Aluminium Cylinder Box

I got the Aluminium Cylinder Box from Oy Sloyd Ab nearly 5 months back and it was only today that I finally managed to solve it! More about this later....

The Cylinder which is designed and made by Wil Strijbos is a very well machined polished aluminium puzzle measuring about 2in tall with a diameter of 1 1/2in. Quality, fit and finish like all of Wil's metal puzzles are excellent. The object of the puzzle is to take the cylinder apart to remove several ball bearings within it. As can be seen from the photo, the puzzle is made up of two main portions, a "cap" on top of the cylindrical body. The cap can be rotated as well as depressed slightly and you will be able to feel that it is positioned atop a spring which returns the cap back to its original position once you let go. Inside you will hear the ball bearings rolling about. At the bottom of the cylinder, there is a small hole to which you can shine a torch light into and see an empty recess within, or in some cases, you may see a ball beariing clanging about.

After I got the puzzle, I spent several days on it and despite twisting and turning, shaking the cylinder and whatever else I could think of to try to take apart the cap, nothing worked. I gave up and emailed Wil for some clues. Wil gave me two clues but not the solution, but at least now I had something to go on. I followed the clues but still could get no where. I decided to give the puzzle a rest and went on to other puzzles that I had acquired that week. The cylinder became forgotten for several months until today that I decided to give it another shot....back to the clues from Wil and this time after some more careful study of the clues,  I finally managed to open the cylinder and out came 4 ball bearings.

I have deliberately positioned the solved puzzle the way I did in the photo so as not to reveal the internals of the cylinder, for the benefit of those who are still trying to solve it on their own unaided. What amazed me was the way the puzzle has been designed and constructed on the inside to appear rather simple in the physics of how to take it apart, but yet at the same time devilishly clever to make it very difficult to solve without clues or the solution.

To be honest, if I had not gotten the clues from Wil, I doubt if I could have opened the cylinder on my own. Looking at the cylinder now, I have reservations whether I can solve it quickly and repeatedly. For now, I will leave the cylinder opened and keep it away again until I am ready to put everything back together for another bout of solving.

The Aluminium Cylinder has been reviewed by a number of other bloggers so you may wish to look at Neil's, Kevin's, Oli's and Allard's puzzle blogs. For those who really insist on seeing what the cylinder looks like when taken apart, scroll down and see the photo at Rob's Puzzle Page.

4Ts

This diminutive puzzle, according to the seller who sold it to me (identity withheld by request) was designed by Jean-Claude Constantine.

It is a tiny packing puzzle comprising of a wooden box frame measuring 1 7/8in x 1 7/8in x 7/8in into which 4 aluminium Ts are to be placed inside. I have been told that the wood used here by Jean-Claude is Wenge (thanks to Geduldspiele for highlighting this to me). The base appears to be 1/8in plywood.  The 4Ts is pretty well constructed with good fit and finish. The aluminium Ts are also well cut without any rough edges.

With 1 of the 4 Ts inserted here...

The goal is to place the 4 Ts back into the box so that everything fits in nicely together with nothing sticking outwards and all 4 Ts are flush with the top of the box. It may look simple at first but it took me a bit of trial and error and re-arrangement here and there before I slotted in the last T nicely. I have deliberately not shown a photo of the puzzle in the solved state since this is a sure giveaway of the solution.

Fire Plug

Update 23 October 2017 - Dear Reader, please check out my new puzzle blog and e-store at http://mechanical-puzzles.com

This puzzle is another one of Marcel Gillen's designs and like the name it bears, looks rather like a fire hydrant. In fact if you didn't know it was a mechanical puzzle, you would have mistaken it for perhaps a multi-directional valve or some heavy duty machine part, owing to its industrial-like appearance.

I acquired this puzzle from the same anonymous private seller who had sold me the Queen, Pawn and Rook reviewed in an earlier post. Like Marcel's chess piece puzzles, the Fire Plug is very rare and cannot be obtained from any online puzzle shop as far as I am aware.

The Fire Plug is a very heavy puzzle (feels almost the same weight as a Revomaze Extreme) with a ball burnished cylindrical body made out of aluminium (most likely by cast moulding). Inserted into the sides of the cylinder are 2 brass pegs, each 2 1/2in long with a cross section diameter of about 5/8in. On one end of one of the pegs are the initials M and G. The cylinder body is 3 1/4in tall with a diameter of 1 5/8in. My copy is well made and fit and finish is very good.

The object of the puzzle is to extract the brass pegs from the Fire Plug to reveal a hidden item within the puzzle, in this case a tiny little cute plastic Dalmatian dog with a fireman's hat. Marcel Gillen had chosen to hide a Dalmatian inside the puzzle for good reason - because Dalmatians have long been associated with fire fighting; click here to read the rather interesting history.

