Author: fivesinatras

reviews of puzzle boxes using the most accurate metric for the quantification of cool

Thar She Blows! Abraham’s Whale by Idan Shvartz

Posted on by fivesinatras in Abraham's Whale, Idan Shvartz

Abraham’s Whale

Idan Shvartz,

The initial release of Abraham’s Whale into the wild somehow slipped by my puzzle radar – I saw this intriguing locked metal box popping up on Discord and lamented the reality that life stuff had distracted me from what really matters: puzzles. Fast forward several months and I manage to get my hands on one… I was not disappointed.

At 2.5″ x 2″ x 1.5″, the puzzle is not overly large, fitting perfectly in your hands. There are various holes on the bottom and sides but, apart from some noise, I did not initially find anything that seemed to do anything off the bat. I, like many did with this puzzle, needed some guidance getting started – the first step really does not do the puzzle justice, starting off with its weakest element. However, this quickly gave way to the satisfaction of a darn good sequential discovery puzzle as I dove in; the puzzle does a great job at directing you through its various stages, the appearance of tools or other developments helping to guide you along.

This is most definitely SD, with a rather lengthy journey in which your discoveries must be put together in novel and exciting ways. There is some serious science sitting at the base of several steps; if you did not know how some things work, you will by the end (this is rather vague of course but once you’ve solved the puzzle you will know what I mean).

The puzzle brings in a number of strategies; typically what may seem burdensome has a more graceful way of being accomplished, if you stop and do some of that thinking thing for a moment. A bit of dexterity may come into play, but overall the puzzle does a great job of getting you to figure out what you have and how it can be used to do what needs to be done.

I needed some help at a couple points (not that surprising if you’ve ever read this blog), one section posing a particularly significant amount of trouble – as is oftentimes the case, it turned out I was basically correct in what I was doing and just needed a bit of encouragement and clarification to pass through to the next section.

There are several strong aha!’s along the way, with some great moments of satisfied success as I figured out what was happening and what I needed to do. This was a puzzle that definitely required my awesome-sauce puzzling headset (combo headlamp and magnifying glasses, bruh) to seek out and discover new developments as I worked my way through.

Eventually, I did it! The whale was free! Huzzah! After an appropriate time basking in my brilliance, I set forth resetting it. The reset is mostly straightforward, moving backwards through the puzzle. Somewhat unsurprisingly, I still managed to screw this up a couple times, proceeding out of order and needing to backtrack. The good thing is that this really forced me to appreciate how the various mechanisms work and how different elements work together to create a fun, puzzling experience. One part of the reset was especially tricky and I am not ashamed to admit that I used an external tool to help myself out (is it cheating if it is just on the reset? whatevs.)

Amazingly, this is Idan’s first foray into puzzling; he is working on his follow-up and I for one can’t wait to see what he comes up with!

It’s A(nother) Karakuri Miracle Again (Again)! Holiday Boxes 2023

Posted on by fivesinatras in akio kamei, daiki arimura, hideaki kawashima, Hiroshi Iwahara, Karakuri, Puzzle Box, shou sugimoto, Take-Apart, yasuaki kikuchi, yoh kakuda

Well it is that time of year once again…. past it really but I’ve been slow to get my ducks in a row and sit down and provide what I hope is a helpful annual post: an overview of last year’s Karakuri Holiday Boxes! I’ve done similar posts for 2020, 2021, and 2022 and have heard they have come in handy for those who missed out on one, some, or all of the year’s boxes, so off we go yet again down Santa Sinatra’s rabbit hole of fun!

I’m gonna need a bigger lightbox…

Akio Kamei – Spinning Die

80×80×80mm; walnut & magnolia

Kamei’s box appears quite similar to another Karakuri box, Dice, which has a rather amusing solution that is perhaps a bit of a classic, the kind of thematic solution that you expect from KCG. Spinning Die is considerably more complex – I am not sure I would have ever solved it on my own without some help tbh. The solution complicates the theme so that it is more thematic but less intuitive, if that makes any sense at all (as if that’s ever been a requirement for these write-ups). Its complication makes for the trickiest of the year although perhaps not as high on the fun factor as some other, simpler releases. As always, it just depends on your priorities – regardless, it looks so nice next to its KCG cousin.

Daiki Arimura – Nanomedashi

83×50×76mm; cherry, walnut & magnolia

Nanomedashi’s simplicity and elegance makes it one of my favorites for the year, in some ways the opposite of Die: simple but fun. It looks like a small file cabinet (readers may know of my office-themed puzzle fetish) with matching drawers on either side. It was one of the first I was able to solve and required no help (I’m a big boy!) so don’t go for it expecting overly complicated mechanisms. It is the one I have probably re-solved the most, appreciating the way it plays on our assumptions with an opening move that has me grinning every time.

