Tag: puzzle box blog

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!

When is a Door not a Door? When it’s Puzzleduck Pastures by Kel Snache

Posted on by fivesinatras in Kel Snache, Puzzleduck Pastures, Sequential Discovery, Take-Apart

Puzzleduck Pastures

Kel Snache; 36 copies

In a land far away, under the old Sycamore tree is where you will find the cheery little fairy community of Duckbill.

These puzzle loving fairies have an obsession with all things mechanical and have nothing to do with ducks. One fairy named Lil’ Ms Fairy Pants had her tiny home newly outfitted with the crafty creations from one particular wizard named Kel Snake.

Sadly, Lil’ Ms Fairy Pants has a poor memory and has gotten herself locked out of her home, again.

Save the lovely fairy and be the gallant young knight by helping her to open her front door. She will repay you with a tiny tour of her home.

Duckbill Times

It may not be new but it is still worth writing about: I got my copy of Puzzleduck Pastures upon release way back in ye olden days of 2019. Back then, my blog was still pretty new, my tens of readers a mere fives of readers. I was writing less frequently than I am now (which really is still not as frequently as I’d like) and simply never sat down and wrote about this gem of a sequential discovery take-apart puzzle.

Puzzleduck Pastures is Kel’s “response” to Michael Toulouzas’ Fairy Door (and, in turn, precedes Tracy Clemons’ take: Dark Fairy Door). The puzzle looks like the facade of a playful, cartoonish home, the roof slightly askew, a bulbous door, sketched windows, and so on. The puzzle is a sizable 12″ tall and 8.5″ at its widest point on the base; at 3.5″ at its deepest, it evokes a sense of a theatrical facade from which one might expect Puck to dramatically emerge (“And those things do best please me, That befall prepost’rously.”)

And this is just part of its appeal: it’s playfulness is a manifestation of Kel’s good nature and reminds us that we are here to have fun – belying this intentionally imperfect aesthetic are the internal mechanisms that interact in varied ways, locking Lil Ms Fairy Pants’ door and tempting the puzzler with a number of holes across multiple sides.

The door is quite firmly locked: two of the three square central “locks” on the door move just a few mm, with the bottom one spinning freely. But don’t think that the rest of the puzzle can be ignored! In typical Kel fashion, you will find a number of interacting internal mechanisms keeping you from solving the puzzle and opening the door, although only the chimney appears to have any give when reset. It is quite typical of Kel’s style: multiple misdirections as you embark on a semi-linear sequential discovery journey with very few blind spots. Re-solving the puzzle after a few years, I was pleased by how well everything worked, even as I was sure something was wrong at one or two points (nope: it was me). And I was super pleased with myself when the door finally pulled open once again!

At the end of the journey you are rewarded with a view of some of the internal mechanisms as well as, even more delightfully, some lovely art of Lil Ms Fairy Pants’ home created by artist Nicole Lees for the project. (This is not a spoiler as it is stated in the description)

I love this kind of finale, bringing the story full circle and rewarding the puzzler with a good, satisfied laugh. By no means will you wonder if it is solved: it is quite clear that you’ve helped Lil Ms Fairy Pants home and you can sleep soundly knowing you’ve done a good deed for an imaginary person.

Puzzleduck is fun and tricky, Kel’s deviousness abounding throughout the puzzle’s playful frame. While not as long a solve as Kel’s EWE UFO, it is similarly smartly silly and delightful to behold (and they look adorable next to each other). Now if I could just get myself a copy of Toulouzas’ Fairy Door, I would have the trifecta, thereby opening a portal into the world of the fae!

