Alastor by Terry Smart

 Took me a while to identify this cool puzzle by Terry, special thanks to Kevin for the following review by him:

Note: I was initially confused as to why this puzzle had pins inserted and Kevin cleared that up in the comment section of his blog - ‘The metal pins force the assembly to be the most complex of the 3 possible ones. It can be assembled in other ways with the same shape but the pins don’t line up.’

“My friend Terry Smart spends half of his time working off-shore on a North Sea oil rig. This means that he either has a LOT of time on his hands or very little. The usual work pattern for these guys is 2 weeks on rig and 2 weeks at home. A few years ago Terry spent a lot of time teaching himself to use Burrtools to design interlocking puzzles that were just a lot more interesting than the usual. The issue then was that he had to hope that one of our entrepid craftsmen would see his design and choose to make a few copies for the puzzling world. This was too much of a problem for our Terry and he decided in true Scottish fashion (yes, he shares the same impetuous genes that my wife has and which cause me a LOT of pain -  Whack! Ouch!    I rest my case!) to do something about it - he dived headlong into woodwork. I would love to do this but at the moment my livelihood depends on me having the correct number of fingers and after seeing the tablesaw injury 2 weeks ago, I think I will continue like that. Terry went to the internet and bought himself some of the best equipment for small scale woodworking that you can buy - he bought a whole bunch of stuff from Byrnes Model Machines and then had to pay an astronomical customs fee before he got his hands on it. I got a copy of his very first production series - Premiere and loved it.

Terry recently announced a few new puzzles that he was planning on making and asked for people to sign up to buy them to give him an idea of how many to make. He also offered a few of us the chance to buy more expensive versions with fancy woods and, of course, you know I cannot resist the chance of gorgeous wood. It took him a while to get the batch done and half way through he realised that he needed a way to indicate correct orientation of some of the pieces for reassembly. In other words the puzzle has alternative assemblies which are less difficult or less interesting and there needed to be a method to mark the correct way for entrepid puzzlers attempting reassembly without computer assistance. A number of options were discussed and in the end we settled on stainless steel pins sunk into the relevant pieces - I think they look very nice. My version is made from Olivewood (frame), Lignum Vitae (long burr pieces) and Arizona Desert Ironwood (short burr pieces). It is gorgeous and surprisingly heavy for such a small puzzle (8 x 6 x 4cm) - the Ironwood and Lignum Vitae are very dense woods. The puzzle also has a nice musky aroma.

I received the puzzle about 2 weeks ago and after it was released from Mrs S' quarantine, I had a quick look.  Terry was clearly not entirely happy with these special ones because prior to asking for payment he dropped the price and asked for our opinions. I was curious to see why he had been unhappy with them. The one thing that was immediately clear was that the puzzle was really quite loose but not so loose that pieces could be rotated or fall out without the correct sequence being used. When I took it into bright light for photos I could also see that there were some tool marks on the pieces but I did not feel that they detracted too much from the look. I hoped that the looseness would not make the puzzle too hard to solve - I doubted that Terry would send something out that was not going to function.

This puzzle is a really nice level of difficulty with a disassembly level of 16.11.8.5.3.3.5 - not impossibly tough but should be a fun exploration and sequence. It might also be possible to manage an assembly once taken apart. I enjoyed the exploration and it was only made a little harder by the looseness and required me to lift pieces a little to ensure that I could slide them. There are a couple of rotations which can happen and one will allow an early first piece removal but I ignored this. After about 30 minutes of progress, a piece fell out onto the sleeping cat on my lap and rolled off. I had no idea exactly how it had come out and I knew a Burrtools file would be needed for my first reassembly. The second piece came out in a rather unexpected fashion and then the third, despite being a very similar shape to number 2 came out a totally different way - this was lovely. The entire exploration is nicely visible and there are no blind moves to ruin things. After a few more minutes I had my lovely wood separated:

I made my BT file and  back together. I love making BT files and this was a nice easy one. Having solved it the first time I wanted to see whether the reassembly might be possible without the computer. I spent a few hours over a couple of evenings, just exploring - going back and forth to understand how the pieces interacted and then disassembled it and scrambled the pieces and left them a few hours. Attempting the reassembly with a proper understanding of the puzzle was even more fun. I was able quite quickly to work out the intended end position of each piece and from that retrace a path back to the beginning. I seldom enjoy a puzzle reassembly but this one was really quite pleasant. I have done it quite a few times now and it is becoming a bit of a worry bead for me.

The other versions that Terry created using other less expensive woods did also look lovely and the fit was very good for them - this is one craftsman to keep an eye on for the future as his skills improve. It is pretty amazing that he is making pieces like this already and not using any glue at all! Stunning!

Thanks mate, I can't wait for the next puzzle!”