Hiroshi Iwahara – Box of Branch and Loophole

84×84×40mm; walnut, magnolia, padoauk & keyaki (zelkova)

Iwahara’s box is a fun twist on a more traditional box in some ways while still managing to be wholly original. You can guess some of what you have to do but there will still be a struggle to get things to go your way, with moves “branch”ing off in unexpected sequences. Seasoned puzzlers will enjoy wandering around the box, getting lost and found while seeking the solution. I got lost many, many times and was happily surprised to learn that even after I thought I had finally solved it, more puzzling awaited.

You Kakuda – Thinking Bat

60×54×86mm; chanchin, magnolia, walnut & mizuki (dogwood) 

Hold on, Toad wasn’t by Kakuda?! Well, so long as there was an animal involved… Bat starts off easily enough before doing nothing at all. I was stuck going in circles on this for quite some time before a deviously simple aha! hit me, bringing me that subtle twist on the puzzle’s mechanisms required to finally open it. A smart and re-solvable box, indeed.

Osamu Kasho – Toad

84×84×45mm; Japanese walnut, mizuki (dogwood) & magnolia 

Another of this year’s favorites, Toad has a devilishly hidden step that eluded me for far longer than it probably should have. I played with it for quite some time before somewhat accidentally stumbling into a very well-hidden step that I almost didn’t even notice. Eventually I realized I had done something and was able to open the box. Fun to re-solve, it is a great example of how Karakuri boxes can mess with us.

Hideaki Kawashima – FS Cube

80×80×80mm; Japanese walnut, magnolia & cherry

Dude, FS Cube may take the cake this year – At first, I was pretty sure this puzzle was going to be a big letdown and was surprised when I eventually needed a big nudge to solve this one as it contains a step that is just oh so very, very clever. I want to say so many things about this mechanism but can’t find a way without letting slip at least some subtle spoiler; suffice it to say that when I finally figured out the central aha!, I laughed and still laugh when I re-solve it. It had me pondering how it was accomplished and surprised that I had not seen anything similar to it before.

Yasuaki Kikuchi – Clumsy Santa

66×66×110mm; chanchin, magnolia & maple

Another of my fav’s for the year, Clumsy Santa is the only holiday-themed box of 2023, unsurprising considering Kikuchi has brought us holiday-themed boxes for the last three years as well. This year we have an amusingly simple box with a well-hidden mechanism that is ever so fun to play with and re-solve. And like some previous years, you will find a nice surprise once solved!

Shou Sugimoto – Rattlesnake

119×70×53mm; Japanese walnut, magnolia, walnut, katsura & maple

Rattlesnake allows you to slither around rather freely, with a central mechanism that I would love to see uncovered, as it has me wondering how exactly Sugimoto accomplished it. Tricky and clicky this one has high fidget value with haptic feedback that is quite satisfying. I will admit I needed to check the solution to finally solve it; I knew what to do but could not get it right without some clearer guidance than the puzzle gives. I imagine many a puzzler might cringe at my casual cravenness but whatevs bruh.

And that’s our holiday boxes for 2023! Puzzlers will note that KCG has changed things up a bit for 2024 – now members must subscribe to their makers early (as in it is now too late for almost every maker) for fear of selling out. My stomach still drops at the fact that I was too late for several makers due to an in-hindsight-stupid procrastinationly ridden lack of puzzling awareness that I’ve been around far too long to have made (yes, my stomach actually drops… I repeat: whatevs bruh). Ah well, there is always the resale market (cringe).

That Funky Monkey – Brass Monkey Sixential Discovery

Posted on by fivesinatras in Brass Monkey Sixential Discovery, Burr, Sequential Discovery, Take-Apart, Two Brass Monkeys

Brass Monkey Sixential Discovery

Two Brass Monkeys, 2 lbs, 2.75″

I’ve long been a fan of Two Brass Monkeys: Steve and Ali’s sense of humor is only outpaced by their sense of puzzling, with numerous metal locks and burrs having come our way over the years. I am in possession of all 6 of the Brass Monkey Burrs (along with a few of their other creations) and am now utterly compelled to write about them, having just solved BMSD, the sixth member of the burr series.

(I also want to call attention to the fittingly adorable TBM branded mat that generously came with BMSD – this is definitely going to come in handy!)

BM 1 – 6 appear almost identical, the only giveaway (aside from weight and, sometimes, a bit of noise) are on the tips of the sticks, with the number of concentric circles varying to designate which of the series you are currently looking at (some, including BMSD, also feature holes at the center of some stick tips). The series builds off of itself: the first is a classic, six piece burr, lovingly and perfectly crafted out of brass. From there, the series begins to add tricks, forcing you to think wildly outside the box at times as you uncover a way to unlock and disassemble the burr. The complexity of these trick openings increases as you progress through the ranks of the series, becoming ever more tricky and ingenious. If you like burrs and trick-opening take-apart puzzles (and who doesn’t?) then this is a series for you!