Answer the Robocall: Walter’s Radio by Dee Dixon

Posted on by fivesinatras in Angry Walter, Dee Dixon, Sequential Discovery, Walter's Radio

When a wave of Angry Walters waged war on the world, we fought back valiantly, seeking to remove the cold fusion generators that fueled his robotic rage. Some of us succeeded, disabling the power sources in support of the sapien resistance; others struggled to make sense of the robotic systems, their patchwork patterns too puzzling, too complex to understand. The robots exploited this gap, continuing to grow in numbers as we humans faltered in the face of their fury. But the Walters soon faced a new dilemma: as they grew so too did the need for an infrastructure that could sustain the new robotic world order. As humanity sought refuge online, sharing stories of the underground at war with our new overlords, offering advice to those who could not overcome the Walters’ power, as we banded together, the Walters’ world frayed at the edges, humanity chipping away at the cracks within. The Walters scrambled to fill in these gaps, developing new communications technology that allowed for the instantaneous transfer of information between synthetic minds. Such profound development rested on the invention of the Dimensional Electronic Divergence (DED) Chip, a small transistor that disseminated data through tiny wormholes connecting the Robocall devices. 

Humanity’s hope faded as the radios allowed the robots to respond quickly to each battle, each spark of resistance snuffed out as soon as it surfaced. Humanity learned that the removal of the DED could turn the tides of the robopocalypse, diminishing the Walters’ ability to communicate. But they knew that any such success would come at a great cost and so they ensured that the removal of these devices would not be such a simple task. After humans stole what copies they could, they discovered that the removal and manipulation of the DED allowed them to transmit their own data, indistinguishable from that sent by the Walters, creating the opportunity to subvert their communications to humanity’s own ends. 

Human fighters recently secured a shipment of Robocalls that are being shared across the global resistance movement. We must find our way through the robotic defenses built into the radios to remove the DED Chip and undermine the Walters’ newest weapon in the war for our world’s future. Go forth and answer the Robocall!

Rev. 23.5 (as told to fivesinatras)

Ok, yes, I have written effusively about a lot of puzzles by Dee Dixon (cough cough all of them cough)… but it’s not my fault he keeps making great puzzles! And now, the Walter Wars rage on with his newest release: Walter’s Radio, a walkie talkie-ish sequential discovery take-apart puzzle that is as challenging and unique as it is fun: this is probably his longest puzzle in terms of discrete steps (20 – 25 by my count), and manages to taunt the puzzler despite not containing any truly blind mechanisms. Each aha! (and there are quite a few) can be clearly felt or seen, even if its purpose is not always so clear.

The puzzle consists of a rectangular block with a “speaker” at the top center that is able to spin freely, a loose block rattling around inside able to be seen through the speaker grates but not touched. At the bottom right is a symbol of some sort carved through the body, nothing special to be seen beneath. All five of the other sides show a single piece, flush with the puzzle’s body with no clear indication of what they are for or what they might do. None seem to do anything at first, with nothing more than an mm or two of wiggle room.

Some close examination and experimentation and I’m off. The central mechanism is itself quite unique and presents some entertaining trickiness to manipulate. It is possible to deduce much of the basics but it will lead you down some rabbit holes as you explore the various mechanisms that lay hidden throughout the puzzle.

I got stuck several times – this is not an easy puzzle, after all; those who may have thought Bad Moon was more pretty than hard will be pleased to find the reverse here: while by no means unattractive, with its quite lovely wooden sheen and beautiful grains, it may not be the prettiest puzzle Dee has produced (WMH and Bad Moon share that designation) but it is one of the best, in my more-or-less-humble opinion. And, yes, I know I get super excited each time Dee releases a new puzzle, but careful reads will find that this is not something I say lightly.

It is most definitely sequential discovery, with a touch of dexterity for good measure (not to worry – if I could do it with my shaky hands, anyone can). The solve is a puzzling journey that leaves you with quite a few bits and pieces by the time you obtain the Dimensional Electronic Divergence (DED) Chip that is your ultimate goal, and yet the reset is pretty straightforward and logical; as it took me a while to solve, I worried that my terrible memory would cause me great consternation when I was finally ready to reset it. But in the end, the pieces do for you what logic does not.

