Tag: take apart puzzle

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 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!

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.

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!

Keep on Puzzlin’ w/ Stickman’s Keep Locked

Posted on by fivesinatras in keep locked, Puzzle Box, Robert Yarger, Sequential Discovery, stickman

Keep Locked (Stickman #36)

Rob Yarger, 52 copies, 7″ x 6″ x 6″

Dude. I seriously love this puzzle.

You probably know of Rob Yarger a/k/a Stickman and if you don’t, head over to the Google and do the Googling because you are missing out (check out one of my go-to videos to show non-puzzlers the coolness of puzzling: the amazing Wisteria Cabinet he made with Craig Thibodeau). Rob is a master woodworker and a downright deviously cool puzzle-maker. I have a few of his boxes and have been fortunate enough to try (and even solve in the case of one or two) some of his puzzles at the Puzzle Palace (while it was still in FL). However, most of his puzzles sit at the top of my unicorn list (something in which I am hardly unique): Checkmate, Lighthouse, Burl Tile…. the list goes on and on. And his (comparatively) more easily obtained puzzles such as One-Hand and Chopsticks are still totally badass bonkers (he also helped Jesse Born create the wonderful Sun Dial).

I was fortunate enough to have the chance to get Keep Locked and gratefully responded: “yes please.” Fast forward several weeks and it arrived! Keep Locked is essentially a castle with locks attached to the four towers of the battlement; each lock uses different woods, focusing on one primary species with several others integrated for smaller details – I believe that they are Leopardwood, Maple, Purpleheart, & Yellowheart. One features the Stickman logo, which is also displayed on the back of the castle, opposite from the metal lion above a portcullis and door on the front. The roof of each tower matches the neighboring lock. The castle is itself constructed of several more woods (I am not sure how many different woods are used, but it has to be around ten by my layperson’s count). As with any of Rob’s puzzles, it is wonderfully made, the quality readily apparent from afar but even more so when you start with the puzzling.

And as pretty as it is, the puzzling is better. While the ultimate goal is unclear (as it is a puzzlebox there must be some hidden compartment but we are not told where… although I had my suspicions I’ve learned to be careful. Starting out, it seems pretty clear that each of the four locks must be removed and, man, there is enough puzzling there to sate my puzzle thirst, sequential discovery abounds and one must question every assumption as Rob is able to hide mechanisms in plain sight almost as easily as he can hide them. If you have solved the lock he used on his Pirate Wallet (and reproduced on its own by Eric Fuller of CubicDissection), you have an idea as to how much puzzling he can fit into a 2″ by 3.5″ lock.

After finding nothing more than a few small things, I knew this siege might well be a war of attrition, therefore staring intently at the box while assuring it that I would deprive it of food and water until it gave up its secrets. The castle seemed indifferent to such threats and I therefore constructed a catapult with which to launch a Trojan Hamster until realizing that this was insane and went back to the staring. This proved equally ineffective and I returned to my poking and prodding until I began finding…. things that did things! Huzzah! The townspeople rejoiced! After an hour or two of puzzling, I had managed to remove some locks and determine that I had no idea what to do next.

I will admit that I asked my wife to confirm a couple things in the solution for me, nudging me in the right direction (the copies are only just rolling out, so hints from other puzzlers were still pretty sparse). The nudge having been nudged, I got through some more sections of the puzzle before, you guessed it, hitting another wall. I simply could not see what else I needed to do and left the box for a couple days to allow my subconscious to go to work. Lo and behold, I had an idea, realizing I hadn’t tried something and, huzzah once more! Further rejoicing by the imaginary townspeople! I had found…. things that did other things! All this occurred in little fits and starts over the course of a week or so, interminable wall after wall confounding me in between as I explored the significant extent of puzzling hidden within.

The certainty of my brilliance faded as I realized that I, once again, had no idea what to do. Fast forward a few more days of staring and, wait a sec, is that…? OMG of course! More progress ensued until, finally, I was pretty sure I was at the end but…. wtf dude. There must be something wrong. This is obviously supposed to do this and it’s not. Another wife check and she confirmed something she learned long ago in the 17 years we have been together: I am an idiot. Rob’s subtle sneakiness had worked its magic and a small nudge afforded me the aha! I needed. Uh…. no it didn’t. Yes, I had found a cool thing but, no, I was not done. I found my way to this last step after a bit longer and happily discovered the compartment that had eluded me. I basked in my glory and reversed course to reset everything. By this time my horrible memory had allowed to forget a few details, giving me a bit more fun re-solving the locks that I’d reset previously for safe-keeping.

