tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87540195173135970062024-02-20T01:51:58.442+00:00Puzzle ParadoxOlihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-92082833846959316252017-12-11T17:16:00.000+00:002017-12-11T17:16:06.118+00:00How?Box (Peter Hajek / Pelikan)Oops! It's been a while (a long while actually) since my last blog post, but I'm just going to write this as if no time has passed and hope for the best.<br />
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I recently went through the process of moving my entire puzzle collection. This (as you can probably imagine) was a massive amount of hassle, it did however also give me the chance to pick up all of my puzzles, and re-solve quite a few of them. This was one of them.<br />
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The How?Box is a puzzle box designed by Peter Hajek, and expertly made by <a href="https://www.pelikanpuzzles.eu/" target="_blank">Pelikan</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMYyMaE6SMbFaA67KsZkOxGAxIJExEjCh0p0yd6ZHhH3Gl7oTQ1kfz3mjZYbgAjq1wwL4Mv8PjmVohFaqvAZJzd_2mMb8rOcZkpKKOAFextx9AbTkWr1WywOs2fa9rVdk8YsLJlV7gRE/s1600/25529629385_e26b68fd1e_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMYyMaE6SMbFaA67KsZkOxGAxIJExEjCh0p0yd6ZHhH3Gl7oTQ1kfz3mjZYbgAjq1wwL4Mv8PjmVohFaqvAZJzd_2mMb8rOcZkpKKOAFextx9AbTkWr1WywOs2fa9rVdk8YsLJlV7gRE/s400/25529629385_e26b68fd1e_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Now I'm already a fan of Peter's design work, so when I heard that he had a design being made by Pelikan there was no chance I was going to miss out on it!<br />
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The How?Box came in either light wood or dark wood, and naturally I went for dark. There were only 15 made in each colour, so of course they sold out remarkably quickly.<br />
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Here's what Peter had to say:<br />
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<em style="background-color: black; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">“How?Box is a sequential discovery puzzle. Tools are found along the way to solve challenges, but things are not necessarily what they seem. The boxes come with numbered certificates of ownership. The solution is enclosed in sealed envelope.”</em><br />
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There was a bit of confusion when my parcel arrived from Pelikan, because although the website showed that it came with a key, I couldn't seem to find one. Turns out, that's perfectly fine, and just me being a bit slow.<br />
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This box is heavy; that was one of my first impressions. The other was that this is seriously well made! From the detailing on the feet to the splines on the corners and the exposed brass hinges at the back, this thing screams quality. Thankfully it is also incredibly sturdy, with a very solid build. Honestly I wish I could show you the inside, because it is even more impressive than the outside, sadly it would also give away some of the solution.<br />
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Now I managed to solve this in a pretty speedy amount of time. I'm putting this down to the fact I've solved several of Peter's designs, so I'm starting to understand how his devious mind works. Even though I solved it relatively quickly, I could easily have gotten stuck for quite a while at a couple of steps. The last step in particular is very tricky if you haven't come across it before.<br />
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To this day I still class this as one of my favourite puzzle boxes of all time. I know it's not the most difficult box out there, but in terms of how much I enjoyed solving it (and re-solving it) this one goes very high up on my list.<br />
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If you get the chance to solve one of these you absolutely have to give it a go! I promise you won't be disappointed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinR4R14u4Ap_w_pBNRz0UYtXWUktjtykEt-gYNpAm7xEJNMaqNmyclMpVfQ6pCp9ezd1vRUnrAjt_bq-1nweGwH_tkZdjAP_OTISGxPA6X6SdhVMiE7t5tmOmLsudueCYSoswIYHD7JCY/s1600/HOW_BOX_light_5%25402x_g6i0-800x533.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinR4R14u4Ap_w_pBNRz0UYtXWUktjtykEt-gYNpAm7xEJNMaqNmyclMpVfQ6pCp9ezd1vRUnrAjt_bq-1nweGwH_tkZdjAP_OTISGxPA6X6SdhVMiE7t5tmOmLsudueCYSoswIYHD7JCY/s320/HOW_BOX_light_5%25402x_g6i0-800x533.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Light version with key (image coutesy of Pelikan Puzzles)</td></tr>
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<br />Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-71706562473981593842016-01-16T16:54:00.002+00:002016-01-17T17:04:49.231+00:00Popplock T9 (Rainer Popp)Now to continue on with a puzzle series that I have written about over the last few years, the Popplocks. This time looking at the Popplock T9, the 9th unique design in Rainer Popp's epic series.<br />
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I didn't manage to buy one of these when they were first released, but after hearing and reading so many positive things I couldn't turn down the chance to pick one up when I had the chance a couple of weeks ago.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdHM-dfmdTOJzx0TYscx_CoP4UdMw1d5aR31IMNr4NaDssFh15qh4nk5Sr2ouCigNgVFs1y30-toOHe4iECLqcjDXN6DG_okLw6DeO5oKcRyxsCdMn2zuYNLAw6QmApnho6EBqSYHux0/s1600/24152051235_e2b0039f00_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdHM-dfmdTOJzx0TYscx_CoP4UdMw1d5aR31IMNr4NaDssFh15qh4nk5Sr2ouCigNgVFs1y30-toOHe4iECLqcjDXN6DG_okLw6DeO5oKcRyxsCdMn2zuYNLAw6QmApnho6EBqSYHux0/s320/24152051235_e2b0039f00_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popplock T9</td></tr>
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Once again we have a design fully machined from solid brass and stainless steel, the T9 is certainly another puzzle that can be classed under the 'heavy metal' category. Weighing in at just over a whopping 1kg you really don't want to drop this one on your foot by accident!</div>
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Craftsmanship -as we have come to expect- is second to none. Rainer really knows his stuff, and I cannot fault a single piece of his manufacturing on this lock.</div>
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You'll notice as well that we have now returned to a design that has a separate key, which we haven't seen since the release of <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/08/popplock-t6.html" target="_blank">the T6</a>. The key is also great quality, and I didn't have any fear of breaking it (<a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/popplock-t2.html" target="_blank">like I might've done with the original key for the T2</a>).</div>
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While it looks great and is made well, these aspects are dwarfed by the sheer genius and complexity of the solving process. And when I say 'complex' I really mean it. There is a lot going on inside the shell of this thing, which you can only truly appreciate when you check out the exploded diagrams in the booklet after solving it. Or physically take it apart. Which I know at least one (clearly unhinged) fellow puzzler has done, although unless you are particularly skilled, brave, mad or all of the above, I wouldn't recommend.</div>
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I did manage to solve the lock within about half an hour or so, but I think I may have gotten a lucky bit of inspiration. It easily could've taken me days had I not noticed some incredibly subtle details.</div>
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When it comes to replay value this is potentially one of the best locks in the series. I have re-solved it many times over the last couple of weeks, and I reckon I'll keep on doing so. It is a complex and highly enjoyable solve. Plus, this is probably the only Popplock that has a reset that is almost as satisfying as the solve! I won't elaborate on that because you really have to see it for yourself.</div>
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All in all another excellent lock in a truly brilliant series. Sadly since I'm late to write this post all regular retailers of this design have long since sold out. But keep an eye open long enough and you'll find one.</div>
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Now I'll just sit here and patiently wait for the T10...</div>
Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-83271006829460782462015-08-27T20:28:00.001+01:002015-08-27T20:28:30.317+01:00Chess Piece Puzzles (Hanayama)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCzsv8w-qYe9kd4J-RjYbE3CPtumoHD9ioOkiJzBA1U-fn1BhuAgUafeIfoEGZZbWPC8ST6iqB_DLHRAB22K5RGqPagOvu9-Ofo0iDqvOBtD_T1CkZI4L7yNwzKfsn2CNG-tHP5HYmOE/s1600/20550679476_0ece3c2a5e_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCzsv8w-qYe9kd4J-RjYbE3CPtumoHD9ioOkiJzBA1U-fn1BhuAgUafeIfoEGZZbWPC8ST6iqB_DLHRAB22K5RGqPagOvu9-Ofo0iDqvOBtD_T1CkZI4L7yNwzKfsn2CNG-tHP5HYmOE/s320/20550679476_0ece3c2a5e_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The full set</td></tr>
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When I heard that Hanayama were going to be making their own versions of Marcel Gillen's original Chess Piece Puzzle designs I was pretty interested to say the least.<br />
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I've been fortunate enough to solve most of the originals myself, and they are great puzzles, but owning them is a tricky business since they are quite rare to come by. Now that Hanayama and Marcel have teamed up, these designs can finally be available (and affordable) for everyone!<br />
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Don't they look great! Being cast, each piece has a nice weight to it, and they have been finished with Hanayama's trademark high-quality chrome plating. A limited edition of 100 gold plated sets were also made and sold at IPP35 in Canada.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqz48CNvOgz-U4GtCFw4JDswHkiq0lFo_82wX9iNfdSaBrxzL6MjxfDyatGlwfbi079Hay9-qO1qhEmHp0u5QkPswBqaJVlZHFW7ilv71bq_LvV_F4Zb20yIcjm1jMbl1-svH4jUyNBo/s1600/20576866565_c04e707a18_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqz48CNvOgz-U4GtCFw4JDswHkiq0lFo_82wX9iNfdSaBrxzL6MjxfDyatGlwfbi079Hay9-qO1qhEmHp0u5QkPswBqaJVlZHFW7ilv71bq_LvV_F4Zb20yIcjm1jMbl1-svH4jUyNBo/s200/20576866565_c04e707a18_z.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King</td></tr>
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They all have their name engraved on the base. The size of the pieces have been reduced compared with the originals. The King (the tallest) stands at just under 11cm. I personally much prefer the smaller size since they resemble actual chess pieces even better.<br />
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Modifications were made to how some of the designs work, but these are certainly for the better. For example, one of the original designs had a slight tendency to lock itself up......permanently. This problem has been completely solved in the Hanayama version. The overall solving process for each of the pieces (as far as I'm aware) is either identical or very close to how Marcel designed to originals to work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdssIewGYXp97icCSfp09f2FawoMMJXdOc1pRxwAkZ9Sko0hD1l4MJzaH-wBHwmLhoo1-WKzzRFqC4dLy8ZKlaWsumTtMRFMA3AadwbRfqNfePIsX0HW5s-CsGo2I5Vj1ZWjbap3h75VE/s1600/20583406951_d894cafd57_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdssIewGYXp97icCSfp09f2FawoMMJXdOc1pRxwAkZ9Sko0hD1l4MJzaH-wBHwmLhoo1-WKzzRFqC4dLy8ZKlaWsumTtMRFMA3AadwbRfqNfePIsX0HW5s-CsGo2I5Vj1ZWjbap3h75VE/s200/20583406951_d894cafd57_z.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queen</td></tr>
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Even with all the good things I have pointed out already the thing that I'm most pleased with is that inside each piece you will find a hidden token. And when you find these tokens, instead of a rubbish piece of painted plastic (as was in the B&P reproductions) you will find a beautifully cast and plated gold token, bearing the symbol and the name of the piece it belongs to. Perfect!<br />
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I wouldn't say that any of these are hugely difficult. Any of them should be able to be solved by a puzzle novice with a bit of determination.<br />
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Someone asked me if I were to only buy one which would it be, and the answer to that is simply that there is no way you should only be owning one of these! That said, the Pawn would be my favourite in terms of having the most enjoyable solution.<br />
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Although currently only available in Japan, I ordered my set from the Felix Puzzle Company through Facebook, but these should be arriving on the general market any day now. They are understandably more expensive than your average Cast Series puzzle, but certainly affordable and well worth the cost.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxTuP-Bf0ENSNgoTum4VbiVWtIQ8FFL0QRSuXAZL9Sne39vp9ZCpToDCYalVtzOcfcUwC7Jpshz7WiW04kSf8wp-vhfEbX-6rhrIgmrhjHRpGzzDul4-2QQcRfJ5boELchZRzQHfadTg/s1600/20388895860_09b20d9fb3_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxTuP-Bf0ENSNgoTum4VbiVWtIQ8FFL0QRSuXAZL9Sne39vp9ZCpToDCYalVtzOcfcUwC7Jpshz7WiW04kSf8wp-vhfEbX-6rhrIgmrhjHRpGzzDul4-2QQcRfJ5boELchZRzQHfadTg/s200/20388895860_09b20d9fb3_z.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pawn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbdcGkMWEziK7hNs1kDzMZvNS7LOPF1dbRksisxo1jXRNWlvEkIj4yWtkaAExG4om7At9bo26J8Zmy0yd5IJmZ-Wis9QoUt6kt8u0fLDe1OJWrYgP0zCNYoc1BIwTh4dj5fK4NyAxtmA/s1600/20583436501_836423c2e0_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbdcGkMWEziK7hNs1kDzMZvNS7LOPF1dbRksisxo1jXRNWlvEkIj4yWtkaAExG4om7At9bo26J8Zmy0yd5IJmZ-Wis9QoUt6kt8u0fLDe1OJWrYgP0zCNYoc1BIwTh4dj5fK4NyAxtmA/s200/20583436501_836423c2e0_z.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rook</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bishop</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knight</td></tr>
