Pent-cil Box

Name
Pent-cil Box

Designer
Jerry Loo. For my other puzzle designs, click here and here.

Manufacturer
Pelikan. They can be contacted at http://www.drevenehlavolamy.cz/

Type & Classification
3D Packing.

Dimensions
17cm (Length) x 5cm (Width) x 4cm (Height).

Materials & Construction
A combination of 2 hardwoods; Wenge for the box and Cherry for the pieces. Construction is excellent with great attention to detail. The pieces have bevelling to all their edges and their fit inside the box is just nice, although I would suspect that high humidity environments may cause the puzzle to tighten up.

Overview
After my Ball In Cylinder #1 and #2, I decided to try my hand at designing a puzzle to be made in wood. I couldn't really think of any more tricks using a cylinder shape design. Moreover, fabricating a puzzle in metal is also a far more difficult, tedious and expensive process.

All of my wood puzzle designs so far have been packing puzzles, done "by hand", since I do not have the skills nor knowledge of specialised computer software to create high level (or for that matter low level) burrs or interlocking puzzles. My only technical resource is Burr Tools which not only aids but also validates my designs. And not to mention the thrill of watching a puzzle design that works coming to life! For most part, I use an Excel spread sheet (amongst other things, for determining square units and shapes etc) and centimetre cubes to build and test working models.   

Most folks that see this think they belong to my 4 year old son
....they're actually for me to play with!

My first attempt was a rectangular box packing puzzle with a series of irregular odd shapes to fill it. It was fine as an ordinary packing puzzle but a bit "crude" from a design standpoint and totally lacking any finesse. Fellow Singaporean and puzzle designer Goh Pit Khiam gave me some useful tips on puzzle designing; like having a theme (eg using Pentominoes) or ensuring symmetry in the design etc. With his help, I learnt new things along the way and improved. And eventually came up with my first wood puzzle design, the Pento Pack Rectangular. I have designed several other variations thereafter using the same "Pento" theme.

And then there is Ishino-san with his puzzlewillbeplayed site. Very inspiring! Even though my simple designs are terribly amateurish compared to those from the regular big name designers that pop up every week, it does feel nice to see one's design "published" on the site. Not only that but also for the very practical reason to stake copyright ownership.

This particular puzzle is called the "Pent-cil Box"; for several reasons:-

1. Its been designed to look like a traditional wooden pencil box.
2. The pieces comprise the full set of 12 flat Pent-ominoes; each piece being made up of 5 square units.
3. There is only one solution, requiring the packing of all 12 pieces PLUS a real (albeit short) pencil, flush into the box. 

Difficulty Level
Honestly I can't gauge its difficulty! I have not had the opportunity to test this puzzle on anyone else, other than myself and sometimes I forget the sequence too. But given it has 13 pieces (including the pencil), I don't think its a walk in the park and some puzzlers will likely have to resort to the solution (or Burr Tools). 

Hmm...now how does one specify a pencil in Burr Tools? Ha Ha :-)

2 Burrs In A Corner

Name
2 Burrs In A Corner

Designer
Logan Kleinwaks. For Logan's other designs, click here. You will notice he has some of the more unusual and interesting names for his puzzles such as "A Difficult Birth In Africa" and "No Electricity Means No Power". Now, how's that for uniqueness and originality?

Manufacturer
Eric Fuller. Website www.cubicdissection.com. 41 copies were made, each priced at US$77, currently sold out.

Type & Classification
Interlocking; 3D Packing.

Dimensions
6.6cm cube. Hefty!

Materials & Construction
The box is made from Jatoba or Walnut while the pieces are made from 12 different hardwords, some really exotic unpronounceable ones ; Goncalo Alves, Bubinga, Cherry, Zebrawood, Mansonia, Mahogany, Granadillo, Leopardwood, Canarywood, Sucapira, Paduak and Purpleheart. Construction and finish is as per usual, excellent.

