all puzzle types can do this effectively: value for your money. Most of them are relatively cheap to buy, but you'll use it for quite some time until you solve it, so it's really worth it.

The Cupid's Dart is available at PuzzleMaster for $9.95 CAD.

All Five

2011-12-30T18:35:00.001Z

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Physicist Wayne Daniel is the inventor of this fantastic puzzle. The All Five puzzle is actually a 5-in-1 puzzle containing the 5 platonic solids - An icosahedron (20 faces), a dodecahedron (12 faces), four octahedra (8 faces), an hexahedron or cube (6 faces) and nine tetrahedra (4 faces).

Inside the package, with the puzzles, comes a DVD with special features, such as a presentation on how the puzzle is built and how it is solved, also with the history behind the platonic solids and the mathematics involved. Featured as well, is an interesting biography of the inventor.

The puzzle contains a total of 37 pieces (when first developed in 2004, it consisted of 41) and the idea is to build each smaller puzzle (solid) so that it fits into the immediate larger one, reminiscent of a matryoshka doll. Essentially an Assembly/Packing puzzle, each solid will fit perfectly into the corresponding one, without leaving a single empty space.

The larger solid, the icosahedron, comes in five pieces, all different. It's a bit complex, but not that difficult to assemble. I love the stripes pattern on this particular solid, which is the one you only see when the whole puzzle is solved.

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The next puzzle is the dodecahedron, with only three pieces, that will nest inside the icosahedron. With such a small number of parts, this is an easy one to solve. Worth noting though, is the different wood work used on this particular solid, in order to differentiate between the pieces of another one, which is a nice touch, not to have all puzzles with the same appearance.

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Following the dodecahedron is the cube, an hexahedron with six jigsaw-like pieces, similar to what you see in a Happy Cube. This might seem a little hard at first to solve, but with only six pieces and careful observation, it becomes easier to spot if a piece will connect to another or not, because of the indentations on each piece (no two pieces are the same). The's only one solution to solve the cube.

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The hardest part of the All Five puzzle is to fill the cube, but first, you have to fill the largest tetrahedron, that will also fit inside the cube, which is very easy to solve by the way, with only two pieces.

The large tetrahedron is filled by the smaller octahedron found in the puzzle, and four smaller tetrahedra. It's not hard to come up with this solution, but since it's probably the first you'll solve, it might be a little tricky, with all those smaller pieces around, to complicate things.

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When you have the large tetrahedron solved, it's time to place it into the cube and find a way to get all the remaining small pieces inside as well. The smaller pieces with a stripe pattern are what makes this stage of the whole puzzle, much more complex and devious.

If you take a closer look, each four stripe pieces form an octahedron, when correctly put together, but they won't be grouped like this in the actual solution. Instead, alternated with the remaining four tetrahedra, they will fit perfectly around the larger stripe tetrahedron, already inside the cube.

After the cube is filled with the smaller solids, the puzzle will now be much easier to assemble, because the hardest part is already solved.

Closing Comments:

The All Five is a fascinating puzzle and a work of art. What makes it so extraordinary is the harmonious relationship between each solid and the way which is presented to you. Each puzzle is very well elaborated, most are somewhat easy to solve, with the exception of one. After all, it wouldn't be so fun having to solve only easy puzzles...

The All Five is available at SeriousPuzzles.com for $43.95 USD.

Interlock Four

2011-12-28T17:07:00.000Z

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Stewart Coffin is an absolute master when it comes to Interlocking Puzzles. He has contributed with so many designs to the puzzle community, that he has his own numbering system for his creations. The one in this review is his #93, the Interlock Four or Four-Piece Interlocking Cube.

This particular version is built by Creative Crafthouse and judging by their high quality standards, this one doesn't disappoint in any way. To create a different appearance to an otherwise plain flat cube, the pieces have been hand sanded to create these beautiful grooved lines.

The puzzle consists of four unique pieces. One with 8 square units, one with 7 and two with 6 for a total of 27, making a 3x3 cube measuring 7.8cm (3.07"). The pieces are interlocked in such a way that it requires each one to be taken apart in a correct sequence.

Taking the cube apart is not so difficult. The pieces slide off easily, so it's just a matter of choosing correctly the right little squares to pull off the cube. Once the first piece is out, the others are much easier to separate and the puzzle is all but done.

The real challenge, however, is to assemble the cube back to its cube form. The shapes of the pieces are so complex that it's a really tough task just to connect two pieces. You will be able to join two pieces several times tough, but as you go on and try to fit the remaining ones, you'll face inevitable failure.

What you have to keep in mind, while trying to join two pieces together is the actual length of the cube, which is 3x3. If you're connecting two pieces and the fit is more than 3 squares lengthwise, then you'll automatically know that you're out of bounds and you have to try another piece orientation, until you finally have a perfect cube.