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Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-47825636096909218222015-03-16T00:26:00.001+00:002015-03-16T00:26:23.996+00:00Le Mini David (Miguel Ortiz Berrocal)It's hard not to be excited every time a new puzzle is on its way, but for this special case I must've checked the post tracking website twenty times a day until it arrived!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCyiqKw_bZBomLv662bzcpVvpytvj_j7RZo6jyJyeeTDMFee-9S29o9bTrLCGX4M9t6Zp8-QWkuxgwval641pnckUjwvmkW5Q90dJQJYlJRGB9gHtr-r96TNEkdwqoGYw5kONpI0RPiA/s1600/16617937520_ceebc5a008_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCyiqKw_bZBomLv662bzcpVvpytvj_j7RZo6jyJyeeTDMFee-9S29o9bTrLCGX4M9t6Zp8-QWkuxgwval641pnckUjwvmkW5Q90dJQJYlJRGB9gHtr-r96TNEkdwqoGYw5kONpI0RPiA/s1600/16617937520_ceebc5a008_k.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David, all shiny and clean after his bath</td></tr>
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This is 'Le Mini David' (I'm going to refer to him here as just 'David'), and I know he (I'm also going to refer to him as a he) looks quite different from most of the puzzles I have spoken about to date.<br />
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David was created by the late Spanish sculptor, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Ortiz_Berrocal" target="_blank">Miguel Ortiz Berrocal</a> in 1968. Berrocal is best known for his works that blended together sculpture and mechanical puzzle design, of which David here is a fine example. Sadly, Berrocal passed away in 2006.<br />
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Ever since I first had the chance to play with one of Berrocal's creations at <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/10/gathering-for-gardner-celebration-of.html" target="_blank">Gathering for Gardner CoM II (2011)</a>, I knew I wanted one. However I knew that due to their rather high average price tag it probably wasn't going to be for a while. Recently however the stars aligned!<br />
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I found David here at auction, looking incredibly neglected. When I say he was neglected I mean that I don't think he had been taken apart or cleaned in literally decades. There was metal powder buildup on most of the pieces, and there was dust and dirt clogging up every gap. This edition is nickel plated, and luckily there were no major signs of damage to that.<br />
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On the face of it David looks like a standard 'bust' style sculpture, and it's easy to miss the fact that he is made up of 23 unique and quite complex pieces, all fully interlocked into the sculpture you can see here. Since he had not even been taken apart by the seller, I was very nervous to see if all of the parts were actually there, as well as in a functional state.<br />
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I started to disassemble the bust, and as well as being very relieved to see that all of the parts were there, I was also surprised at exactly how complex the individual pieces were. One of the parts (usually giggled at by most people when noticed first time) is the genitalia, which when disassembled takes the form of a gold plated and agate stone set ring.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNT59d3DSEw8ylEqzE25jNyegu1G6DGrvbW6d_9oa5hpyM4qbPwHjd_SqeYj29PK7SzmsvirTaQyR5Ohwa2TZaQhbUDEmI2Ztn0QWGRUibeMpUH3P01M9AKLL7D9KWj8s2tr8kNXR14R0/s1600/IMG_0001_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNT59d3DSEw8ylEqzE25jNyegu1G6DGrvbW6d_9oa5hpyM4qbPwHjd_SqeYj29PK7SzmsvirTaQyR5Ohwa2TZaQhbUDEmI2Ztn0QWGRUibeMpUH3P01M9AKLL7D9KWj8s2tr8kNXR14R0/s1600/IMG_0001_2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I never thought I'd end up bathing a puzzle someday</td></tr>
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I decided immediately after his arrival that David needed a bath. The pieces needed a lot of cleaning, but I wanted to be as gentle as possible. I wasn't exactly going to be putting the poor guy in the dishwasher or anything like that. I decided the safest bet was using only a sponge and warm water. I didn't want to risk anything chemical based in case of reactions with the nickel plating.<br />
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The picture here shows the pieces rinsing off after what must've been close to an hour of cleaning. I don't even want to tell you what colour the water was after the first clean!<br />
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Overall I'm really happy with the finish I managed to get all of the pieces back to. A few marks remain here and there, but considering the condition he was in, and his age, I think the result is excellent!<br />
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I dried all of the pieces off, and further hand dried with a cloth to prevent water marking. Now I could get on with the best bit...the reassembly!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4fAFdtaxvDepYKsYoVab69Ex0a1s59d337twpDzASk1TQ5h73i1unaeYuy_rvQNMHroJV-mIjgHxRsr7sMSuKH0LvQjXLJ_5VZvUJQwpTJONu-iAmbBIdifm0ZyM3qqHtpnlxDeseOY/s1600/16619182189_e2b3139c21_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4fAFdtaxvDepYKsYoVab69Ex0a1s59d337twpDzASk1TQ5h73i1unaeYuy_rvQNMHroJV-mIjgHxRsr7sMSuKH0LvQjXLJ_5VZvUJQwpTJONu-iAmbBIdifm0ZyM3qqHtpnlxDeseOY/s1600/16619182189_e2b3139c21_k.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">23 unique and surprisingly complex pieces</td></tr>
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This is the point where I realised that I didn't really pay much attention when I took him apart. I was so worried about the condition and number of pieces I completely forgot to note how the pieces went together. This was a brilliant bit of luck, because now I got to solve it properly!<br />
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It was genuinely more difficult than I thought to get him back together again. The assembly sequence goes from one piece to the next, and occasionally I tried to get ahead of myself and had to go back and put a piece in that I missed out.<br />
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When I <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/10/gathering-for-gardner-celebration-of.html" target="_blank">visited James Dalgety at his Puzzle Museum</a> there was one rule he was very adamant about, and that was that if you took anything apart you weren't allowed to leave until it was put back together again. The only exception to this rule was when it came to the Berrocal's. He said that he enjoyed assembling these sculptures so much that they were the only puzzles he didn't mind people leaving for him to put back together. Now that I have one of my own I can see exactly why these are the exception.<br />
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Le Mini David has become an instant favourite in my collection. Not because of something as boring as rarity or monetary value, but because everything about the design is a joy to behold. The assembled look is artistically striking. The pieces are beautifully complex, and fit perfectly. The puzzle aspect is tricky, but certainly solvable by anyone who really tries (Mrs. Paradox did it!).<br />
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There's only one real problem, and that is that David here is part of a series of designs...and I just know the hunt will be back on again at some point to find him a companion.<br />
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Also check out my video showing the full disassembly and reassembly process:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KbLSeWKvfoY" width="480"></iframe>Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-37588854160723457562015-01-09T16:38:00.003+00:002015-03-16T19:46:11.048+00:00Puzzle Paradox Is On Facebook!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been very quiet on here for a while now, but I've not disappeared!<br />
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I have taken most of my ramblings over to the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_836191443"></span>Puzzle Paradox Facebook Page</a>, and if you need a bit more puzzlement in your life then look forward to hearing from you on there.<br />
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I still fully intend to keep this blog going, however it will primarily be used for reviews, while the Facebook page will be used for a huge assortment of random mostly puzzle related updates and musings.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/puzzleparadox" target="_blank">Click here to head over to Puzzle Paradox on Facebook</a></b>Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-52911204464730073332014-07-16T20:21:00.002+01:002015-03-16T19:46:35.735+00:00Cast Delta (Kyoo Wong - Hanayama)You know what I haven't written about in a long time? A Hanayama puzzle! This puzzle isn't new to the market by any means, but it is certainly worth writing about as it is a very nice piece of puzzle design.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TSDUVdmUqxkoG2_i7tpS_qIXO2NtzKUR-rlP4CGTBfQnGDjs7OGp-VrhrlzzvMpnX4-rHrFzJn_lbuNNQz6XEvmUQUuj5MdRWvF7iKz_RetKl04YF74etm0sB8XSIQYaqkY6J7Rz_Lg/s1600/Cast+Delta+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8TSDUVdmUqxkoG2_i7tpS_qIXO2NtzKUR-rlP4CGTBfQnGDjs7OGp-VrhrlzzvMpnX4-rHrFzJn_lbuNNQz6XEvmUQUuj5MdRWvF7iKz_RetKl04YF74etm0sB8XSIQYaqkY6J7Rz_Lg/s1600/Cast+Delta+1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is the <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/wire/metal/7019-cast-delta?a=149480" target="_blank">Cast Delta</a>, designed by Kyoo Wong and manufactured by <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/search/all/?brand=17&a=149480" target="_blank">Hanayama</a>. In true Cast puzzle style it is made of cast metal, which gives it a great weight, and the antique colour of the finish is a very nice choice in my opinion.<br />
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At first glance the Delta reminded me of the first puzzle I ever wrote about, the <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/01/cast-news.html" target="_blank">Cast News</a>. It has that same sort of enclosed container look about it, except where the News is an extremely rattly puzzle, the Delta feels much more solid in the hand.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2w0o23qwS_EMzJGI1EsL76PlKrtN4DqCdUcfQwAxWyMh7bDcg9YjBwGjnj3RrBlPF7FyDF2kjGzA0cNvP7gMOf3WSY-jzSzraa-2f0_Hx5SDaObGgygY705KPQYDNgbWZT5-H17O2kaU/s1600/Cast+Delta+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2w0o23qwS_EMzJGI1EsL76PlKrtN4DqCdUcfQwAxWyMh7bDcg9YjBwGjnj3RrBlPF7FyDF2kjGzA0cNvP7gMOf3WSY-jzSzraa-2f0_Hx5SDaObGgygY705KPQYDNgbWZT5-H17O2kaU/s1600/Cast+Delta+2.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
After playing with the Delta for a few seconds you will get to catch a glimpse of the inner workings, and then promptly realise that it is not some kind of hidden compartment puzzle, and it falls more into the category of a take-apart puzzle.<br />
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Now from this position it is easy to close the puzzle fully, then re open to this point, then close it again....then semi-open it again etc. This is the point where it seems most puzzlers get a little bit stuck.<br />
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I had a feeling that coordinate motion would be the solution to this puzzle, but when I spun it nothing happened, and when I pulled them all against each other at the same time...nothing happened. There was clearly something that I was missing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTtStuDuXQ-f8zm6Ck8WWQqHIv392P4IAvZY4M0lZVRvOGtoK0-Mp71dBEIi_34QMkzqiNQsQabZIsLEnPe4jbQf77KTR7De7UX9S7Z_orjQAvG1E6t-J7bUaVZz32fZ-gNfEO47hTto/s1600/Cast+Delta+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTtStuDuXQ-f8zm6Ck8WWQqHIv392P4IAvZY4M0lZVRvOGtoK0-Mp71dBEIi_34QMkzqiNQsQabZIsLEnPe4jbQf77KTR7De7UX9S7Z_orjQAvG1E6t-J7bUaVZz32fZ-gNfEO47hTto/s1600/Cast+Delta+3.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
Then came the obligatory 'Ah ha!' moment, something clicked in my head and the Delta was in three identical pieces. The way that it came apart slightly reminded me of the Cast Rattle, and if you've solved that as well you'll probably know what I mean.<br />
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It's not a particularly difficult puzzle, with most people I have spoken to solving it within 5-6 minutes, but the elegant design makes it well worth owning. Plus it's a great one to hand over to non-puzzlers, since it has an obvious solution and they are likely to be very pleased with themselves when they solve it...plus it's practically invincible in case someone gets really fed up and throws it out of a window.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/wire/metal/7019-cast-delta?a=149480" target="_blank">Hanayama Cast Delta</a> is currently available from <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/?a=149480" target="_blank">Puzzle Master</a> and all other good puzzle distributors.Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-5688530041090597552014-05-12T16:10:00.001+01:002014-05-12T16:10:34.482+01:00Scacco F.R. Opal Puzzle Chess Set (Franco Rocco)The problem with knowing so many other puzzle nutters (great guys and gals by the way) is that they also buy brilliant puzzles...and then show them to you. This in turn makes you want said puzzles...so you also go and buy them yourself. The cheek of some people! Therefore this puzzle purchase is totally not my fault, even though I am held to blame for the puzzle purchases of a few (hundred?) others.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrhS8fcWXx5JdY_uh6XfZodqB2WdqEONxmJBmuDcge2OhkfgCl-OhNqBZ_9y1_bjL6wiCgyAx0iUvbkH5RarK8bH6zp6hOfSKSQAkW5AGJ9WrvXyniuOONlw0rRkWeaCd85vA2UUGQcQ/s1600/Scacco+F.R.+Opal+Puzzle+Chess+Set+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrhS8fcWXx5JdY_uh6XfZodqB2WdqEONxmJBmuDcge2OhkfgCl-OhNqBZ_9y1_bjL6wiCgyAx0iUvbkH5RarK8bH6zp6hOfSKSQAkW5AGJ9WrvXyniuOONlw0rRkWeaCd85vA2UUGQcQ/s1600/Scacco+F.R.+Opal+Puzzle+Chess+Set+1.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