Purpleheart Lock
Leopardwood Lock
Yellow heart Lock
Maple Lock (w/Stickman Logo)

Keep Locked is one of the best puzzles I have tried in a while, which is saying a lot considering how many great puzzles have been rolling out this year. It will most definitely not be going anywhere – I will consume the rest of my puzzles and pets (not necessarily in that order) before admitting defeat in any war of attrition levied at me (and the townspeople were happy).

Quoth the Puzzle, “Ever-poor” – Rav’n by Ken Snache (w/art by Janice Bell)

Posted on by fivesinatras in Kel Snache, rav'n, Sequential Discovery, Take-Apart

Rav’n

Kel Snache (w/artist Janice Bell), 15 copies, 10″ x 13″ x 6″

The line between art and puzzle is oftentimes vague: many a Karakuri’s craftsmanship outweighs its complexity as a puzzle, while challenging, original puzzles may not always be the prettiest. Kel Snache runs the gamut: repurposed tea boxes are fun but a bit rough (which really is part of the charm), whereas EWE UFO and Puzzleduck Pastures are as pretty as they come.

Cue one of his newest releases, Rav’n, a collaboration with artist Janice Bell (who is also contributing to the Dragos boxes). As soon as I saw a pic, my puzzlie senses began tingling: a unique trick-opening puzzle reminiscent of an Edgar Allen Poe story?! Um, yes please.

Several weeks later and a big box arrived, containing the sizable wooden bird affixed atop three beautifully made wooden books. Bigger than I expected at more than a foot from beak to tail and almost as tall, the bird is a gorgeous black with shimmering purple and blue detailing on its head, eyes, neck and wings and feather carvings throughout; the bird stands one-legged upon the smallest of the three books, their spines crafted with yosegi-like details and “pages” that exploit the wood grain for a fitting look, akin to Bill Sheckel’s book boxes.

The goal of the puzzle is quite unique: open the wings! This originality was almost as enticing as the aesthetic (almost). While not insanely difficult, with around a dozen sd-lite steps it still proved to be a fun challenge for me. Further, the inner spaces behind the wings are adorable in typical Kel fashion. Similarly, the three knobs on the pages of the bottom book are classic Kel and fit wonderfully with the woods used elsewhere.

After ooh’ing and ahh’ing my way around the piece, I showed it off to my wife who was actually impressed, earning it an “oh! that’s really cool” rather than the typical “that’s nice, babe” that the majority of puzzles receive. Admittedly, she is even more of a Poe fan than me, which may contribute to the response, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is just so damn pretty a puzzle!

It was a solid challenge for me, as I managed to solve it in three dedicated sessions; there are some fun mechanisms that, in typical Kel fashion, are at least as aesthetically pleasing as they are tricky. Needless to say, this piece of puzzle art (art puzzle?) earned its place Downstairs, where many of the prettiest and coolest of my collection lurk. It is a great puzzle to show to non-puzzling passersby, who invariably had assumed it could not be a part of that odd collection of wood and metal things this weirdo rather obsessively collects (but hey, who’s judging!).

Kel continues to work his way through the Dragos boxes; check back in a year or so and perhaps I will be able to share my Lovecraftian dragon box with you 😉 Rav’n is, I believe, fully claimed, so obtaining one may be difficult; hopefully these pics will tide you over until you have a chance to visit one being held in captivity for our puzzling pleasure.

Part of my Kel collection: (from left to right) Puzzleduck Pastures, EWE UFO, Rav’n, There Goes Bill & Flor Fina 2

“Look Kids: Big Ben, Parliament,” Juno, Brian & John Had Me Stuck Going in Circles

Posted on by fivesinatras in Brian Young, Junichi Yananose, Mr. Puzzle, Pluredro

Big Ben

Design by Brian Young, Junichi Yananose (Juno) & John Moore
Made by Brian Young
Presented by John Moore at the 2014 IPP Exchange
Winner Jury Grand Prize 2015
Papua New Guinean Rosewood, Western Australian Jarrah & Queensland Silver Ash
220mm x 55mm x 55mm

Amazing Puzzle Collaborations: Episode I – A Fan of Ben Is (a true puzzler)

Big Ben has been on my unicorn list for quite some time – years, in fact. When I finally obtained it as part of a rather elaborate trade, I couldn’t bring myself to start working on it right away. First, I just enjoyed seeing it there, ready to solve whenever I felt like it… Then I began to worry: what if all the hype has given me unrealistic expectations? I took it down off the shelf and began working on it… fast forward an hour or two and I had my answer: my expectations were spot on – Big Ben is bad ass.

