Tag: KCG

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).

Kagen and Kamei Get Twisted: Tornado Box by Kagen Sound & Akio Kamei

Posted on by fivesinatras in akio kamei, Kagen Sound, Karakuri, Puzzle Box, Tornado Box

Tornado Box (SP-1)

Akio Kamei & Kagen Sound
Walnut, English Sycamore & Cherry
10cm x 10cm x 10cm
Amazing Puzzle Collaborations: Episode II – Get Back in your Homes (because there’s a tornado coming… not because it sort of rhymes with “Attack of the Clones”)

Hundreds of days ago, in the puzzling days of yore (i.e. 2021), Karakuri announced that they would be releasing a limited run of a new box co-designed/made by Akio Kamei and Kagen Sound. This collaboration was enough to make many a puzzle go bonkers: Kamei is The Godfather of the KCG, its oldest living member and all-around awesome designer & craftsman; Kagen is the only non-Japanese member of the Karakuri Creation Group (KCG) and also an all-around awesome designer & craftsman. Therefore, according to Puzzle Algebra: X + X = 5S, where X is an all-around awesome designer & craftsman and 5S is… well, hopefully you know what that is if you’re reading this.

Tornado Box is a beautifully smooth cube, broken along the center by a carefully crafted imperfect line. It is silky smooth to the touch, its beautiful walnut grain offsetting the two-tone interiors. It is quite a bit lighter than I had expected, particularly for a decent-sized 4″ cube. These two master craftsman collaborated on the design, as the two halves must work together to open both sides.

Kagen crafted the lovely walnut box along with the lighter, sycamore interior, sending it to Kamei to add in the cherry interior on the other side (for more information on the puzzle’s background, check out Boxes & Booze). It is important to note that separating the two halves does not require any puzzling, so showing the interior faces is not a spoiler (it is shown on the original KCG description, which FYI does have a bit of a spoiler in the written description).

Unlike most Karakuri boxes, this was announced as a limited run (other boxes could conceivably be remade at any time, although the majority, of course, are not). Despite a hefty price tag, it unsurprisingly still received more interest than there were boxes, pushing it to a member lottery, which I sadly did not win. I watched from afar as the boxes began arriving in the homes of fellow collectors, a single tear slowly slipping from my eye…

Until, out of the bottomless void that is the interweb, there ascended the kind and caring Vonsch (from the MP Discord), offering to loan it to me! I am constantly amazed by the level of trust and generosity of the MPD and the puzzling community at large. Needless to say, this was a bad idea that earned me one free puzzle box! I hope this can be a good lesson for Vonsch in the future.

Buuuuuuut seriously, I was taken aback by this kind and unsolicited offer, gratefully accepting and asking what I might have to loan in exchange (not that there was a presumed quid pro quo, I just hoped I could return the favor). Soon, there arrived the tell-tale blue box containing a Kamei Karakuri creation and I set to work. If you read these write-ups, you may have noticed that my enthusiasm for puzzles oftentimes surpasses my skill: Tornado, like oh so many others, would take me a pretty darn long time to solve. In my defense, I was even more cautious and obsessively careful than usual – this may have hindered some early progress as I kept asking Vonsch if I could do this or try that. Vonsch took it all in stride, possibly enjoying my ignorant flailing about as I went through idea after idea.

Eventually…. aha! Once more crowned the smartest person in the world, I managed to move small bits of wood that I previously could not move! I stood and shouted at this mere block of wood: “Son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!” before remembering that not only had I not just escaped from the Phantom Zone, but I had only solved the first half of the puzzle, its solution beautifully hidden, an elegant mechanism that is probably even harder to craft than I realize.

I knew that the solution to the other half of the puzzle somehow relied on having solved the first but I nonetheless would struggle to discover it, continuing to bug Vonsch with my paranoid, high maintenance ruminations. I had some ideas (it happens every now and then) and narrowed them down until developing a fairly clear picture of (more or less) what needed to be done. And so……. aha! I found yet another graceful movement that can likely only be achieved by craftspeople of this caliber. Despite repeating the solution a few more times, I am still not exactly sure how one half works – I mean, I know what to do, I’m just not sure why it works! A nice mystery to think on, sure to be a future conversation that will leave me a little bit smarter (clearly I can use it). In the meantime, Tornado will soon be back with its rightful owner and I will return to failing to solve something else.