This is the Scacco F.R. Opal Puzzle Chess Set. I know, that's quite a mouthful to say. It was designed by the Italian architect, designer and puzzle maker Franco Rocco, and I think the design kind of straddles the lines between being a sculpture, a game and a puzzle.<br />
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The original version of this puzzle was called 'Scaccomatto', made in 1977 out of solid brass, with one of the set of pieces being chrome plated. Several <a href="http://puzzlemuseum.com/gallery/rocco/frocco1.htm" target="_blank">different versions of this chess set</a> have followed since then, the one pictured above is the 4th regeneration of the design, and also happens to be the most affordable to date. This was brilliant since I had always loved this design from the moment I first saw it, but I resigned myself to knowing I would never be able to afford one...and now here it is!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9uZ7HB_3cAJ1UyvlrOokfD9T0h5XFGdsPdcOA7jAXWECDQ4ajGF2gukcKWO4VYENtK2f74i9emQiBLv0eCnVyBb0MMryCIyqVu7RdeD81agKf5jHymKt3AazqyEFshZkysZP2vFQzw4/s1600/Scacco+F.R.+Opal+Puzzle+Chess+Set+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY9uZ7HB_3cAJ1UyvlrOokfD9T0h5XFGdsPdcOA7jAXWECDQ4ajGF2gukcKWO4VYENtK2f74i9emQiBLv0eCnVyBb0MMryCIyqVu7RdeD81agKf5jHymKt3AazqyEFshZkysZP2vFQzw4/s1600/Scacco+F.R.+Opal+Puzzle+Chess+Set+2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
This version is made out of cast translucent plastic (methacrylate), with a different colour for each set of pieces. Each cube is made up of seventeen pieces, that includes all of the chess pieces for one player and a sprung locking key piece which is designed to hold the cube in a fully interlocking state until it is removed. No board is included, hence the crappy looking board in the photo as it was all I had to hand.<br />
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The idea of having such a good quality puzzle design in plastic was a bit off-putting at first, but because the pieces are cast and not hollow it makes a huge difference. They have a nice weight to them, and there are no size imperfections at all. The fit is absolutely perfect.<br />
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I remember that I first came across the metal 3rd version of this puzzle at one of the earliest <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Midlands_Puzzle_Party" target="_blank">Midlands Puzzle Parties (MPPs)</a>. I took a cube apart and I believe it took me at least 45 minutes to get it back together again! Even though being a puzzle isn't the only thing it was designed to be it is certainly not a breeze to solve. Each chess piece is pretty irregularly shaped, and can interlock into all of the other pieces in one way or another. But every piece is also identical to the other pieces of the same type, so all pawns are identical for example.<br />
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This is an absolutely brilliant puzzle in every respect, and for the price (~£50) it is a bargain as well. If you are looking to add one to your collection then have a look at the <a href="http://puzzlemuseum.com/sales/dups/zSculpture/store-ART.htm" target="_blank">Puzzle Museum website</a> for more information and availability details.Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-13755739100317193202014-05-11T18:35:00.002+01:002014-05-11T18:35:30.947+01:00Cube In A JarI remember that a while back I was browsing through pictures of impossible objects on the web, and I came across a Rubik's Cube in a jar. Now at the time I thought two things; 1) Wow that's pretty awesome! 2) I bet I could do that pretty easily. It turns out that both of those statements were true, it just took me quite a long time to get around to it.<br />
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The reason that it took me so long to get around to making one wasn't because of the effort involved in physically making it, it was all down to finding the right jar. I kept looking around for square jars just the right size for a cube (without too much wiggle room), but for some reason they always eluded me. This is when I turned to my old friend: eBay.</div>
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I found a square jar on eBay, checked the size was okay and placed the order, within two days it had arrived. Immediately I knew something looked wrong. It turns out (being the genius that I am) I didn't realise that most (sane) people when looking at jars aren't looking for measurements of the inner dimensions. The jar turned out to be way too small for a standard size Rubik's brand 3x3 cube.</div>
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While being a bit annoyed at myself I decided that I didn't want to waste a perfectly good jar, so I began to dig through my boxes of puzzles, and I found a cheap knock-off cube with what I can only describe as the most perfect dimensions to fit into the little jar. Lucky or what? And 30 minutes or so later I had a fully functional puzzle well and truly stuck in a glass jar.</div>
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The process is actually not very difficult, but like with many impossible objects it does require a decent bit of patience to achieve.</div>
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A great bit of fun that I'd recommend anyone with too much spare time (and a jar) on their hands to try for themselves.</div>
Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-53096991421703488522013-11-01T22:37:00.002+00:002013-11-01T22:37:32.388+00:00Neo - Puzzle Ring (Jeff Bell)For a long time now I have been trying to find myself a puzzle ring that I could wear as an everyday piece of jewellery. There are several reasons why I haven't been able to find one up till now. The ones you do find are all originating from the same ancient Turkish design (which I don't think particularly suits me), they all tend to be very bulky, they fall apart very easily while wearing, and they also tend to be expensive for what they are. So imagine my surprise when I found something perfect while idly browsing the internet one day!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKNLJbxiMNGzHYuXY8bQYJljequ0qXV9IQGc_yrgp02F6_Vp8xdIEtV6ee_J2kszd3vLst-70DnWEqTV1PBNmpjYRxL8KvQC4yQRhI5iyiFYFER1Njc-LIsMTbszWBOBZgdBrG69rmqc/s1600/Neo+Ring+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKNLJbxiMNGzHYuXY8bQYJljequ0qXV9IQGc_yrgp02F6_Vp8xdIEtV6ee_J2kszd3vLst-70DnWEqTV1PBNmpjYRxL8KvQC4yQRhI5iyiFYFER1Njc-LIsMTbszWBOBZgdBrG69rmqc/s320/Neo+Ring+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neo (Assembled)</td></tr>
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This is a lovely 3-band puzzle ring by the name of <a href="http://www.puzzleringmaker.com/index.php?ref=item&id=10" target="_blank">Neo</a>. It is custom designed and made from Sterling Silver by the very nice Jeff Bell in Thailand. Jeff's online shop can be found here: <a href="http://www.puzzleringmaker.com/" target="_blank">PuzzleRingMaker</a>.<br />
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I have only ever known of a few original puzzle ring designers, so to find Jeff's shop was a pleasant surprise!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wIcweyt2V7tWwzVPMqfzZrK2ZhyphenhyphentRkVCfoMOSATT5t4688LIO8DN0OJ7z0vLTHWsxARztRZ47sfnjoxx86-5cvoQEuQZjlb-Y0e7IanduNhXfWBtPWcscmqMlkmIFivmZOVr-EORfGQ/s1600/Neo+Ring+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wIcweyt2V7tWwzVPMqfzZrK2ZhyphenhyphentRkVCfoMOSATT5t4688LIO8DN0OJ7z0vLTHWsxARztRZ47sfnjoxx86-5cvoQEuQZjlb-Y0e7IanduNhXfWBtPWcscmqMlkmIFivmZOVr-EORfGQ/s200/Neo+Ring+1.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neo (On Arrival)</td></tr>
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After a good bit of browsing and narrowing down I decided upon the Neo design. It's nice and sleek, and not too assuming. I placed an order immediately, making sure to add my ring size because I actually do want to wear this one (unlike other rings I have ordered in the past).<br />
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I bought my ring on the 18th, it was made and shipped in ten days, and then arrived four days later! Four days from Thailand! I've waiting longer than that for parcels coming from the same town as where I live.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgunxw6wY5q-qv9i84Xbn1UIJZBNisWmlaUtPp6mJUL62Gl1DyoxGRMJSvD76k7xxhdqRhbW1E60iSLzBCpRjWKzyOI1fUqhBoHURi3A9KT5BT12rzPdm-gYJubsSjFS9_cs0dGTSpcs0w/s1600/Neo+Ring+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgunxw6wY5q-qv9i84Xbn1UIJZBNisWmlaUtPp6mJUL62Gl1DyoxGRMJSvD76k7xxhdqRhbW1E60iSLzBCpRjWKzyOI1fUqhBoHURi3A9KT5BT12rzPdm-gYJubsSjFS9_cs0dGTSpcs0w/s320/Neo+Ring+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The ring is really nicely made, no visible joins in the silver and a great finish inside and out. The pieces fit together snugly and the ring size is dead-on as well.<br />
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Easily one of the best attributes of this design is its inherent ability to hold itself together very well. There's no worry of it disassembling while you're wearing it.<br />
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Is it difficult as a puzzle? Not hugely. But I wanted to go for a simpler 3-band design because I intend to use it to demonstrate to puzzle 'muggles' what kind of puzzles I'm interested in. So every time I hear the phrase "so you like jigsaws then?" I can give them the ring to try as a good example of a mechanical puzzle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktI1HVrkCOj2hUtPKaQGS9qFUxTktVccoQ1CxNQ7DkcYf_3NPc7GKCTeK0OFVzEtT7xsDhny03ESPpfzNmsu2ITZAir_AdP1j6mioaiCRaWdodcujXO-yokSfAuDZFJHUo-UOlHuI5Vo/s1600/Neo+Ring+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktI1HVrkCOj2hUtPKaQGS9qFUxTktVccoQ1CxNQ7DkcYf_3NPc7GKCTeK0OFVzEtT7xsDhny03ESPpfzNmsu2ITZAir_AdP1j6mioaiCRaWdodcujXO-yokSfAuDZFJHUo-UOlHuI5Vo/s200/Neo+Ring+4.JPG" width="200" /></a>I would say that anyone could quite happily solve this design with minimal patience. If you give it logical thought you'll have it together in a minute or two tops, but if you favour the 'random motion' approach it could take you a decent bit longer.<br />
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As you can see in the picture there are handy engraved markers on the inside of each band, and these show you which order to assemble the bands around each other. So if you ever have a bad case of 'cantrememberhowtosolveitquickly' there's a handy safety net there for you as well.<br />
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Neo currently costs an incredibly reasonable $40, and there are many more original designs available for similar prices. And if silver isn't really your colour you can also order the rings in the gold purity you'd like. Based on my first experience I honestly can't recommend this shop enough.<br />
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Buy from: <a href="http://www.puzzleringmaker.com/" target="_blank">PuzzleRingMaker</a><br />
Also available on Etsy: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PuzzleRingMaker" target="_blank">PuzzleRingMaker</a>Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-76107736927252151072013-09-13T23:45:00.001+01:002013-09-13T23:45:46.025+01:00Popplock T8 (Rainer Popp)Woo hoo! The time has finally come for another Popplock to be solved. After the release of the <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2012/10/popplock-t7-rainer-popp.html">T7</a> back at the end of last year I've been waiting for the next in this now infamous trick lock series, and I was hoping for a bit more of a puzzle challenge this time round. I was not disappointed!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoSNRx0DuEB1wfk7NwiQINj_nQTjEGs5kPjTsfC-S27rcPycnil3vwIcM9EB-WKyG8WaRlEWlmyvSRq_PLOORxIKyXStMGD6AdD5Ex3N3nTun1lwzRu6y7emYmioHTqJ8XVyB4W844Xg/s1600/Popplock+T8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoSNRx0DuEB1wfk7NwiQINj_nQTjEGs5kPjTsfC-S27rcPycnil3vwIcM9EB-WKyG8WaRlEWlmyvSRq_PLOORxIKyXStMGD6AdD5Ex3N3nTun1lwzRu6y7emYmioHTqJ8XVyB4W844Xg/s320/Popplock+T8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
So here it is, the T8. If you are familiar with the rest of the series you will notice the overall design is pretty different in this one. Whereas the other seven looked undeniably like padlocks, the T8 sports a cylindrical body with a look a more like a 'd-lock' usually associated with bicycles.<br />
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There's no brass body this time, Rainer has opted for a stainless steel approach. The only visible brass is the knob-like contraption on the end. Personally I like this. Brass -whilst looking lovely- has an issue with getting dull and dirty during handling very quickly. Stainless steel on the other hand will continue to look the same pretty much forever without need for regular cleaning.<br />
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I did mention that this is much more of a puzzle than the previous T7, and not only that but it is an excellent solving experience even in comparison to any of the previous locks in the series. I wouldn't say it is the most difficult, but it is definitely one of the most fun to solve, and I think many would agree that it has one of the most innovative mechanisms ever seen in a puzzle lock. Since I received it I keep finding myself solving it and admiring the workings.<br />
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As a solve it didn't take me an epic amount of time, I'd estimate somewhere in the region of 45 minutes. But I've since heard of solve times varying from 7 minutes into days, so as always with puzzles 'your mileage may vary'.<br />