This, however, is not a comprehensive write-up of the series but rather a focus on the most recent, sixth entry. The sixth is something of a departure as it really starts to place a HEAVY emphasis on sequential discovery. This puzzle is not for the faint of heart – be prepared to build up a stack of doo-dads as you make your way through. That said, it is all highly logical and sensible; there is a clear flow and rhythm, even when I would hit walls I could typically tell (somewhat, more or less, kinda) where I was headed, even if it might take a nudge to get there (it did).

Starting on this 2 pound beast of an SD burr wasn’t so easy – I had to adjust myself to the fact that this is metal and I ain’t gonna hurt it and before too much longer I was on my way. This puzzle just keeps going and going – the goal is not to disassemble, or perhaps I should it is not just to disassemble. The first time I thought I was done was when I had the puzzle in a bazillion pieces; the second time was when I found… something; the final time was when I found the something else I still needed to find (totes adorbs). (I am being a bit cagey as I always like to err on the side of spoiler-free). Each time I basked in my own brilliance, alongside the many aha!s I had come across as I made my way there.

I was pretty sure that I was going to struggle with the reset – burrs are far from my strong suit and the bazillions bits and pieces didn’t encourage much confidence. But there is something so logical and clear about the complex design that I was able to backtrack my way without too much trouble (it helps a lot that I made myself solve it in one sitting – I cleared an afternoon and it took up all of it to do so – it was oh so worth it).

But what would a fivesinatras write-up be without some dumbassery – fear not reader, so sure was I that I had solved it early that I fully reset it before discovering the last several steps required to find the something else. Of course I dove right back in, pieces flying as I delved deep (more like pieces being placed carefully to the side but I am going for imagery here) reaching where I had previously reversed course and realizing where I needed to go (it took a while and a nudge or two to figure out how to get there, however, with this being one of the trickier parts of the whole shaboodle).

Suffice it to say I am a big lover of this puzzle – if you dig SD take-apart puzzles, then this is most definitely one for you. I suspect it will garner much love amongst the puzzle people puzzling around out there.

BMSD in its Natural Habitat, alongside its five siblings and cousins, Ali’s Bolt and Hokey Cokey Lock (and a number of other metal puzzling fun).

Leaning Tower of Puzzle: Fleur de Lis by Tracy Clemons

Posted on by fivesinatras in Fleur de Lis, Puzzle Box, Sequential Discovery, tracy clemons

Fleur de Lis

Tracy Clemons, 11″ x 8″ x 7″5.5 lbs

I’ve been wanting to write about Fleur de Lis for some time: this is a rather massive sequential discovery puzzle by Tracy Clemons, maker of another massive sd classic, Dark Fairy Door. At close to 5.5 lbs, Fleur de Lis towers over most other puzzles, tilting to one side as if threatening to fall over (it doesn’t). With a beautiful Fleur de Lis on its top, the namesake is clear. It resembles a precarious stack of many-knobbed drawers whose odd stature belies the odd movements to come.

Entering into Fleur, you will rapidly build up a lot of pieces serving a variety of purposes; whether tools or locks or red herrings, there is plenty to work with. In the meantime, you get yourself into some strange positions, with multiple laugh out loud movements that had me smiling as I solved. Meanwhile, there is what is inside the drawers! In classic Tracy form there’s a meta-puzzle waiting to be discovered and solved as you make your way through numerous hidden compartments.

Approaching the puzzle it is an open question as to where one should begin. This is not really a linear puzzler with a single path to the solution, which makes it easy to get lost (as I would soon find out). Building up a stack of pieces, it becomes clear that a patient and careful approach will be necessary if one has any hope of resetting the puzzle (which would prove to be a major struggle for me, a series of puzzles in its own right). This is not a puzzle for the light of heart! Take caution ye who hope to enter into its wacky dimensions.

I would need a LOT of help resetting the puzzle – I had left it in a state of undress for so long that I’d forgotten where too much went, as I struggled with solving the meta-puzzle hidden within. I am loathe to admit that I actually had to send it to Tracy for some help, so sure was I that something had gone wrong (which was completely my fault, rather unsurprisingly). A better puzzler than I (of which there are many) would surely not need such desperate steps but if you’ve read this blog you know my affection for puzzles tends to outstrip my abilities.

If you dig complexity, this is a great puzzle for you to take on. I was scared to approach it once more for the writing of this blog and only let myself get so far before backtracking in fear (coward!). However, I only wanted to remind myself of some of its complexity before sitting down to write about it and felt my cowardice was excusable. Jokes aside, I just don’t have the hours needed to dedicate myself to solving and resetting in one sitting and feared my lack of abilities in setting the puzzle aside over time as I did before.