You got Cherry on my Sycamore!
You got Sycamore on my Cherry!

Run Away! Run Away! A horse with a warrior by Osamu Kasho (KCG)

Posted on by fivesinatras in A horse with a warrior, Karakuri, osamu kasho, Puzzle Box

A horse with a warrior

Osamu Kasko; Walnut, Mizuki & Wenge; 7″ x 8″ x 3.5″
Warrior Figure by Kobo Alp

Considering my love for Karakuri, the ratio of karakuri: non-karakuri puzzles on this site might seem rather low. KCG was there at the start and ne’er hath my love for them wavered… and yet, it is not always the case that a new karakuri will smack me upside the head with the kind of “must-write-about-me”-ness that the majority of puzzles on this site hath so smacked. My reasoning for selecting puzzles to ramble about is far from scientific: even when I know that one is deserving of all five Sinatras, it probably won’t get the write-up it deserves due to a lack of temporal resources and an ironically over-active lethargy gland.

But sometimes a karakuri box will just not let go, refusing to silence the whispering “duuuuuuuuuuuuude” that is the precursor to any written rambling contained on these virtual pages: Cue March 2022 when the KCG exhibition theme of “Ancient Times” snuck its way into our puzzling hearts and shelves with an intriguing and satisfying slate of new boxes. I unfortunately missed out on Kikuchi’s MOAi as well as Tsuburai’s Ox Car but was very happy with the four I was able to get.

The highlight of the boxes I won from this release is Kasho’s A horse with a warrior: a Trojan horse-themed puzzle box with a few secrets that had even my NPSO laughing. The puzzle consists of a fairly large wooden horse with little windows running along both sides of its body, confirming the Greek homage while perhaps undermining its utility for surreptitiously breaching an enemy’s gates (which I suppose is still more effective than a badger…..If you would like to learn more about the historical significance of the puzzle’s inspiration, check out this excellent 1975 historical treatise). The horse is mounted on a tiered wooden base and features some sd-lite trickery that I found particularly engaging.

I was able to discover the first of its compartments fairly quickly; a couple steps later I had discovered the first laughable moment in the solution (there would be more). I got stuck around here for a while, enjoying the mechanism while attempting to discern the path ahead; I had a pretty clear idea as to where I needed to go but getting there required some experimentation and thought.

I would eventually find my way through the next section, laughing once again upon getting a glimpse of the tiny warrior hiding inside the puzzle (not a spoiler as it is referred to in the description). The hidden figure was crafted by Kobo Alp and adds a touch of whimsy to the puzzle; if you look closely, you may see him before you have finished solving the puzzle (Id.) but you will have to find all the secrets the puzzle holds to be able to poke him in his little wooden face and tell him to get his teeny wooden butt back to Greece faster than you can say “kallisti” (yeah, you better run, tiny wooden person).

Horse has a tricky, multi-step solution that is fun and relatively lengthy, particularly for a Karakuri. I found myself struggling to find my way forward more than once and was delighted by its multiple aha moments and uniquely thematic secrets.

A horse with a warrior has now joined my short list of go-to puzzles to share with any non-puzzling guests or passers-by foolish enough to show even the vaguest curiosity at the siren-songs crowding my puzzle shelves, unknowingly tempting the fates that would lure us ever deeper into the Puzzled seas.

It’s A(nother) Karakuri Miracle! Holiday Boxes 2021

Posted on by fivesinatras in akio kamei, hideaki kawashima, Hiroshi Iwahara, Karakuri, osamu kasho, Puzzle Box, shou sugimoto, yasuaki kikuchi, yoh kakuda

Karakuri Holiday Boxes 2021

Following up on last year’s post about the 2020 Karakuri holiday boxes, I figured I’d make a thing of it and do it again for 2021. (If you don’t know about the Karakuri holiday boxes and membership, you can learn more here).