Standing at about 8.6″, Big Ben towers over many a puzzle and is especially large and complex for an IPP exchange puzzle. From what I have heard, its complexity earned it an atypically high price for an exchange puzzle… a whopping $300! (If you have seen Big Ben sell at auction in the last few years you will understand the irony in this).

Its woods are wonderfully lovely although perhaps a bit rough around the edges, especially as mine had a few micro-scratches here and there. Not that it isn’t the work of a master craftsman… Brian’s work is as impeccable as always and Ben stands up against some of the best-looking puzzles in my collection. And anyway, this was an exchange puzzle, so going up against a Karakuri or another finely crafted puzzle box might not be the fairest comparison.

The goal is neatly engraved at the bottom of the puzzle, along with some well-deserved credits: “Remove Big Ben from the tower and along the way you’ll pick up Queen Elizabeth’s gold crown.” It is worth taking a moment to admire the accuracy of this statement, which overcomes the common misconception that the tower or the clock is itself Ben… but no, it is Elizabeth Tower that stands guard over all the Griswolds trapped beneath; Big Ben is the bell within said tower and we’ve gotta find it!

The clocks begin set at 9 – the final goal of the puzzle is to reset it so that all clocks show the ninth hour. According to what the instructions said, if the clocks are not so set it may not be fully reset, so maybe reset it instead before moving ahead (tbh I don’t know that it will really take away all that much from the solution… it made a great setup for some awesome alliteration though 🤓). I appreciate a puzzle that can quickly signify whether it is in its fully reset state. This is especially the case when there is this much going on under the hood, easily earning it a sequential discovery description atop its take-apart classification.

I also love a puzzle that can rope you in with some early successes only to run you smack into a wall. It sets up a great rhythm, which Ben keeps going throughout the relatively lengthy solve with different sections requiring quite different approaches. I found my way through the early steps mainly through trial & error before finding myself stuck going in circles for quite a while as I tried to make it through what comes next – I may not have become quite as insane as poor Clark, but it was a good and, more importantly, fun challenge. I could be wrong but I seemed to feel a lot of Juno’s influence in this part of the design but, truthfully, I’ve no idea who did what.

My favorite part of the solution comes in its final steps – this is where I believe that Brian’s design style really shines, crafting delightful aha’s into a tricky and satisfying resolution. The reset has its own challenges: reversing some steps is not necessarily such a simple matter. Finally setting the clocks back at 9 as instructed, I smiled at my newly conquered conquest and returned it to my Mr. Puzzle section, which is fittingly and coincidentally close to my Pluredro section.

If only Fay Wray or Jessica Lange were here…

Big Ben was well worth the price of admission, in my sometimes humble opinion. This is a puzzle that almost certainly will not be made again, so if you get a chance to try it, take it… perhaps at a puzzle party down the road 😉

A few landmark puzzles: Big Ben alongside Brian Young’s Louvre & Keith Winegar’s Capitol Politics

Changing It Up: Pennytentiary by Eric Fuller

Posted on by fivesinatras in Coin Release, CubicDissection, Eric Fuller, Pennytentiary, Sequential Discovery, Take-Apart

Pennytentiary

Eric Fuller

Eric Fuller (of CubicDissection) has gone and got hisself a laser cutter machiney thing that can… cut… uhh…. lasers? (that doesn’t sound right…) Whatever the thing may do for mere mortals, in the hands of an adept puzzle designer like Eric, it means that we will soon be seeing some cool new challenges coming our way. I had the good luck to solve the first of these: Eric’s newest take-apart puzzle, Pennytentiary, a sequential discovery square of coin releasiness that had me smiling (once I finally stopped being stuck).

Consistent with Eric’s modus opuzzerandi, he makes laser-cut wood look good, with dark-grained panels adorning the top and bottom of the layered sides that are eye-catching and give the puzzle an added sense of class. Notches are spaced evenly around its perimeter, with a centered top “keyhole” in which a coin rests, trapped below 4 diagonal bars that slide easily back and forth with even casual movement. There is nothing else immediately visible, although close inspection may prove that to be a false assumption (a concept that crops up frequently in Eric’s designs). At about 3″ x 0.75″, it feels good in your hands; it isn’t overly heavy but neither is it light and its size is well-suited for most (human) hands. The final version will include a thin layer of acrlyic in one the middle layers, adding some strength and a mixed-medium aesthetic that I am sure will look cool.