I may be laying it on a bit thick for the sake of (questionable) humor – speaking with other puzzlers who have taken this on, they did not have the trouble I had resetting but…. again…. who’s got two thumbs and is kind of an idiot? (and apparently seems to think you can see what he is doing through the screen?)… this guy.

It Takes a Village: Oleg’s Wardrobe by Dee Dixon

Posted on by fivesinatras in DEDWoodCrafts, Dee Dixon, Oleg's Wardrobe, Puzzle Box, Sequential Discovery, Take-Apart

Oleg’s Wardrobe

Dee Dixon

The Village was happy. For years its people celebrated nothing in particular, joyously throwing small objects into the sky and jumping up and down. Their kindness was so real, so tangible, that the Orb of Prosperity formed, giving the people something around which to dance in a rather silly, but quite happy, fashion.

King Oleg the Horrible, however, hated the happy hamlet – in fact, he hated everything: the sound of grass growing, the smell of fresh snow, and the tiny hats the people liked to wear. The King was cruel to the people in his kingdom, silencing laughter and kicking toddlers. For years he would grumble and mumble incoherently to himself, but the dancing…. Oh, the dancing was the last straw for Oleg. He stole the Orb from the Village and now things that were once thrown into the air are placed sadly on the floor.


Oleg has locked the Orb away in a secret compartment in a wardrobe he uses for small things like his fingernails and sense of self-worth. Knight Nyte the Sleepy Soldier has stolen Oleg’s Wardrobe but he can’t find the Orb! The cabinet opens but the drawers are empty! Alas, without freeing the Orb the people’s prosperity will forever be out of reach. It is up to you to find the Orb so that its magic may be released and the people saved, to laugh and dance and wear their tiny hats once more.

From: Tiny Hats and the Ogre that Hated Them, a Record of the Village that Prospers Once More

Dee never ceases to surprise – I still haven’t managed to solve Burner and he has something more complex coming out!

Oleg’s Wardrobe is a beautiful little cabinet with a door (maybe an Armoire?) in a weighty package (close to 2.5 lbs!). Mine is Black Limba and African Mahogany and the final version will be Peruvian Walnut and African Striped Mahogany (sure to be at least as pretty as the one I solved). The goal is to retrieve the Orb of Prosperity, which is hidden somewhere inside the wardrobe. After appreciating the little dagger doorknob, the door opens readily (with a reveal that made me laugh) but upon opening it up, there seemed to be little to work with. A rotating semi-circle on one side, a hole beneath it, and something that might be a button (that doesn’t press) on the bottom of the box. And that’s it (other than the drawers and door)! Shaking it a bit you can hear a bit of rattling… the Orb? Something else?

I stared at it for a while, asking it to share its secrets with me as I did everything I could think of to do… something. Before too long it did! Aaaaaaand now what? The main mechanism eluded me for quite some time before my aha! and even then I didn’t get very far. Some playing around and thinking(!) got me moving again, going in circles while I wondered what I was missing that could break me out of going back and forth through the few steps I had discovered.

With a little luck and a lot of patience, aha! I found what I was looking for. But still this something didn’t seem to actually do anything, not at first. Some more thinking and experimentation and I got it, only to find that I still had a ways to go. I was pretty sure I understood the basics but it took close observation, logic, luck and more than a little faith until…. the Orb! yay! Bask in my brilliance all ye doubters!

My brilliance soon faded when I realized I had reset the puzzle without returning the orb to its rightful location… oops. Fortunately, this forced me to really and fully understand the puzzle before I could reset it properly, both of which I like to do before I consider a puzzle fully finished. Even without this mistake, the reset might have been a challenge at times, requiring pretty complete comprehension (not my strong suit cough cough) of the central mechanism, with some subtle steps that tripped me up during the reset, adding a bit of extra challenge to the experience.

I had initially solved a late stage prototype before getting my hands on a final copy, which added another tool and a few more steps, while complicating an existing one. These round out the puzzle, really ensuring it has a satisfying length and challenge.

Oleg’s Wardrobe is as lovely as it is tricky – I might put it alongside Bad Moon and Uplift in some ways (but more difficult than either), making it an excellent addition to my ever-expanding Dee collection. Oleg is perhaps a bit semi-blind at one or two points, but really everything you need is there, you just need to realize what that means as you carefully and closely explore. I really enjoyed the non-linear nature of the experience, with some discoveries occurring in a random order; eventually I had discovered everything I thought there was but had to figure out how to put what I had learned together, a fun and somewhat unique experience to have a puzzling journey that meanders and splits and wanders before bringing everything back together. The final additions only add to this, with things that might need to come early being found late and vice versa.