I found the Fire Plug very difficult to solve. My initial fiddling with the brass pegs and causing one of them to rotate and slide from end to end gave me the impression that the two brass pegs were locked vis-a-vis the cylinder body. Further more the way the two brass pegs were positioned relative to each other suggested that both were criss-cross interlocked somehow as well. I also heard some other sounds (apart from the Dalmatian rolling about inside) which indicated that there was another moving part involved, either a tiny ball bearing or pin of some sort, which is not entirely uncommon in puzzles of this nature where everything is hidden from view. I thought  I could "feel" my way to unlocking and removing the brass pegs from the cylinder. But boy was I wrong! I tried all sorts of moves by the book including twisting and turning, pulling and pushing, turning the cylinder upside down, shaking it, banging it etc but to no avail.

In the end, after some time trying, I gave up and decided to go for the solution. The moment I looked at the solution, I realised that there was no way I could have solved the puzzle without it. The way the brass pegs are locked in place is very clever indeed and to solve the puzzle, one had to execute a number of moves in a particular manner and sequence. However, once you memorise the moves, it is easy to repeat solving the puzzle.

Overall the Fire Plug is an extremely challenging puzzle indeed and aside from its unique (and interesting) appearance, ranks very highly as a collector's puzzle due to its rarity. Don;t hesitate to buy it if you come across one.

All Hail The Queen, Pawn & Rook

Update 23 October 2017 - Dear Reader, please check out my new puzzle blog and e-store at http://mechanical-puzzles.com

In one of my earlier reviews, I had already written about All Hail The King. This post will deal with another 3 of Marcel Gillen's chess piece wonders. Like the King, All Hail The Queen, Pawn and Rook are no longer sold commercially by any of the usual online puzzle retailers. By chance, I was really very fortunate to have acquired these 3 rare puzzles from a private seller, who has requested that I not state his identity in this blog.

First up is the Queen, standing slightly shorter than the King at 5 1/2in with a base of about 1 7/8in in diameter. The Queen was Marcel's exchange puzzle for IPP 20 in Los Angeles. Quality of construction is pretty good for my copy despite it being cast aluminium and I can detect no joint lines visible on my Queen.

The Queen with the little diamond out

The object of the puzzle is to remove (as I was to later find out after solving the puzzle) a small (fake) diamond from inside the Queen. Diamonds being a girl's best friend was probably why Marcel thought appropriate to hide one inside the Queen. While not difficult, the Queen does pose a bit of a challenge. The solution is similar to the King but with a slight difference. I did not encounter any problem while solving the Queen, as what a couple of puzzle bloggers had experienced owing to the less than perfect quality of construction of their copies, which had occasionally resulted in the puzzle being jammed, while being taken apart.

Next is the Pawn. This one measures about 4 1/2in tall and 1 7/8in at the base. Construction here is also by aluminium casting and the quality of my copy is as good as the Queen.  However my Pawn did come with some minor rub marks on the ball and sides probably due to handling and chaffing against its own packaging.

The Pawn with the cheap plastic coin

The goal is to remove a small plastic coin, similar to the one found in the King. While the solution here again is similar to both the King and Queen, there are about 3-4 extra steps needed to be executed in a particular sequence before the coin can finally be extracted from inside the Pawn. This makes it a far more challenging and engaging puzzle than either the King or Queen. This is the only puzzle of the 4 which I decided to resort to looking at the solution after quite some time trying.

Finally we have the Rook. The Rook here is different from the previous 3 in that it is not produced by aluminium casting but crafted from a solid aluminium block (CNC machining perhaps?); much like the way William Strijbos produces his metal puzzles. Quality and construction here are excellent. The crown portion of the Rook is polished aluminium while the body is ball burnished. Shortest of the 4, it stands at about 3 3/4in tall and 1 /78in across at the base.

The Rook is of superior quality; even the hidden item (a pawn) is well made  

Hidden inside the Rook is a tiny little chess piece (not sure what it is although it looks very much like a pawn). Once again, the solution and mechanism to take apart the Rook is similar to the King and Queen, but also with a slightly difference twist. Challenge level is about the same as the two and I solved it pretty quickly.

With the exception of the Pawn, these 4 puzzles by Marcel Gillen are not exactly very difficult. If I had to rate them in order of difficulty from easiest to hardest, that would be the King, followed by the Queen, Rook and finally the Pawn. While the puzzle aspect may not rank high for serious puzzlers, these 4 chess puzzles make excellent conversation items and would stand tall on any executive's desktop. All are relatively heavy for their size and can function usefully as nice paper weights! But I guess the real value to this chess puzzle series is their rarity, given they are virtually impossible to find; unless you happen to know someone who has them and are willing to sell. As I understand, there is also a Bishop and Knight in the series, this according to Neil in his blog after he attended the 22nd May 2011 California Puzzle Party in the US. So if anyone reading this has either of these two puzzles and is willing to part with them, you can contact me via email on my profile page.

