Rollercoaster - Laszlo Molnar by Wood Wonders

This particular version of this puzzle was crafted by Brian Menold of Wood Wonders  pieces are Holly with a Wenge box featuring a plexiglass viewing window.  I modified the solid Wenge lid with small magnets so that it could be removed to restart the solution process in the event that you get hopelessly stuck as I had!  This is  very difficult puzzle that will torment you!

This puzzle was designed by Laszlo Molnar and presented by Jerry Slocum (IPP Founder) at The Edward Hordem Exchange in San Diego (2018)

There is only three pieces to fit in the box and yet the Rollercoaster is an interlocking puzzle, a dexterity puzzle and a packing puzzle all rolled into one. And it’s hard!

According to the designer the uniqueness of the puzzle is that it’s meant to be a put-together puzzle AND a dexterity puzzle in one. The puzzler should carefully move the box and pieces, always holding them in the right direction, but without touching the pieces inside the box.

Laszlo called the puzzle Rollercoaster after the action of rolling the pieces around inside the cube to get to the solution. 

Laszlo said:

 “I like amusement park analogy, and here the movement of all pieces reminded me of the rollercoaster.” 

'Laszlo is from Malta and though there isn’t a huge puzzle community there he says his puzzle design days really started as a challenge to design something to stump a puzzle friend but he’s since found he enjoys the process very much.

The puzzle was an entrant in the 2018 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition.

The feedback on the puzzling experience on this one has been great. Well known puzzlers have taken longer than expected to solve and commented how much they enjoyed the puzzle. This comment from Dic Sonneveld':

“It is attractive to see and the goal is clear and challenging. It appears to be unexpectedly difficult, despite the fact there are only three pieces to bring into the box and these pieces are quite simple (even the “key piece” is relatively simple because it is a “string” of cubes). And it can be solved without using a computer. (It took a puzzle solver friend 2 hours but I needed almost a day, but solving it by hand (manipulating outside the box) and with pencil and paper is much more challenging and satisfying).

It has amazed me very much that after the two small pieces has been brought “into position”, you still need 12 linear moves to get the key piece in its place. It is like a 3D sliding piece puzzle. I never thought such complexity could be possible in a 3x3x3 space.”

High praise indeed from a renowned puzzle solver and inventor.

Zernike 2 - Alfons Eyckmans

 This is a really nice Burr puzzle by Alfons, beautifully crafted from Oak and Mahogany!  It has a level 15 so disassembly is no easy task with dead ends making it difficult!

Assembly is equally as difficult, I don't have any experience with other ones from this series but I can only assume they rank alongside this one on a Herculean task!

Rupture - Alexander Magyarics by Cubicdissection

This is another gem from Eric!  Alexander's designs really are amazing, really happy to have picked this puzzle up!

Here's Eric's description from Cubicdissection:

"Rupture by Alexander Magyarics is a tricky space-filling puzzle. While adding the pieces into the box is not too difficult, the proper solution requires you to fill the openings completely. No gaps are allowed, and no rotations are necessary. With a unique level 6.6.3 solution, this is easier said than done!"

Flippe Ball Puzzle by George Bell

If you haven't already visited George's Etsy shop I strongly urge to head over and see what's available.

Flippe Ball is a fun little puzzle that just refuses to be put down, disassembling it is curiously fun but reassembly will put a smile on your face.  

Here's George's description:

"A mysterious ball puzzle that comes apart, but how to get it apart? This puzzle may not take long to solve but it could take years to understand. A nice coffee table item for your friends and kids to puzzle over."

George currently has some in stock in various colours so go pick one up!

Also available from Grand Illusions. 

Reticulated Cubes - Lee Sallows by Cubicdissection

When I first acquired this beautiful puzzle I didn’t quite realize just how difficult it would be to solve.  Once you start randomly selecting pieces to make a cube, you’ll discover clues to placing the pieces in the box in their proper slots.  I finally solved it after 6 cube assemblies and eventually solving all eight cube’s allowing me to place all pieces in their respective slots in the Tic-Tac-Toe formation!  It’s a very cool puzzle with a fun solve!

Kevin has a very nice blog about it!

Here's Eric's description from Cubicdissection:

"Reticulated Cubes is a fascinating exploration of 3x3 cube puzzles with a novel twist. Each box contains nine pieces, and there are eight possible cube solutions. The goal is to organize the pieces in the box such that any three pieces in a straight line will assemble into a cube (tic-tac-toe style). The solution is quite difficult to find"

Crafted from:

Black Limba, Walnut, Mahogany, Leopardwood, Wenge, Spalted Tamarind, Canarywood, Quilted Maple, Paduak, Red Grandis (Box)

Moai Puzzle by Christophe Lohe

I received this puzzle as a gift included in an order from Brian Menold of  Wood Wonders If you haven't dropped by his site lately you really should, his puzzle selection is usually very limited and sells out quickly but well worth the effort!