Oleg’s Wardrobe is a fun, non-linear tricky SD journey in a lovely and weighty package. I struggled with it, hitting multiple walls before putting everything together and making my way through to the end. The reset added a bit of an additional challenge for me, requiring a real understanding of the central mechanism at work. A worthwhile addition to any collection!

B4: Brian’s Big Baffling Bolt

Posted on by fivesinatras in Brian Young, Brian's Big Baffling Bolt, Mr. Puzzle, Puzzle Box, Sequential Discovery, Take-Apart

Brian’s Big Baffling Bolt

Brian Young (Mr. Puzzle)
Bolt: 65mm x 30mm, Brass
Box: 110mm x 50mm x 40mm, Papua New Guinean Ebony

I finally got done solving Brian’s Big Baffling Bolt (BBBB) from Brian Young of Mr. Puzzle and… just… wow! Mr. Puzzle announced the puzzle some months back and when my turn eventually came after several more months, I jumped on the chance to try Brian’s newest SD creation, following up on the interesting and uniquely broad challenges of Abraham’s Well.

In creating numerous, highly regarded SD puzzles, Brian has played with brass bolts in the past, having incorporating them into wooden designs: Three Wise Bolts, which I am fortunate enough to own, as well as his contribution to the amazing Lewis Carroll Project, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, which I was fortunate enough to try (but not fully solve) at the Puzzle Palace. This newest puzzle is meant as an homage to his 30 years of puzzlemaking, incorporating “hints” of tricks from some past designs in new ways, alongside novel mechanisms. Despite having solved several of his puzzles, I have to say that I did not recognize anything in particular, so I am not certain from whence these came but I do appreciate the sentiment: a cool way to share tricks that are now difficult to access due to the rarity of so many of his past SD designs.

BBBB consists of a rather massive brass bolt along with a lovely wooden puzzle box made of Papua New Guinean Ebony. The box has slots on either side, a hole on the bottom (alongside the Mr. Puzzle logo) and a resting place atop fitted to the bolt. The bolt has a washer along with two nuts (each with a hole), one of which spins freely without screwing in either direction. I was able to make a bit of progress rather quickly, always a fun start and one which belies the difficulty to come.

This bolt was by far the trickiest bolt I’ve ever seen, with secrets galore. Through starts and stops, I worked my way through multiple aha!’s – so much so that if this puzzle consisted only of the bolt, I would have been satisfied with it as a solid puzzle (according to Allard’s blog, this was initially the case). But no! – there is a puzzle box as well, one that integrates well with the bolt before the finale may be reached. The end reveals a “30th anniversary plaque with [a] pearl” so it is quite clear that you’ve finally solved the puzzle.

I must admit that I needed more than a little help to get through some of BBBB’s multitude of aha!’s and tricky moments, in particular to get through some of the final steps; this did not take away from the experience in any way – the aha!’s keep coming and things I was sure wouldn’t do much worked in interesting ways. Some steps are a matter of exploring everything you have to be sure you know what everything can do, as you discover multiple tools to help along the way. I found myself exclaiming in surprise more than once as unexpected turns occurred, finally breaking through to the end in a final sequence that kept on giving after I was sure I was reaching the end.

The puzzle does not require hitting, spinning, or any force at all. Everything works smoothly; more than that, at one point I knew what needed to be done and was sure it would be difficult to accomplish. I found myself getting a bit disappointed, thinking getting through a section would require stabler hands than mine, only to realize that Brian had foreseen this and incorporated help into the design, such that this was its own aha! moment, in addition to the joys of discovering its mechanisms and tools. Although there is a bit that is somewhat blind, you are provided with sufficient information (if you take your time) to get through.

Despite it having taken me several weeks to solve (and in addition to my terrible memory), it was not difficult to reset: you will have come to fully understand, if not always see, everything such that you know what to do. After putting everything back where it goes and marveling at my own brilliance, I went back through the solve one more time, appreciating the rhythm and flow from section to section, refining my understanding of one section in particular as I worked back through.

BBBB is still being produced by Mr. Puzzle, with a promise that he “will definitely make more of these puzzles in the future.” If you do go to their site to contact them, be sure to browse the site as they have some great puzzles, including a number of IPP designs and the very unique Abraham’s Well (and an excellent Black Friday Sale going on now – no, I get nothing from the plug, I just think it’s a great site from a great puzzlemaker). Be warned that the site is closing towards the end of December, with Brian going into retirement (I do not know how this might affect the production of BBBB unfortunately). Hopefully we will still see puzzles coming out from time to time, as most certainly appreciate his work!

Going in Circles: Orbit and Uplift by Dee Dixon

Posted on by fivesinatras in DEDWoodCrafts, Dee Dixon, Orbit, Uplift

Welp, Dee as done it twice more with his most recent releases, Orbit and Uplift: I got there eventually but it took me quite a while to do it, with a nudge or three needed along the way (although I suppose I find that just talking about what I am doing is sometimes the most helpful part – more often than not in the process of explaining where I am and what I’ve done I clarify what I haven’t done and aha!…. that or I am just trying to make myself feel better about frequently asking for help from other, better puzzlers).