For other reviews on the King, Queen and Rook, you can refer to Oli's, Jeff's and Jonas' puzzle blogs.

Digigrams

Digigrams is designed by Martin Watson and made by Eric Fuller. This puzzle came from CubicDissection and as of the time of this writing, there are still 4 copies of the puzzle left. This puzzle measures 3 1/2in x 3in x 1/2in and is made of walnut for the frame, grandillo for the base (tray) and for the numerical digits, acrylic. Quality of construction, fit and finish is excellent. While not obvious, the edges of the frame are also very slightly beveled, adding to the attention to detail. The acrylic digits are very neat and precisely cut and they fit just nicely into the box frame.

This is a packing puzzle and instead of the usual blocks or other odd shapes, the pieces are actually digits (hence the name Digigrams) numbering from 1 to 9 plus a 0. The object is to fit all 10 digits into the frame. The font of the digits are similar to those found on LCD digital watches.

This is my first packing puzzle and I had a quite a bit of difficulty with it. Every time, just when I thought I had got all the 10 digits in, there would invariably be one piece that cannot fit in the last remaining space and I would have to re-arrange all the digits again. The difficulty of the puzzle also lies in the fact that not every digit is to be placed in either the vertical or horizontal orientation, but rather a mixture of the two. This is compounded by the requirement that the digits (the way they have been cut) need to be placed face up properly, otherwise adjacent pieces may not be able to fit as intended. Visually, I feel the laser cut acrylic digits also make the puzzle much harder to solve.

After quite a while I gave up and decided to look for a solution. Unfortunately none came with the puzzle. But I remembered seeing photos of the all-wood version on Steve Strickland's puzzle site (WARNING - don't click on the link if you do not wish to see the solution....just yet) where the digits were crafted out of 3 different types of wood. With the aid of these photos, I had no problem packing the digits into the frame. I committed the position of the digits to memory and after several practice runs, had no problem solving the puzzle repeatedly and quickly.

Overall, a nice pocketable puzzle of just the right kind of size for you to take anywhere. For the price and quality, Digigram is also pretty good value for money.

DoveTail

The aluminium DoveTail is designed and made by William Strijbos. It is really a nice solid piece puzzle and very well machined with excellent fit. Measuring a petite 2in x 1 3/8in x 3/4in, the object of the puzzle is to separate the green convex shaped portion from the polished rectangular block. Mine has the #16 engraved onto the puzzle (the 16th unit that William made???).

Upon first glance, one would wonder how it would be possible to take apart the green portion from the larger block given it's curvature and "dovetail" joint between the two pieces. Although seemingly impossible physically, the solution is actually quite clever. The DoveTail employs a hidden mechanism that some experienced puzzlers may have encountered before, hence it would not be difficult for this group of people to solve. I managed to solve this puzzle very quickly based on my familiarity with the said mechanism. Once you figure out the solution, you're be pretty amazed, as I was, to see how easily the green piece can defy the laws of physics and come apart from the rectangular block.

This is one of two similar DoveTail puzzles from William. There other puzzle looks almost the same except that it has a concave (instead of convex) shaped green block. Both have similar mechanisms. For a review of both Dovetail versions, check out Oli's and Jeff's blogs.

Karakuri Hit Box Dark Yosegi

This puzzle box with the rather unusual surface pattern is from Karakuri and was acquired from PuzzleMaster. Overall measurements are 3 1/2in x 2 3/8in x 1 5/8in. The box seems to comprise of at least 4 different woods to create the staggered pattern (how this is done I am not sure). Quality of construction, fit and finish is really first rate here and feels solid when being handled. It even exudes a rather pleasant woody smell of some sort. My copy is the darker version, there is a lighter coloured version but this was unfortunately out of stock.

The object of the puzzle is to open the drawer which comes out of one end of the box. I figured out the solution very quickly within a minute or two. I guess partly this is because the mechanism which locks the drawer inside the box is of a type which I have come across several times before in the past with other puzzles.

The internal dimensions of the drawer is about 2 1/2in x 1 1/2in x 5/8in, somewhat useful and just large enough to store small items like jewellery, coins, personal effects etc. From a puzzle aspect, not that challenging...but it makes up for it by being a very attractive shelf display item.

Karakuri Small Box # 8

This unusual looking puzzle box made by Karakuri of Japan was acquired from PuzzleMaster. Unlike traditional puzzle boxes that are generally rectangular or square with sharp edges, No 8 is cubical with rounded edges and corners. In addition, protruding from all its six sides are circular shaped "knobs". The lighter coloured body is made of zelkova while the darker knobs are walnut. I bought the box more for its unusual shape and look rather than its puzzle qualities. The box measures about 2 1/8in on all sides and  construction, fit and finish is very good.