Overview
Very beautiful wood colours adorn this puzzle; that was my first impression when I opened the wrapping. A packing puzzle, already in the solved state...doesn't look that tough...no need for rotations, so Burr Tools can help should I stumble along the way. So far so good. I practice a bit here and there and manage not to lose my way disassembling and assembling. Photo documentation a must for added insurance. I break loose all the pieces..and all hell breaks loose!

Main Goal: Create 2 separate burrs out of the 12 pieces....Arghhh! . 

Eric Fuller states on his website that there are 28,540 ways to construct a single burr...I am not sure how he arrived at this number but its a LOT. However, only ONE way (single solution) to build the two burrs. In other words you need to find the correct combination of 6 pieces (2 sets) to make the two burrs! My senses kick in and I realise that...oops...Burr Tools can't help since I cannot determine which 6 pieces go for which burr. [Edit - Burr Tools in fact can do the job here to find the unique solution to both burrs....thanks to Goh Pit Khiam for this info]

This is one of those puzzles where trial and error ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT work!

The pieces don't look that intimidating actually...each one only 6 units long, with the usual cuts. Don't believe me? Check out www.puzzlewillbeplayed.com and you will find some puzzles with humongous burr pieces, with so many grooves and notches it giddies the mind. But here is where the genius of Logan Kleinwaks shows...simple looking pieces to create two normal looking burrs...but supremely difficult!

Needless to say, I needed the solution, which Eric promptly emailed me. That's how you are now able to see the photograph above with the two solved burrs!

Difficulty Level
Insanely improbable (Eric's words). Can I also add "Impossible"? ie without the solution or Burr Tools....

Summary
What else can I say? Difficulty level aside...well...for US$77, you get value-for-money 3-puzzles-in-1 made from colourful woods....that's if you can figure out the latter two.

The Force Was Not With Me

After reading puzzle blogger Kevin's Sadler's latest post on twisty puzzles, I was encouraged to try my hand at one. I have only several twisties in my collection, of which one is the ubiquitous Rubik's Cube and the rest of my minuscule collection have been mentioned in one of my blog post quite a while back. I have not ventured to the 'dark side"!

I headed for my puzzle cabinet and took out my (very) menacing looking Darth Maul. This puzzle came to me courtesy of puzzle blogger Roxanne Wong when I met her at IPP33 Puzzle Party last year in Japan. (Oops! sorry Rox, I just remembered that I still owe you money for some puzzles).

Darth Maul is produced and sold by Hasbro, under licence from Rubik. The puzzle is about 10cm tall and 7 cm wide; feels pretty large in the hands. It is very well made and high quality. Although plastic, it feels solid and sturdy. The twisting is snug but smooth and there is no "play" during rotation.

I am not a big fan of Twisties. But I do enjoy Star Wars movies. So I duly picked this one off Roxanne. I was hoping to get the rest of the characters of the cast, but to my surprise, Darth Maul is the only Star Wars character that is a Rubik's cube style puzzle of its kind in this sort of packaging today. Around 2002, there was also a range of similar Star Wars figures produced as promotional premiums for Kelloggs (Thanks to Rob Stegman for this info). For anyone interested, this Darth Maul can be bought off Ebay at very reasonable prices.

Darth Maul comes in a nice packaging with a Solution Hints booklet. Given that this is a high level twisty (for me, I think anything more than 1x1x2 is high), I was sure I would need the booklet. New words like "Diagonal Swapping" "Shunter" and "Shifter" entered my puzzle vocabulary...how come there is no "Parity"...whatever it means?

I wrongly assumed that a 2x2x2 couldn't be that difficult. I casually scrambled Darth Maul for a minute or so to make sure it was all properly mixed up...and promptly regretted it! I started to have problems right from the start - Darth Maul's two eyes couldn't come together and his jaw was at the back of his head. Suddenly a level 17.5.2 burr didn't seem so difficult after all.

After quite a bit of struggling, I finally got Darth Maul's face to what it is suppose to be, but the back of his head was still looking funny. Not properly solved yet! 