Clockwise from back left: Kakuda, Kikuchi, Iwahara, Kasho; Kawashima, Kamei, Sugimoto
Center: Kasho

Getting my box of boxes in mid-December was a cause for bittersweet celebration; I knew it was destined to sit unopened for a couple more weeks until X-Mas, when I would see each of the 7 boxes for the first time. Having not yet learned my lesson, I hoped that it might spark the teeniest bit of interest in my 15 year-old son (it did not); it did, however, continue to develop the interest of my 81 year-old Cuban mother-in-law lol (she thinks they’re super cool, which of course they are).

If you did not sign up for one or more of the boxes, maybe this will help you decide which are worth going after this year – as always, they will pop up here and there on the puzzle auctions, typically growing in value the further from December we get until, seemingly suddenly several seasons hence, they sometimes start selling for obscene sums. And for good reason: if you have yet to learn this life lesson, Karakuri boxes are cool… I know I will be getting another round of 7 come Xmas 2022.

And now: on to the show (in alphabetical order by maker’s first name):

Akio Kamei – Pile of Disks 3

Unofficially known as the Egg McMuffin, Kamei’s newest creation consists of 5 circular layers of maple, zelkova and rosewood, laid out symmetrically. As the third in a series, this Pile of Disks is leaner than its siblings at 80mm x 30mm, his hanko displayed in the center of one side. Surprisingly, this ended up being one of the last two I wiould manage to solve – I had thought that the solution was somewhat obvious but it nonetheless took me an embarrassing amount of time over several days of fidgeting with it in front of the tv, growing increasingly certain that there was “something wrong with it.” As is typical when such a thought comes to the mind of a puzzler, there was not, I am just an idiot (probably not a surprise to anyone who reads these rambles). While the basic mechanisms were what I had thought, there was a small but essential nuance that had to yet to slap me in the head. I had begun to think that the solution was annoyingly precise but, in fact, it is quite elegant, with a final touch that gave me a welcome smile after how hard a time it had given me. Having opened it, I did it several more times, shaking my head at my own ineptitude and smiling at the subtle design choices that are the difference between trivial and tricky.

Kamei’s 2017 & 2019 – 2021 Holiday Boxes: Reverse Drawer, 8 Burr Box, Safe & Pile of Disks 3

Hideaki Kawashima – Moonlit Night

Following up on 2020’s Moon, Kawashima continues his lunar legacy in honor of the two lunar eclipses seen in Japan (and elsewhere) in 2021 (there is a circle on each side of the box). Its size of 72mm x 75mm, along with the colors of the magnolia, walnut and zelkova, lets it sit well with some of his other!similar boxes, most particularly its predecessor. While I did not have too much difficulty with this box, I did manage to go in circles for a bit before an aha let me find what I’d been missing. The maker’s hanko is hidden in one of its two compartments (presumably one for each eclipse). Despite not being too hard, I like the theme and idea: it is cool to be able to see what the maker was thinking and feel the connection he was going for. Holiday boxes arrive without names or descriptions, which have only recently been shipped out to participating members; these gave me a better appreciation for this box in particular, with an aesthetic that captures the concept rather brilliantly.

Kawashima’s 2019 – 2021 Holiday Boxes: Bars Box IV, Moon & Moonlit Night (I rather foolishly let go of my copy of 2018’s BB2)

Hiroshi Iwahara – Fluctuation Box

One of the cooler looking boxes of this year’s holiday haul, Fluctuation has a springy, tactile feel that makes it fidget friendly and rather fun to solve. Somewhat unique in the nature of its trickiness, the box may take a bit of practice to master. The alternating layers of maple and chanchin look great inside the contrasting top and bottom of walnut and (something? – I may have confused some of these but I think I have it correct) and a little knob adorns the top.

At 160mm x 170mm x 66mm, it is the largest of this year’s boxes and is a development of Iwahara’s 2006 holiday box, Covered Chimney, with which it shares a similar aesthetic.

Iwahara’s 2018 – 2021 Holiday Boxes (clockwise from top left): Bean Bag Drawer 3 (Cat’s Bel), Box with Five Trees, Aquarius Box (small), Fluctuation Box & Line Symmetric Traps

Osamu Kasho – Little Shark

Little Shark might be my favorite of the year, both adorable and the most difficult for me to solve! Its diminutive size of 80mm x 115mm x 45mm did not stop it from taking me weeks of picking it up and trying the same couple of things over and over before I finally did something a bit differently than (I think) I had tried before, earning me the biggest aha of the holiday. It is always a pleasure to get the kind of laugh-out-loud Karakuri moment that compels me to share my glee with my not-particularly-interested wife (who allows for a quick “that’s nice, babe” before turning back to whatever show was trying to distract me from my puzzling).