The Key by Pit Khiam Goh (2004) by Walter Hoppe

This is a very cool design by Pit and nicely made by Walter.

Here’s Bill’s Description:

“The Key Puzzle is a 2-dimensional version of the Binary Burr. Pit Khiam has been using BCPBOX and other programs to develop high-level burrs. When I came up wth the idea for the Binary Burr, he quickly came up with this 2-dimensional puzzle which uses the same principle.

This was my souvenir puzzle at the 24th International Puzzle Party.”

Symmetrical Cross - William Strijbos by Gerard Hudson

Years ago I had an Aluminum version by William so was anxious to give this one a go..

Here’s Gerard’s description:

“This is a variation of William Strijbos’ Similarly named Puzzle but with more moves hence more difficult to solve.”

Triorchidism - William Ja by CubicDissection

This is a very cool puzzle design from William beautifully crafted by Eric.

Here's Eric's description from Cubicdissection:

“William Ja has knocked the ball out of the park with his first design. The cheekily named "Triorchidism" was inspired by our earlier "Box with Two Balls." William expanded the idea by increasing the playing area to a 3x3 space and adding the third sphere to create a more complex and difficult challenge.

The goal of Triorchidism is to remove all three marbles from the box. Confounding this is four wood pieces trapped inside. Moving the pieces and marbles creates an ever-changing hybrid interlocking maze which you must navigate by viewing through the transparent top and bottom. Requiring 32 moves to solve fully, many of them tricky and unintuitive, Ja has drastically upped the ante. This puzzle is a ton of fun to solve and offers great replayability.

Triorchidism ships in an unsolved configuration. 97 copies were made, each signed and dated. 54 Copies in Bubinga & Walnut, 43 copies in Black Palm & Sycamore”

Slant Cube by William Hu by Andrew Crowell

This is a a very cool design by William, with a smooth print by Andrew.

Here’s Andrew’s description:

“Slant Cube is a 7 piece turning interlocking cube which requires rotations, linear moves, and coordinate motion in order to solve. This print is larger than most of my other prints in order to match the wooden size that can be seen here: https://cubicdissection.com/products/slant-cube. The puzzle includes two small magnets to hold the smallest blue piece in place in the completed puzzle.”

Slidecage by Stephan Baumegger

This is another awesome design by Stephan, beautifully crafted!

There’s lots of movement from the inner pieces but with 40 moves for the first piece, this one is crazy.

Mintaka by Yavuz Demirhan

This is a gorgeous puzzle by Yavuz, the craftsmanship is absolutely stunning with both half lap joints as well as being dowel pegged!

Here’s Yavuz’s description:

“Mintaka is a 12 Board Piece Puzzle
The Level is 2.2.3.7.1.4.5.4

Consists of 9 parts. After several movements, all parts gradually detach.”

Crafted from Walnut/Padauk/Maple

FanaTIC - Andrew Crowell by Brian Menold at Wood Wonders

I recently received this TIC and it is an unbelievable design by Andrew, of course Brian’s craftsmanship is on full display with one lone brass pinned joint.

Here's Brian Menold’s Description at   Wood Wonders:

“More rotations with the FanaTIC. Five in all, with a level of 4.4.7.3.2. I must be honest and say I didn't even try to solve this puzzle. I went straight for the solution to save time, something I seem to have less of these days! Much like the PedanTIC, two larger pieces give a good indication about how the pieces go together. Now try getting them there!

Two puzzles are shown in the picture because the woods are all the same, but the pieces they were used in changes. Six pieces made from Canarywood, African Mahogany, Okoume, Argentine Mesquite and Monterillo Rosewood.”

Quadrix - Stephane Chomine by Brian Menold

This puzzle is a really great design by Stephane and is a great representation of Brian’s early work.

This copy features Padauk pieces with an Oak frame.  I was initially confused by Kevin’s post as he mentioned it was ‘Quadrox’ but with the move count of ‘Quadrix’ so I’m confident that I now have it named correctly.

Kevin blogged about it here:

“The Quadrix (also designed by Stéphane Chomine) was in the recent update and looked particularly interesting - a friend from the Far East, who's knowledge I greatly respect, also encouraged me to get it. Brian made several versions but this one particularly interested me - made from a Red Oak Frame with Pieces of Holly, Olivewood, Bolivian Rosewood or Brazillian Cherry and East Indian Rosewood. It is a level 17.6.4.2 framed burr and is interesting because the frame is incomplete but still manages to make the solution far from trivial. This one is BIG at 9.5cm in every direction and a delight to play with. A combination of picking pieces up and using gravity to move others will help you solve it. Scrambling the resultant pieces again leaves you with a nice reassembly challenge which is eminently possible for anyone with a bit of burr experience. Once you have done it then have another go and see if you can find the shortcut with a rather interesting rotation.”