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Closing Comments:

The Interlock Four is quite different from what I'm used to, in other Interlocking Puzzles - Burrs are the most commonly found and recognizable. However, the difference is very welcome. The puzzle offers an entirely original take on this category and provides a puzzler with a rewarding challenge.

This Interlock Four version can be purchased at Creative Crafthouse.

Trick Lock - Broken Heart

2011-12-27T16:38:00.002Z

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Trick Locks have a long history and are among the oldest types of puzzles, dating back from a couple of centuries ago.

Most Trick Locks are usually opened by only one or two simple movements, although they're not so simple to figure out right away. There are a few however, much more complex, that do require a series of movements to open, but that's for another time...

The Broken Heart, also called Ace of Hearts in the Houdini Locks Collection, is PuzzleMaster's version of this simple puzzle lock, built in brass.

The heart-shaped lock comes with a spare key and no different from the traditional Trick Locks, you just have to find out the single movement required to open it. It's a bit smaller and lighter than the other ones in the collection, but it's the same good quality, although it can be easily scratched.

PuzzleMaster rates it as a level 5/10 puzzle and I couldn't agree more. The lock is fairly easy to open, actually it only took a few seconds to open, so it's recommended as a good introduction to anyone not familiarized with this type of puzzles.

Spoiler Ahead: The solution is quite intuitive, at least I thought it was. When you first introduce the key and you realize that it doesn't do nothing, the next thing to do is pull the key out just a little bit more and try again. The lock will open after a couple of tries like this. To close it again, just do the same movement backwards, while keeping the shackle down.

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Closing Comments:

The Broken Heart is a nice little lock, well designed and easy to solve. This easiness to open it is the only drawback that I have to point out though, because if you're an experienced puzzler, you won't feel challenged enough. Although, if you're a collector, it's a great acquisition for its original and unique appearance.

The Trick Lock - Broken Heart can be purchased at PuzzleMaster for $14.99 CAD, along with other great puzzle locks available.

Links:

Rob's Puzzle Page (Trick Locks)

Popplock (German hand crafted locks)

Lock Museum

Magic Puzzles.org

Lock Collector (a lot of old trick locks)

Article about an Indian lock collector

Paradigm Puzzles - Interlace Square

2011-12-26T16:49:00.001Z

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I don't know why, but I love laser-cut puzzles. Maybe it's because of their precision cut lines and beauty of the small pieces, which is harder to achieve with other types of puzzles. My latest acquisition deservedly falls into this category.

The Paradigm Puzzles are a really nice small collection of six wooden Packing Puzzles by Family Games America and designed by William Waite. They are beautifully laser-cut into these intricate patterns and vary in difficulty. The one I have, Interlace Square is based on an Arabic pattern and it's the hardest of the six (classified as 9/10).

The puzzle comes with its own 10.8 x 10.8 cm (4.25") tray with 13 pieces, all different from each other. This adds an extra degree of difficulty, as you can't separate them into similar groups. Even though it's hard to solve, there are numerous possible solutions. Finding one may be the trickiest part, though...

I suggest that you spend a couple of minutes just to study the puzzle in its solved state, before dumping the pieces on the table. When you first attempt to solve the puzzle, it's hard to visualize the whole pattern, so that's why it's better to know how the puzzle looks like when solved. You do have a picture of the puzzle, engraved on the back of the tray, but this becomes hard to look at when you're putting the pieces and attempt to flip it.

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There's a few tips you can use to solve the Interlace Square:

- One of them is that each piece appears to be usable on both sides, but that's actually not true. Only the front side of a piece is valid, because the backside doesn't have the lines of the pattern engraved on it, so that's half of the possibilities cut down.

(Click to Enlarge) - Left Pic: Front - Correct Side; Right Pic: Backside

- Another small detail on the pieces that you can take advantage is the natural lines on the wood, which are well defined straight lines and will help you figure out the correct orientation, which will be just two instead of four. If you're stuck and want to find and easier solution, you can disregard this.

The puzzle took me a good 40-45 minutes to solve. Placing the first piece was the hardest part, but after that, you begin to understand how the pieces connect to each other and the rest will follow in no time. I had to solve it a second time later, after I took the pieces again to take pictures and this time around, it was much faster at about 10 minutes. Not bad for a second try...

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Closing Comments:

The Interlace Square is not only a beautiful puzzle to look at, but a good challenge as well. The complex lines on the pattern are what makes it so difficult and at the same time, really fun to solve. Recommended for the Packing type enthusiasts.

The Paradigm Collection can be found at SeriousPuzzles.com for a reasonable $14.95 USD.

Marusenko Sphere

2011-12-23T20:32:00.002Z

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These 5 little Twisty Puzzles are called the Marusenko Sphere. Almost two years later after their entry in the IPP 29, they finally became available worldwide at the beginning of this year (2011).

