Connecting Cubes - Lucie Pauwels by Mat Nedeljko

 

This puzzle is a fun one, seems easy enough at the outset but once you start moving the pieces around you quickly realize that it’s gonna’ take some time to get it together!

Mat’s cuts are very accurate and smooth, so much so that upon closer examination of the pieces I couldn’t see any saw blade marks, very impressive craftsmanship indeed!

There are a couple of copies of this puzzle at Mat’s website Nedeljko WoodWorks

Here’s Mat’s Description:

“Designed by Lucie Pauwels, the objective of this puzzle is to put together a 2x2x2 cube. What could be simpler? The eight pieces of this puzzle all look very similar, but a close inspection will reveal subtle differences which make each piece unique and result in a puzzle that is difficult and highly entertaining. It is easy to get seven of the eight pieces to come together, but there is only one solution where all 8 pieces fall into place. Nicely crafted from solid Pennsylvania Black Cherry and finished in lacquer and wax.”

Plumply 12 by Juno at Pluredro

 

Juno really has stepped up his skills with his cool laminations, these puzzles are simply gorgeous!  I’ve always liked the scale of all of Juno’s puzzles and this one is really nice to handle.

There are still a few available right now so be sure to grab yourself a copy at Pluredro

“This nice-looking puzzle has a level 8 unique solution, meaning it requires 8 moves to remove the first piece from the assembled shape. The concept of the puzzle is similar to our former products, Stretcy 12 and Staggered 12, consisting of 2 x 2 and 3 x 1 profile pieces.

Juno wanted to make the puzzle solvable without computer aid, so he chose pieces which have the least possible assemblies. The same as the number of solutions, the puzzle has unique assemblies thanks to big rounded corners of the 3 x 1 profile pieces. (It also has only two assemblies without rounding corners.) The puzzle also can be handled and assembled by only two hands not requiring much dexterity work. Although it might sound easier, it is still a challenging puzzle, so if you have trouble assembling the puzzle, please check the images below and these images give you enormous hints.

Bubinga heartwood is used for the 2×2 profile pieces and the 3×1 profile pieces have an outer layer of Satin Sycamore and an inner layer of Bubinga sapwood. The length of the pieces reaches 115 mm and the cubic volume and weight of the puzzle are two to three times larger than our ordinary six-piece burr puzzles. The puzzle will stand out on the shelf when displayed.”

GarE Maxton Puzzles

I thought I might write about one of Maxton’s cool puzzles called the ‘Micro Conundrum’ or rather quote Brian from his blog:

“I was quite excited to get to try a GarE Maxton puzzle: Micro-Conundrum. GarE crafts some amazing puzzle sculptures out of metal, and this is one of his more affordable puzzles due to its small size. However, even his affordable puzzles still cost several hundred dollars! This one was on loan from John Devost to Brett from the puzzle library. Thanks John!

What I really like about this, and his other puzzles, is his use of contrasting metals. It really gives the puzzle a nice appearance. Even though it is quite small, it is a hefty puzzle. He offers several options for the finish on the edges: this one had beveled edges on each piece, which I thought gave it a nice appearance.

This one is actually slightly tricky to take apart: it has an unusual trick that holds it together which I thought was pretty clever. Once you get the first piece out, though, it is pretty trivial to disassemble it completely. In fact, I shut my eyes through the rest of the disassembly so reassembly would be a bit harder.

Two of the pieces are fairly large, which made it easy to determine their orientation relative to one another, so reassembling this one wasn't too tricky. Still, it is a beautiful work of art and a nice little puzzle.

I would love to see some of his larger works, particularly The Labyrinth: a metal puzzle box! It weighs 30 pounds and is about five inches square. Needless to say, it (presumably) costs a fortune: you need to call him to get a price.”

Snake Pit #1 - by Yavuz Demirhan

 

This is a very nicely designed puzzle beautifully crafted by Yavuz in Wenge and Shedua, you can grab yourself a copy from Hendrik Haak’s Puzzle shop.

Here’s an excerpt from ‘The Metagrobologist’:

https://www.themetagrobologist.co.uk/snake-pit-puzzle/

“The puzzle in question is called ‘Snake Pit No.1’ and is designed and manufactured by Yavuz Demirhan. It is a Packing Puzzle under the Assembly (ASS) Non-Interlocking classification* of James Dalgety & Edward Hordern (http://puzzlemuseum.com).

Yavuz is consistently designing and making new, challenging puzzle designs (he now has over 558 on the terrific (Puzzlewillbeplayed.com), and all of his puzzles from CuboZone have unique and interesting mechanics and beautifully handcrafted. Recently, Yavuz shared news of a new limited edition puzzle collection of ten packing puzzles and these sold out quickly as per usual. ‘Snake Pit‘ is just one of the ten puzzles he made available in the collection and it is a simple-looking puzzle consisting of just 8 pieces (quad pairs that are congruent) plus the box, that has an acrylic cover. The objective of this puzzle is to simply try and pack the 8 pieces into space within the box. The difficulty arises from placing the pieces within the acrylic cover that appears on both sides of the box within the void inside.