Oddly, both of these totally different boxes feature a freely spinning center piece in a frame – but that is where the similarity ends (other than Dee’s excellent craftsmanship, as always). Both look and feel great, as with any of Dee’s work in my sometimes humble opinion; Uplift has received some aesthetic comparisons to Bad Moon, which I can see, but really they both have that Dee look you can’t quite put your finger on but can still readily see. Uplift is especially gorgeous and I suspect that producing it is particularly no easy task. Neither box is an overly long solve but both had me stuck for quite a while, so my experience with both was nonetheless quite long… and of course they look great alongside their ever-growing set of siblings – delightfully, Dee definitely didn’t disappoint.

Orbit

In the hours (and hours) I spent going in circles with Orbit, I will admit there were times I was certain the solution must be too blind… I was convinced I was going to be annoyed by the solution but in reality this was not at all the case once I actually figured things out. You are given plenty of information and just need to bring some patient observation to make sense of things. It is extremely unlikely to just randomly open this box, although there were times when I was sure I was close (and found out later how wrong I probably was). This is the kind of puzzle where you really need to work out what is happening to be able to reach the solution. There are many puzzlers out there better at this than I, who may well have had an easier time, but I really had to struggle to get there.

Eventually I made some sense of the box and was sure I could solve it only to be confronted with a problem I eventually worked out with a laugh. Again, the information was there if I stopped and thought about it (and I appreciated how Dee incorporated something that in another puzzle may have felt disappointing but still managed here to feel novel… it’s hard to say more without crossing the line into SpoilerLand (which I’d say is like CandyLand but that would give too much away)).

Having solved Orbit I can now get through the solve in a few minutes – a testament to how not-really-at-all-blind the puzzle is, once you’ve worked it out; in my experience, a truly blind puzzle can stump me even once I know how to do it. Here, there is no way to get lost once you know where you are going.

Uplift

Uplift goes back to Dee’s SD roots with an SD-lite solve in what is an absolutely stunning circular “box.” It had me stuck spinning myself nowhere on more than one occasion, with a particularly delightful aha! at the start. I had spent a few hours (yes, sigh) going in circles, doing everything I could think of… everything but the one thing that would actually do something. I found a bunch of feedback that did nothing more than to distract me from finding my way into the start of the solve and when that aha! hit… you just gotta love that dopamine, bruh.

From there, I got stuck one or two more times but was able to get through the rest of the solve in a couple focused sessions. Dee messes with us as the puzzles progresses, causing me to fall down a rabbit hole or two along the way. Fortunately, I was able to get back on track without help, all by my big boy self. Overall, it was not a super long trek to the end once I got past that first wall; I managed to hit that last step with a laugh when I saw where Dee goofs us once more.

I know of one rather vocal critic of Uplift, someone who I suppose solved the puzzle quickly and felt it should have been longer (not a Karakuri collector, I imagine). To me, this first leaves out the importance of respecting the difficulty and complexity of physically producing a beautiful box, which is much of where the value of a collectible puzzle is derived. If you only care about how long it takes you to solve something, than you may not appreciate puzzles like Karakuri’s, for example, which, to some, may be solved quickly – I care more about the elegance of a solve, the flow from step to step, how it integrates with a novel aesthetic built with immense care… although I suppose it may be easy for me to say, since I rarely solve anything quickly (I never claimed to be smart… just circumlocutory and loquacious 😉

But, really, I do not want to give the impression that Uplift is a short puzzle; I don’t like giving a step count unless asked but, by my count, the length of the solve is about average (in terms of steps) for Dee’s work. Most important to me, I was never disappointed with my experience solving it. At the end of the day, I may have spent more time on Uplift than on Walter’s Radio, which does feature more steps (and is one of my favorite Dee boxes) and seems to have stumped some puzzlers as being too complex. Radio is the harder puzzle I think, but Uplift really got me looking in the wrong direction on more than one occasion, which just goes to show you how random the puzzling experience can be and how subjective our perspectives inevitably are.

One of the great things about Dee’s work is that he gets a lot of feedback before releasing puzzles – between prototype testers and a few early releases, he gets a lot of information before calling anything done, oftentimes even giving the public a look into the puzzle from a blogger or two before public release (not that you should listen to anything those guys say, cough cough). It should be no surprise that his puzzles are rarely, if ever, the subject of controversy or contention (and oftentimes the subject of confusion).

Dee has brought us two more beautiful and tricky puzzles that hit different price points and scratch different itches, both leaving me with the lovely feeling of success that solving a good puzzle can provide. Somehow, Dee is apparently putting the final touches on yet another puzzle so I may be back soon… assuming I can solve the darn thing.