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If you're after one of these I'd recommend being very quick. They can currently be found with the usual suspects; <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/?a=149480">Puzzle Master</a>, <a href="http://www.grand-illusions.com/">Grand Illusions</a> and of course <a href="http://www.popplock.com/">Rainer Popp</a> himself. The price tag is high, but I doubt anyone would be disappointed. Definitely another excellent addition to the Popplock legacy.Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-80224706597214545592013-07-27T20:30:00.000+01:002013-07-27T20:30:43.934+01:00Impossible Bottle (Harry Eng)I know they aren't mechanical puzzles in the strictest sense, but I really do love impossible objects. I like to ponder over how they have been created, but strangely I don't really want to know the answers as I'd much rather keep on guessing.<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0HD9cAJ4oMnqOGwyr4_p9PdgBPs_JQu9lRq8HUH1zBh1xRlD2lnO3OUFs06f8_Ov5m7z3IB5i30txgba6XLGivvlXIqlDlXme8Yhz34cPOS3mPnmD4RdYmG-t5IY5ayPSdtz_8cSCV8/s1600/Impossible+Bottle+Eng+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0HD9cAJ4oMnqOGwyr4_p9PdgBPs_JQu9lRq8HUH1zBh1xRlD2lnO3OUFs06f8_Ov5m7z3IB5i30txgba6XLGivvlXIqlDlXme8Yhz34cPOS3mPnmD4RdYmG-t5IY5ayPSdtz_8cSCV8/s320/Impossible+Bottle+Eng+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Harry Eng is widely regarded as being the master of the 'impossible bottles'. Over the 64 years of his life Harry put decks of cards, tennis balls, tools and even shoes into glass bottles. A particular signature of his was being able to tie complete and complex knots inside bottles as well!</div>
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I was very lucky as to stumble across this particular bottle on eBay of all places! </div>
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It was used as an exchange puzzle in Seattle in 1994 for IPP14. It is just a standard glass bottle containing a full <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey's_fist">monkey's fist knot</a> loose in the bottom, with a whole tennis ball above it. The neck of the bottle is obviously too small for either of these two items to be in there, and yet there they are.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjku3y8beNnWps893efogEK4kx0CZwpEWHJOvrFrNkzAT1DAoO6PBpVraY18ID34Ne8hgG-1Lm5Zg87vDDu-GT-07zlNHE4BlPdwc6I2g-R4BK_gbDfGSTjsKUzmCNxl_70qPo38gllbxY/s1600/Impossible+Bottle+Eng+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjku3y8beNnWps893efogEK4kx0CZwpEWHJOvrFrNkzAT1DAoO6PBpVraY18ID34Ne8hgG-1Lm5Zg87vDDu-GT-07zlNHE4BlPdwc6I2g-R4BK_gbDfGSTjsKUzmCNxl_70qPo38gllbxY/s200/Impossible+Bottle+Eng+2.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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In case you were curious, yes I did check to see if the tennis ball was fully inflated by prodding it with a pen, and it is. I can only guess how this very curious object was created, but like I said, I don't really want to know the answer. I much prefer to pose the question to others instead and see what kind of amazing and elaborate ideas they come up with.</div>
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Keep an eye out for some of these creations if you find them as interesting as I do. Or as an even better suggestion, have a try at making one yourself! I mean how hard could it be right?</div>
Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-8380329329619092762013-07-26T19:01:00.002+01:002013-07-26T19:01:53.467+01:00AlCyl (Iwahiro)So very much has happened since my last blog post; I went a few MPPs, got married etc. but I think it's about time for a new post!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnXr9OTF3a4ejoYAjwSdo7MGlAaP2LcpWrJxPRELEcN1Eqd-s9T83Du0lXPp74c6HfwMlUsUko7DHigcDWTe6mFbQ84iGtyDv16MV9OV8F5qnHPQvQs-VI8oiWAY5iolbZdSMM_Dq2ak/s1600/AlCyl.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnXr9OTF3a4ejoYAjwSdo7MGlAaP2LcpWrJxPRELEcN1Eqd-s9T83Du0lXPp74c6HfwMlUsUko7DHigcDWTe6mFbQ84iGtyDv16MV9OV8F5qnHPQvQs-VI8oiWAY5iolbZdSMM_Dq2ak/s320/AlCyl.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
This rather lovely looking puzzle goes by the name of AlCyl, which is short for 'Aluminium Cylinder'. It made it's first appearance in 2009 as an IPP exchange puzzle in San Francisco, designed by Hirokazu Iwasawa (AKA: Iwahiro) and made by Seiko Kogyo Co. This particular version is a new run of the design which has been available from Wil Strijbos over the last year or so.<br />
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AlCyl is machined entirely from aluminium, which has then been anodised in blue. The colour of the the cylinders from the 'new' run of puzzles is slightly darker than the original 2009 version, but apart from that they are completely identical in size and design.<br />
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The AlCyl almost seems like it was born to live next to the <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/01/aluminium-cylinder-wil-strijbos.html">Aluminium Cylinder</a> and <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/12/washer-cylinder-wil-strijbos.html">Washer Cylinder</a> puzzles from Wil Strijbos. The AlCyl is larger than both of the others measuring in at 48x60mm, and it has a pretty decent heft to it as well.<br />
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The objective of this puzzle is to open it and retrieve the hidden coin inside. As a design it is very simple, and while that doesn't always mean the puzzle itself will be simple as well in this case that is exactly what it means. Most -if not all- puzzlers will be able to solve this puzzle in little time. The only time I have heard of a puzzler not being able to solve it is when <a href="http://www.puzzlemad.co.uk/">Kevin</a> somehow managed to jam his shut by accident (it's funny how it always seems to be Kevin).<br />
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This would be a great addition alongside a collection of beautifully made metal puzzles, just don't expect to have the solving experience of your life with it.<br />
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The AlCyl is currently available for a very reasonable price directly from Wil Strijbos.Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-56181698932051135152013-01-20T15:45:00.001+00:002013-01-20T15:45:09.627+00:00Augmented Stellation / Vega (Stewart Coffin)Not so long ago a new puzzle site popped up that was offering excellent hand crafted puzzles for very affordable prices. This site is <a href="http://woodwondersonline.com/">Wood Wonders</a>, which is run by a skilled woodworker by the name of Brian Menold. Brian has created puzzles from the designs of several prolific puzzle designers, including perhaps the most prolific of them all, Stewart Coffin.<br />
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I've ordered a few things from Wood Wonders in the past, and I've seen plenty more ordered by others. Brian's craft skills just seem to be getting better and better, so I thought I'd share my most recent acquisition.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehsu9rRdo8t8vfCie9AnZQxBok2zOg1gRKhIyqDTsPzLtNlEPcg4q5EuiQD-fZaKWL-gZQoT69iR2F3Ro8Ad7jZslMEy8OFQUECwvMiHBnrxy66MPLi0ALuvsJB6RVSL5kr30NYaQBxc/s1600/Augmented+Stellation+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehsu9rRdo8t8vfCie9AnZQxBok2zOg1gRKhIyqDTsPzLtNlEPcg4q5EuiQD-fZaKWL-gZQoT69iR2F3Ro8Ad7jZslMEy8OFQUECwvMiHBnrxy66MPLi0ALuvsJB6RVSL5kr30NYaQBxc/s320/Augmented+Stellation+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Augmented Stellation - Fully Assembled</td></tr>
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Brian sold this <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Stewart_Coffin">Stewart Coffin</a> puzzle under the name of 'Augmented Stellation', although I believe it is the same design as <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Vega">Vega</a> which is number 46 in Stewart's numbering system and was first made in 1972.<br />
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Brian made a few different wood combinations in the latest run, and although they all looked great I was lucky enough to get hold of my favourite which is made from a light coloured English sycamore with contrasting tips in walnut. The cuts on this puzzle are spot on, leading to a perfectly snug fit. And the points are sharp!<br />
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The puzzle is made up of six identical pieces, and it is essentially the same as the <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Diagonal_Burr_(6_pieces)">Diagonal Burr</a> that can be found practically everywhere. It is quite tricky if you haven't come across this design before, but very easy if you have. The ends of the pieces have been extended to give the pointed look. I think it looks best when it is take to the very edge of collapse.<br />
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I really recommend keeping an eye on <a href="http://wood%20wonders/">Wood Wonders</a>, I'm always eager to see what designs Brian will create next, especially since his creations just seem to be getting better and better.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLF_jgQaQeQvVQ6dbbv0Bs4IQjELIXkgoM2poAoYIrYjzZvBzrEHUkjWmE_kAyDACm12bjuFavdtx_C9eQEPBKLNpyQeAqz4FnCloHVMkrziONZg29j3LWtErQ444nTlMP1mX6lcLJG0/s1600/Augmented+Stellation+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLF_jgQaQeQvVQ6dbbv0Bs4IQjELIXkgoM2poAoYIrYjzZvBzrEHUkjWmE_kAyDACm12bjuFavdtx_C9eQEPBKLNpyQeAqz4FnCloHVMkrziONZg29j3LWtErQ444nTlMP1mX6lcLJG0/s200/Augmented+Stellation+3.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost Apart</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6j3Uoy43pxjDMVXyhA6TCM3p0fmvHNJEnyXnawAAOB4Y8-vYxuldeLuHggK1dS-UeMdUkb0BbtiQQ9KgEBsqewjdrDrZ1XgJ1KzBjZKZC-IkX6evJIKYGNkqxSPE0U0_ahrcpG9aFkG8/s1600/Augmented+Stellation+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6j3Uoy43pxjDMVXyhA6TCM3p0fmvHNJEnyXnawAAOB4Y8-vYxuldeLuHggK1dS-UeMdUkb0BbtiQQ9KgEBsqewjdrDrZ1XgJ1KzBjZKZC-IkX6evJIKYGNkqxSPE0U0_ahrcpG9aFkG8/s200/Augmented+Stellation+2.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Pieces</td></tr>
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Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-52930302595926365152013-01-16T19:00:00.000+00:002013-01-16T19:00:42.752+00:00Gear Ball (Oskar / Meffert's)A while back I wrote about a twisty puzzle called the <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2012/04/gear-cube-oskar.html">Gear Cube</a> designed by Oskar van Deventer. To this day it is still my absolutely favourite puzzle from the twist genre as it is such a fun puzzle to solve and it looks awesome. Recently Meffert's decided to produce a spherical version of the exact same puzzle, and how could I pass that up?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiE442L9O1Ndbo5x7_G7ETHPEJgjzLMT1QOTRQBh3Q2LJaeLbJ0axE_QnqiQ_xfcjeTiXysytKpNNBOQaK6-brqDdV2FWxcyQbr9UuZqcWyNh8Oxa5TlYTpxZ2bKTzzd6tn-_snZ4dw1U/s1600/Gear+Ball+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiE442L9O1Ndbo5x7_G7ETHPEJgjzLMT1QOTRQBh3Q2LJaeLbJ0axE_QnqiQ_xfcjeTiXysytKpNNBOQaK6-brqDdV2FWxcyQbr9UuZqcWyNh8Oxa5TlYTpxZ2bKTzzd6tn-_snZ4dw1U/s320/Gear+Ball+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gear Ball by Meffert's - Solved</td></tr>
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As a puzzle it is essentially exactly the same as the original <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2012/04/gear-cube-oskar.html">Gear Cube</a>, so I won't go into that here as you can always check back on the <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2012/04/gear-cube-oskar.html">previous post</a>. The only real difference is that where on the Cube I had to add small stickers (Fisher Design) to the inner edge pieces, the Ball comes with those pieces already colour tiled along with all of the other pieces. So out of the box it is technically more difficult that the original Gear Cube.</div>
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I've played with (not solved) quite a few twisties now, and honestly this is one of the best turning mass produced puzzles I've come across thus far, which is especially surprising considering it a puzzle based on a geared mechanism! The pieces almost never catch each other, and the black ridges dividing the coloured faces make it nice and easy to quickly turn the sides back and forth. You can also easily remove the square plastic centre caps on each face to loosen or tighten the screws beneath if you feel to, but mine didn't require any fiddling at all.</div>
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I really think this is the kind of puzzle that anyone can enjoy, so if you don't already have one I'd suggest adding it to your list. It is currently available from several retailers including <a href="http://www.hknowstore.com/">HKNowStore</a> and of course <a href="http://www.mefferts.com/">Meffert's</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8Q9ejjn0Q9gqaEJTJx6ZLopiJ6e9-NecocpMnYElhoMTAvErjBvHK6mtPzdw1gX9ayaI639KU2LRU9FdqpGrBA2gE0hamzLwcMYLVe3JXShckZBk23WctNoCA1S9Wu-_dxCBfmHuR_c/s1600/Gear+Ball+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8Q9ejjn0Q9gqaEJTJx6ZLopiJ6e9-NecocpMnYElhoMTAvErjBvHK6mtPzdw1gX9ayaI639KU2LRU9FdqpGrBA2gE0hamzLwcMYLVe3JXShckZBk23WctNoCA1S9Wu-_dxCBfmHuR_c/s200/Gear+Ball+2.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrW_CkJY1Ad-O68FXN-9TTx2vD8KdP5SxxKSPNXzJulrAOImIiPn2YwkyV10wWRXFjAPdybp11W5-9Ve-q4WkU1rc1xB6OamEHTlXjHFkrRIWfv_gPZV3ZdeSF-GbSsTPAMyBiFvuIRrA/s1600/Gear+Ball+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrW_CkJY1Ad-O68FXN-9TTx2vD8KdP5SxxKSPNXzJulrAOImIiPn2YwkyV10wWRXFjAPdybp11W5-9Ve-q4WkU1rc1xB6OamEHTlXjHFkrRIWfv_gPZV3ZdeSF-GbSsTPAMyBiFvuIRrA/s200/Gear+Ball+3.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-9106968898805543362012-12-09T16:21:00.001+00:002012-12-09T16:27:14.233+00:00Topless Box (Eric Fuller)I don't usually manage to blog about a puzzle immediately after its release (mostly because I'm just never that quick off the mark), but I enjoyed this one so much I thought I'd write about it while it was still fresh in my mind.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_RYW5yv1uybiQXoPRYAYiRoox_SvcYN3HWzrKGlSCOmQ9_7IkTDxAshlNBtT8MjPwMyKfc1ZBfWufrxpf8uIZ0DCYmNLMEEBxZvi9_x87ng8WPmR_6Xuon70EWoDxhX-8MsUOlu0kBgg/s1600/Topless+Box+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_RYW5yv1uybiQXoPRYAYiRoox_SvcYN3HWzrKGlSCOmQ9_7IkTDxAshlNBtT8MjPwMyKfc1ZBfWufrxpf8uIZ0DCYmNLMEEBxZvi9_x87ng8WPmR_6Xuon70EWoDxhX-8MsUOlu0kBgg/s320/Topless+Box+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