I was stumped by this simple looking three piece puzzle for quite a while.  You would think that it should be relatively easy to solve in minutes but I guarantee you'll be mystified by it!

Midi - Laszlo Molnar by Wood Wonders

This puzzle design is quite clever, as usual these type of restrictive opening puzzles are quite easy assembling outside the box however once you try to place what you think is the correct assembly inside, well that's when the fun (or agony) begins!  Took me a couple of days of on and off again attempts to finally solve this one!  As it turns out my first assembly was correct but lacking what seemed like a way of inserting the pieces, I was forced to try and find an alternate assembly, and ended up finding a third but that one required pieces to be placed in an impossible orientation.  All in all a very nice puzzle indeed, and one you should pick up from Wood Wonders should they be available in an upcoming release!

Note: please see bottom pic for a view of what appears to be Brian's new logo, it's a really nice touch!

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

                    

                  

"Ahhhh, it's nice to be offering one of Laszlo's packing puzzles again. After the popularity of Hat Trick, I am certain there will be several more batches of this in my future! 

This is a very clever adaptation of Hajime Katsumoto's Half Lid Box. Laszlo was truly inspired by his clever design and came up with a really nice variation. Once again, I gave up after several days of frustration and asked Laszlo for the solution. And wow, I was surprised by the simple elegance of the solution. I lost rack of the moves after about 15 or more but let's just say this is typically Laszlo!

Moves: I lost track, but about 15+ with rotations"

Olivewood/Makore Box with Sipo pieces

                    

Canarywood/Paduak Box with Movingui pieces

                    

Curly Maple/Brazillian Ebony Box with Anigre pieces

Mystique - Alexander Magyarics by Wood Wonders

This another puzzle with only three oddly shaped pieces that really shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to solve.  Once you configure the pieces outside of the multiple open sided frame, you're work has just begun.  It's takes many moves to further your progress until you finally close out the openings.  All in all it has a very satisfying sequence of moves, Brian is likely to offer more of these in his next release so be sure to drop by Wood Wonders and pick up a copy!

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

          

"Another of Alexander's creative packing puzzles is here! I really like the frame for this one, although it took me 3 or 4 prototypes to finally decide how to make it. The object here is simple. Get the three pieces into the frame and fill all the openings. Accomplishing this may be anything but simple though. I still have more of Alex's packing designs on my schedule, but this one was one I really enjoyed making. The granadillo version is rather heavy, (keep that in mind international buyers) and the primavera version shimmers in the light."

Level - 9.3.2

Granadillo Box/Curly Maple pieces

                    

Primavera Box/Redheart pieces

Escalating Puzzlebox - Eric Fuller

 Another cool puzzlebox by Eric!

Here's Eric's description from Cubicdissection:

"The idea for the Escalating Box came from a couple of different mechanisms I'd been fooling around with. I was going to release them as two fairly simple separate boxes but realized that I could put them both into one trickier box. I made a poll on our Facebook Group and everyone overwhelmingly voted for a single, more difficult box. Done and done!

I got to the drawing board and realized not only could I put both mechanisms together, but that they would interact making the sum more difficult than the parts. Finally, just for fun, I added a third tricky lock before the final release move. Be careful what you ask for, facebook friends!

This is a fun solve, about medium in difficulty, and one that rewards progressive solving and manipulative experimentation. Construction is beautifully realized with a Curly maple box and several exotic wood options for the lid.

140 total copies made for sale, each signed and dated. This puzzle is shipped unsolved (assembled). 

Boxes and Booze wrote an excellent review of this puzzle here"

Euklid For Nick - Dr. Volker Latussek by Pelikan

So this was the follow up puzzle to the infamous Euklid puzzle that had multiple unintended solutions, still very difficult and still available to purchase at Puzzlemaster 

Naturally, Nick Baxter wrote about it:

“For the last ten years, Dr. Volker Latussek and I have been good friends and I've enjoy every one of his wonderful entries for the Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition (Tower of London and Casino both winning the jury's Grand Prize). But recently something unexpected happened: there should have been just one solution for Euklid, but I found 22, and there could be more! Then apparently Dr L. lost a wager that I was not even aware of, and was forced to name his next design after his new-found nemesis. I can confirm that this time he got it right! Euklid for Nick is actually for everyone, even kids-anyone looking for a challenging and rewarding puzzle solving experience. And I feel the new puzzle combines the best attributes of its two predecessors. Euklid had seven blocks of various sizes, making it awkward for us to keep track of our failures. On the other hand, Euklid for Kids teased us with only three pieces that didn't cooperate. This time we're again presented with seven blocks, but only two different sizes. They are still not terribly cooperative, but at least we get a more generous opening for the box. But of course, there is plenty of room for rotations! If the Euklid story is a trilogy, this is a fitting finale. I have mixed emotions having my name associated with this design, as I really had nothing to do with it, except perhaps reminding Dr. L of the virtues of a puzzle with a unique solution! And this one is unique in many ways. If you enjoyed any bit of the previous two, you will not be disappointed with the latest Euklid episode.”