I found the No 8 to be pretty easy to solve.  Within a minute or two of playing around with it, I figured out the solution. To solve this puzzle box, some dexterity here is required. The way the box is opened is quite clever and not what I had quite expected. Once opened, No 8 has a very tiny space (rather disproportionate to the overall size of the box I might add) which can house a very small item; too small for a finger ring but certainly enough for a 1 carat diamond!

Overall, No 8 is a relatively easy puzzle and may not appeal to die-hard puzzle box fans. Still, I still feel No 8 is worth acquiring for its rather unusual design and aesthetics. Two other bloggers have also written about No 8 so check out Jonas' and Jeff's blogs.

4 Steps Visible Lock

The 4 Steps Visible Lock ("4SVL") designed and made by Robrecht Louage won the Jury Grand Prize in the 2011 IPP Competition held in Berlin during the month of August. After seeing his puzzle on the IPP 2011 entries list with the different combination of materials used in its construction, I knew I just had to get one. Fortunately Robrecht's email was listed and I promptly emailed him to buy a copy of his prize winning entry. A week later, the puzzle arrived at my doorstep.

The 4SVL is about 5in x 2 1/2in x 7/8in. The puzzle is made up of a rectangular block of Trespa (a very strong and durable composite laminate made of resin reinforced by cellulose fibres generally used for interior table tops). Within the block, a number of channels have been cut which resemble a maze. Screwed onto and covering the top of the block is a sheet of acyrlic (perspex) and sandwiched in between the trespa block and acrylic cover, there is a thicker center slab also made of acrylic which slides. Within the internals of the puzzle, one can see two large ball bearings, two smaller ball bearings and a 1 Euro coin (hence the name "visible lock"). Construction and quality of the 4SVL is very good indeed and the puzzle feels really solid and heavy in the hand. Some have remarked that the 4SVL bears some resemblance to one or two of the Roger puzzles and while I have never seen an actual Roger puzzle before except those in photos, I would tend to agree.

The object of the puzzle is of course to remove the 1 Euro coin out of the block, by moving the center acrylic slab towards the left so that the coin and be extracted from a hole in the top cover. Here is where the "lock" part comes in; the center acrylic slab is "locked in" by the ball bearings and can only move sideways within certain limits. The way to solve the puzzle is to use (some) dexterity to manipulate the ball bearings around the maze to "unlock" the center acrylic slab and allow it to slide towards the left, so that the coin matches up with the hole on top. But wait! It's not just the ball bearings that have to be dealt with; there are a couple of other necessary challenges as well.

I am not sure if I just happened to be lucky that day, but I managed to solve the 4SVL pretty quickly (I guess its faster when you can see exactly what is going on). As I repeated the solution, I realised that indeed 4 steps are needed to remove the coin. Step 1 may pose a challenge for some (but I think experienced puzzlers would know how to overcome this step quite easily) but Steps 2 and 3 are quite manageable. It is Step 4 that is a surprise and probably the one that would stump people. However, once you have solved it once, the 4SVL is pretty easy to solve repeatedly.

I think Robrecht Louage has designed a very nice and well made puzzle and while not very difficult in terms of  puzzling, it nevertheless poses a fair challenge. I would dare say that the 4SVL epitomises the term "mechanical puzzle" and justifiably deserves it's IPP award. Definitely worth acquiring for keeps.

Cast Duet

I quite like the Cast Duet. I find it very refreshing because here at last is a puzzle which has:-

1. No secret locking mechanism
2. No hidden maze
3. No ball bearings rolling about which can be heard but cannot be seen
4. No internal magnets
5. No centrifugal force applicable
6. No tapping (or banging) of the puzzle
7. No dexterity of hand movement required
8. No other seemingly impossible this or that

Click to enlarge the photo to see the notches  which are cut into the grid

You look at the Duet and it stares back at you, fully exposed for what it is...an aluminium grid with 9 squares and a number of notches cut into the grid. Attached to one corner of the grid a pair of detachable rings joined together by magnets. The grid measures about 2 3/8in square and the rings are about 1 1/4in in diameter. Quality of construction is good.

The object of the puzzle is to remove both the rings from the grid. To do this one must first separate the two rings (easily done) and navigate each ring out of the grid. The notches on the grid serve as "paths" to aid the passage of the rings from one square of the grid to the next, without which it would be impossible for the rings to move at all. Each of the rings have to be rotated and/or flipped over to achieve movement.

