Euro Falle 03

Over the weekend I had read Mike Desilets' guest post about the Euro Falle 02 on Kevin Sadler's puzzle blog and decided that I should bring my copy of the Euro Falle 03 with me for my five-day business trip. I thought I could get in some puzzling during the evenings after work. Of course I also wanted to make sure that I had something that can withstand the rigors of being tightly packed in my luggage without a risk of damage. The Euro Falle 03 was just the right puzzle.

I had obtained my Euro Falle 03 from Allan Stein during the IPP35 Puzzle Exchange in Ottawa, Canada just this past August. Like the Euro Falle 02 and 04, the 03 is the design of Jurgen Rieche and one of the more recent offerings in a range of products coming from Siebenstein-Spiele.

In terms of quality, manufacture and attention to detail, I think Mike has already summed it up pretty well. In fact his review (for a first time blog post) is not only impressive but comprehensive; and I have really nothing more to add. Like the Euro Falle 02, the puzzle consists of layers of laser cut wood stacked together and as Mike has stated, it is very solid and heavy. 

Dimensionally the Euro Falle 03 is just slightly short of 8 cm x 8 cm, about 2.5 cm high and bears a rounded shape with protruding corners. The 03 has 4 wooden layers making it thicker and heftier than the 02. This puzzle can stand a lot of abuse!

What's the solving like? Well I have not played with 02, but based on Mike's description of the 02, it would appear that the 03 probably has a similar mechanism. While it took me around half an hour to figure how to remove the Euro coin, the actual solving itself is pretty fast (once you know how). 

Suffice to say, the Euro Falle 03 is a rather tricky puzzle for the uninitiated and inexperienced. Looking at the way its been designed, one could conceivably spend a considerable amount of time trying to figure things out (and possibly barking up the wrong tree) before the "a-ha" moment finally kicks in. But once you know the solution, re-solving is easy. Damn...I should have brought a couple more puzzles...I have another 3 nights to go!

Puzzle Master retails the Euro Falle 02 (CA$23.99), 03 and 04 (CA$34.99 each), Puzzle-shop.de stocks the 03 and 04 (25 Euros each) while Brilliant Puzzles carry only the 02 (US$24.95)

[All photos above of the Euro Falle 03 shot with an iPhone on my hotel room bed]