This is the Topless Box, and it is <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Eric_Fuller">Eric Fuller's</a> latest contribution to the puzzle box genre. Eric's puzzles always sell out pretty fast, so I always consider myself lucky when I get hold of his creations.<br />
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This puzzle was created by Eric as part of the huge 'Apothecary' project, which will see contributions from twelve great puzzle craftsmen combined into one puzzle chest of epic proportions. Definitely one for the books!<br />
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Just like many of Eric's previous puzzle boxes the Topless Box looks pretty unassuming at first glance. The main body of the box is made from a very nice striped, quarter-sawn sapele which looks incredible under the light, and the two 'lids' are made from quilted maple. The whole box feels really sturdy, and even Eric said that they were designed with longevity in mind. This was great news for me! Some of Eric's puzzles don't deal well with levels of high humidity, so I've always had to keep them locked away in a specially dehumidified box, but this puzzle looks like it'll work well whatever the weather.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjB9CyPr59Nkbt2wExxf7pOLLxUx7xNRzO2eCkifqU0WH2ChDmkfn092QJZ0d2fCMezBL2OVafv2JPs3K9s4gpDEBWAlZ3p5TiQlDmFfli6UwH87tFg281L4BJmSNxV55gIDups_wfqk/s1600/Topless+Box+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjB9CyPr59Nkbt2wExxf7pOLLxUx7xNRzO2eCkifqU0WH2ChDmkfn092QJZ0d2fCMezBL2OVafv2JPs3K9s4gpDEBWAlZ3p5TiQlDmFfli6UwH87tFg281L4BJmSNxV55gIDups_wfqk/s200/Topless+Box+2.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
The box starts to look much more interesting as soon as a lid is removed. Now you can see a really nice contrast with the lovely orange-red colour of the padauk.<br />
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But now you start to see a problem. The 'lid' has been removed and the box is clearly not open. How odd.<br />
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Maybe if we try the other 'lid' then that will be the way into the box.<br />
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Nope...that doesn't seem to be the way forward either. And now the name of the box starts to make sense.<br />
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As Eric says;<br />
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"The box has two lids and neither a top nor a bottom. Figuring out how to deal with that conundrum will hopefully get you on your way..."</blockquote>
When I first saw pictures of this box on Eric's site I built a picture in my head of how I expected it to work, and strangely (because it doesn't happen that often) I turned out to be right! Because of this I actually managed to solve it pretty quickly, certainly in under ten minutes, but I definitely wouldn't take this as an indication of how difficult it is. I expect that if I hadn't had conjured up the correct expectation before its arrival then it would've taken me significantly longer to solve.<br />
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I've now been lucky enough to have had the chance to solve a good few of Eric's puzzle boxes, and I still haven't found one that I didn't really enjoy. The Topless Box has many of the great qualities that I look for in a good puzzle box: It looks great (inside and out), it has an excellent build quality (which is to be expected from Eric), and above all else it has a fun and reliable solution. Because of all of these this is actually one of my favourites from Eric thus far.<br />
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If you ever get the chance to buy one of Eric's puzzle boxes then honestly don't hesitate, I very much doubt you'll be disappointed.Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-60579116833246690112012-11-25T11:56:00.002+00:002012-12-09T16:24:18.090+00:00Half Truncated Cube BuildI've really been wanting to do a proper shape modification on a twisty puzzle for a while now, and I finally managed to get around to doing it!<br />
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Now, I have no experience in these things whatsoever, so I picked up all the info I needed from useful sources like the <a href="http://twistypuzzles.com/forum/">Twistypuzzles.com Forum</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/KaiXevandStanley">Tony Fisher's YouTube Videos</a>. And I was surprised to find that many of the more simple modifications are not actually that difficult to make.<br />
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I was given a spare, unloved, standard Rubik's Cube a while ago, and I knew that I would end up using it for my first shape mod. Then I had a look around to see what would be a nice puzzle to make as my first stepping stone into puzzle modding, and I decided to go with a Half Truncated Cube, which is essentially a cube which has had half of its corners removed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poor thing had no idea what was coming...</td></tr>
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So, I started with a bog standard Rubik's 3x3x3, then I immediately proceeded by hacking off four of the corners!<br />
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In order to do this I had to cover the cube in masking tape so that it wouldn't move during cutting. I then drew on the lines I wanted to cut along using a pencil and ruler and checked to make sure everything was in the right place before making any cuts.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A not-quite Rubik's Cube</td></tr>
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The cutting was done using my Dremel 300, which was surprisingly easy. The cube spits of some pretty hot plastic shrapnel during cutting, so if you're going to do this make sure you're wearing long sleeves and some kind of eye protection.</div>
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Here is the result of the cutting. The cuts don't need to be perfectly clean or accurate, and that would be hard to achieve anyway, instead I didn't cut quite up to where I had drawn the lines.</div>
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Once the corners had been removed I could use a flat power sander to sand the corners right up to the lines. This also made sure that the resultant faces were perfectly flat.</div>
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Now we have our Half Truncated Cube shape, but there is still the small matter of the fact there are holes in the puzzle, because all those cut pieces were hollow.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pieces filled with Milliput</td></tr>
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This problem is rectified with some wonderful stuff called Milliput. Milliput is a type of epoxy putty. It has the texture of the sticky tac you put posters up on the wall with, and it comes in several different colours. Since my cube was black it seemed best to go with the black variety. You thoroughly mix the epoxy from two parts, then you can use it immediately. I used some water to help with the moulding as it gave the Milliput a kind of clay-like texture which enabled me to get a much smoother finish along the edges of the pieces, and it stopped it from sticking to my fingers.</div>
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Each piece of the cube (apart from the centres needed filling, and this would take a lot of Milliput to achieve. It seemed like such a waste to use so much of the Milliput, so instead I mostly filled the pieces with white sticky tac, then filled the last part up with Milliput. This dramatically reduced the amount of Milliput used.</div>
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As you can see I took the cube apart for this bit as it was easier, and this way there was no chance of me accidentally sticking different parts together using the epoxy. I left the parts overnight, and by morning the epoxy was rock hard and ready for sanding again. It actually sets in four hours, but I wanted to be sure.</div>
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At this point I could remove the white sticky tac from inside the pieces using the hole at the back of each piece. This way it makes the puzzle much lighter again, and I can reuse the tac for my next project.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanded again and sprayed black</td></tr>
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As you can probably tell from the picture, I had slightly overfilled each piece with the epoxy to leave a margin of error, so I once again needed to sand the pieces flat. I reassembled the pieces back into their original shape and used the flat power sander to sand off the excess black epoxy.</div>
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Sanding black Milliput kind of gives the pieces a grey finish, so to bring back the colour uniformity I gave the whole puzzle a coat of black modelling spray paint. This made the grey pieces black again, and also gave the whole puzzle a nice matte finish.</div>
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From a previous project I worked out that it was better to give the puzzle this light coat of spray paint while it was still assembled. A light coat of paint done from a distance will not stick the pieces together at all. It will give the whole puzzle a nice even finish and also the paint won't land on any of the internal edges, so the cube will turn just as well after painting as it did before.</div>
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All that was left to do now was to add some new stickers! Luckily, because this is such a popular design for many first-time modders, there were already stickers available. This is lucky because otherwise I would've had to painstakingly measure and cut each sticker by hand, and that would've added many hours onto the build time.</div>
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I ordered my stickers from Olivér Nagy who runs a website called <a href="http://speedcubing.hu/webshop/">Oliver's Stickers</a>. It is a brilliant website! He supplies a massive range of puzzle stickers, and will even make stickers to order if you come up with a new design. So for just over 2 Euros I saved myself having to do a lot of extra work!</div>
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The stickers arrived a few days later, and after ten minutes or so of stickering this was the result:</div>
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I'm very happy with how my first puzzle mod turned out, plus I had a load of fun making it! The total cost of materials for this build probably came to less than £10, and for that I get a new puzzle for my collection that I can proudly say I made myself.</div>
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This certainly won't be my last build, and if you haven't given it a go yourself yet then I highly recommend that you do. You'll have great fun, and there's nothing more satisfying that seeing a puzzle come to life that you've made yourself.</div>
Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-53539712742474881402012-11-20T01:09:00.002+00:002012-11-20T01:09:40.394+00:00Dutch Cube Day (DCD) 2012 / MPP8A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to make it to this years Dutch Cube Day (DCD) event! I was extremely happy to be going as it was to be the first international puzzle event that I have ever attended. A couple of the other <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/MPP">Midlands rabble</a> managed to make it last year, and they came back with such good stories and pictures from the event that I just knew I had to make the trip out to the Netherlands this year.<div>
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It started with a 4am drive on the Saturday to pick up Ali (a fellow MPPer) and then we were straight off to Luton to catch the plane. I made the slight error of going to the cinema the night before, so to say I was a wee bit tired would be the understatement of the year. But still I was very excited for the day to come, and I think that easily carried me through the whole weekend!</div>
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Once myself and Ali had landed in Amsterdam we met up with <a href="http://allardspuzzlingtimes.blogspot.com/">Allard</a>, Chris, Nigel and Louis (even more fellow MPPers) at the airport. Allard Chris and Nigel had flown in from Birmingham just before us, and Louis caught the train from Eindhoven to meet us there. Louis has made the trip out to the Midlands many times now for our (very) regular MPPs, and it was nice to finally be able to make it out to the Netherlands to meet him there for a change. So many of us Midland lot made the trip out that we decided to combine DCD with the 8th MPP!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3jyrpzxIJKD3B1SGVDHV2089-UDpiSVtxHi1tsi4gyUjf79da7elJNL_Mz17kZcCD3GPc1VEXdsZEbSJ9QApDhx1UpgLl7VAWBeduPae0XW4KOZHui36eb8Pz5UuOOwTW_3iG2dhIBI/s1600/IMG_2584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3jyrpzxIJKD3B1SGVDHV2089-UDpiSVtxHi1tsi4gyUjf79da7elJNL_Mz17kZcCD3GPc1VEXdsZEbSJ9QApDhx1UpgLl7VAWBeduPae0XW4KOZHui36eb8Pz5UuOOwTW_3iG2dhIBI/s200/IMG_2584.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hotel Lobby</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
We travelled from the airport to the hotel via train, which was only a short distance away. And as the hotel was right next to the train station, that made the travelling aspect of the trip very laid back. Although I dare to think where I would've ended up if Louis hadn't been there to direct us.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I took a photo of the hotel entrance. It's a terrible photo that doesn't really show anything, and I can only really blame tiredness for that. I kept forgetting to take photos as there was always so much going on, then I'd suddenly remember and start taking loads.....then forget again, and so on.</div>