I didn't have to take very long to remove the rings since I could see exactly what I was doing. Apart from merely removing the rings, Hanayama has added extra levels to make the puzzle more challenging (eg; to get the rings to the centre of the square). I didn't bother with this since I was quite happy to have gotten the rings out of the grid. This puzzle is rated 5. However, I think its more towards 4 for just getting the rings out.

Cast News

The Cast News is one of those puzzles that you can spend hours or (or even days) trying to solve but get nowhere. And yet the moment you discover the solution, you just can't quite believe it's simplicity. Made of cast aluminium, the News is designed by Nob Yoshigahara (apparently when he was just 19 years old).  My copy of the News is very well made and exudes quality. Although not a large puzzle, measuring only 1 3/4in x 1 3/4in x 1/ 2in in a hexagon shape, the News feels relatively heavy in the palm. Due to its bronze coloured exterior, the News has a well worn sort of look which gives it a vintage charm.

The object of the puzzle is to separate the News into two parts (as can be seen from the join lines in the puzzle in the photo above). While the medieval looking N, S, E and W letters add to the decorative element, they do in fact play a role in the solving of the puzzle. 

I spent quite a while on this puzzle trying every trick I knew in the book. I could hear little noises coming from within the puzzle and these sounded like small ball bearings. Despite the shaking and the pulling, nothing seems to work. I even tried the method which opens the YOT puzzle but this didn't work either. After about half a day (not continuous of course), I decided I didn't want to be frustrated anymore and looked at the solution. Lo and behold...the solution required only 3 easy steps to take the puzzle apart; and here, the medieval letters come into play. 

Hanayama rates this at Level 6, the most difficult in their scale. Indeed, like most puzzles where you can't see anything from the outside, it is very difficult to solve...but once you learn how to, this puzzle is easy to solve repeatedly. Overall, I think the News is a nice take-anywhere kind of puzzle to buy and keep.

Cast Nut Case

I acquired the Nutcase and two other puzzles, Cast News and Cast Duet from my local gift shop Bloomington in Singapore. These three puzzles (without the usual shipping costs I normally would have to pay to overseas sellers) were really very reasonable priced and I couldn't resist buying all three at one go.

The Nutcase is designed by Oskar Van Deventer and made by Hanayama. As I found to my surprise it was actually very much larger than your regular household nut and bolt. It measures 2 inches tall and about 1 1/4 inch across at its widest. The puzzle looks like a "fat" screw bolt with two heads, one at each end and in the middle you have the two nuts. The puzzle is made of aluminium and while quality is not first rate, it is reasonably good. The screw bolt is actually hollow inside. Both ends of the puzzle each have a hole into which you can see a real small nut rolling about inside the hollow section.

Can you see the lines which separates the two parts of the screw bolt?

The object of the puzzle is to take apart the screw bolt and remove the small nut inside. Tolerances between the two parts of the screw bolt and the two nuts are not tight, hence you can actually feel some free play as the parts move and rub against each other. I am not sure if this was intended or is it a construction quality issue. Looking at the puzzle, one could possibly hasten a guess at how the puzzle is solved. For confirmation, one only needs to look at the back of the box packaging which actually has a photo of the puzzle in the solved state (ie what the puzzle looks like with the parts separate) so this gave me a good idea how to go about taking the Nutcase apart.

I fiddled with the puzzle for a while, rotating the two nuts back and forth along the axis of the screw bolt and managed to solve the puzzle after about 45 minutes. The free play of the two nuts and the screw bolt helped a lot as it allowed me to pull, push and twist the screw bolt while fingering the two nuts so I could feel for the separation of the screw bolt. The "looseness" of the nuts (and with the help of a torch light) also enabled me to peep a bit "inside" the nuts and their position relative to the threads of the screw bolt (I don't think Oskar intended this) and this got me to solving the puzzle very quickly :-). However, this looseness resulted in jamming of the nuts against the screw threads more than several times which was a bit of an annoyance.

Overall the Nutcase is a challenging puzzle and rated level 6 by Hanayama which is very difficult. I guess the rating is probably about right. Difficult to solve at first but not too difficult to repeat.

Pagoda No 3

I acquired this wooden puzzle from PuzzleParadise a while back. The No3 is made by the Matthew Dawson/Makishi duo and limited to 40 units. Mine happens to be No 16 of the lot. The No 3 is made of a combination of walnut, oak and maple to give the puzzle a nice contrast of colour finishes. The puzzle measures about 5 1/8in x 3in x 3in. Construction and quality is first rate and photos posted on the net really do not do justice to the puzzle when you see and hold the actual piece in your hands.

The puzzle consist of a rectangular box with a door and knob in front (actually a drawer), and sitting on top of the box are 4 horizontal square wooden pieces stacked together to form the sloping "roof" of the pagoda. 3 out of the 4 pieces are movable and can be rotated in either direction. The topmost piece can also be pulled upwards or pushed downwards, apart from rotating in either direction.