Be sure to drop by the Pelikan workshop to see what's available!

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“You all remember that I struggled hugely with the original Euklid by Dr Latussek but really really enjoyed the significantly less difficult Euklid for Kids. Every now and then the puzzling genius that is Nick Baxter contacts me to ask a serious question about a puzzle that I have reviewed. Somehow he never understands that my approach to puzzles is NOT logic and thought… it's just random movements and hence, everything is difficult for me. He really wondered why I had had difficulty with Euklid because apparently he had found 22 different solutions (to my shame, I still cannot find any extras). Volker then decided to create a new variant especially for Nick that DEFINITELY only had one solution and should cause him to sweat a little to solve it. It is gorgeous, it seems to have the same box as the previous 2 versions but this time has 4 identical Purpleheart blocks and 3 smaller Padauk blocks which need to fit under the lip of the box entry. I have not had much time with it so far but – it is worthy of the name. The collectors amongst you will need to buy this to complete the set. The rest of you will want this because it is a bloody good puzzle that has a unique solution and is damned difficult. I hope that one day I will manage to solve it.”

Spoiler Video

Euklid - Dr. Volker Latussek by Pelikan

Packing puzzles are typically very difficult types of puzzles to solve but ones with restricted openings are incredibly difficult!

This particular puzzle seemed to have started a trend and after multiple solutions found it spawned a family of them.  I'm not aware of it being currently available at the moment so please send me a message if you find some!

Be sure to drop by the Pelikan workshop to see what's available!

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“This puzzle by Dr Latussek is a masterpiece! It is not for the fainthearted because it is seriously difficult but the eventual solution is simply superb! Anyone who is interested in packing puzzles needs this in their collection and should expect to spend a very long time on it. It is a ‘straightforward’ packing puzzle where 7 blocks need to be placed into a box. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well yes, it should be since the pieces can pack into the volume inside the box in hundreds of ways (Burrtools found 2444 assemblies). The problem here is that like the incredible Casino puzzle (my favourite puzzle of 2018) the box has a lip on each side and the pieces need to be inserted through a slot. This restriction severely restricts the moves. Having taken it out of the box for the photo and failed over the first evening to get anywhere, I wanted to put it back in the box in the clever way it was supplied… with 2 pieces filling the top slot completely, just proud of the top surface – embarrassingly, I was unable to manage even that straight forward feat – it took me 2 days to work that out! Jakub did post about this one on Facebook a week or so ago and an interesting comment from Bernhard stated that this was an amazing mathematical puzzle. This did get me thinking and rather worried. I brought out my ruler and measured away – the puzzle is based on a 7mm voxel with every side of every piece being a multiple of 7. I started to work out the ways that a cube shape can be made with these pieces (the final cube is 9x9x9) but, having found a few, I realised that getting them into the box with that awkward lip was going to be very hard and a brute force approach was definitely not going to work. In order to get a review out in a timely manner, I asked for some help. A pdf was sent to me with the solution which confirmed that my original idea had been perfectly correct (I AM a genius) but I could not follow the solution to get the pieces inside and had to ask for help. A video later and it was packed! this is a stunning design… not for the faint-hearted.”

Spoiler video

Shrinking Soma - Dr. Volker Latussek by Pelikan

The idea behind this design had me confused and then once I realized what was required then I was even more confused!

It seemed to me that the original Soma puzzle was looked upon as a bad design with its many pieces and multiple solutions, I wonder if that's why there seem to be so many mods of late?

Be sure to drop by the Pelikan workshop to see what's available!