Produced in Spain and designed by Felix Perez and Alexandr Marusenko, the spheres come in five different levels of difficulty with ten color schemes - Five color versions for level 1, two for level 4 and the remaining three levels, all with a unique color scheme.

Each sphere comes nicely packaged with a stand and protective transparent case, which makes for a great display item. The scheme of choice is colored plastic instead of stickers, which by the way is absolutely spot on. I actually prefer colored plastic in sphere Twisty Puzzles, rather than stickers, because the actual form of the puzzle is much more prone to have the stickers peeling off, after a while.

I tried to take the sphere apart to show the core, but it was really difficult and I was afraid to break something. In the tutorial though, the assembling process of the sphere is described as not using glue or any metallic elements, for example, springs or screws, commonly found in other Twisty Puzzles.

The basics of the Marusenko Sphere, regarding its mechanical movements, it's like a rounded 2x2 cube with a twist. The twist is the four central triangles in each of the six poles. This kind of resembles the challenge found in the line of Crazy Cubes and also the 2x2x4 ShengShou, reviewed by me last year. What I liked most in the ShengShou was precisely the center triangles and this new additional challenge, of having to orientate them correctly.

So, basically if you can solve, even a 2x2 cube, then you'll definitely be able to solve (in theory) any level of the Marusenko Sphere. Even though the higher levels are much more tough to work out, the principle is the same. It's recommended to start by a lower level to get the hang of it, but if you're an experienced twisty solver and you can't get all of them, then go for it, because it's quite easy to pick up right away. Besides, all of the levels come with their respective tutorial, if you get stuck, so no worries.

Level 1: 2 Colors Sphere - Black & White

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This is the easiest Marusenko Sphere to get started and it has only two colors, making a nice contrast. There are many color possibilities for this scheme and that's also why you see five different versions of this, giving you the possibility of choosing your preferred color combination.

One of the perks of having only two colors, is that you can solve the sphere into many possible patterns. It comes in a checkered pattern, but the Marusenko website shows eight more different ones, although I'm sure you can do even more.

Level 2: Circular Sphere

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This is my favorite in terms of appearance. The main body is all white, leaving only the six poles, each with a different color.

This is the perfect sphere to train for the higher levels. Focusing on this challenge alone by having only the poles to worry about, will give you an insight on how to tackle this particular task on the other spheres. It may seem difficult at first, but you'll get there eventually. To ensure a proper scramble of the sphere, make sure you have four different triangles in each pole.

There isn't other patterns you can do with the Circular Sphere per se, however, you can try to group different colors together, adding this way another degree of difficulty.

Level 3: Flag Sphere

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The third level starts to add a bit more difficulty. With two colors for the main body and two more on each opposite poles, it gets harder to solve. This is my favorite one for solving. It's right there in the middle as not so hard, but with just the right amount of difficulty to have fun and being challenged enough without too much stress.

When you have the sphere well scrambled, the first thing you should do is getting the body colors in their right position and just then, you may finish solving the poles.

The Flag Sphere also provides a variety of different patterns for you to solve. You can see a couple of examples in the pictures below.

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Level 4: Contrast Sphere

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There are two versions for this level. Besides the Contrast Sphere, with black, white, yellow and orange, there's a classic color scheme available with yellow, red, green and blue. They're exactly the same difficulty, so it's up to you to choose.

Even though the level 4 sphere has the same colors as the level 3, the difficulty is much higher because they're spread differently. Instead of two colors for the main body like the previous one (excluding the two colors of the poles), the Contrast Sphere has four colors.

The tips for solving this one are pretty much the same as the level 3. Getting the main body parts in the correct position is a bit trickier, but easily done. The harder is to get the triangles in their places, as there's only two possible ways for doing this. To be more exact, it's six correct positions, around the two respective body parts for that color.

Level 5: Triangular Sphere

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... And we're finally on the hardest sphere to solve. With eight different colors to worry about, one for each main triangle, this'll be as tough as it gets.

One thing that you'll realize when you try to solve the Circular Sphere, is that there's no need to get the main body parts in their correct places. Since they're all a different color, what you have to do is "just" get each of the three triangles of the same color around their respective body color, although "just" is an understatement. This challenge alone will prove to be enough to test your resolve.

Besides all the different color groups you can solve the sphere into, you can try at least another one, which is color contrast. Choose between two colors at a time and solve it by exchanging their corresponding triangles into the opposite main body color. Example in the picture below.

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Closing Comments:

What I loved most about the Marusenko Sphere, in general, was the wide range of color schemes to chose from and the different levels it has. Extra points for not settling with just one version and be done with it. Although the basic principles were out there already in other puzzles, the Marusenko Sphere is different in its own way and manages to achieve what others didn't - Variety.

If you want to get the most out of the Marusenko, try to get the five levels available and start at the first level, working your way up to level 5. Highly recommended for any Twisty Puzzle collector.