After resetting it, I immediately turned around to solve it again, already needing to work out a few sections that had become a bit fuzzy (I told you: my memory is terrible… didn’t I? Well, it is). There really is quite a bit going on – some sections may flow naturally but there were multiple walls that had me stuck for quite some time; on at least one occasion I managed to work out how to get past a particularly tricky few steps without the puzzle in my hands, which is always a neat thing (the same thing happened on WMH, my subconscious solving a section when I woke one fine morning).

Walter’s Radio is the newest example of Dee’s evolving design skills – he managed to come up with a unique central mechanism that allows the puzzler to navigate a number of interlocking locks and tricks in their search to remove the DED Chip that lay hidden somewhere within. It provides a darn good challenge with a great balance of difficulty and fun that I suspect puzzlers will thoroughly enjoy – I suspect I will not be the only one to say this is one of his top puzzles!

Sound’s Flex: Hex Flex by Kagen Sound

Posted on by fivesinatras in Hex Flex, Kagen Sound, Puzzle Box

Hex Flex

Kagen Sound, 2022; 55 copies;
Ziricote, Pacific Maple Burl, Curly English Sycamore, Hard Maple;
6.2″ x 5.4″ x 2.8″

At the close of 2022, Kagen Sound announced the release of Hex Flex, a new box that sounded entirely too intense to pass on (not like it is ever easy with the beautiful boxes he creates): the description states that it has “the most unusual opening” of any box he has ever made! Um……. I am but human.

A few weeks later and an absolutely gorgeous box arrived: dark Ziricote contrasting with Pacific Maple Burl and Curly English Sycamore, the burl wood’s tones shifting between light brown and pink, and a slight trim to the lids that is a subtle nod to his skills. This is a box to drool over (as with many of his creations). Its size is similar to Plus Box, smaller than the Lotus/Caterpillar/Butterfly boxes; a perfect fit for two hands. The sides feel like butter and the box has an overall feel of solidity that helps with what comes next, for Kagen warns us that we “will need to take a leap of faith and overcome [our] worst fear about the box.”

Settling into the solve, I was able to manipulate a few things on the box, which allowed me to reason out what it seems like it should maaaaybe do…. but…. no way, that’s crazy…. it can’t…. should I? Kagen’s warning/advice is helpful as I try something no box should do and it works! Beautifully and perfectly! Wow…. but the box is not yet open. I needed to continue stepping out over the puzzle abyss, my faith in Kagen’s work taking me even further from what my cautious collector’s conscience is commonly comfortable with.

Having worked another bit of logic, I find my way to the finale and realize that Kagen has made a box that manages to do something truly amazing, executing a concept that most woodworkers would surely run from and doing it in a way that the solver realizes that it’s ok, there’s nothing to worry about. Kagen accomplishes what he set out to do, creating something stunning and shocking for us to enjoy.

Shades of pink

Solving and re-solving it multiple times, I have to shake my head in awe at the craftsmanship and ingenuity represented by the work. Kagen continues to astound and push the boundaries of the craft… it may not be a singing desk but it is still one of the best boxes I’ve had the pleasure to solve, not to mention one of the prettiest, and quite certainly the most daring.

Left to Right: Clutch Box, Butterfly Box, Hex Flex, Dark Fairy Door

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.

Three Little Puzzle Cubes Are We: MW Puzzles

Posted on by fivesinatras in Creator, MW Puzzles, Sequential Discovery, Take-Apart

3 the Peg, Penny Pincher and Lib Orb Rate

MW Puzzles, Approx. 2″

Some months ago, MW puzzles appeared on the scene with 3 the Peg, a smallish black metal cube with enough holes and protrusions to tempt most puzzlers. I didn’t know anything about the maker but when has that stopped me from trying a new puzzle…