The object of the puzzle as you would have guessed is to open the door (ie pull out the drawer from the puzzle).  In order to do this, one must turn the two lower pieces of the "roof" while pulling, pushing and twisting the topmost piece. The mechanism which keeps the drawer locked in place actually consist of an internal cylindrical maze. You need to pull, push and/or twist the top piece, while manipulating the lower two pieces by rotating them in order to work through the maze to release the drawer.

I spent a good half a day trying to get the drawer out of the puzzle but was not successful. At the time of this writing, I still have not solved this puzzle. I looked at the solution that came with the puzzle but this was of little help to me.  I resorted to emailing Matthew Dawson who was kind enough to furnish me a hand-drawn sketch of maze and how it should be traversed. Despite Matthew's kind assistance , nonetheless, I continue to remain at the stage with the top piece half sticking out. Clearly I am not doing things right and remain trapped somewhere inside the maze. Most puzzlers it seems can open the Pagoda quite easily and only find difficulty when closing...for me, well...sigh sigh! While the puzzle feels very solidly constructed, I really do hope I have not forced anything in the course of my twisting and turning to damage some internal part, like I nearly did with my Blind Labyrint 1C!. The last thing I want to do is to send it back to Matthew Dawson for repair.

This for me is a very difficult puzzle (or maybe I am just lousy at mazes; oh no!!...I have not even started on my Revomaze Blue yet!). Be that as it may, the design of the Pagoda is definitely far more unique and interesting than traditional puzzle boxes and given its limited run, makes a wonderful collector's item. It also looks great as a display piece on the desk.

For now, rather than continue to feel frustrated and get no where, I will put No3 away and play with my other puzzles. I will definitely come back to it another day. There are several other reviews of the No3 and the Pagoda series, so you may like to check out the following blogs; Kevin's Puzzle Blog, Oli's Mechanical Puzzle Blog, Brian's Damn Puzzle Blog and Neil's Puzzle Blog.

Brass Trap Puzzle

This puzzle came from Hendrik Haak's site www.puzzle-shop.de and is listed as "Messingfalle" which translated by Google means "brass trap". Indeed it is a trap, since the object of the puzzle is to remove a coin (not included) from the puzzle. In fact the puzzle has enough space within to hold several coins. The puzzle is sort of in reverse order because you have to solve (ie open) the puzzle in order to place the coin within (since none is supplied), only then would the coin be trapped. You could probably then pass it to someone to try to solve. The coin that I placed in the puzzle is a Singapore 50cent coin, the largest coin of our currency in general circulation.

I first saw this puzzle on puzzle-shop.de but didn't pay much attention to it. It was only when I read Brian's write-up on the Berlin IPP which mentioned someone playing with a brass cylinder with a coin inside that I decided to re-visit www.puzzle-shop.de and discovered that both puzzles were the same...Hendrik Haak must have brought some of his brass puzzles to Berlin IPP.

The puzzle is very well machined and quality is very good. It is a small puzzle measuring about 1 1/2in in diameter. Not at all difficult but nevertheless a nice puzzle to own, particularly if you are into metal ones like me.

Moscow

Update 23 October 2017 - Dear Reader, please check out my new puzzle blog and e-store at http://mechanical-puzzles.com

I do not why this puzzle is called Moscow. Perhaps this question should be directed to Hendrik Haak from whom I acquired the puzzle via his website www.puzzle-shop.de. Whatever the name, this is a nice little pocketable puzzle consisting of a wooden rectangular block with a steel peg inserted in the middle.

The wooden block measures 2 5/8in long and 3/4in square while the steel peg is 2in long and 1/2in in diameter. Judging from the orange colour of the wood, my guess is that the block is made of Paduak while the two ends are probably made of ash. Both quality and finish are very good.

The object of the puzzle is to remove the steel peg from the wooden block. The puzzle would pose a reasonable challenge for most but those who are fairly experienced especially with dovetail or similar wooden puzzles would probably figure out the solution fairly quickly. 

There is a locking mechanism that keeps the steel peg inside the wooden block. I have hidden the steel peg behind the wooden block in the photo so as not to give away too much how the peg is locked in place. I took only about 5 mins to solve it the puzzle. Overall a nicely made puzzle with a clever mechanism.

Note: I have received a lot of emails asking for the solution to this puzzle. In fact, the most, of all the puzzles posted on this blog. There is no need to suffer in silence. Please don't hesitate to contact me via my Profile Email if you need the solution. I will send it to you in PDF format.