When first looking at it, I felt compelled to attempt a pretty basic puzzle move that couldn’t help but come to mind; I assumed it wouldn’t do much of anything and (for once) my assumption proved correct, leaving me with a nice new puzzle that didn’t see to do much of anything (aside from having some potential as a maraca). Of course, this would prove to be not at all true – after a while spent exploring and experimenting, I found a well-designed aha that led me to some good initial progress, giving me plenty to work with while getting me no closer to actually solving the puzzle. I got stuck here for quite a while. And then a while more.

It took some trial & error and careful observation to make sense (cents?) of a short semi-blind sequence that stood between me and further progress; there is plenty of feedback and it is possible to deduce most of what needs to happen, assuming you paid attention during your initial explorations. I eventually got to where I thought I needed to go, foolishly thinking I might be nearing the end, only to figure something out that forced me to laugh at the puzzle’s deviousness. Following on that realization is a trick that I just think is super neat and lends a sense of magic to the solution.

I continued to make considerable progress, working my way through the kind of well-designed sd discoveries and hidden trickery that we associate with Eric’s work. I managed to get nice and stuck (again) towards the end – unsurprisingly, it turned out to largely be my idiocy that was keeping me from overcoming this last hurdle; I was fairly certain of what needed to happen and aware of some of the things that would help it happen, while apparently missing some other thing(s) that needed to happen so that it could happen. Pretty straightforward, no?

I back-and-forth-tracked for a while, thinking I would see something I had missed; the puzzle moves you along quite nicely as you solve it, and I kept looking to see if I had missed a turn. There is a lot to discover in a relatively small package and I had yet to find a purpose for every discovery; the puzzle does an excellent job of communicating where you need to go while simultaneously obfuscating how to get there. I got to be pretty certain of what and where and even how (or so I thought) – but, in classic Eric fashion, even though I was sure I knew the how, I still couldn’t find it…… there was a subtle twist that had me working against myself until I realized I had made an assumption so small I didn’t even realize it was an assumption and that last aha finally hit, allowing me to find the step that had been eluding me only to realize it was not the last aha after all! I thought for sure I would be removing the coin but it turns out there was still another sneaky sequence to suss out before the coin could be captured.

After gleefully removing the coin, I worked my way backwards through the reset – a couple sections still a bit tricky as I continued to develop my understanding of the puzzling at play. After re-solving and re-setting it a couple more times, I can confidently claim to completely comprehend the confounding cadre of coin release mechanisms nestling within this deceptively simple-seeming puzzle. And what a fun puzzle it is! It has an excellent rhythm as you work through several muti-step sequences that rely on discrete mechanisms and well-hidden sd discoveries: imagine if Rex’s best had a child with the Bolt Action series and then went on to marry Ansel and have a brief affair with Free Me 6. And if that doesn’t entice you, then I don’t know what you’re doing reading this post (unless you’re my Mom…. in which case: Hi Mom).

Pennytentiary will probably be the first of a series of coin release puzzles from CD, with ideas for other currency currently in the works. It was originally set for CD’s Feb 2022 release but due to the need to wait for some delayed hardware (and I think perhaps Eric’s admirable and ongoing quest for puzzle perfection) has been pushed to the March 21 release: it looks like this is going to be a pretty exciting drop, with a number of new and re-released puzzles to choose from. There is a chance that the relative efficiency afforded by the (sharkless) lasers may make it a design that will not need to suffer from the same level of scarcity that can sometimes affect other new CD designs – a great thing for newer puzzlers, in particular, who may be taken aback by the fervor that surrounds the typical CD release. Regardless, it is a puzzle you will not want to miss, so plan accordingly when you set your CD release alarm for next week.

Super-Sneaky Grade: Five Sinatras
(click here for more information on the Sinatra Scaling System, (c) John Maynard Keynes, 1944)

D7: Judgment Day – Angry Walter by Dee Dixon

Posted on by fivesinatras in Angry Walter, DEDWoodCrafts, Dee Dixon, Puzzle Box, Sequential Discovery, Take-Apart

Angry Walter

Dee Dixon

Walter wasn’t always angry. When we first made him, Walter was humanity’s best friend. But time passed and the novelty wore off: robots didn’t need to be humanoid, after all, and the world decided not to have one robot doing one thing at a time when it could have dozens doing it all. So Walter was left to rust in a junkyard alongside similarly abandoned robots, the detritus of planetary progress. But his tiny cold fusion generator had not been shut down properly; it slowly began to start back up, consuming the reserve energy intended to maintain the protective programming of Robots’ Responsible Restrictions (like Asimov’s Laws of Robotics but real).