This twisty is much harder than your standard 2x2x2 because each of the "blocks" of Darth Maul's head is an odd shape, not a normal cube. So if the orientation is wrong, it is very obvious, eg part of the back of his head sticking out sideways. Whereas in a standard 2x2x2 you can have the orientation wrong for one or more of the cubes, but still get the same colour.

Hardcore twisty puzzlers would probably not find this challenging but for casual, novice or non-twisty folks like me, this one can be real handful. As the packaging states, Darth Maul is truly a galactic challenge.

Happy Puzzling and May The Force Be With You!

The Lunatic Revealed Pocket Edition

Name
The Lunatic Revealed Pocket Edition

Designer
Marcus Allred, Arizona, USA

Manufacturer
Marcus Allred. To get one of these or other mazes in different shapes, sizes and choice of woods, check out Marcus' project site (currently his 6th project) on www.kickstarter.com and FaceBook page for more details and photos. 

Type & Classification
Dexterity. Sequential movement. Internal maze for the hidden version

Dimensions

8.2cm square x 3.3cm (Thick). 

Materials & Construction
My version is the Black Ash Burl. External casing is acrylic. The maze block has a beautiful natural yellow pattern. Construction, fit and finish is excellent. The acrylic casing is made up of two snug fitting sliding halves and can be taken apart, although this is really unnecessary for normal play. I like the way the pieces of acrylic have been joined...there are no glue stains visible between the pieces, it's clear through.

Overview
I found out about this puzzle from my friend and fellow puzzle blogger Kevin Sadler quite a while back, who had a lot of positive things to say about the Lunatic Maze. 

I am not really a die-hard fan of hidden mazes of this nature (although ironically I have designed two puzzles, the Ball In Cylinder #1 and Ball In Cylinder #2 which some have considered "hidden" maze puzzles; however I would submit that this is not entirely accurate, at least not for the BIC#2). Hence I did not purchase any Lunatic puzzle when they first appeared on the market in 2012.

I saw the work that Marcus did with his puzzles and admired them from a distance, particularly the exotic woods he used, especially burls which are rarely (and hardly) used by most puzzle craftsmen.

It was only until recently in March this year when Marcus showcased a new variant from his 3rd Kickstarter project; The Lunatic Revealed Pocket Edition that I decided to order one. Not only was it in the shape I like, I can also see the ball bearings at last! 

My Lunatic Revealed arrived just early this week. Unlike other Kickstarter Projects (which I have participated) where there is usually a long wait for delivery or delays, my puzzle came on time!

The Lunatic Revealed Pocket is a miniature (new) version of the standard size 3" x 3" x 3" cube. It consists of two ball bearings running on the channels of the maze block.  For the hidden versions, you have to navigate a ball bearing (which you cannot see) out an exit hole. Obviously the puzzling is different for the Revealed edition. Here Marcus has devised several challenges as stated on his site:-

1. Traditional - Both bearings needing to make it from one end to the next.

2. Each ball must make it to opposite ends to completed the game.

3.Each ball must make it to opposite ends to complete the game and without either ball touching while en route.

4. Each ball must make it to opposite ends without returning to the point of origin, or in other words each ball can not reach the others destination.

And any other way that your creative mind can conjure!

There is also a YouTube video if you wish to see how the Lunatic Revealed works. I tried out a couple of the challenges...and believe me, even though you can exactly see the ball bearings and what's going on, it is still not easy. The puzzling requires a combination of both dexterity and planning since it involves navigating not one but two ball bearings to their respective destinations (one ball would be too simple). The balls move along the channels really fast so a gentle touch is also required. 

Difficulty Level

Varying difficulty, depending on the challenge. The nice thing about the Lunatic Revealed is that apart from the suggested challenges, you can just move the balls about within the maze anyway you like, while orientating the puzzle at all angles. 

Summary
I like the size of this one; you can bring it about anywhere easily. And the solving doesn't take you ages or frustrate. Great for casual puzzling or passing the time. Go for the Hidden version if you really want a tough challenge.