Peg and its two siblings make for a trilogy of puzzles that share an aesthetic, making for an extremely collectible group – I do love puzzles in a series that manage to have a consistent style at the same time as containing distinct mechanisms. The black metal cubes have slightly varied dimensions (more or less 2″) and the distinct protrusions and holes across their faces send a clear signal that these are wholly different from one another. The amount of puzzling contained within these relatively small footprints (particularly in the second and third in the series) reminds me of the trio of printed puzzles by Alan Lunsford (aka Layer by Layer on Etsy): Unsafe Deposit, Bolt Action & Mighty Pin, all of which offer absolutely excellent puzzling at a particularly good value. A good designer can fit a lot of puzzling into a small frame and MW’s use of metal makes for a very high quality example of this puzzling axiom.

3 the Peg

When 3 the Peg arrived, I was first taken with the overall quality of the build – there is some serious machining skills on display, with every piece placed perfectly in prime puzzle position such that pretty much any puzzler can appreciate the sleek appearance and solid feel of the puzzle.

3 the Peg is the first and the simplest of the three puzzles released by MW – this is not to subtract from the elegance of the solve which relies on a well-hidden trick that could certainly keep a puzzler stuck. I managed to solve it fairly quickly but this could at least partly be due to luck (one of my early guesses proved correct), although I would venture to guess that more experienced solvers may have a similar experience. Having found the main trick, it was not terribly difficult for me to work out the remainder of the solve. I think this is a particularly great puzzle to hand to non-puzzlers as it it not too long a solve and can show how one’s basic assumptions about the workings of a puzzle must be discarded; further, the extremely well made parts will show any non-puzzler the level of craftsmanship we tend to expect from our makers.

Penny Pincher

I missed out on buying this one on release and gratefully solved a loaner copy from a fellow Discord puzzler- and I am glad I did! This one really steps things up in terms of complexity and difficulty, with a pretty long and involved series of steps and discrete mechanisms to get through before the titular penny is released. Luck will not get you very far and even experimentation is somewhat limited as I needed to have a good sense of what I was trying to do to avoid going in circles. PP is a bit crazier looking, with plastic rings on two of its faces, almost resembling camera lenses. These bits help to create the impression that there is a lot to work with, helping to lead me down some rabbit holes at more than one point in the puzzle; one early section in particular had me smiling once I fully grokked how it works. Construction of the puzzle is still quite good, although I did have an issue with a couple bits falling off (easily fixed) but the instructions tell us that these don’t do anything, which was good to know.

Several legit aha! moments await you as you get through the sd solve, more than one of which is likely to earn a guffaw or two. While Penny may not be the prettiest of the three puzzles, it may be my favorite: the mechanisms are smart and tricky, making for a fun and satisfying challenge that rivals the next puzzle in this MW trilogy.

Lib Orb Rate

Lib Orb Rate is the newest of the three puzzles they have released and it really is a darn fine puzzle. They once again pack a lot of puzzling into a small footprint, for a multi-phase sd solve that poses a solid challenge and works smoothly. I hit a wall early on and got nudged in the right direction – I was sure that there was some blind muckery about and my own assumptions and faulty deductions were tempting frustration … until I realized everything I needed was there for me to work with. They don’t hold up a sign to focus on what that might be but the information is mostly available after some close observation and trial & error to see what’s what making it sometimes semi-blind (but totally fair).

Passing through this first phase, I moved on through the puzzle in a pretty clear, but not at all simple, progression: I never felt lost even when stuck and I eventually worked my way through the rest all by myself (golly gee). Stupidly, I forgot that the name of the puzzle tells you what you’re trying to do and briefly believed I may have solved it – it would have been an ok puzzle if it stopped at that point and I was pleased to find that it continues on to a cool mechanism that is executed quite well, with some small details that must be precisely followed, particularly on the reset. While this final section was perhaps not necessarily 100% new to me, the other puzzle that shares a somewhat similar section is rare enough that many if not most puzzlers playing today may well have missed out. Regardless, it is executed differently (and perhaps more reliably, if I’m being totally honest) and is as worthy an aha! as in that other solve, particularly as it adds additional subtle trickery. All in all, Lib is another great puzzle from MW with a solid challenge and satisfying solve.

