Orsi

Name
Orsi (Tamas named the puzzle Orsi after one of his family members)

Designer
Tamas Vanyo. To see his designs click here.

Manufacturer
Pelikan. Online sellers PuzzleMaster of Canada are retailing them at CA$49.99 while Mr Puzzle of Australia for A$55.00

Type & Classification
Interlocking, sequential movement

Dimensions
8.3cm (Length) x 8.3cm (Width) and 6.0cm (Height). Nice beefy size for the hands.

Materials & Construction
A combination of 2 solid hardwoods. The frame is Bubinga and the pieces are Maple. As usual, excellent construction, fit and  finishing throughout. All the pieces are very precisely cut and fit just nicely. Not too snug and movement is smooth.

Overview

This is my second puzzle from Tamas, the first one being Noncsi reviewed a while back.

I must say when I first handled and looked at the Orsi, I thought I would be in for a long haul. It looked like a really complicated interlocking burr. 

The Orsi consist of a box frame without top and bottom and surrounding the 4 sides are rectangular cut-outs. Nestled within the frame are 6 congruent "U" shaped pieces which interlock together. 

I started with the usual pushing and pulling and generally trying to feel my way around the puzzle. Some pushing downwards and two of the pieces came out, one after the other. The next challenge was to get the remaining 4 out and this time, some pulling in the opposite direction did the trick. The next 2 pieces slid. The final 2 were easy. Re-assembly was the reverse and because all 6 pieces were the same, this made it easier. No Burr Tools required here; what a relief! Even the photos which I usually take to document my steps were not needed.

As I am usually lousy with interlocking burrs, I was actually pretty surprised at myself for solving the Orsi in a relatively quick time, within minutes rather than hours/days. As fellow puzzle blogger Kevin Sadler has remarked, you have not solved it until you can repeat your performance twice in succession, to show the solving was not a fluke.

I disassembled the Orsi and put it back together again, not twice but trice!

Difficulty Level

This is a level 7.3.3.2.3 puzzle requiring 7 moves to remove the first piece and a 3 to remove the second and so on. Personally I found it easy-moderate in difficulty, certainly easier than the Noncsi. So will not pose too much of a challenge for experienced burr puzzlers.

Summary
Again, one of those interlocking burrs that look rather intimidating at first glance, but actually very doable. Play with it slowly and deliberately and you will discover that the interlocking mechanism/process is actually not as complicated as it seems, but consists of some repeated steps which are easy to remember. I like this one; provides a feel good factor - I managed to solve it without any frustration!