Tag: dedwood

Dispatches from the Walter Wars: Iteration 23 by Dee Dixon

Posted on by fivesinatras in Dee Dixon, Iteration 23, Puzzle Box, Sequential Discovery

Iteration 23

Dee Dixon, 7″ x 4.25″ x 2.25″, Osage Orange and Wenge (available in different woods)
And so, the Walter Wars waged on. The Walters’ dominance was shaken by the Human Resistance’s successful attacks on their radio communication devices as humanity chipped away at the Walters’ line of defense. But the Resistance had yet to develop a weapon that could resist Walter’s AI intrusions; the digital nature of all weaponized devices included a weakness that Walter would easily exploit. The Resistance instead looked back to human history, seeking to upgrade the weaponry of the 19th and 20th centuries. Hopefully this antiquated technology would help turn the tides of many a bitter battle, Walter being incapable of hacking into something from an analog era. Iteration after iteration was developed, each rooted in technology too old for Walter to comprehend. Still, the Resistance’s logistics were constantly interrupted by the Walters, forcing humanity to break this new weapon down into constituent parts. Using the Dynamic Element Downscaler or DED the weapon can then be hidden in a handheld device that could confuse and distract the Walters and when needed returned to its original size. Each individual fighter had little chance of defeating the robot horde, but together in a coordinated effort they could do great damage. One of many robot manufacturing facilities would be the new target. You are called upon once again. Go forth and help humanity gain the upper hand in its war against the Walters by gaining access to and assembling this essential piece of long forgotten technology. .

“……….you read this? Hello? If you can read this, you have accessed the Human Resistance darknet, supporting the fight against the Walters. Since their arrival, Angry Walter has expanded its rule, covering the globe with its robot kin. We humans, despite losing our cities and our nations, have fought back as best we can. We discovered a way to dismantle Walter’s fuel cell when a Walter could be captured. Then we developed a method of overcoming their communications network, removing the DED chip from copies of Walter’s Radio that could be rerouted by the resistance. Due to the Walters ability to infiltrate modern networks, our every weapon failed, leaving us always on the defense. Finally, we have learned that the use of pre-21st Century firepower could slip beneath the AI awareness, leaving the Walters exposed to the analog munitions we rediscovered.”

“Of course, we must hide these weapons from the Walters, breaking them down into various components and hiding them in wooden cases to be distributed across humanity’s last hope, wherever and whenever possible. These cases have separated the components across several compartments, which must be accessed using hidden tricks and tools contained within.”

“While I cannot give instructions to open the case, lest these communications be intercepted by the Walters, I felt it was important to share my experience with this copy in the hope that it could help others. At my count, about 20-25 steps stand between you and the components needed to build the weapon. At first, there is only a button on one side and a sliding lid that will only open about halfway before stopping. I experimented, listening closely to develop an idea as to what is going on – before too long, I had something that would help. It was clear to me where this should go but not why; I was stuck here for quite some time, going in circles as I sought my way out. I will admit that it would take some help to find my way out of this, earning me more assistance to progress. Before much longer, I had the lid off and, after a bit of exploration, the first piece of the weapon.”

“Stuck once more, I pulled out my headlamp to delve further into the puzzle. An excellent series of aha!s stood between me and the next weapon component. More exploration and more trial & error until I found the next step, which would lead me to the third component. I was stuck here for quite some time and would again require some assistance to progress further, despite having found at least part of this section’s solution.”

“Finally, I entered into the final sequence of steps that stood between me and the last component, hidden behind yet more aha!s; my success invigorated me and I was then able to construct the weapon, to be deployed at our next attack. With this, we finally go on the offensive, pushing back against the chaos and destruction wrought by the Walters.”

“It took the resistance iteration after iteration before finalizing the case, workable in this, its 23rd iteration. My copy consists of an Osage Orange base, with a Wenge outline. These colors are flipped for the final iteration, with Peruvian Walnut replacing the Wenge for the dark adornments. The case comes in three versions, using Padauk, Spalted Hackberry or the Osage Orange wood in addition to the lovely, dark Walnut. All are approximately 7″ x 4.25″ x 2.25″ and rely on the same secret steps to solve and access the munitions our resistance so desperately needs. We will be distributing them soon, in time for the holiday attacks we have planned.”

“These cases are unlikely to last long, lest this fight fall into the future. Keep an eye on the cover site we use to help get these cases into the appropriate hands. Go forth and construct these weapons so that we may push back against our robot overlords, perhaps turning the tides of our resistance.”

Rising to the Endless Occasion: Bad Moon & Apeiron Box by Dee Dixon

Posted on by fivesinatras in Apeiron Box, Bad Moon, DEDWoodCrafts, Dee Dixon, Puzzle Box, Sequential Discovery, Take-Apart

Bad Moon & Apeiron Box

Dee Dixon

You may have noticed by now that I am a fan of puzzle boxes by Dee Dixon… with six separate previous posts (plus an apocalyptic video), I have had the pleasure to write about the majority of the puzzles he has released (Space Case & WMH, Portal, Spirit, his first box as well as a Blinded III prototype, Angry Walter, and Menace, in case you were wondering and don’t mind a little self-promotist synergictivism).