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“When this unusual puzzle by Volker Latussek arrived, I was rather at a loss of what to do with it and I sent off an email to Jakub to ask and a few hours later received an email from Dr Latussek with instructions. There is a lovely diminutive complete Soma cube (everyone should have one) in a box that is far too large for the completed cube (it is 4x4x4 to the Soma's 3x3x3) – the pieces just seemed to fill the bottom half in a haphazard manner. The explanation was that this is an 'anti-slide puzzle' which is something I've only ever attempted maybe once in my puzzling history. The aim is to place all the pieces in the box so that the entry to the box (4×4) is filled and held up by a pile of the other pieces. However this isn't the entire story… the solution is only complete when the construction that you have made is completely stable and will not slide at all. Once you have created your potential solution then shake the box vigorously in all directions to see if any pieces can move. If they can then you've failed. This doesn't sound too difficult does it? Well maybe for you, but constructing an upside down flat mushroom in a box proved a massive challenge for me! I managed fairly quickly to find a shape that will not slide inside the box but if I placed it upside down it was not going to fill a 4x4x4 space and the 'hovering' pieces would drop down – yep, complete failure! I love this addition to my Soma collection but have so far, in a week of trying, completely failed to assemble a non-sliding shape. It's really really difficult. The pieces of a Soma cube are very simple and this does not allow many shapes that can interlock and hold up a stable roof.”

Spoiler video

Juno's Ring Case

 Thanks to George Bell Bell I was given a loan of this Sequential Discovery Puzzle.  If you were lucky enough to pick up your own copy then you'll already know what an ingenious design this is.  Multiple steps are of course required while using newly found items to further your progress, it's quite a gem of a puzzle!

Be sure to drop by Juno's site Pluredro to see what's available.

You can see Kevin's review on his blog.

 

Chocolate Box By George Bell

George has done a wonderful job with this puzzle!  It will first throw you for a loop until you get the idea of correctly placing all the chocolates in the box without touching the lid!  It's a very clever design and well worth picking up a copy from George's Etsy Shop 'PolyPuzzles'

Here's George's description:

"Pack six identical pieces into a cylindrical box. When you close the lid, it should not touch any pieces. This puzzle is not difficult but requires some "out of the box" thinking.

In 2020 I redesigned the box to make it more obvious when the lid is not down. Each piece is made from four truncated rhombic dodecahedra, also called edge-beveled cubes. The rhombic dodecahedra have a diameter of 19 mm. The puzzle is mentioned in an article in CFF #108 (Cubism For Fun)."

See also Kevin's blog post

I have now added this from George:

"There is an interesting story about Chocolate Box.  It was in the IPP design comp 4 years ago.

I 3D printed the pieces, but I asked Stephen Chin to turn the box.  This was a great idea except for one thing.  The timing was such that I sent Nick Baxter the pieces and Chinny the box, and the puzzle never came together until it got to the San Diego IPP.

Surprisingly, the fit was near perfect!  However, Chinny had talked about making a two sided lid which would fit only the solution in one orientation, but would fit the false solution when flipped over.  This subtle point wasn't included in the puzzle description.

So the problem was that people were confused by this puzzle because they didn't notice the lid subtlety.  It was too late to change anything in the description.  But anyway the version with the nice wood box turned out great, and I still have one copy.

You can see the 2-sided lid in the above photo.  Also the false solution (in the photo except one piece is removed) appears to fit pretty well (all pieces below the rim on the box)."

Pin Cube Series - William Hu by Cubicdissection

 These fiendishly difficult puzzles gave me fits for the better part of a couple of days, kudos to William with these clever designs!

Eric crafted these puzzles in Maple, Goncalo Alves and Walnut, here's his description from Cubicdissection:  Please be sure to visit his site to see what's available!

"The Pin Cubes series by William Hu are three new cubes based on a 3x3x3 structure. By including drilled holes and pins, each puzzle in the set takes advantage of this format in a different way and creates three very different experiences. Designed to be tricky in both disassembly as well as assembly, they are a new take on an old idea, and well worth a look.  Pinwheel (Maple) is the easiest of the three. The most 'standard' of them, with five moves to remove the first piece - a level that's impossible to achieve with regular cubes in this space. Pinprick (Goncalo Alves) is the middle difficulty and takes advantage of its form to include an unusual step that will amuse any solver expecting this to be a standard disassembly. Pinball (Walnut) is the most difficult. Pinball is quite unusual; there is clearly a single movement that wants to happen, but it is stopped before completion. Finding the solution requires analytical thinking and a bit of dexterity."

Fidget Burr - Tim Alkema by Cubicdissection

This puzzle is only three pieces yet still packs a punch and with Eric's craftsmanship on full display it certainly doesn't disappoint!

There is some surprising moves with this one and once it’s completely apart, that’s when the really difficult assembly will leave you scratching your head, everything I tried simply refused to work!

I finally threw in the towel and resorted to Burrtools! 

Here's Eric's description from Cubicdissection:

"Fidget burr was an easy decision to make. A seemingly simple 3x3 cube, it's actually a five-piece interlocking burr with a level 12 solution. Three burr pieces nest inside two identical frame pieces. Disassembly of this puzzle is VERY tricky, with many false paths and dead ends."