These three quality builds from MW Puzzles has me eagerly anticipating whatever follow up they might have in store – they are a welcome designer to the puzzling world and well worth watching for whatever they will come up with next. According to the designer, it may be a while before these three are re-released, if at all but, perhaps more importantly, there will be a smaller “key ring puzzle” in time for the holidays and a major release coming in the New Year – I am looking forward to it!

A Tragedy in the Puzzling World

Posted on by fivesinatras in CubicDissection, Eric Fuller, Nope Box

Recently, we all lost someone truly special when the puzzling world was rocked by the unexpected and untimely passing of Eric Fuller, puzzle designer and maker and the person behind CubicDissection. Eric was much too young to leave us and his passing leaves a hole that is unlikely to ever be filled.

I was not personally close friends with Eric: we spoke on the phone a few times and chatted online here and there over the years. I wish I had known him better – I always hoped that I would have the chance to meet him at a puzzle party down the road; sadly this will never happen (Boxes & Booze wrote a wonderfully moving tribute to Eric that tells us more about his life beyond puzzling). His work includes many of my favorite puzzles and he is, by pretty far, the single most represented maker in my collection (the only source of puzzles that represents more of my collection than CubicDissection is from the various makers of the Karakuri Group). A few of these are boxes that I have been unable to solve despite owning them for years.

I had been prepared to post a write-up of the excellent trilogy produced by MW Puzzles when I heard the news. I did not feel comfortable posting it at the time and could not see how I could allow my site to move on without addressing this tragic loss.

I thought I would review something by Eric that is an example of his genius as a puzzle designer and his talent as a puzzle maker. And what better puzzle than one that sums up how I first felt after hearing the news last week: Nope Box. I just couldn’t picture a puzzling world without Eric’s work in it; it was my first reaction to hearing the news and seemed apropos.

Eric: I hope that whatever you find on the other side answers the big puzzles of life. We will all miss your humor, generosity and puzzling deviousness. You accomplished great things in much too short a time. My heart goes to out to Eric’s family and close friends – know that he was loved and respected by many many people all over the world. We all lost something with his passing.

Much of my CD collection

Nope Box

Nope was originally released in 2019 as part of the Small Box series with a slightly updated version released in 2021. It is still one of my favorite puzzles and a go-to to show how a good designer can pack great puzzling into a small footprint.

Nope is a diminutive 2″ cube that had me stumped for quite a while. At first, you are able to press the center up and down a few mm within the frame, with it snapping back when released. It has a surprising amount of sd-lite puzzling for something so small – it would be a satisfying puzzle at any size and keeping it small just makes it that much cooler. Each step gives you a great aha! moment and I hit a wall each time I made progress, getting that rush that only a great puzzle can give when I finally managed to move on. The final steps had me especially stumped and the newly formed Discord group brought me the help I needed to get through it.

It is also simply a lovely little box: the original release was made with a Leopard/Lacewood frame and Walnut top and bottom, woods that give a beautiful contrast between color and grain. The newer version went with a somewhat different look, with a dark Chechen or Morado frame against a light quartersawn sycamore top and bottom.

As some may know, the original version had a design element that made it possible to damage the puzzle – this might make some people question why I would use it as an example of Eric’s work but it highlights another aspect of Eric’s personality: a strong sense of fairness and a need to “make it right.” Eric began shipping out parts to remedy the situation, just in case (I was, unsurprisingly, one of the people to break their copy and receiving this unprompted was one of the early examples of Eric’s character I saw – anyone who has had the rare issue with a CD puzzle knows that he could not allow a “wrong” to go unaddressed). This possible design issue was smartly addressed in the re-release (along with one other minor tweak).