Odette by Alfons Eyckmans

In my recent puzzle acquisition I received this curious little puzzle that has almost instantly become my favourite burr puzzle by Alfons.

It’s first moves have a ‘fidget’ feel to them, I find myself constantly shifting them back and forth.

Now what appears to be a simple 6 piece puzzle in a frame is actually a high level puzzle with a move count of 31-21-2-2-2-2!

It’s a gorgeous puzzle with a Yellowheart frame with Walnut sliders and Mahogany burr pieces that have laser etched Celtic knot edging on the ends, such a great touch.

Mokum by Alfons Eyckmans

 

This awesome design by Alfons looks very ominous, however this 25 piece cube shaped burr has a level move count of 23-1-1-1-2-2-3-1-1-1-1-1-2-3-1-2 is actually a lot of fun.

There’s a lot of interaction with the middle pieces that are crafted from Walnut and Ash while the outer frame pieces are Wenge, Cherry, Padauk and Zebrawood.

Since the global pandemic has eased somewhat puzzle shipping has become much more prevalent, I highly recommend you checking on Alfons Facebook page to see what he has available at the moment.

Crossing Rails by Alfons Eyckmans

 

This gorgeous puzzle has a crazy high level of 40-3-2-3-3!

It’s a very intimidating design to say the least and I’m waiting on getting enough courage to dismantle it.

As the name suggests the pieces have the shape of ‘rails’, it’s very nicely crafted from Padauk, Poplar and Vitex (New Guinea Teak).

Ostara by Alfons Eyckmans - 2009

This is a rather early puzzle by Alfons using Padauk and Cherry.

It’s appearance is similar to Bill Cutler’s ‘Lattice’ design (1975).

I actually thought that it was that very puzzle initially.  

This puzzle has a level 5 move count and is surprisingly difficult to reassemble after complete disassembly.

Tribord - Stephane Chomine by Pelikan

This is a very cool design by Stephane and beautifully crafted by Pelikan.

The movements are very smooth and makes this puzzle so much fun to play with!

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“Tribord consists of just 3 burr sticks in a rectangular frame. The construction is simply stunning and finished perfectly with contrasting slipfeathers and the smooth curved beveling makes it just so tactile. This puzzle has a relatively low difficulty level of 17.3.4 and is therefore suitable for all puzzlers including beginners to burrs. However it is not a trivial solve and there is a particular feature that any experienced burr solver will appreciate when seen. It's a nice logical sequence and it is perfectly feasible to reassemble it from scratch after scrambling the pieces. A lovely puzzle well worth adding to your collection.”

Binary Burr - Bill Cutler by CubicDissection

 

This is a terrific example of Bill’s genius mind in regard to puzzle design.

Eric crafted this particular puzzle in 2013 and likely regretted it shortly thereafter as the myriad of jigs needed to accomplish is well beyond even the most experienced puzzle craftsman.

Jerry McFarland typically made most of Bill’s designs and I know first hand how elaborate and burr specific Jerry’s notching set up is, kudos to Eric for pulling this one off!

Here’s Eric’s description from CubicDissection:

“The Binary Burr is a classic Bill Cutler design. It was awarded a First Prize at the 2003 IPP Puzzle Design Competition, and has been unavailable for several years. Here is what Bill has to say about it:

"The Binary Burr is a burr that functions like a 6-ring version of the Chinese Rings. The puzzle consists of 21 pieces. One is equivalent to the 'bar' in a Chinese Rings puzzle, and six others are equivalent to the 'rings'. The other 14 pieces in the puzzle construct a 'cage' or 'box' that holds the other pieces in place. The entire puzzle should perhaps be called a 'boxed burr', and might be more logically constructed with only a solid wooden cage, however Bill chose to dissect this outer shell into smaller burr-like pieces.

To disassemble the puzzle, the rings and bar must be manipulated until the bar is freed. After the bar is removed, then the rings can be removed one-at-a-time, and finally the remaining pieces come apart easily.

The number of moves required to remove the first piece is 85, which is approximately 2 * (2/3) * 2^6 or 85.3 . Each move of a ring on or off the bar in the Binary Burr requires two moves - a movement of the bar piece, and a movement of the ring piece."

Construction of this puzzle was tricky. The humidity in my workshop was fluctuating wildly, so I opened up the tolerances more than I usually do to make sure the final product wouldn't bind up or get stuck. The good news is that I was successful there - this puzzle should work in all humidity conditions. The bad news is that the puzzle turned out looser than I would have liked, having perhaps .035 inch cumulative tolerance variation. In practice this means that while the puzzle looks and functions fine, it's a little looser in the hands than my normal standards. I have subsequently discounted the price quite a bit from the $200 I had planned to charge.