But, let me back up. Snake Pit is a wonderful new Mechanical Wooden Puzzle. Damn it, I can’t stop playing. I’m a committed, full-on Snake Pit/Yavuz Demirhan packing puzzle addict.

To begin, a good technique is to first examine the pieces and spend time playing with the pieces both outside and in the box to understand just how they interact with each other, and what movements are possible. This often involves eliminating any all of the possibilities that don’t use rotation and making the shape outside the box before fitting them inside. In Snake Pit No.1, the pieces are 8 pieces all fit snug inside and we spent around 2 days working on this puzzle, trying to figure out how we could re-arrange and slide the pieces into the box before the Aha! moment hit us.

Yay!

The puzzle offers one solution (disassembly is level 1.1.2.2.4.3.3.2)”

Here’s a short description from Puzzlemaster we’re this puzzle can be purchased and are made by Yavuz:

“This aptly named box is a packing problem puzzle in which you must fit 8 wooden blocks into the box. The shape of the pieces could be compared to cobras standing up on their tails. There is a restricted top to the box that has a hole which restricts the movement of the pieces. This version has more pieces and a slightly larger (square) box than its counterpart , Snake Pit #2.”

Involute - Stewart Coffin Design #214 by Mat Nedeljko

Mat really did outstanding work on this puzzle.  Crafted from Maple, Wenge and mahogany.

This revised version of Stewart’s ’Convolution’ series uses a key piece that must be removed before disassembly can commence.

Stewart wrote:

 “I recorded about a half-dozen experimental modifications of Involution #198 including this one. It uses eight pieces rather than seven. One step of assembly involves coordinate motion of a most baffling kind – both rotational and linear simultaneously. The use of colorful woods symmetrically arranged aids in the assembly of this otherwise 

difficult puzzle.”

Chuck Cube - Philippe Dubois by Bart Buie

Bart beautifully crafted this iconic Dubois puzzle in Oak.

When I first got this puzzle from Bart I didn’t make the connection to the classic ‘Chuck’ puzzle which is one of the oldest puzzles and can be found just about anywhere.

Unlike the Chuck puzzle this design uses the traditional Chuck pieces fused together making for a very satisfying puzzle cube.  Two kinds of pieces (6 total) that assemble into two halves that then slide together.

Edge Hog - Pit Khiam Goh by Tom Lensch

This is another beautifully crafted puzzle by Tom.  Canarywood was used for the pieces with Walnut for the restricted opening box.

I first imagined a simple method to insert the pieces but Pit’s designs are never that easy so as of this writing the solution still has eluded my grasp!

Update:  I managed to solve this puzzle, it’s a fiendishly difficult solve!

I typically write these blogs piggybacking off of some better known puzzle blogger but I’m drawing a blank online, if someone has a link to a blog about this puzzle please drop it in the comments.

Penta in a Box - Hajime Katsumoto by Tom Lensch

Once again Tom’s craftsmanship is astounding, this time with a hinged lid box that you need to pack all the pieces in!

Kevin blogged about it, here’s an excerpt:

“This one is named as it is because all the pieces are pentominoes and of course there are 5 of the shapes to fit in the box. When it arrived four of the pieces were inside and the L shaped one was outside the box.

“It looks really quite simple - yet again there is a 3x3x3 shaped cavity to fit the pieces into and the lid just closes down over the top of them. This would, at first sight, seem to be quite easy.

They are very devious these designers! It is for this reason that the puzzle won a Jury Honourable mention award in the competition!”

Four-Piece Serially Interlocking Cube - Stewart Coffin by Tom Lensch

This design is my favourite Coffin Cube design.  I have made so many of these puzzles starting early in 2000.  I was always tinkering with scale, wood type, shape, Color scheme, etc..

More recently Tom Lensch was asked to make some with a ‘Banded’ pattern that I had made years ago, so of course I just had to get a copy.

Tom beautifully crafted his version from East Indian Rosewood and Maple!  Bottom pic is my earlier version.

I also just made a ‘Checkered’ version along with a two-piece stand:

Here’s what Stewart wrote:

“Now more than sixty years after fashioning the Mikusiński Cube from wood scraps, dissections of 

 the  3x3x3 cube continue to fascinate me, but especially those that interlock. Better still, with all dissimilar non-symmetrical pieces. Is such a five-piece version possible? I doubt it, after having searched for years. I have designed several that come close, but most use a piece or two that is symmetrical, such as a single block key. A four-piece version that satisfies all of these requirements can also be entertaining. Here is one.”