Nope Box highlights Eric’s excellent skill at designing fun and challenging puzzles, as well as his high standards in production and business. Eric is known for creating assumptions so that he might exploit them, misdirecting you in unexpected ways. He is also someone who always strove to find ways to get more puzzles into more hands, always working to keep costs low despite the fact that his work routinely went for much higher on the secondary markets (Nope is also a good example of this; the small box series was an attempt to create quality boxes at a reasonable price point – not an easy feat to achieve). He was also just a cool, funny and interesting person to know, even if only a little.

Rest In Peace Eric – we miss you.

Small Boxes 1, 2, 4 & 3 (left to right – oops): Window, Aha, Paradox and Nope

Falling to Me: Angel Box by Wil Strijbos

Posted on by fivesinatras in Angel Box, BayouPuzzles, Puzzle Box, Sequential Discovery, Wil Strijbos

Angel Box

Designed by Will Strijbos
PETG/PLA Version Produced by Gerard of Bayou Puzzles

One of the many (many) wonderful things about the Mechanical Puzzle Discord (MPD) Group is its puzzle library: members are able to borrow some truly amazing puzzles for just the cost of postage (subject to some MPD terms). Puzzlers have generously donated some excellent puzzles to the library, including a printed version of many a puzzler’s unicorn: Angel Box by Wil Strijbos. (Do not confuse this with my recent post on the Red Herring Box, which is not a part of the MPD library despite similarly traveling the puzzling world).

Gerard of Bayou Puzzles, designer and producer of the wonderful sd puzzle, Turtle Trip, was granted permission by Wil to produce two copies of a fully accurate 3D printed PETG / PLA version of Angel Box – I say two copies as one is for the North American MPD library and one for the ROW library (it is worth noting that he also got permission from Juno to produce and sell copies of a printed Slammed Car).

Angel is so true to the original design that it even features the eponymous cherub whose imprisoned state can be viewed through an acrylic window at the front of the box, as in the original. There have been some delays since its release into the puzzling wild due to some needed repairs but, after patiently waiting for a couple years, I finally got my turn.

Angel Baby Atop Puzzle Hamster: A Perfectly Puzzled Picture

All of Wil’s puzzles are quality designs, his sd puzzles perhaps most of all: Lotus and First Box have been known to be responsible for many a nascent puzzler’s initial descent into puzzledom and the 2020 re-release of Pachinko and Revenge Lock released waves of relief amongst the many of us who had been hoping for a chance to obtain copies. Alongside Butterfly, Pachinko, and Revenge Lock, the original Angel Box is a sizable hunk of metal, somewhat imposing in size. The PETG/PLA version is presumably a bit more wieldy but no less of a puzzle for it.

I found that it offers some excellent puzzling without being so difficult as to leave me stuck for weeks on end (as happened with Pachinko and Revenge, for example), favoring elegance over anguish. After solving Butterfly at the former Puzzle Palace a few months back, this is, I think, the last of Wil’s sd/boxes for me to solve (and, weirdly enough, the first for me to write about!). And while it may not have had me laughing at my own brilliance it was nonetheless a darn fun solve at that!

As this was a loaner from the library, I intended on solving it as quickly as possible so that it might get back on the road (ironically the next person in line is the same puzzler who recently sent me Red Herring! It really is a small puzzling world…). I was able to solve it in two focused sittings with a great balance of challenge and fun as I worked my way through the substantial aha! moments sprinkled throughout the solve. There is a great rhythm and flow that gives class to this classic puzzle. A few steps did smack me up against a nice, solid wall, but overcome them I did, albeit with perhaps the grace of a tiny, fat baby with vestigial wings. I will admit that I may have cheated a bit on the starting lock, picking it rather than taking the time to tease out the riddle (I figure I can retroactively solve this without creating delays for the remaining puzzlers on the library list); otherwise, I stayed true to the design, conquering it relatively quickly so that it might get back on the road.