<div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTKs1Bjhbwvn2gps9q0llFLFNf-31mdsRDtZBrNq28xx5dCfzS9r98Ojd1WS7fNfgwWN-_ZlG-RpCf4v8DJ9llMwTyFlPHJ104zxMxUKCh9cLv55GgmioNlk01rkb3X3CklFupO1ZoJo/s1600/IMG_2547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTKs1Bjhbwvn2gps9q0llFLFNf-31mdsRDtZBrNq28xx5dCfzS9r98Ojd1WS7fNfgwWN-_ZlG-RpCf4v8DJ9llMwTyFlPHJ104zxMxUKCh9cLv55GgmioNlk01rkb3X3CklFupO1ZoJo/s200/IMG_2547.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Off To The DCD Venue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
We stopped at the hotel for a while for everyone to settle in, then we met up in the restaurant for a bit of brunch. Right around this time Wil Strijbos and Christiaan Eggermont turned up and joined us for some food before we all headed off to the actual DCD venue to help Wil unpack his wares for the next day. This years event was going to be held at Sint-Maartenscollege in Voorburg, which as luck (or good planning) would have it was only a ten minute walk away from our hotel.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Only a couple of puzzlers had turned up today to set up their stalls for Sunday, including Wil and <a href="http://www.puzzlewood.de/">Bernhard Schweitzer</a>, and as well as helping to unpack we looked through the puzzles that would be available the next day and chatted with everyone there.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1i-qgRO_WzZe7Npu8i5lAgZG1uv9gPjWQ9g8WB0Ve0mI37DiKzOTxD-xDBJCtqoiL8jkeUDYpcvDGYvd3UW_XGMsnSumJA5FNju2UuWzpKJ_RVMyrHT6s7Lv-Es-OMzjDPbMq7A8psMU/s1600/IMG_2550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1i-qgRO_WzZe7Npu8i5lAgZG1uv9gPjWQ9g8WB0Ve0mI37DiKzOTxD-xDBJCtqoiL8jkeUDYpcvDGYvd3UW_XGMsnSumJA5FNju2UuWzpKJ_RVMyrHT6s7Lv-Es-OMzjDPbMq7A8psMU/s320/IMG_2550.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Good Few IPP Exchange Puzzles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
After a few hours we all jumped into cars and cabs and made our way over to the home of Rob Hegge, who had kindly offered to entertain a group of unruly puzzlers for the afternoon. <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Frans_de_Vreugd">Frans de Vreugd</a> and <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Simon_Nightingale">Simon Nightingale</a> were already puzzling away on our arrival, and Rob made us feel very welcome with food and drink, although I think our attention was mostly taken up by his awesome puzzle collection!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lxg-KBzrlf6dwP3IAoW74jWY-L8azPcNIBJCFwBesYrgOzBwrixGVxlTH1DrnHyo5KOCFK-tWjIWWIL7dSvd0zOpk2m2eyumo0twLV3neJ_QwvDZiMs-yzoA-QkpZa78rph8VfOEO6Q/s1600/IMG_2551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lxg-KBzrlf6dwP3IAoW74jWY-L8azPcNIBJCFwBesYrgOzBwrixGVxlTH1DrnHyo5KOCFK-tWjIWWIL7dSvd0zOpk2m2eyumo0twLV3neJ_QwvDZiMs-yzoA-QkpZa78rph8VfOEO6Q/s320/IMG_2551.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Incredible Puzzle Room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Rob kept us thoroughly perplexed for most of the afternoon. Whenever one puzzle was solved (usually a puzzle box in my case) another one appeared shortly afterwards. He was very trusting and let us try any puzzle that was out on display in the cabinets, although I did try my best to make sure that puzzles went back into the cabinets in the same state that they came out.</div>
<br />
<div>
I think all of us there managed to find a fair few puzzles that we've never solved or even seen before. I got completely stuck trying to solve the <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Monkey%27s_Palaquin">Monkey's Palaquin</a> puzzle box by Shiro Tajima, but happily managed to make my way through a good few other puzzles to make up for it. I have to admit that I spent most of my time working on the puzzle boxes because they are my favourite puzzle type, but there were so many other puzzles there that it was difficult to stick with one puzzle too long as there was always something else I wanted to look at next.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5s9rK_trMNBz6hOu_ah0DXfuF3gsRUvt0Vgqz1zQgW7sgkxhqeJ_vYzQkcYQ1XG_RzC6-phsZWchu4tz-YHa9Vpewp9IjQG8rvd5LfAwR4lOMMfB-pm-DwvDZtMWcNRXJlxOVNK96lM/s1600/IMG_2557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5s9rK_trMNBz6hOu_ah0DXfuF3gsRUvt0Vgqz1zQgW7sgkxhqeJ_vYzQkcYQ1XG_RzC6-phsZWchu4tz-YHa9Vpewp9IjQG8rvd5LfAwR4lOMMfB-pm-DwvDZtMWcNRXJlxOVNK96lM/s320/IMG_2557.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out For Dinner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
After a few hours (probably...I completely lost track of time so have no idea how long we were there), we managed to pry ourselves away from Rob's place and travel en masse (there were eleven of us) to find somewhere nice to have dinner. We dropped our stuff back at the hotel and then proceed to wander the streets with Bernhard at the helm trying to find an Italian restaurant that he remembered. After a few backtracking manoeuvres we arrived at the restaurant and sat ourselves down for some good food, drinks and generally puzzling conversation. Wil would regularly pull a puzzle or perplexing object out of his bag and proceed to hand it around, which always managed to conjure up a fair few laughs. At one point Louis even tried to solve the restaurant wall! He did have a few drinks by this point, although none of them were alcoholic so I'm not sure what his excuse was.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After dinner we all toddled back to the hotel for a very overdue rest to get ourselves ready for the main event in the morning. Most of us hung around in the bar for a few more drinks before heading off to bed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgAqmC9SYvUXTXIuQLyCcM0h36Sg_U0tKNJD1cSfDnJs3rjw63f1PSzCbR37TPTOgXzc_tcMWVgcjgg4AoyromHumLRwhl-5P2KkuWA8CV_1J6cdWZxQL_Px0ecCyHAqZ5pjsRiWiINc/s1600/DCD+Souvenir+Cube.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgAqmC9SYvUXTXIuQLyCcM0h36Sg_U0tKNJD1cSfDnJs3rjw63f1PSzCbR37TPTOgXzc_tcMWVgcjgg4AoyromHumLRwhl-5P2KkuWA8CV_1J6cdWZxQL_Px0ecCyHAqZ5pjsRiWiINc/s200/DCD+Souvenir+Cube.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Teeny Tiny Bit Puzzling</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
A few of the guys headed off early the next morning to get to the DCD venue, but I went across an hour or so later with a few others who didn't fancy quite such an early start. </div>
<div>
Upon arrival we signed in and picked up our name badges and the tiniest souvenir puzzle you could ever imagine. I love miniature puzzles, so this little 3D-printed creation by <a href="http://www.shapeways.com/shops/microcubology">Rich Gain</a> was right up my street, and everyone else there seemed to really like them as well. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The pretty large main hall was full of puzzlers and their puzzles. Tables and tables of puzzles! I knew to expect quite a few people and puzzles to be there, but I was still surprised by the sheer amount and variety of them!</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOJdsKqjGq-V2pxC4mkH0noI6V0D_kAilqFVAlMB6N30MUbfiK-pqnNpdGo1i6csKe9sOwft_7urM4U8LVnEf3w-pOliEpfmjZy2oReNSzajlGlkVtihnP2zZfELoxi7RsD4eJSrEpH8/s1600/IMG_2571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOJdsKqjGq-V2pxC4mkH0noI6V0D_kAilqFVAlMB6N30MUbfiK-pqnNpdGo1i6csKe9sOwft_7urM4U8LVnEf3w-pOliEpfmjZy2oReNSzajlGlkVtihnP2zZfELoxi7RsD4eJSrEpH8/s320/IMG_2571.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In The Main Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
We all split up and started wandering around the room. I kept seeing puzzles that I've been searching for all over the place! And occasionally they were even being sold by the designers themselves! It was great to finally be able to put faces to so many of the puzzlers I talk to regularly online and via emails. It really was a room of some of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. A couple of them were even obliging enough to sign some of their own puzzle designs that I had bought that day.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2OO2X9cI3aqnlf755gZTNnCnK4su522aw5wesYF3P5hlXzDd1WKiGHijuFRbglUtQ47xqV3hEWCymg4SqGrNnfv71Dx5KjYQCmzEt-zyCAv6rbKOX-ayhXjHvdfPUt7hbBr57vKqoU0/s1600/IMG_2559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2OO2X9cI3aqnlf755gZTNnCnK4su522aw5wesYF3P5hlXzDd1WKiGHijuFRbglUtQ47xqV3hEWCymg4SqGrNnfv71Dx5KjYQCmzEt-zyCAv6rbKOX-ayhXjHvdfPUt7hbBr57vKqoU0/s320/IMG_2559.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oskar And His Creations</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
It was a real highlight to be able to meet <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Oskar_van_Deventer">Oskar van Deventer</a> for the first time, and have a play with some of his latest 3D-printed designs. He even brought along a copy of his infamous 17x17x17 cube, although I have a feeling that not too many people attempted a solve while they were there.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Another thing I was very much looking forward to was to picking up a long awaited puzzle from the incredible craftsman <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Jack_Krijnen">Jack Krijnen</a>. I'll write a bit more about that properly later on though as it is well deserving of its own review.</div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtaQnUYGvNtYJsbJKhqz5a4vXqYGDTRMXF4fuoIQlbWY6S28tL5drDP3Egpdv1uFNTV_DDIqvNGUaeD8nCkTANERfSWZeTPGPk10O_7uVvXWFV01xahEOValtcgpZF1Y2BuF2WDWkjzuc/s1600/IMG_2560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtaQnUYGvNtYJsbJKhqz5a4vXqYGDTRMXF4fuoIQlbWY6S28tL5drDP3Egpdv1uFNTV_DDIqvNGUaeD8nCkTANERfSWZeTPGPk10O_7uVvXWFV01xahEOValtcgpZF1Y2BuF2WDWkjzuc/s200/IMG_2560.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">17 x 17 x 17</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
Marcel Gillen has his own table there selling puzzles of all types, including some of his own hard to come by designs. <a href="http://www.tomvanderzanden.nl/">Tom van der Zanden</a> was there showing some of his 3D-printed twisty puzzle designs, including his incredible <a href="http://www.tomvanderzanden.nl/puzzle.php?puz=Multidodecahedron">Multidodecahedron</a>, which I was thrilled to finally see 'in the flesh'. <a href="http://puzzles.schwandtner.info/">Goetz Schwandtner</a> was there, and he brought along several <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_code">'N-ary'</a> puzzles (that I really enjoy), including a design called Fidgety Rabbits by Namick Salakhov which was also an entrant in this years IPP Design Competition. I really loved this puzzle, and I made a mental note to track one down for myself eventually.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So many more puzzlers were met, and many many more puzzles were solved. I can't quite get pictures of them all into this post, but if you're interested in seeing the full set of pictures then visit <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/puzzleobsessed/sets/72157631937993118/">the DCD folder in my puzzle image gallery</a> and you'll find them there.</div>
<div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmMaihzpF692hmd6CprYMYie81_e46TKysFHZ41ruwEUucSd_apszwfHtEJH_maCdVFSt1aDKmM1AVzI-igdnyQSk-oEKBA-2H264YI9bwn07IRJfXd8MEOYaGldeFTgOzIVt6NlvT6g/s1600/IMG_2581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmMaihzpF692hmd6CprYMYie81_e46TKysFHZ41ruwEUucSd_apszwfHtEJH_maCdVFSt1aDKmM1AVzI-igdnyQSk-oEKBA-2H264YI9bwn07IRJfXd8MEOYaGldeFTgOzIVt6NlvT6g/s200/IMG_2581.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speedcubing Finals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
At the end of the event we stayed to watch the finals of the <a href="http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/results/c.php?i=DutchOpen2012">Dutch Open</a> speedcubing competition, where we got to see the European record being beaten for a 3x3x3 cube with an average time of just 7.66 seconds! After the event had finished we were all exhausted (and somewhat lighter in terms of our wallets), so we retired back to the hotel to pick up our bags ready to make our way back to the airport and then onto home.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was a truly incredible weekend, and I can't express enough thanks to everyone there who made it as fun as it was. I met many new puzzlers, and saw many many new puzzles, and somehow a few of them managed to creep back home with me. It was really great fun, and I'm definitely looking forward to making the trip out again next year.</div>
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix8ajCitwekrtQUlqfSwYhsm9bHs9PEBervH8Xa68iwV7yFMepdqO3ePZPd1tEHDNHgA8BEu0RsJ7yGDAPqoassMc8-KUdZUi_YCv-0F9NP-JF0PxyAjZ58oOVhSyRzjQjoYB7sg-G4eE/s1600/DCD+2012+Puzzles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix8ajCitwekrtQUlqfSwYhsm9bHs9PEBervH8Xa68iwV7yFMepdqO3ePZPd1tEHDNHgA8BEu0RsJ7yGDAPqoassMc8-KUdZUi_YCv-0F9NP-JF0PxyAjZ58oOVhSyRzjQjoYB7sg-G4eE/s320/DCD+2012+Puzzles.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Puzzles That Somehow Followed Me Home</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: right;">
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Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-70965084369695599782012-10-19T22:00:00.000+01:002012-10-19T22:00:07.330+01:00Glass Nails (Village Games)<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXr3sziyRHC6EfyCIQOErW9VKMiD65MY0wteILRF8ZAS-JZTMnOnxm8Vw8qEGR4JP79sEhbvo61_m6klLsDkvbn1_v8Yv6BEtRYcMNcXKNJqm_SAwc6zzZfNRdXcg4xsKZ1gZADEnFQQ/s1600/Glass+Nails+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXr3sziyRHC6EfyCIQOErW9VKMiD65MY0wteILRF8ZAS-JZTMnOnxm8Vw8qEGR4JP79sEhbvo61_m6klLsDkvbn1_v8Yv6BEtRYcMNcXKNJqm_SAwc6zzZfNRdXcg4xsKZ1gZADEnFQQ/s320/Glass+Nails+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glass Nails - Entangled</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj40YLjgmlto0MJH1Qkdu5t2P4Bj9o4yl81JGJQhsvws00vAxnx_fkibn8XceU-OziHouqWsy8tP4RPjQdIhItpbElm3Ztf7IYd7yTffwjbv83uEa2skQ7QqWGNyY0seBfo2TjIvbTe810/s1600/Glass+Nails+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj40YLjgmlto0MJH1Qkdu5t2P4Bj9o4yl81JGJQhsvws00vAxnx_fkibn8XceU-OziHouqWsy8tP4RPjQdIhItpbElm3Ztf7IYd7yTffwjbv83uEa2skQ7QqWGNyY0seBfo2TjIvbTe810/s320/Glass+Nails+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glass Nails - Disentangled</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Of all the puzzles in my collection, these are probably the most delicate.<br />