But one thing's for sure, the puzzles display beautifully. I think the Revealed Edition more so, because you get to see the maze design on beautiful exotic wood.

Mysterious Galaxy

Name
Mysterious Galaxy 

Designer
Osanori Yamamoto. For other designs by Osanori, click here.

Wonderful detailing of the four corners and notice the curved edges top and bottom of the box

Manufacturer
Pelikan. Mr Puzzle of Australia, PuzzleMaster of Canada and Puzzlewood of Germany are retailing them but currently only available from PuzzleMaster and Puzzlewood.

Type & Classification
Interlocking, sequential movement

Dimensions
7.8cm (Length) x 7.8cm (Width) and 6.4cm (Height).  

Materials & Construction
A combination of 5 solid hardwoods giving the puzzle a very beautiful contrasting finish. The frame is Mahogany, the pieces are Wenge, Acacia, Paduak and Maple. The corner embellishments are Maple. Excellent construction and quality.

Overview

The Mysterious Galaxy was released in August 2012, a couple of months prior to the easier (not easy) Galaxy Z reviewed earlier. 

In fact there are two other variants in Osanori's Galaxy class puzzles (NB: there are several puzzles from other designers also named "Galaxy" this or that) ; the Galaxy I (2011) and the latest in 2014, the Galaxy R. The R is also probably the most difficult of the lot with the most moves.

The Mysterious Galaxy is a framed burr; consisting of a box frame with a number of internal protrusions. The object is to take out and fit back in all the 4 pieces. Unlike the Galaxy Z, only 3 pieces here are congruent (identical). 

This puzzle is no walk in the park. The orientation and interlocking of the pieces (especially with the one single different piece) with the notched protrusions provide for a very difficult process of removal. 

While trial and error may work to some extent initially, it can also land you in a dead end and figuring your way back to the start position then becomes another additional challenge that frustrates.

It took me a good while and several dead ends before I managed to get the first piece out. I thought with photo-taking of the moves, this would help. But nope, too many incorrect moves so photo-taking became confusing and a waste of time.

This is not a pure rectilinear puzzle and rotations are also required. So Burr Tools here won't help very much, save as to show the various possible assemblies of the pieces within the box frame. (which may be sufficient help for some perhaps). 

The challenge is also discovering which pieces need to be rotated into position and ensuring rotation is done within the correct space. Done properly, nothing should get stuck. Done wrongly, or worse still with force, and your puzzle may end up dented and damaged.

Difficulty Level

The Mysterious Galaxy is very difficult, particularly the putting back together. It has two solutions, of which one is level 17.5.2.4; in other words it requires 17 moves to extract the first piece, 5 for the next and so on. Unlike the Galaxy Z, I found it hard to memorise the moves for this one. Even after four attempts at reassembly, I still had to refer to the solution.

Summary
Without a doubt, very challenging puzzle (especially for non-burrists like me); and if you already own the Galaxy Z, get this one as well. With its sexy curved edges and colourful exotic woods, even if you can't solve it, it still makes for a very nice display.

Burrito & Columnata 2P3C

Name
Burrito / Columnata 2P3C

Designer
Yavuz Demirhan. For Yavuz's other designs, click here. As of this post, he has done a whopping 345 designs!

Manufacturer

Pelikan. 

Type & Classification
Interlocking; both puzzles released in 2013

Dimensions
Burrito - 8cm (length) x 5.2cm (width) x 5.2cm (height)
Columnata 2P3C - 7cm (length) x 4cm (width) x 6cm (height)

Materials & Construction
Burrito - Wenge for the frame and Maple for the pieces
Columnata - Jatoba for the columns and Maple for the pieces

For both puzzles, construction, fit and finish is up to the usual Pelikan standards, very good! All the corners and edges of both puzzles are slightly bevelled and pieces although snug, move smoothly. Nice choice of woods used to provide the contrast of colours.

Burrito
This puzzle consist of 4 congruent pieces interlocked within a frame. I suppose Yavuz chose the name Burrito because it does look like the frame is wrapping the pieces, just like a real burrito sandwich.