And in the last few weeks I had the good fortune to try two new Dee Boxes: Bad Moon & Apeiron Box! Hells to the yeah!

Bad Moon

One of Dee’s two recent releases is a lovely and rather !large half-circle, sort of like a half eaten cookie with a creamy puzzle filling, the light tones of the center offsetting the darker top and bottom beautifully. This is perhaps Dee’s most beautiful box yet – it’s size (at a rather impressive 10″ x 2.5″) and distinctive shape allow it to stand out, and it is as soft and buttery as any a Dee box can be. So loathe to scratch this new addition to my Dee collection was I that I was amply pleased to find three circular feet on the bottom of the puzzle, perfect for protecting my pretty pretty precious. The only other obvious things at first are a rectangle and square on the front face, both grabbing my attention as likely targets for puzzling without giving any indication as to how to begin.

Dee doesn’t make it too difficult to get started, however, and before long I had made some progress. Bad Moon has some truly delightful mechanics and an oh so smooth series of movements overall that make opening it a delight. While it is not always clear how to proceed, you mostly know where to focus; and yet, I found myself stuck more than once as I navigated myself through the numerous, discrete steps to the end.

At one point, I found I had perhaps partly progressed through a section with at least a bit of luck – I backtracked to be sure I understood and was duly impressed by the mechanism at hand. Dee has focused this design on fun; while it is by no means easy, nor will you be banging your head against the wall in frustration as you find your way through (that said, I did notice that some well-seasoned puzzlers at a recent puzzle party struggled mightily with the puzzle, so it is most definitely not simple…). Dee tends to give you notice that you have reached the end and it is very clear when you have reached the end – even if there were no logo to find, the culmination of steps into the finale is well executed and kinda sums up the overall flow.

And the reset! This is one of those rare puzzles that contains puzzling steps that are unique to the reset (I’m looking at you, Dabbit Invasion). While resetting most boxes is simply a matter of reversing the order of the solution, I found myself needing to logic out one part of the reset after discovering something that is only put to use after having solved the puzzle (of course, no box is fully solved until it has been reset but the presence of unique puzzling makes me particularly appreciative of this puzzle). With a combination of experimentation and some of that thinking stuff, I managed to work my way through the reset, to where it flowed easily back to the starting point.

Dee’s Bad Moon is an excellent addition to an already excellent collection of boxes – I am not one to question a Dee box but, if I were, this would make it onto my list of “must-haves” (which, admittedly, I would have a hard time whittling down – not liking puzzle boxes is not my strong suit).

Apeiron Box

The second of Dee’s new puzzle boxes, Apeiron, presents a substantially different challenge – forgoing the sequential discovery chops of Bad Moon (and others), Dee turns back to some of the more blind mechanisms he has wonderfully created in the past – as someone who doesn’t generally prefer blind solves, I can say that Dee manages to walk the line between frustrating and fun extremely well – put another way, if I enjoy solving a demanding box like Space Case, whose mechanisms are hidden behind subtle cues and clues, then most any puzzler may as well.

Apeiron is not as hard as Space Case but is much trickier than Spirit – I spent a good hour or two just going in circles, which the design and name would seem to anticipate (Apeiron resembles an infinity sign (or perhaps a peanut) and its name means as much). This is how long it took for me to explore and understand all the subtle clues and feedback available, which is more than enough to develop working theories on the box’s mechanism(s). Its 6″ x 2.5″ size allows it to fit perfectly in two hands, the smooth curves begging to be explored and handled.

I took a break for a day or two and let my subconscious go to work (my brain surprises me sometimes – WMH had me stuck for weeks until I woke up one morning with a clear and correct understanding of what I was missing). Returning to the box, I found that I had developed sufficient context such that experimenting with the box now led to success: with a great aha! the box came open, allowing me to examine the inner mech as with most of Dee’s boxes (a trait which is just another reason why I love his work).

Having solved it, I opened and closed the box for a while, enjoying my newfound knowledge and hard-earned understanding and appreciating Dee’s ability to develop an idea into an entertaining reality. Dee’s skills as a puzzle designer continues to develop, his penchant for tricky but doable puzzles boxes leading to the creation of yet another box of devious trickery whose mastery had me smiling. Apeiron does not rely on random fiddling or dextrous fickleness – its solution is easily executed once understood but getting there may not be so simple (as some readers may know, my passion for puzzles sometimes outstrips my ability with them but I would not expect Apeiron to open for you without some degree of difficulty).

Bad Moon and Apeiron share an aesthetic to some extent, and look wonderful paired together amidst whatever other of Dee’s boxes you’ve had the good fortune or forethought to obtain. Both boxes should have additional releases in the near future, so keep an eye on Dee’s website for updates.