I picked them up a while back on one of my regular trips to Village Games in Camden (London). There were quite a few of these there as I think a batch was made specially for the shop.<br />
<br />
As a puzzle this is only really a standard two piece disentanglement, so I won't go into the solving aspect of it. You normally see this type of puzzle pretty much everywhere either made out from simple metal rods or bent nails. Even quite a few Christmas crackers have them in. This version however is made from glass!<br />
<br />
I don't know why, but for some reason I find it amusing to have a puzzle that is so well known for being essentially unbreakable made from something as fragile as glass.<br />
<br />
I have actually managed to solve it a couple of times as well, but I was pretty nervous in doing so. Really it was added to my collection as more of a curiosity for people to look at and ponder over rather than play with too often.<br />
<br />
Still, it's definitely an interesting concept, but I don't think I'd be wanting any more in the collection. I'm nervous enough trying to look after just the one!Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-60359733391151948192012-10-16T22:25:00.001+01:002012-10-16T22:25:11.521+01:00Sly Burr (Frank Potts)Let's face it, there are loads of traditionally shaped 6-piece burrs out there, so for one to stand out from the mahoosive crowd it has to have something in its design to make it really special, and here's one that I think does just that.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw569WgWdINJ17ggnDD1kuIjbgrYY06fsov2fnwgZ_eHd_ckCK4wdA_KksuVDubYK4KzHxRwn5-o0bEAFTBp9qiH6MxgQU900YcafCSPdpDzIXvBLYXaVkqj3r9OWGz-7f2HDrLAJOHeY/s1600/Sly+Burr.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw569WgWdINJ17ggnDD1kuIjbgrYY06fsov2fnwgZ_eHd_ckCK4wdA_KksuVDubYK4KzHxRwn5-o0bEAFTBp9qiH6MxgQU900YcafCSPdpDzIXvBLYXaVkqj3r9OWGz-7f2HDrLAJOHeY/s320/Sly+Burr.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just another 6-piece burr.....or is it?</td></tr>
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This is <a href="http://www.mrpuzzle.com.au/prod199.htm">Sly Burr</a>, a design from the mind of Frank Potts which has been brought to life by <a href="http://www.mrpuzzle.com.au/">Brian Young (Mr Puzzle)</a> in Vitex wood (or Papua New Guinean Teak if you prefer). Frank also used this as his exchange puzzle at IPP28 in Prague in 2008. Also, at 6cm across it is a nice size for a burr.<br />
<br />
It looks just like a 6-piece burr right? But it really isn't. I could show you a picture of the pieces to prove it...but I won't.<br />
<br />
The real joy in this puzzle is working out for yourself just what makes it so special. Since I've had it I have enjoyed giving it over for puzzlers to solve without any directions and watching them get confused almost immediately. They mostly get there shortly afterwards, but it always seems to catch puzzlers out and it gives them a little smile of amusement once it gets moving.<br />
<br />
The burr itself is level 9,3 (9 moves to remove the first piece, 3 to remove the second), but the level isn't really the issue. Finding the moves to make in the first place is the real challenge.<br />
<br />
As a 'clue' to the solution this is mentioned:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"The hint is in the name...think movies....although working out exactly what the hint tells you about the puzzle may prove just as difficult as doing the burr itself."</i></blockquote>
<i><br /></i>
After solving the puzzle I just had to ask what the clue is trying to reference to hint at the solution. Frank described the reference as being pretty convoluted, and offered me a nudge in the right direction. After a think (and a bit of Googling) I managed to work out what it was referring to, and I concur in that solving the burr is far easier than trying to work out the clue! If you have this puzzle and fancy an additional challenge then do give it a go for yourself and let me know what you come up with.<br />
<br />
I have to admit that normally I'm not really into burr puzzles in general, but this really is a great all-round puzzle. It has few enough pieces to not make it ridiculously difficult, and it has a trick to it that is likely to provide a great 'Ah Ha!' moment to amuse anyone solving it. It is easily one of my absolute favourite burr puzzles, and I'd seriously recommend getting hold of one before they sell out.<br />
<br />
You can buy this puzzle directly from the manufacturer, <a href="http://www.mrpuzzle.com.au/index.htm">Mr. Puzzle</a> in AustraliaOlihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-25954023129518568722012-10-12T19:23:00.001+01:002012-10-12T19:23:13.762+01:00Boxed Burr (Tom Lensch)The Boxed Burr was designed and made by <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/Tom_Lensch">Tom Lensch</a>, and it was also used as his exchange puzzle at IPP17 back in 1997 in San Francisco, and true to his style it is made from wood and well crafted to a perfect fit and finish.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH3hINSDBBPEBny26i7xFmrAJtCKJ4hvRw_mXepEMjRnFKs0fwJpTYMu3mQ4AcSIDDQI3nI3DdGlpr6CYZz0nqTFx4aITLJXghPJaIv0bY6Eg_zXvwxldC6Z93juos70WFDBgKv5Ede8/s1600/Boxed+Burr+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH3hINSDBBPEBny26i7xFmrAJtCKJ4hvRw_mXepEMjRnFKs0fwJpTYMu3mQ4AcSIDDQI3nI3DdGlpr6CYZz0nqTFx4aITLJXghPJaIv0bY6Eg_zXvwxldC6Z93juos70WFDBgKv5Ede8/s320/Boxed+Burr+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boxed Burr - Solved</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Boxed Burr is made entirely from mahogany, which gives it a lovely colour and a very solid finish<br />
<br />
At first glance Boxed Burr looks more like a puzzle box than a burr, and it takes a bit of a strange rotation move to actually remove the first piece (you can see the locking piece one the second picture).<br />
Once the first move is discovered and a piece is removed it becomes much more obvious what kind of puzzle this really is.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfhvILXzuDzbfBvam0UdHXnORCU5TUDKSYQzyE3P2ZdTw0YJepCNo8NDhj_9NnatZMLTib4fzde19mYKmTm17T5DLuMdlaDK5VRnD4wGTL90TVOZYGoXuXM1yo86bmA4lTH4MQJvqAmQ/s1600/Boxed+Burr+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtfhvILXzuDzbfBvam0UdHXnORCU5TUDKSYQzyE3P2ZdTw0YJepCNo8NDhj_9NnatZMLTib4fzde19mYKmTm17T5DLuMdlaDK5VRnD4wGTL90TVOZYGoXuXM1yo86bmA4lTH4MQJvqAmQ/s320/Boxed+Burr+2.JPG" width="320" /></a>It turns out that inside is a standard six-piece burr, but one end of each burr piece is attached to a panel, each of which make up the box shape once they have been correctly assembled. I think it actually looks at it's best with just the first piece removed. The first (locking) piece rotates slightly against its panel, and that allows you to twist it in order to lock it in against the other pieces. I really like puzzles that have the ability to solidly hold themselves in their solved position.<br />
<br />
The burr puzzle itself isn't particularly difficult, but having the panels on the pieces makes it a little bit more of a challenge, although not significantly. It shouldn't take an accomplished puzzler too long to find the solution, and I'd even wager that most new puzzlers would be able to solve it with a bit of effort as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTXp5rYaM_ZIzM-PLTPN9dRM32BH09K50NDIa4gKI7Qeynlcy4GEv7Fg5DYEX4NJ04XM-4LiCqTSG4kyCP1xnuuAM5r0UQSXd8qptWLn9Sv4Ci1gxqW_Kx187zqD8PulHYdnnJTvWm3dk/s1600/Boxed+Burr+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTXp5rYaM_ZIzM-PLTPN9dRM32BH09K50NDIa4gKI7Qeynlcy4GEv7Fg5DYEX4NJ04XM-4LiCqTSG4kyCP1xnuuAM5r0UQSXd8qptWLn9Sv4Ci1gxqW_Kx187zqD8PulHYdnnJTvWm3dk/s320/Boxed+Burr+3.JPG" width="320" /></a>Although Boxed Burr isn't very difficult to solve it is well worth having just for how fun it is. Plus I think the design is incredibly innovative and aesthetically pleasing as well.<br />
<br />
This puzzle came directly from Tom, and that would probably be the best place to start if you were wanting to add one of these to your own collection. Failing that, puzzle auctions are your friends.<br />
<br />Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-81784597654615022242012-10-09T20:02:00.001+01:002012-10-09T20:02:20.915+01:00Spot The Difference... (Twisties)Today I wanted to take a quick photo of only the 'twisty' puzzles in my collection. It took longer than expected, but the result is always worth the effort.<br />
<br />
After taking the photo I thought it would be fun to take another photo of the same puzzles, but move a few things around.<br />
<br />
So here are the two pictures; can you spot the <b>12 differences</b>, and also name those puzzles?<br />
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Click on the pictures to enlarge them.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic023TMJDG3kr4eKNt9JcaiYtcMCAXuT9_foExLn8U3JqOd-JGfFl4FiCOmUzMHbXZCpFNqiq2k4zD_bl8HRw6Ew8YmhsyKLlQb3hncMPzSeBA0xDeSnweD4DWZIiYh92ymvk1yMIGPwg/s1600/Twisties+09.10.12+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic023TMJDG3kr4eKNt9JcaiYtcMCAXuT9_foExLn8U3JqOd-JGfFl4FiCOmUzMHbXZCpFNqiq2k4zD_bl8HRw6Ew8YmhsyKLlQb3hncMPzSeBA0xDeSnweD4DWZIiYh92ymvk1yMIGPwg/s400/Twisties+09.10.12+(1).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuaZZV4z1v_KfoaR_Z079bKXnfbNwz-vZ2HstoLHuLUFUPaFjNAM3SbT7b-ZhHoxi0jMthohjUrpu0DQtG2nAeDpwjfdU7kQ8rFHBXxN29BELPN9qWAVKI4ECQ_pNE-Ex2j5FdU7_7cs/s1600/Twisties+09.10.12+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuaZZV4z1v_KfoaR_Z079bKXnfbNwz-vZ2HstoLHuLUFUPaFjNAM3SbT7b-ZhHoxi0jMthohjUrpu0DQtG2nAeDpwjfdU7kQ8rFHBXxN29BELPN9qWAVKI4ECQ_pNE-Ex2j5FdU7_7cs/s400/Twisties+09.10.12+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and after!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-78967014925949116282012-10-05T14:18:00.003+01:002012-10-05T14:39:08.630+01:00Popplock T7 (Rainer Popp)It's been a while since I reviewed one of Rainer Popp's very well known series of puzzle locks known as Popplocks, but recently he released his latest creation and I was lucky enough to be able to borrow one for the sake of this review.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNflSDLn4Mzl1DuEJdyA_JCOWj1lLTbwt2gb1s5fNKWvBF9tlrLJ31bGtx2iIdf41CoqCGIZB3Ke4QzN1FWMKvzzrk86pOVKuDKLfrOAr0VlyDSMMeyE6hetlJwXKLnar1Cj1XmEGGgag/s1600/Popplock+T7+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNflSDLn4Mzl1DuEJdyA_JCOWj1lLTbwt2gb1s5fNKWvBF9tlrLJ31bGtx2iIdf41CoqCGIZB3Ke4QzN1FWMKvzzrk86pOVKuDKLfrOAr0VlyDSMMeyE6hetlJwXKLnar1Cj1XmEGGgag/s320/Popplock+T7+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popplock T7 - Rainer Popp</td></tr>
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This monster of a puzzle lock is the Popplock T7. After the release of the <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/08/popplock-t6.html" target="_blank">Popplock T6</a> which was pretty conservatively made, the T7 goes back to its roots and in conventional Popplock style it is machined from solid brass and stainless steel. It weighs in at almost 1100 grams! Which as a comparison is around the same as three cans of Coke!<br />
<br />
Now due to this lock being so large and made from these materials it unfortunately has a price tag to match its epic weight. When first released you could pick up one of these for 280 Euros (~$365/~£225), and no matter which way you look at it is an awful lot of money. But due to the extremely high reputation of Rainer's previous Popplocks, all of them sold out within a very short amount of time, even though Rainer described it as being <i>"pretty much different from all the other locks"</i>.<br />
<br />
When I was first handed the lock the first thing that immediately shocked me was the weight. I turned it over to look at all sides of it before trying to solve it (when it comes to Popplocks I've made the mistake of overlooking small but important details before, so now I make sure to ignore nothing).<br />
<br />
The shackle is huge and solid, and obviously won't budge. Under the shackle is an area of raised brass with a stainless steel centre, which looks a bit like a button but also won't move. There is a large flat circle on one side which can be seen in the picture above, this also looks to be a button of some kind and this one does move slightly upon pressing, but not enough to achieve anything.<br />
In fact the only part that does move on this lock to begin with is the circular knob at the bottom that has been stamped with the Popplock logo. This piece rotates, but not to a full 360 degree turn, it is restricted by something.<br />
<br />
It became immediately obvious after a few movements that this puzzle has an internal maze which needs to be navigated in order for it to be solved. I'm only happy to mention this because it is so obvious, but I'll leave you to work out how to navigate this maze for yourselves, and also how to release the shackle. Sadly the solution to this puzzle is in all aspects very simple, it only took me a minute or so to open it the first time.<br />
<br />
The real ingenuity in this locks design comes from the internals. The maze that you have to navigate in order to open it can be reconfigured to a design of your own creation. With the tools provided you simply remove the walls of the maze and replace them in the way that you would like. Understandably this doesn't however make the puzzle aspect any more interesting for the owner because they would only be navigating their own maze design, but you could ask someone to replace the maze for you. There is also a 'safety release' on one side of the puzzle in case you accidentally create an unsolvable maze, so you can feel free to get as creative as you like without having to worry too much about locking yourself out of your own puzzle. You will need another of the provided tools to open this release, so it can't just be mistaken as part of the solution.<br />