Wunder Puzzle Mechanism # 1

This wood puzzle is from a limited edition series of 3 puzzles made by Eric Fuller. According to Cubicdissection, Eric was inspired to make these puzzles based on a wood joint puzzle he had seen on Facebook and subsequently borrowed from its owner, a Peter Wiltshire of Canada.  I was fortunate to buy one of the last few pieces available out of the 45 that was put up for sale. I had originally wanted to buy the No.2 as it is supposedly the most difficult to solve but lo and behold, it was sold out before I could get my hands on it. My last check on the Cubicdissection site shows that all 3 puzzles have been sold out.

My version has the No.1 mechanism. The puzzle measures 1 inch square and is 3 3/8 inches long. It is made of a combination of three different species of wood namely Caroline Ash, Black Walnut and Sapelle used for the two ends. I would say that the puzzle is extremely well made and the finish is excellent. The fit of the joints between the two main separable pieces is very good and snug, not even a hint of looseness. Although pretty expensive (after all it is a limited edition item), it is definitely well worth the money.

When I first unpacked the puzzle a few days after receiving it, I initially thought the very snug fit was due to the high humidity of Singapore having "penetrated" the puzzle and caused the woods to expand. But after a day in my camera dry box (inbuilt with a electric humidifier at a No 44 setting ), the puzzle remained the same. I then realised that the very snug fit was due to the very tight tolerances of the high quality construction (and in part due to the internal mechanism).

The object of the Wunder Puzzle is to separate the Ash (beige) portion from the Walnut (dark) portion. At first sight, given that the two pieces are joined in a such a way (at different and awkward angles) that separation seems virtually impossible. After holding and studying the puzzle for some moments, I begin my manipulation of tugging, pulling, pushing, sliding etc..to see how to get the pieces to move. Within 10 minutes or so, I managed to figure out the mechanism (and with some dexterity) separated the two pieces smoothly. As I took apart and examined the separate pieces, I thought the work put into making this puzzle and the intricacy of the mechanism was quite remarkable.

The No.1 in my opinion is not difficult and based on other reviews I have come across, it appears to be the simplest of the 3 puzzles. Unfortunately I have no way of comparing my No.1 against No.2 or the version with the Original Mechanism.  Nonetheless it is still a pretty tricky puzzle, and for the uninitiated, will pose a fair challenge. Other reviews and information on the entire Wunder Puzzle Series can be found on Neil's blog and Allard's blog.

Bougie

Update 23 October 2017 - Dear Reader, please check out my new puzzle blog and e-store at http://mechanical-puzzles.com

The word "Bougie" (thanks to Oli for letting me know) is French for spark-plug. 

I acquired this Jean Claude Constantine designed puzzle from PuzzleMaster. Made out of what I think is Paduak, the puzzle consists of a spark-plug enclosed by an orange coloured wooden frame with two horizontal metal rods running across from one side of the frame to other. The puzzle is slightly larger than a standard spark-plug and measures about 3 7/8 inches tall, 1 7/8 inches wide and 1 inch in depth. Overall the puzzle is relatively well made with a nice finish. The only complain I have is that the rods have some slight scratches and marks which I can't seem to get rid of. As to whether the spark-plug is usable, that unfortunately I cannot tell, although the spark-plug does look new and shinny.

The object of the puzzle is of course to get the spark-plug out of its framed enclosure. PuzzleMaster rates it as a level 6 and I agree. For someone with experience with puzzles, it is relatively easy to discover the solution; the kind of mechanism which is familiar and common to several other wooden puzzles.  This is one of those puzzles which somehow I knew what to do the moment I unpacked it and managed to get the spark-plug out in almost a jiffy.

From a puzzling aspect, it does not provide too much of a challenge for any puzzle enthusiast. But from a display standpoint, I think it is a rather unique combination of wood and metal, and definitely will get a conversation started. 

Calling all spark-plug manufacturers out there - Bosch, Denso, Autolite, Champion, NGK etc - use this puzzle to showcase your brand! But of course don't forget the royalty payments to Mr JCC.

Pineapple, Plums & Peanuts

These three glass puzzles were bought from a local gift and games shop in Singapore called Bloomington. For those living in Singapore, its at Basement One of Anchor Point Shopping Mall. For puzzlers in Europe and the US, they are available from PuzzleMaster. My three puzzles (according to Bloomington's owner) are the original versions made by the Toyo Glass Company of Japan and acquired by him a number of years back. All 3 puzzles are packing type puzzles consisting of a glass cup into which you will "pack" in the various pieces of plastic fruit and nuts. Rob's Puzzle Page has a huge section on packing puzzles of which the 3 puzzles are mentioned.

The object of all 3 puzzles is to pack the loose pieces into their respective glass containers such that all fit nicely within the glass without "overflowing" the rim. So far I have only assembled and solved the Pineapple Puzzle which appeared the easiest of the three, given the squarish and right-angle shapes of the pineapple pieces. This is a level 8 puzzle according to PuzzleMaster and I think the rating is about right.