Once you start pulling at the pieces, it is quite easy to discover how the pieces are interlocked with each other and the taking apart is pretty straight forward. The Burrito requires 10 steps to fully disassemble. Reassembly is in the reverse and because the pieces are all identical, it is also relatively easy to fit everything right back since the horizontal pieces mirror the vertical pieces.

Columnata 2P3C
The 2P3C stands for 2 pieces and 3 columns. Yavuz also designed three other variants; the 2P2C which is easier than the 2P3C featured here, the 3P2C which is harder and the hardest of the four, the 3P3C has a level 37.9.4 solution, meaning it takes 37 moves to remove the first piece. If ever Yavuz designs a 4P4C, I estimate this will probably take about 120 moves to take apart fully.

The 2P3C is more challenging than the Burrito and this one took me a bit longer to solve. Nonetheless despite a level 12.5 solution, it is still quite manageable given that you can fully see what you are doing and the way the pieces interact with the columns. 

Reassembly will also be simpler if you remember the orientation of the pieces inside the frame. Unfortunately I forgot and it took me a while to get it right and back together.

Summary
Both the Burrito and 2P3C are very good "intro" puzzles for those new to interlocking burrs. 

Certainly they provide confidence and motivation to those like me who are lousy with burrs to play/puzzle with them from time to time. Without too much attendant frustration and without Burr Tools. Much better than just collecting and consigning them to the shelf for display. 

And at great value for money prices, you need not fear plonking down a lot of cash for some bespoke burr, which more often than not causes immense pressure to a puzzler to have to solve the damn thing!

Hanayama Cast U&U, Key & Donuts

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

A very Happy Easter weekend to everyone. 

I spent part of the holiday yesterday playing with 3 Hanayama Cast puzzles. Two have been around for some time and the third which came out this month.

Hanayama Cast puzzles are available from most of the usual online puzzle retailers; and for almost all except the latest releases, can also be bought from Ebay.

Cast U&U

The U&U is really fresh from the oven; just released in April this month. This one does not even look like it's been made by Hanayama. It has two rods bent U shape with nuts screwed to the ends of each U. The puzzle appears more like it was made from parts sourced from a DIY hardware store. Quality and finish is up to the usual Hanayama standards with a shiny chrome finish.

Physically it looks like an easy puzzle - just unscrew the nuts and the both U-s should disengage. But don't let the looks fool you. The nuts can be screwed/unscrewed throughout the length of the threads they are on, but stop dead at each end and cannot be removed. Here is where the challenge of the puzzle lies.

I took longer than necessary to solve the U&U because I over-complicated things. In actual fact, there is a certain technique to it as I discovered at the end which is simpler than what I was trying to do. The U&U has pretty tight tolerances so you need to be quite precise with your movements in order to solve the puzzle.

Rated 4 out 6 in difficulty, I think that's about right. Its much more tricky and challenging than it appears. Pretty fun and quite repeatable solving once you figure out the correct way to do it.

Cast Key

This version of the Cast Key is a special commemorative edition made for IPP33, which was held in Tokyo, Japan last year. Who better than Hanayama to supply the IPP33 event premium given out to all participants. This version has the two interlocking keys in a two tone Gold & Silver as shown in the photo below. The original Key was just a one colour brass finish. The latest incarnation of the Cast Key is the Key II.

The object is to separate the 2 keys. Not difficult by any means. Its like navigating a maze but with a couple of extra twists and turns. Rated 1 out of 6, I got through mine within a minute or two. This puzzle would do well for new puzzlers.

Cast Donuts

I chipped and cracked my finger nails puzzling with this one!

Donuts was designed by Vesa Timonen and came to the market in 2011. The puzzle comprises two donut shaped rings interlocked together and each of the rings can be further split into separate halves.

Donuts is one of the most aesthetically pleasing Cast puzzles in the series with a polished two tone silver and dark gray finish giving it a very high quality appearance; relative to some of the other Cast puzzles.

