Houston we had a problem here
Brian Young, 6″ x 3.25″ x 2.25″
Having (finally) made it to my first IPP this summer (after several years of hoping and waiting, I was overwhelmed by the wealth and general awesomeness of the puzzles showcased (as well as the puzzlers present). On the day of the party itself, I heard tell of a new Brian Young puzzle, possibly his last considering his announced retirement, and zipped on over, snagging one of the last copies of “Houston we had a problem here” from the legend himself (a welcoming and hilarious man).
Houston is a very cool concept – Brian took the rather cheap, not so great “Long Life” puzzle box mass produced in China (I believe) by MiToys and modded it, turning it into an SD puzzle box! Yay! Needless to say, “WANT” was pounding in my head when I got to his table and picked up a copy. Houston takes the original puzzle and adds some engraving: the puzzle’s new name and some maze-like etchings are added to the original. The most obvious change is at the center of the box: an acrylic maze, at the center of which sits a ball bearing, stuck in place beneath an engraved “A 13” in honor of the infamous Apollo 13 mission from which the puzzle gets its name. The wood medallion on the bottom of the box rotates a few mm in either direction but does nothing helpful.
It did not take me long to find the first step but the next would elude me for far longer than I’d care to admit. Eventually, I realized I had not tried something and aha! more was revealed. This led to a few sequential discoveries of interacting parts that allowed me to access the centerpiece of the puzzle, where I would spend considerable time wandering around cluelessly, ideas being tried and discarded as I found none did what I had thought they might do.
Backing up, I thought about what had been discovered and amassed and wondered what else could be possible: lo and behold a couple somethings do some things that I had not yet realized: but why? and whatfor? Time to take stock and a closer look at things, leading me to see where (I think) I need to get and what I need to do when I get there. Getting there didn’t take me too long but the puzzle really threw me when I tried to do what I thought needed to be done; being a puzzle by Brian Young I should not think it would be easy. Finally accomplishing this task opened up new possibilities and allowed me to eventually get where I needed to be to solve the puzzle – Huzzah!
Houston is a novel concept with an excellent execution, turning something meh into something mexcellent. I would love to see someone else take up the mantle and mod others in the original series of puzzle boxes – even more, I would love to see Brian continue to make puzzles for us to enjoy! Whatever happens, I am grateful for the wealth of beautiful puzzles Brian has gifted us with and will continue to lust after and seek out those I have yet to solve or collect.
For more Brian Young action, check out my posts on Brian’s Big Baffling Bolt, Abraham’s Well, and Three Wise Bolts.
Puzzle Ramblings 