If My Words Did Glow: Ripple by Peter Canham

Posted on by fivesinatras in Peter Canham, Puzzle Box, Ripple, Take-Apart

Nary a day goes by when no-one asks me: “Hey, 5S, where the heck ya been the last few months?” Well, life happens and writing fell to the back-burner for a time. But this is not to say that my puzzling itch went anywhere – I’ve still been FOMO’ing my way through my bank account and struggling with the (many) yet unsolved puzzles in my midst (I’m looking at you, Orbit… and you, pretty much every Osanori puzzle I own).

There has been some truly great stuff to come out since the Nashville Puzzle Party (I realize that I haven’t posted since then… Wtf?!) but my favorite (solved) puzzle since then has got to be Peter Canham’s Ripple. After patiently waiting a year or so, I got an email that it was my turn! Cut several weeks ahead past some USPS shenanigans (and absolute kindness from Peter in his quest to make sure the puzzle got in my hands) and it arrived, safely packed in some laser cut plywood.

Ripple’s aesthetic mirrors its name with each face of the 4″ walnut cube featuring a series of rounded, concentric circles. These are broken by all sorts of strange and seemingly haphazard lines, giving you a hint of the complexity to come – at times these lines might prove helpful but they somehow still managed not to spoil some wildly unexpected moves. In Peter’s (comparatively succinct) words, it is “a box that was like a sequential puzzle but was non linear i.e. one move did not necessarily lead to another but possibly two or three. Like ripples in a pond interacting with each other. The biggest design challenge with the ripple box is that as the moves bifurcate the mechanisms start to interfere with each other,” resulting in a lovely cube that is seriously tricky.

After a moment appreciating the look and feel of the box, I was off: I was able to find something rather quickly but it seemed to lead nowhere, leaving me in circles that led to other not yet helpful discoveries, as I spent at least a couple hours over several days without making any real progress. Finally, after clarifying an assumption or two with Mr. Boxes and Booze, I found something odd and quite unexpected. And there I sat once more, staring into the next of what would be several walls that would lead to quite a few satisfying aha! moments. Eventually, I reached the solution and found Peter’s signature alongside the series and batch number. After basking in my brilliance for a bit, I reversed course, resetting the box and going back through the solution once again, appreciating how the moves lead into and around one another, moving through the maker’s vision to the end.

I suppose some might debate this, but I feel like it easily meets the crowdsourced Discord definition of sequential discovery, as it takes you “on a journey through a set of sequential and generally non-repeating challenges involving the discovery of hidden mechanisms” to reach the solution. SD has come to inspire some rather specific meanings that may or may not be met by this puzzle; regardless, the journey itself awards the puzzler with plenty of satisfying aha!’s. But, really, who cares: it’s a darn good puzzle, which is all that matters.

And now, what’s this? A new Dee Dixon puzzle adorns my doorstep? Ah, yes, you may yet hear from me again soon (sorry).

Hitting the Jackpot: Bandit by MW Puzzles

Posted on by fivesinatras in Bandit, MW Puzzles

Bandit

MW Puzzles; 350 copies
2.5 lbs; 7.5″ x 3.75″ x 4.25″
Metal, Walnut, Acrylic

When I was a kid, I had a miniature slot machine with tiny tokens that would make the wheels spin; hitting a jackpot would release whatever tiny tokens had been inserted thus far. While entertaining to my nascent mind, there wasn’t all that much to it – pull the arm, spin the wheels, lose and repeat until you win.

MW Puzzles has taken the classic one-armed bandit and made something fun, tricky and unique, something instantly recognizable, such that the ultimate goal is clear from the start even as the path to it is not.

This makes for something that demands to be picked up, sure to catch the eye of puzzlers and non-puzzlers alike. It begs to be handled; at 7.5″ x 3.75″ x 4.25″ and 2.5 lbs (that’s just over 1 kilo for you metric weirdos), it fits perfectly in two hands, a necessity for all the exploration it will require.

When you first sit down with MW Puzzles’ Bandit, you will almost certainly do what comes most naturally: pull the Bandit’s one-arm… and you will find it does nothing but rotate freely: the wheels don’t spin and a jackpot is most definitely not in the cards. This is sure to reel you in and pique the puzzling mind in the way that a good puzzle does, spinning you around while sucking you in so you just want to try one more thing, just like the real thing catches you with just one more quarter; the difference is that you can actually win with Bandit, should you put in the thought and effort – the payoff is in the cards, to mix casino metaphors.

So begins a sequential discovery journey that rewards experimentation and patience, teasing you with a partial view of its inner workings through a semi-opaque acrylic back, framed by lovely walnut sides and a glistening metal frame that comes in one of four colors.