The mechanics of how you can reconfigure the internal maze on this lock really are a thing of beauty, perfectly made and very well implemented.<br />
<br />
Several puzzlers were quite displeased with this lock because it really doesn't live up to its Popplock legacy in terms of difficulty, and this is something I can't disagree with. Regardless of how the internal maze was configured I am confident that I still would've had this lock open in the same very short amount of time. No matter how you judge it this is a very simple puzzle as far as its solution is concerned, not just compared with the other Popplocks, but also considering puzzles in general.<br />
<br />
Personally, if I had purchased this lock for the price it sold for I would have been a bit disappointed by its level of difficulty, but I would be happy to overlook it because of the complexity and sheer ingenuity of the internal design.<br />
This is not a puzzle I would ever get out just to solve for fun, but I would be eager to show people how it works and just what makes it such an interesting puzzle.<br />
<br />
If you're after a challenge or a puzzle that will give you one of those brilliant 'AH HA!' moments then I'd recommend you save your cash for something else. However, if you would be happy owning one of the best machined puzzle locks out there with what I would consider to be a seriously ingenious internal design, but can overlook the inherent simplicity of the puzzle itself (and have a load of cash lying around) then you could consider trying to hunt one of these down for yourself.<br />
<br />
Puzzle Master currently still have some of these available here: <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/wire/locks/6567-german-trick-lock-07?a=149480" target="_blank">Popplock T7 - Puzzle Master</a><br />
<br />
If you liked this then please have a read of my other Popplock reviews:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/01/popplock-t2.html" target="_blank">Popplock T2</a></li>
<li><a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/01/popplock-t3.html" target="_blank">Popplock T3</a></li>
<li><a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/02/popplock-t4.html" target="_blank">Popplock T4</a></li>
<li><a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/09/popplock-t5.html" target="_blank">Popplock T5</a></li>
<li><a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2011/08/popplock-t6.html" target="_blank">Popplock T6</a></li>
</ul>
Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-29623988573293514612012-10-04T22:30:00.001+01:002012-10-04T22:30:21.760+01:00Mad In China (Jean Claude Constantin)Packing puzzles tend to come in all shapes and sizes, but this particular one caught my eye because of the complexity of the pieces that need to be packed.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhkNAIXNqxoPGuAiLoyvwXlrf6s6rNqgKZimCZni3Sx1lFxQuGSMvs-nrU_GlPoVdRV6XZ9UIWBQKpcmur_7esdkxHYSrXJ_48UchefCOgeMWOMHnBqtp-Hk6tiDt-vuzSajSTesQXgg/s1600/Mad+In+China.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhkNAIXNqxoPGuAiLoyvwXlrf6s6rNqgKZimCZni3Sx1lFxQuGSMvs-nrU_GlPoVdRV6XZ9UIWBQKpcmur_7esdkxHYSrXJ_48UchefCOgeMWOMHnBqtp-Hk6tiDt-vuzSajSTesQXgg/s320/Mad+In+China.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mad In China - Jean Claude Constantin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This puzzle is called '<a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/wood/otherwood/5244-mad-in-china?a=149480" target="_blank">Mad In China</a>', a name which I imagine came about due to the slight resemblance between the shape of the pieces and written Chinese characters, and it came as part of an order from <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/?a=149480" target="_blank">Puzzle Master</a>. As some regular puzzlers may have guessed by the laser cut wood this is another creation from the mind of <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/inventors/constantin/?a=149480" target="_blank">Jean Claude Constantin</a>, and an excellent one at that.<br />
<br />
As with all packing puzzles the objective is pretty obvious; get all four of the very irregular pieces to lay flat within the tray. At first glance it really doesn't seem that like much of a challenge. Even though the pieces have very irregular shapes the tray is actually very empty, apart from the four protuberances around the edge.<br />
<br />
Immediately it became clear that all four pieces were far too large to go into the tray without being interlaced within each other, so then I began the process of finding the most space-saving assembly of the four pieces outside of the tray. This turned out to be a pretty ineffective method because I had to check each time if my assemblies would also fit into the tray, so I moved on to trying different assemblies within the tray instead.<br />
<br />
After a good half hour or so I decided to give this puzzle a rest for a while, but I took it to the <a href="http://www.puzzle-place.com/wiki/MPP" target="_blank">Midland's Puzzle Party (MPP)</a> not long after. At the party fellow puzzler Nigel sat down next to me and solved it in what I guess to be less than 10 minutes! Now Nigel is a seasoned puzzler, so I didn't feel disheartened, but it did spur me on to try again later that evening once I got home. After another 10 minutes I managed the solution as well.<br />
<br />
Now even though there are only four pieces I would still class this as a moderately difficult packing puzzle, mostly due to the highly irregular shape of the pieces. So if you fancy a challenging packing puzzle that doesn't have too many pieces then this is one for you.Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-64805506063619035612012-08-24T17:00:00.002+01:002012-08-24T17:00:23.206+01:00Hungarian Rings - Olympic EditionJust as an interesting addition following on from my last post regarding the <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2012/07/hungarian-rings-rubiks-rings.html" target="_blank">Hungarian Rings and Rubik's Rings</a> puzzles, I thought I'd share a picture of an adaptation of the Hungarian Rings.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRuh6QrxCUgZDDVeFZvIj1KSfWrdj4ydDPFK6YWEXinj3Qpu3Jys6Qlr7atNZLxM11YRqUQvg2SpeemGymLLuvZ6tTvL_ywTS_IB_K_Hy9Tfzc3vepBy78h1Jt4-7kUdvr7ZE8umj69A/s1600/Olympic+Hungarian+Rings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRuh6QrxCUgZDDVeFZvIj1KSfWrdj4ydDPFK6YWEXinj3Qpu3Jys6Qlr7atNZLxM11YRqUQvg2SpeemGymLLuvZ6tTvL_ywTS_IB_K_Hy9Tfzc3vepBy78h1Jt4-7kUdvr7ZE8umj69A/s320/Olympic+Hungarian+Rings.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
It is a much rarer edition of the <a href="http://puzzle-obsessed.blogspot.com/2012/07/hungarian-rings-rubiks-rings.html" target="_blank">Hungarian Rings</a> puzzle done in the style of the symbol for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games" target="_blank">Olympic Games</a>.<br />
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Where the original Hungarian Rings only has two interlocking rings made up of 38 balls in 4 colours, this version has five rings made up of 72 balls in 5 colours.<br />
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This version is a much harder puzzle than the original. I haven't managed to solve it as yet but thought I'd share it here anyway as an interesting and quick addition to my last post.<br />
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It's a shame that these are so hard to come by because I think that they look brilliant as part of a collection, plus they're definitely not trivial to solve! But as with all rarer puzzles, keep an eye out on those auction sites as they do tend to pop up every now and then.Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8754019517313597006.post-36022832094866146292012-07-31T22:37:00.001+01:002012-08-02T10:09:11.487+01:00Hungarian Rings / Rubik's Rings<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
In the past I never really had any luck solving '2D Sequential Movement' type puzzles, so I tended to stay away from them. Recently however I saw this as a bit of a shame, so decided to give them another chance. This time I had much more success!</div>
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I thought I'd write about these two puzzles specifically as they are some of the most well known puzzles from the genre. And the reason I'm writing about them together is because they are different takes on what is essentially the same puzzle.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTg4hVFqqOJjIPjQwC2Llw_EzRMRDRsRgqxKuHaX7Z5dYR4PZW-hYoABU_o1Wuf2ZjuF7SdeweFrTdS8ESpXu1hKuTyoUW1gwMUr2H9CucoJy1r0F7TuBij9J2SEcn1o2fWSNp8c8erQ/s1600/Hungarian+Rings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTg4hVFqqOJjIPjQwC2Llw_EzRMRDRsRgqxKuHaX7Z5dYR4PZW-hYoABU_o1Wuf2ZjuF7SdeweFrTdS8ESpXu1hKuTyoUW1gwMUr2H9CucoJy1r0F7TuBij9J2SEcn1o2fWSNp8c8erQ/s320/Hungarian+Rings.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfbvWdOq5ex5NIRJ0eR8ITOiIFQRTdv6JM6Ws3Qjn0Ou5Rox-TktLZriLkz5u-ztLpIgzEjevH1BSFwnug_AhuVjB-qS1gmU9KzKIkacs6arkpnhjgrJZM4FxarhUMo4NIpUwlq1AkRU/s1600/Hungarian+Rings+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfbvWdOq5ex5NIRJ0eR8ITOiIFQRTdv6JM6Ws3Qjn0Ou5Rox-TktLZriLkz5u-ztLpIgzEjevH1BSFwnug_AhuVjB-qS1gmU9KzKIkacs6arkpnhjgrJZM4FxarhUMo4NIpUwlq1AkRU/s320/Hungarian+Rings+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
This first one is called the <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/novelty/sliding/1406-hungarian-rings?a=149480" target="_blank">Hungarian Rings</a>, and according to <a href="http://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/rings.htm" target="_blank">Jaap's page</a> the design has been around since 1893, so it's definitely one of the classics.<br />
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The puzzle consists of two intersecting rings which are made up of 38 balls in four different colours. The picture on the left shows it in the solved state.<br />
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The balls can be scrambled by rotating the balls in their ring shaped tracks, balls can then be moved from one position to another at either of the two intersecting points where the two rings come together.<br />
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I was actually quite impressed with myself when I managed to get all of the balls in the right place apart from four which needed to swap places. However I was stuck at this step for another couple of days! The real challenge of this puzzle comes from moving the last balls into their correct positions.<br />
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After a couple of days I worked out a system to solve the last pieces, and was thrilled! Especially considering how miserably I failed the first time I tried this type of puzzle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblorYtldSTRPBNUejCurInCJilQSGeroA4eNnAgVjCe182ooSlZ5HWNx_88HUdK-rQboR6Y868WdyoFrfu7VZ-q4YlhDZ_h4eSMoYMJ7r4exCaIU8RKV1XBO3jJtOU0mXWLY2-6Hie84/s1600/Rubik's+Rings+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjblorYtldSTRPBNUejCurInCJilQSGeroA4eNnAgVjCe182ooSlZ5HWNx_88HUdK-rQboR6Y868WdyoFrfu7VZ-q4YlhDZ_h4eSMoYMJ7r4exCaIU8RKV1XBO3jJtOU0mXWLY2-6Hie84/s320/Rubik's+Rings+1.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
This other puzzle is a variation on the theme of the <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/browse/novelty/sliding/1406-hungarian-rings?a=149480" target="_blank">Hungarian Rings</a>, and these were made by Rubik's under the name of Rubik's Rings, made in 1999 by a company called OddzOn. I don't think anywhere actually sells this puzzle any more, so I found my copy on <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/" target="_blank">eBay</a>.<br />
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As you can see it is essentially the same as the Hungarian Rings, except with a couple of glaring differences;<br />
Firstly the puzzle isn't flat, it's skewed at the intersections. This doesn't affect how the puzzle works, it just makes it look a bit funkier.<br />
Secondly there are only three colours of balls<br />
rather than four. And lastly, there are only 34 balls as opposed to 38.<br />
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Because of the lower number of balls and less colours I found this one to be easier to get to an 'almost solved' state than the Hungarian Rings. Then the final moves can be done in the same way as the first puzzle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_kXGJpVSpXcDRLe-5fXJ0ljAsQV5ht-DLrOXTYSFRzVY1B8GnBsAT_LeAKrnVa1dNc3_9RfKS0yt2TPjhQigUiQ3dYlCLwEDwgWoxv-tZZDOMnEeX-twVxJEw9iG17rWKHqOPRwukQk/s1600/Rubik's+Rings+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_kXGJpVSpXcDRLe-5fXJ0ljAsQV5ht-DLrOXTYSFRzVY1B8GnBsAT_LeAKrnVa1dNc3_9RfKS0yt2TPjhQigUiQ3dYlCLwEDwgWoxv-tZZDOMnEeX-twVxJEw9iG17rWKHqOPRwukQk/s320/Rubik's+Rings+2.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a>The only problem I found with this puzzle is that OddzOn built in a ratcheting type mechanism to hold the balls more precisely, presumably to stop the balls from misaligning at the junctions and jamming, although I kind of found that this seems to do the exact opposite. I really had to line each ring up exactly in order to spin them round. Not great if you fancy going for a quick solve time.<br />
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So I'm glad I decided to give this genre of puzzle another try. I think I just didn't try hard enough to solve them the first time round, but honestly, with a bit of thought and determination I reckon anyone could solve these two puzzles in a reasonable amount of time.</div>
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The Hungarian Rings are available from <a href="http://www.puzzlemaster.ca/?a=149480" target="_blank">Puzzle Master</a>, however like I said the Rubik's Rings aren't (as far as I'm aware) commercially available any more, so keep an eye out on <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/" target="_blank">eBay</a> as I think they come up pretty regularly.</div>Olihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14926503916202872968noreply@blogger.com5