Each puzzle is signed and dated; 39 copies made for sale.”

Majestic 6 by Alfons Eyckmans

This puzzle is not only very nicely crafted by Alfons but also falls into the category of ‘N-ary’ type puzzles.

Rather then me trying to explain it in this post I’ve copied and pasted Goetz’s introduction from his website:

Extremely Puzzling - Goetz Schwandtner's Puzzles

Puzzle Group: n-ary Puzzles

“This page is the first group page created in this gallery, to contain some puzzles that are closely related and to demonstrate how they are related.

The first group of puzzle may seem like a collection of completely different puzzles at first, and it includes a Japanese Karakuri box, a big burr from Australia, several metal puzzles, some elephants, little cube boxes, and several sliding puzzles, and then there is the big one with a good colleciton of switches. So what's the common properties of these all (and even more not in my rollection)?

All of them have properties qualifying them as "n-ary puzzles".

It started with the old Chinese Rings puzzle and the discovery that the rings can be interpreted as bits (0 or 1) and then the puzzle and its solution would resemble the Gray Code, which originates in coding theory. Later on, ternary puzzles (like the Crazy Elephant Dance) were designed lifting the puzzles from binary to ternary, with all pieces having three states (0, 1, or 2). More and more puzzles came and were determined to be n-ary, with the record holder so far being the 15-ary "Generation Lock". Read more in this very mathematical analysis here. 

Starting with the original Kugellager I collected some information on n-ary puzzles and integrated them into my article about the Kugellager. It contains some information on puzzles I do not have and you can download it here: Kugellager.pdf. Enjoy reading”

Bugs - Alexander Magyarics by Pelikan

Alexander is a brilliant puzzle designer and his creations are frequently realized in both wood and 3D printed as well.

I’m always amazed at how Jakub realizes puzzle designs in wood and this one is particularly clever.  

These sold out rather quickly at Pelikan but copies are still available at Puzzlemaster, I highly recommend you drop by and grab one.

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“After receiving a bunch of beautiful puzzles, I had to start with the most striking puzzle of them all. Bugs! This puzzle is fabulously impressive – at 21 cm in each direction and 2 cm high, this design by the unbelievably prolific Alexander Magyarics would make a wonderful picture to mount on the wall of your puzzle room. In fact the guys at Pelikan have drilled a hole in the back for it to be wall mounted and also made an edge holding an acrylic cover which will prevent the pieces falling out when put on display. It’s a fun tray packing puzzle with a beautifully made wooden frame and 4 lovely mixed wood bug shapes to fit inside. The challenge is not enormously tough but using what looks like the “obvious” positioning won’t work because the blocks in the frame prevent insertion of what looks perfect outside the box. Therefore this puzzle forces you to actually think about all the ways that the pieces might fit together. Once solved, it is really lovely. This is a perfect decoration for anyone’s puzzle cave. Even Mrs S has agreed and I will be putting a screw in the wall very soon.”

Bouquet - Christoph Lohe by Brian Menold at Wood Wonders

This puzzle has been on my radar for quite some time due to its likeness to my Barb’s Cube!

Now of course this clever design is disguised as a simple looking puzzle but it’s high move count tells a different story.

Special puzzle friend Tanner of WDIGMI YouTube fame somehow sent me a copy recently and what’s curious about that is he had no prior knowledge that I was looking for a copy!

Thanks Brother!

Here's what Brian said:  Please visit Wood Wonders to stay informed of his wonderful puzzles!

“When Chris first sent me this idea a while back, I knew I wanted to make it. He was still finalizing the design but I thought it was a cool looking puzzle as well as a nice level. The moves of 23.3.5.3.3 should keep you busy for a while.”

Imogen’s Cube - Alfons Eyckmans - 2018 - Pelikan 2023

This is an elaborate design by Alfons using a total of 25 pieces with 15 different, culminating in an extraordinary level of 20.1.1.1.1.2.2.1.1.2.1.3.4.1.5.2.3!

I have now updated this post with photos of Pelikan’s awesome rendition of this puzzle, the Purpleheart is stunning!

It’s pretty safe to say that you’ll definitely need burrtools for this one!

You can see more about it at Ishino’s Puzzle Will Be Played.

Four in a Box by Alfons Eyckmans - June 2020

Alfons first published the ‘Lolly Box’ design in 2009 with Eric making a run of them, however this particular version has a very high level of 38-6-4-3!

This version was crafted in 2020 with the ‘Lolly Box’ name seemingly dropped as it appears that the fourth version added two more pieces to the configuration so perhaps there was a conscious effort to further distinguishing this design from the ‘Lolly Box’.

Box is Oak with Oak, Cherry, Walnut and Purpleheart.