Knowing the solution, I can fully appreciate the excellent craftsmanship that hides it (one of the main reasons I absolutely love the KCG. It is also adorable, the walnut, magnolia and dogwood maintaining a consistency with Kasho’s Whale boxes: Whale, Baby Whale and Whale Type I, but with evil shark eyes contrasting cutely with the friendly, rounded eyes of the whales.

(cool hanko!)

Kasho’s 2019 – 2021 Holiday Boxes: Bara Bara, Something or Nothing and Little Shark (Bara Bara is actually the Philosopher version released last year – I reluctantly traded my Snowman version)

Shou Sugimoto – Reversible Box

Sugimoto’s box is another of this year’s personal (and probably public) favorites, with a unique solution that sees the box becoming more beautiful as you progress, an interesting design choice that demands repeat play. These changes are surprising and have me tempted to leave the box in mid-solve for display (my spoiler sensitivities are of course too strong to permit this, allowing for a resistance to temptation rarely exhibited by my life choices).

It is a bit smaller than most Karakuri boxes at 59mm x 97mm and compensates with a beautiful use of maple, chanchin, magnolia, wenge and Japanese torreya, some of which you may notice is not visible in its reset state. When first working on it, there was an initial worry that the solution was just painfully obvious, with early progress that turned out to be a bit misleading, functioning instead as a segue into a beautiful sequence that leads into the final steps (the last of which eluded me for a bit, partly due to my desire to repeat the middle steps and partly as it is well-hidden). The final step shows the precision with which KCG boxes are pretty much always made. His hanko is inside and is one of the cooler marks used by KCG members, a more stylized use of Japanese characters.

Sugimoto’s 2020 & 2021 Holiday Boxes: Nail Clippers & Reversible Box (I unfortunately traded my copy of 2019’s Kracker)

Yasuaki Kikuchi – Well, well, well, Where has buddy gone?!

Winning this year’s “Oddly Long and Confusing Title” Award, Kikuchi has made something that is pretty much as hilarious a Karakuri box as I have ever seen. The solution is not short but neither is it particularly difficult; the real awesome-sauciness of this box comes after it has been opened, where you find something whose purpose is not immediately apparent until you step back and look at the opened box with new eyes. I soon saw the purpose of this discovered trinket and full-on guffawed at the result of its use. I don’t mean to be so cagey about this but it would of course be a massive spoiler to say anything further.

Kikuchi’s 2020 & 2021 Holiday Boxes: Christmas Boots & Well, well, well, Where has buddy gone?!s I e

The holiday theme is once again on full display, with Santa’s sled leading you deeper into the Christmas canon in a comically consistent manner. It is an adorably sized 61mm x 110mm x 68 and, as with Sugimoto’s box, some of the woods used are not immediately apparent; its cherry (?) outside hiding some dogwood and walnut once solved.

Yoh Kakuda – Boxing Kangaroo

What kind of Karakuri Christmas could it be be without a cute Kakuda creation like Kangaroo? It is adorable and amusing, with a design that is sure to make you smile. Despite perhaps being a bit predictable, I enjoyed the solve and felt compelled to repeat one particular step several times as Kakuda once again does a great job of integrating thematic elements into the box. Kangaroo is a good-sized 63mm x 110mm x 121mm, with padauk boxing gloves contrasting nicely with the cherry used for the majority of the puzzle (with an adorable magnolia nose). I noticed that the maker’s mark has changed a bit, with added english letters that stand apart from the more traditional hankos used by most other KCG members (and is pretty cool imo). Now I’ve just got to see how it fares against a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot.

(I unfortunately traded my copies of Wombat & Tunnel Maker from 2019 & 2020, so no comparison pic)

And that’s 2021!

I’m already looking forward to whatever boxes KCG will produce in 2022 – time to renew my membership!

Overall Grade for Holiday Puzzles: Five Sinatras