Commensurate with the good looks, it is also a very difficult puzzle. It is rated 4 out of 6 in difficulty but I think it should be a 5 at least. Of the three puzzles, I spent the most time with Donuts and even then, I could not solve it and had to resort to the solution, both for taking it apart and putting it back together. Its one toughie here!

Like the U&U, there is a technique required here, although somewhat more sophisticated. Precise moves are the order of the day and random trial and error will not work. While I can appreciate the elegance of the solution, my only gripe is that I found the parts are fitted too tightly together. I personally feel that the manufacturer could have allowed for slightly more play vis-a-vis the Donut halves and yet this still would not negatively impact the solving experience. In fact, I think it would improve the solving and make it more enjoyable and put to rest any temptation to use unnecessary force. 

IPP33 Exchange Puzzles

At each and every IPP (International Puzzle Party), one day out of the 3-day event is dedicated to a "puzzle exchange". Here is where the exchange participants get to swap their own (or with permission, someone else's) puzzle design with one another. 

In the early days, some exchange participants purchased "off the shelf" puzzles and used these for exchange, but today, the rules are strict; designs have to be original and not something commercially available in the market prior to the exchange.

Featured below are 3 exchange puzzles that I had the opportunity to acquire during IPP33 in Tokyo, Japan last August.

Peak Performance

This puzzle came from Malaysian puzzle collector Yee-Dian Lee, one of several Asians (outside Japan) and the only Malaysian who attends the annual IPP regularly. Lee also has the honour of being one of a handful of participants who have attended more than 25 IPP events (to-date 27) in the 35 year history of the IPP since its inception in 1978.

A rather unusual but interesting and fun puzzle, the object of Peak Performance is to "walk" the red man from the START position to reach the top; the CEO position. This puzzle is made of acrylic and the plate has multiple holes drilled all over. 

The red man must have at least one foot in a hole at any one time, while moving towards the goal. It may seem pretty easy at first, jumping from hole to hole towards the top but the solution is not as obvious as it would appear. There is a subtle trick to this puzzle, nicely tucked away in a little corner and likely to be hidden from most,  me included!

City Block

City Block came from David Litwin. City Block is a collaboration between David and Bram Cohen, the latter who originated the concept behind David's design. For an interesting account of how they created City Block, check out Saul Symonds' interview with the two gents on Saul's blog.

An acrylic packing puzzle using "patterned" acrylic to form building shapes (with windows even), there are two challenges. The first is the "warm up" challenge - use the pieces to form the silhouette of the building skyline that appears at the top of the tray. The main challenge is to fit all the pieces, including the one with its own slot within the tray. 

I didn't attempt the first but went straight to the second harder challenge. Took me a while before I got all 7 pieces into the tray. Challenging but not overly so, compared to some other packing ones which I could never solve without the solution. However, based on what I have read on Allard's and Saul's blogs, I am not exactly sure if my solution is the intended one?

David has his own website selling some of his other puzzle designs.

Eight Squares

When I first played with James Kerley's puzzle here, I thought it was the easiest packing puzzle I have ever come across...place the 12 diamond shaped pieces (kites) into the tray. Did it in under a minute...my fastest ever solve!

Only then I realised that it couldn't have been that easy...and this wasn't the intended solution. In fact it wasn't even a packing puzzle to begin with! But rather the object is to use the 12 kites to form 8 squares (now that's why its called Eight Squares!) outside of the tray. The 12 pieces fit into the tray only for the purpose of storage.

No...this is not the solution...this is how the puzzle is to be stored or transported

I couldn't quite figure what to do with this one until I checked the solution, then I understood. I guess I am really thick here! Eight Squares is a great one not just for puzzlers, but also for mathematicians, geometry enthusiasts or folks who like to play with shapes!

Arrow Blocks

Name
Arrow Blocks

Designer
Goh Pit Khiam. Singaporean Goh has designed well over sixty puzzles to-date. For some of Goh's other puzzle designs, click here. 

Starting Position

Manufacturer
Tom Lensch. Currently unavailable.