The solution follows a clear logic, with discrete steps that make sense once discovered; I worried at first that the accumulated bits and pieces might pose a problem for the reset, but the mechanisms, once understood, make it easy to know how and where such pieces must reside. Before dropping it off at USPS for a short trip east, I ran through the solution a second time just to appreciate the flow of steps; there is a reason that this is design is considered a classic and I am grateful to have the chance to experience it!

And so, Angel heads back out on the road today, back once more to unicorn status for this grateful puzzler.

Lost All Over: Red Herring Box by Doog

Posted on by fivesinatras in doog, Puzzle Box, Red Herring Box, Sequential Discovery

Red Herring Box

Doog from DoogalooGames, 8.5″ x 6.5″, 3.75 lbs.

Making its way around the world is a puzzle box by Doog from DoogalooGames, a puzzle-maker (and super yacht engineer, which is also way cool) whose puzzles have been popping up on Instagram and elsewhere over the last few months (such as the Precision Box, seen on Mr. Puzzle). One of my oldest MPD friends, Josh, asked me if I wanted to try a box that Doog had given to the community to share and solve… as if he had to ask!

(Ironically, although I’ve spoken and DM’ed with Doog a few times, I had not heard about the puzzle until Josh let me know, much to Doog and my amusement – it really is a small puzzling world!)

The idea is to have the box go from puzzler to puzzler, asking solvers to add their initials/name to the bottom of the box and take a pic in their city or town before sending it off to its next puzzling location.

Not since Amelie‘s gnome has an inanimate object’s world travels been as compelling and interesting, already making it from France to the southern parts of the US (soon to travel West, if memory serves).

There are a couple neat little surprises inside that I won’t ruin, suffice it to say that I absolutely love the whole thing! It generously brings puzzlers together into a shared puzzle experience for nothing more than the cost of shipping it on to whoever is next in line. (There’s no specific way to get in line, each person is just sort of asking whomever is next… I know the next two stops have been determined but beyond that…. this is a slow, friendly travel from stop to stop – if you do get it, make sure to solve it quickly and pass it on!) If you’re hoping to be a stop on its world tour, I’d suggest popping onto the various puzzling social media vortices from time to time and asking around – I suspect we will see and hear more of its travels as time goes on.

But what of the puzzle? The concept is cool but if the puzzle isn’t…. well, fortunately this is not an issue as the box is rife with misdirection and trickery, including a mechanism that I have simply never seen before! I set aside other puzzles (and responsibilities, ahem) to focus on the aptly named Red Herring Box. Sturdy and simple in its sizable appearance (and weight at 3.75 lbs), there are numerous screws of various sizes adorning 5 sides (yay)just calling to be harassed. Thus begins the process of poking and prodding and pushing and pulling and sliding and staring and sneaking up on it, hoping to catch it unaware.

I made some progress before hitting a few walls, proceedings in starts and stops along the way until I had several bits and pieces to play with. And that is where I stayed for a few hours before I asked Josh a few clarification questions to climb out of some rabbit holes down which I had begun to descend. I find that sometimes the best help is just to talk through what I am doing: by sharing and describing what I have done, it may show me what I have not, revealing something by verbalizing the thinking process.

One aha! in particular was a darn fine puzzling moment, getting me past a wall through which I had previously seen no way. The puzzle manages to be really sneaky in a way that shows Doog is a maker to watch. Far from unfair, the box exploits our assumptions in the best way possible – I had begun to think things that were so far from correct, imagining complicated blind whatevers that surely must be there, otherwise I would have solved it already! Nope! Elegant in its simplicity, Red Herring deceives and distracts you before giving up its secrets and treasures.

I took a few pics and sent it back on the road.