I had the welcome opportunity to test a late prototype and to compare it to the final version, getting a glimpse into the careful planning and patient meticulousness of the puzzle’s creator. This is not a hastily thrown together puzzle but is instead the result of ample thought and cast-aside proto’s – there were a few changes following even this late prototype that proved to me that MW is a puzzle maker who takes this art seriously; in seeking to entertain, it will be done with pride in a well-made product.

I shouldn’t be surprised after solving MW’s previous trilogy of metal puzzles, all reflecting their excellent craftsmanship and puzzling prowess; Bandit is a larger evolution of MW’s puzzle oeuvre that secures its place as a puzzlemaker to be followed.

Crafting a puzzle that actually looks like something is not all that easy – other than Karakuri, most makers shy away from the innate restrictions imposed by holding oneself to an existing aesthetic but MW leans into it, using the well-known game of chance to inform and obfuscate its puzzling mechanisms, with multiple tools (some quite well hidden) and a progressive puzzling journey whose finale provides the payoff one hopes for. MW has made something that is as aesthetically pleasing as it is recognizable, with puzzling that does not disappoint.

The goal is not so much to “fix” a “broken” slot machine but to discover how this strange cousin functions instead, achieving a jackpot through skill rather than stumbling upon it by luck: this is no game of chance but rather one that requires thought to understand and conquer.

MW began taking pre-orders for the initial run of Bandit a couple weeks ago; pre-orders appear to currently be closed at this time but I would reach out via discord or the website if interested, as interest seems to (unsurprisingly) be high. Bandit will be limited to 350 copies, 75 of each color with an initial run of 300 and plans for a final 50 down the line.

To every puzzler… Turn Turn Turn by Perplex Puzzles

Posted on by fivesinatras in Perplex Puzzles, Turn Turn Turn

Turn Turn Turn

Perplex Puzzles, 6 lbs, 7″ x 5″ x 2.5″

It has been a couple years since Perplex Puzzles released Wishing Well and the anticipation for his follow-up puzzle has not waned. Turn Turn Turn (found here) is bigger, heavier, sequentialier discoverier, and has the potential to drive you a bit mad. Bill B. from Perplex sent me a copy a while ago to try out and if you liked Wishing Well, I am pretty darn sure you are going to love Turn.

Bill has packed a lot of puzzling into this fat, orange parallelogram, which features a black handle on the front, a number of holes along the front and sides, and a protruding something emerging from its back. As with Wishing Well, Turn arrives in a large wooden box, with some instructions, a Bird guide 😉 and the aforementioned solution (in a separate manila envelope). This is 6 pounds of heavy metal puzzling and is not for the faint of heart – this is for puzzlers who want to be challenged with something that is going to take time to discover, understand and, ultimately, conquer. The enclosed laminated solution walks you through the solution and reset with fifteen pages (!) of steps (with pics!), which is to say this is neither a short, nor simple puzzling experience.

Bill is a retired machinist and his expertise is very much on display here, as well as his love of puzzles by designers such as Will Strijbos and Rainier Popp. Turn does not rely on magnets or force – it is truly and purely mechanical: discover tools, explore the various mechanisms that lay semi-hidden within the puzzle’s frame, experiment with the various moves and machinations possible while paying close (very close!) attention to the effects. This puzzle is absolutely solvable – it is not impossible as it is not blind: Bill gives you various ways to check on where you are, although it can be easy to get lost unless you are careful, developing a picture of what is going on through trial and error and close observation until you can begin to develop an understanding of how the mechanisms work, what needs to happen and how to get there.

I was able to make fast progress at first, discovering some initial tools that quickly begin to lead me into the puzzle. I would still be discovering tools and their uses over the next few hours as I progressed deeper into what can only be called a puzzle machine, slowly learning how it worked and how to manipulate it before I could zero in on how to reach the solution. Eventually I had a working understanding of the mechanisms and could orient myself towards the goal, which would take quite a bit longer to reach (along the way, I would need to decipher the included clues… and I may have asked my wife to check a thing or two against the solution for me, but I got there!).

Bill ends it with a flourish, a bit of a call-back in a moment of triumph that had me smiling – it was great to have something to clearly say: “you did it!” to acknowledge my efforts. I am confident that this is going to be a popular puzzle amongst fans of complicated metal hunks of puzzling that are difficult but solvable if you put in the time and brain power (this puzzle has an excellent ROI in terms of puzzling time, at least in my experience). The only downside: unlike some others, Turn’s shape will not lend itself towards being weaponized in a sock – Plant Cycle still earns the award for best puzzle in an apocalypse, in my opinion; otherwise, this is a novel, challenging and complicated puzzle machine to solve. They will be released in batches over the coming months, with Bill reaching out to those on his list. Pay attention as I bet they will go quickly!