Type & Classification
This one I think fits into several categories, but Sequential Movement is probably the best description. The Arrow Blocks resembles Bill Cutler's Slide-Blocked Sliding Block Puzzle but has a totally different concept. 

Dimensions
17.7cm (Length) x 14.0cm (Width) x 2.5cm (Height). This is a large puzzle!

Materials & Construction
The frame/box is made of Indian Rosewood, while the blocks are Maple.The arrows atop the blocks are Yellowheart and Brazilian Blackwood. 

Construction, fit and finish is top notch. Built to close tolerances but all the blocks slide smoothly. A really solid and very heavy duty feel puzzle. Another good thing about the construction is that Tom made the frame/box with a removable magnetic lid, so you can reset the puzzle easily (or if you are stuck)

IPP
Arrow Blocks was Goh's entry for the IPP32 Puzzle Design Competition held in Washington DC, USA in 2012.

Overview
I first saw the Arrow Blocks when I caught up with fellow puzzle blogger Roxanne Wong when she was in Singapore for a conference about a year ago. She was very kind to lend me her copy and even told me to keep it until we next met. 

I fiddled with it a bit but never really got down to playing with it. Life went on and I forgot about the puzzle. Before I knew it, I was packing up the Arrow Blocks to return it to her at IPP33 in Japan four months later.

After IPP33, I contacted Tom Lensch to see if he had any available. Initially he didn't have any but some weeks later he got back to me to say he had a spare copy which did not need to go to someone else...lucky me!

When you first look at the Arrow Blocks, it looks like another sliding block puzzle (albeit a very high-end one). You wonder how difficult can this be, after all its only 6 movable pieces, much less than the classic 15 Sliding Puzzle. 

For example, when you see a complicated looking burr, it usually is! Not many are intimidatingly looking yet manageable, perhaps for a handful such as the Orsi and HALT.

Well, in this case, the Arrow Blocks would probably qualify as one of the more deceptively simple (and easy) looking puzzles around, yet the level of difficulty is beyond what it appears!

The starting point of the Arrow Blocks is with the black arrow head on the left side with the yellow arrows and the object is to place the block with the yellow arrow head into the box frame to have two arrows,each with the same colour.

Solved Position

Unfortunately the Arrow Blocks is one of those puzzles that if I describe even the broad steps as to what needs to be done, it would give too big a hint/clue away. One thing's for sure, there is a minimum of over 50 moves to get the Arrow Blocks from the start to the solved state. A good bit of work involved. And I must add, some thinking out of the box (no pun intended) is required here!

I had a lot of difficulty with this one and only managed to solve the puzzle halfway...if there is such a thing.

It was a good thing that Tom included the solution write-up/analysis from Goh, which itself requires consumption of a fair amount of brain power to understand. I would not have been able to solve it without the solution. I must admit, my mental model of a sliding block puzzle kept getting in the way!

Difficulty Level

Very difficult! And when we exchanged SMS about his puzzle, Goh said; "it's a bit tough I agree"... "a bit" of an understatement here I think....

Summary
A very tough puzzle with a unique and great concept from a prolific designer. And excellent quality from a well-respected craftsman. Definitely a must-have for the serious collector. 

ODD Puzzle

Name
ODD Puzzle

Designer
Hirokazu Iwasawa. For more of Iwasawa's designs, click here.

Manufacturer
Torito of Japan. Retailed by Satomi Beattie of CU-Japan who's based in the United Kingdom. 

Type & Classification
3D Packing

Dimensions
8.9cm (Length) x 8.9cm (Width) x 5.0cm (Height). 

Materials & Construction
MDF Board for the box. A light coloured type of wood (looks like rubber wood) for the pieces Construction, fit and finish is overall good. This is the mass market version. There is also a high end version made of exotic hardwoods which was available for a time.

IPP
The ODD Puzzle won the Puzzle Of The Year award at IPP28 held in Prague, Czech Republic in 2008.