(My only sadness: had I realized I was the fourth solver, I’d have asked Josh to send it to one more person before me…. y’know, because of the whole 5 thing. You know what I’m sayin’…)

Red Herring Comes to Nashville (note: one of these images is photo-shopped)

Add It Up: Plus Box by Kagen Sound

Posted on by fivesinatras in Kagen Sound, Plus Box

Plus Box

Kagen Sound
Figured Koa, Mahogany, Holly, and Gabon Ebony (Exterior)
English Sycamore, Tamo, Walnut, Hard Maple, Cocobolo and Baltic Birch Plywood (Interior)
2021, 14 Copies

When a fellow discordian (discordant?) puzzler asks me if I want to borrow a Kagen Sound puzzle, the answer is always a resounding yes! I must overcome my fear of damaging another puzzler’s puzzle when said puzzle is difficult to get your hands on, as with most all of Kagen’s boxes.

Last year Kagen sent out an email about a new puzzle box: Plus Box (you can find Kagen’s description here). Unsurprisingly, due to the limited quantities (only 14 copies made!) and high demand, the boxes went to lottery to determine what lucky few would be able to get a copy. It says something about the appetite of the typical puzzler for Kagen’s work (not to mention the wonderful quality of everything Kagen makes) that a box at a pretty high price point would nonetheless end up with too many puzzlers hoping to get one. Sadly, I was not among the lucky few and watched as the boxes made their way across the world into the hands of 14 lucky puzzlers. (You can also check out my write-up of his Butterfly Box and Tornado Box, the latter made in collaboration with Akio Kamei).

Getting my hands on this beautiful box was a delight – Kagen is a master craftsman (the only non-Japanese Karakuri member, which says a lot) and the quality is readily apparent in the smooth, silky yosegi and seams that are nearly impossible to detect. The box just feels so great, with small details that exemplify the high level of quality, such as the raised lip that offsets the thin ebony line separating the sides of the box from the top yosegi, which is itself made out of more than 1,700 tiny pieces of wood carefully shaved in the traditional manner (apparently this is a variation on typically yosegi called yosegi-zaiku, the added width of the shaving presenting an added challenge for Kagen to master).

And such woods! The outside is mostly made of highly figured koa that smoothly shimmers with fine grain patterns. The top and bottom mix mahogany, holly, and Gabon ebony and inside you will find English sycamore, tamo, walnut, hard maple, cocobolo and Baltic birch plywood. Just…….. gorgeous.

Starting out, it took me a bit to find anything that did anything, the quality of the woodworking hiding its secrets as well as any Karakuri. Eventually I found my way into the solution and I discovered that Kagen designed the box to integrate amazingly satisfying haptic feedback into the main mechanism using “a twist on traditional methods” used in Japanese himitsu-baku (the classic Japanese puzzle box). Needless to say (as if that would stop me), I happily played for an extended period before attempting to progress further. The feel and sound also helps to guide the puzzler through the solution, marking some points of progress with a gratifying click.

The puzzle provides a good challenge but the initial solution was perhaps not too difficult – fun and satisfying, I was able to open it in one extended session. However, this is not the end of the puzzle! There is another challenge after you have opened the box that awaits, which I found to be decidedly more difficult; it takes some critical thinking to deduce what this goal might be, followed by perhaps as much puzzling as for the main goal. Having reached this second solution, I learned that Kagen has made it possible to completely disassemble the box and reassemble in two different configurations for two additional distinct challenges.

As the box is not mine, I did not take advantage of these extra challenges, preferring to carefully reset the puzzle and return it to its bubble-wrapped state (after taking a few pics, of course). Regardless, the fact that Kagen has designed the box in this way again highlights the level of quality of his work – the fact that it is even possible to disassemble, the elegant joints he uses are so precise that you really need not worry about the puzzle suffering as a result – while my shaky hands mean I wouldn’t do it to someone else’s puzzle, I really would not have worried had it been mine. If you have the chance to try the alternate challenges, I’d love to hear about it!

Plus Box is about as pretty as a box can get, with an immensely satisfying mechanism that makes solving it extra fun. Thanks to the kind puzzler that let me borrow it for a bit!