The Pineapple has 12 individual separate pieces of which no two are identical and putting them into the glass bottom and working your way up to the top was pretty challenging. It took me well over an hour or so before I finally managed to land the last piece into its correct place. The trick is to get the first couple of bottom layer pieces right, then the rest of the pieces become easier to complete. For those keen on this puzzle; here's a tip-try starting off with the bottom pieces outside of the glass first, to save you dipping your fingers in and out of the glass to change a wrong piece, especially for those with large hands. The glass is small and measures about 2 3/4 inches tall with a diameter also about 2 3/4 inches.

At the time of this writing, I have just started playing with the Plums Puzzle. Although it has 9 fairly large pieces, every single piece is irregularly odd-shaped and all look similar. I am already having difficulties finding the first few right pieces to fit the bottom of the glass...the Peanuts Puzzle looks even more foreboding (rated at level 10) so I guess I will have to save both the Plums and Peanuts reviews for some other time.

Curly Cube

Update 24 October 2017 - Dear Reader, please check out my new puzzle blog and e-store at http://mechanical-puzzles.com

I got this from PuzzleMaster but kept it away until a couple of months back when I saw Kevin's review of it in PuzzleMad. There is also a write-up of a wooden version (called the Exploding Cube) by Allard of Puzzling-Times. This is a take-apart type puzzle and both gentlemen have stated that this is relatively straight forward. I couldn't agree more. In fact when I was removing the puzzle from of its packaging, I actually could feel the pieces trying to disengage themselves.

The puzzle is about 1 3/4 inches square and its size feels about just right in the palm, neither too big nor too small and pretty weighty. The quality of my version is reasonably good except that I suppose the 3 interlocking pieces could have been manufactured to slightly tighter tolerances to give it an even snugger fit. While the puzzle doesn't come apart easily when being held, the pieces do tend to exhibit slight movement as they rub against each other. Again I must stress that I am referring to my own puzzle; I am also no expert in metal casting or manufacturing techniques so perhaps this is the way the puzzle is meant to be.

It is also a pity that the "curly" shape of each of the 3 interlocking pieces are formed by fusing of two other separate pieces together, resulting in join lines which are very visible, even externally when the puzzle is in the solved state. (See Kevin's photos on his site). I think with the wooden version, these lines are probably less obvious.

The puzzling aspect has been described by both Kevin and Allard so I would not go into this, except to say that I found it easier to take apart than to put it back together. Overall, despite the few minor shortcomings mentioned above, this is a still a nice looking metal cube and with those curly lines on its sides, makes for an interesting display item.

Cubus

The Cubus is a 3-dimensional labyrinth puzzle designed by Jeremy Goode and available from Xmatrix. This is the smaller of the 2 sizes available; the larger version called the Quadrus. Although described as pocket size, I doubt if anyone can fit a Cubus which measures about 2 3/4 inches square, comfortably into a shirt or trouser pocket. More likely it can fit into a jacket or coat pocket or handbag.

The Cubus that I acquired is the "blue" version which has the 3D maze made out of a bluish colour transparent acrylic (or as some would call it perspex). The maze itself looks highly complicated and is housed within a clear acrylic cube.  Both the Quadrus and Cubus also come in a light yellow version. The Cubus was shortlisted Gift Of The Year 2010 and although this may come as a surprise to many, it was also entered for the recent 2011 IPP Puzzle Design Competition, even though both the Cubus and Quadrus have been on sale for quite some time already. Someone on the Revomaze forum commented that as long as a puzzle is designed within 2 years of the competition date, that puzzle would still be eligible to enter, which therefore explains why.

I find the construction of the Cubus to be first rate. All the 6 sides forming the cube are neatly fused together and there are no rough edges or corners of any sort. Overall quality is very good and the Cubus feels solid in the hand. Do note though that acrylic can scratch easily so be careful about the surface you place a Cubus or Quadrus on...I know this because I use to own acrylic fish tanks!

The object of the puzzle is to navigate a small ball bearing from the silver coloured top frame to the bottom gold coloured frame through the 3D maze and then back again. In the first photo above, the silver frame is shown as the top. Unless you are in some kind of a speed competition, it doesn't really matter whether you start from silver to gold or vice-versa; the point is to use gravity (and dexterity) to get the ball bearing to travel through the 3D maze from top to bottom.

I took about 35mins just to complete one direction, albeit at a very leisurely pace while watching TV. The Xmatrix site claims that it is possible to complete both directions in 4 minutes.  I suppose there must have been some  capable individual(s) who can achieve this kind of record time. While challenging enough for a serious puzzler, I think where the Cubus can really shine is as a coffee table or executive puzzle; where just about anyone (puzzler or not, adult or kid) can pick it up, admire its see-through 3D maze, have a play with it and then put it down.