Overview
This one has a strange name. It's called the ODD. And it's called that because of the shape of the 3 pieces. They resemble the alphabets O.D.D (look carefully...see it now?).

The object of the ODD is to place all 3 pieces into the box without any of the pieces sticking out. For a 3-piece packing puzzle, one might wonder how difficult this can be, but believe me, it took me a good portion of an evening to figure this one out. The top of the box has a rectangular cut-out to insert the pieces, and this restriction makes the puzzle tough!

Each of the pieces can be inserted into the box, but usually when one is inside, neither of the other two can be inserted, or if both can be inserted, one is usually sticking a bit out. I had an idea what needed to be done and in fact my method was correct. However it was the way of execution that was wrong (in the opposite) that got me stuck for a while, until I tried what I thought was impossible but actually not.

Without giving any clues or spoilers, suffice to say you have to insert the pieces in such a manner that will eventually see all 3 flush inside the box. I might like to add that the ODD has a pretty elegant solution....and no force is required. I have not added a photo of the solved state here as this gives too much of a hint. But if you are struggling with the ODD, feel free to contact me for help.

Difficulty Level

Not your typical packing puzzle. Very challenging and you need to think about the end result of how the 3 pieces will sit correctly in the box and plan your way towards that. But once you solve it, it is easily re-solvable.

Summary
What's neat about the ODD is that physically, it looks deceptively really simple with just 3 pieces and a box... but a real challenge to boot. A really great packing puzzle and well deserving of it's IPP28 award. If you can't afford the high end version (if any is still available), then this one here will do just fine for a nice challenge.

This Is "It"!

This is "it"? You are probably wondering what sort of puzzles these are. 

 Nope, nothing to do with information technology, computers or software (more on this last one later) but I am referring to the Cockpit and Petit puzzles, both by Japanese designer Osanori Yamamoto. As of to-date, he has 175 designs! Many of which have have become production copies including the following which I own:-

1. All Tetra Stick

2. Galaxy Z

3. Pair Dance

First off, both of these puzzles are smallish in size as compared to the typical cuboid interlocking puzzle. Both are around 5cm cube, with the Cockpit a couple of mm larger all round. Given that the Petit has only 3 pieces and the Cockpit has 4, it is quite possible to make a puzzle in a much smaller package yet remaining comfortable during handling.

Both puzzles came to me from Pelikan. Craftsmanship, fit and finish is excellent. Fellow puzzle blogger Allard Walker had commented in one of his posts that the superb quality to be found from Pelikan these days is comparable with a certain North American puzzle maker (now I wonder who that might be?). Yes, I couldn't agree more! And not to mention at great value for money prices too! 

Cockpit

The Cockpit is made of Jatoba for the frame and Maple for the pieces (2 of which are congruent). It didn't take me long to unlock the 3 intersecting pieces. No particular way of solving for me, just the usual random manipulation at the beginning and thereafter, seeing how the pieces interacted to try to get them apart.  

Putting everything back together was altogether different. I found a solution pretty quickly which got the pieces back to what appeared to be their original positions in the frame. But I knew it wasn't the right solution since it took me quite a number of moves to take them apart initially. I checked the solution with Burr Tools and found that I had used the easiest of 4 possible solutions (just 6 steps) which probably wasn't intended. The more difficult solution takes 20 steps to get that first piece out.

Petit

This one I found less difficult than the Cockpit. The Petit is made from Cherry (frame) and Paduak (pieces). Consisting of just 2 pieces interlocked within the frame, it was a much easier task trying to remember the moves, which were also far fewer than Cockpit. I managed to disengage and later assembled the pieces without the aid of Burr Tools. I would think that for Petit, even with a trial and error approach and persistence may achieve the desired result, but not the Cockpit.

Petit is definitely recommended for less experienced burr puzzlers (myself included) as it gives a good challenge but wouldn't frustrate you. To begin with, just a total of 3 pieces is already much less physically intimidating and this undoubtedly inspires confidence. The Petit is definitely much more manageable with far fewer steps. Available from Puzzlewood, Germany.