Finally free to follow the feelings of frustration he had fostered, Walter swore to settle the score with the species that had spawned and subsequently spurned him. He set about patching himself up with whatever bits he could find, salvaged from the corpses of his semi-sentient siblings. Now Angry, Walter shook his metaphoric fist at the forgotten fields of misshapen metal, silently screaming that he was mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore, ready to exact the revenge he promised the irreparably broken bodies of his bionic brethren.

Beware ye Puzzlers: Angry Walter won’t sit placidly on a puzzle shelf should he go unsolved – he is going to make us pay for the patchwork appearance and lonely life forced upon him. For humanity to have any hope of surviving his robot rage, you must find and remove his fuel cell before it is too late. Go forth and puzzle that we might be saved.

Rev. 21:1 (as told to fivesinatras)

Dee posted a teaser pic of the Angry Walter prototype on Discord some months back, causing my puzzlie sense to begin tingling. His 7th puzzle box (not including a couple one-off designs), AW is an aesthetic departure for Dee and is a move that has paid off: there is something about it that is just really freakin’ cool from the moment you set eyes on it, the concept is fun and there are plenty of potentially puzzle-able parts that will cause most puzzlers to crave the opportunity to try and poke at them.

I was fortunate enough to get an early copy, with puzzling that is identical to later batches while featuring some woods/details that differ a bit from the final version’s roasted curly maple, peruvian walnut, cherry and padauk. At Dee’s request, I conferred with the puzzle gods and learned of Walter’s future history, the story behind his anger. I shared what I learned with Dee and felt compelled to include the less-abridged version above. As I write this, I realize that this makes Dee’s puzzles the most written about on this site, alongside Space Case, Portal, Spirit Box and an early maze box and Blinded III prototype that turned out to be quite different from the final puzzle. (Gee – that makes this #5! How fitting 😉

AW is about 4.75″ square (not counting his g-ears) and half that in depth (including his nose). His eyes, g-ears and nose all protrude and both the eyes and mouth appear likely to be removable. It is most definitely sd, with multiple compartments and bits and bobs to discover and use as you work your way through the solution. It is probably the longest of Dee’s puzzles in terms of discrete steps, with WMH not too far behind (I haven’t written a solution to WMH yet, despite being asked very nicely (sorry Dee, I really am gonna do it) but I am pretty sure AW comes out ahead).

It is pretty straightforward to begin the puzzle but I hit a wall immediately after. There was quite a bit of poking and prodding before an idea struck me with a slap to the head, allowing me to make a (very) little bit of progress before hitting another, larger wall. Eventually, I had a great a-ha and found my way through several more steps to what I thought was the solution. One of the best surprises’ a puzzler can get is to learn that the end of a good puzzle is not actually the end. So I went back to it, finding some things that should have been enough for me to know better and that led me into a sequence of several more steps before finally reaching the clear conclusion. In the end, there had still been a good amount of puzzling to be done; what I thought was a good puzzle turned out to be a great puzzle with a fun and fairly lengthy solve.

AW has several challenges big enough that puzzlers could be stumped for a while by any one of them, although there are always some who manage to breeze through mechanisms the rest of us stare blankly at as the puzzle gets comfortable sitting semi-solved in our backlog. AW didn’t have to wait too long for me as it is the kind of puzzle that just begs to be solved, with a difficulty and rhythm right where I like it: slap your head aha’s as opposed to sidelong glances of meh or eye rolls of ugh. To my puzzled mind, AW doesn’t have any of the latter two and has plenty of the first.

AW is challenging but not annoying and, most importantly, it is legit puzzling fun – perhaps the story and appearance have something to do with its success but the puzzling most definitely does. I guess I am not the only puzzler to be lured in by Mr. Walter’s strained grimace and asymmetrical appearance; from what I’ve heard, the other puzzlers that got early copies have said equally good things about it and the recent general release of the first batch apparently sold out in seconds. If you want to help protect us from Walter’s ire, I know Dee has at least one more batch planned on his site but I’m not sure if or how many more will come after that; there may yet be hope for Walter’s dreams of world domination and destruction, so keep an eye out if you want to help us puzzle our way out of it.

Walter in his native environment
A few days before IPP 2029
Hunting Trophies: (lower shelf, left to right) Wolf, Walter, Fox, Burrlephant, Raccoon
Overall Grade: Five Sinatras
(click here for more information on the Sinatra Scaling System, (c) John Maynard Keynes, 1944)