Burrly Possible by Wayne Daniel

I received this 12 piece burr disassembled and getting it together seemed like a Herculean task.  I enlisted the help of long time puzzle designer Derek Bosch to sketch up a burrtools file and it turns out he had the original printed solution as well, thanks Derek!

This puzzle was exchanged by Abel Garcia at IPP16 Luxembourg (1996) and came with this description:

“A holey 12-piece (4x4x4) burr, assembling in a checkerboard pattern.”

John Rausch describes this puzzle at PuzzleWorld:

“This twelve-piece burr has unusual internal construction to make an otherwise impossible puzzle.”

Soma Burr - Rod Bogart by CubicDissection

I’m amazed at the attention that the ‘Soma’ design has garnered recently and this design is quite the charmer!

Eric crafted the ‘Soma’ pieces using Chechen and the familiar ’3-piece Board Burr’ using Curly Maple, making for a gorgeous puzzle!

Not sure how many have solved this puzzle without the use of Burrtools, it is fiendishly difficult.  The Soma Cube has 240 solutions and this puzzle narrows that down to a unique solution, very impressive indeed!

BurrTools shows a move count of

4.4.2.2.1.2.3.2!

Here's Eric's description from Cubicdissection:

“Soma Burr is Rod Bogart's amazing creation which combines the fabled Soma Cube with a traditional three-piece board burr.  The solver must fit the cube inside the burr; with only one solution, this is a tricky proposition. A delightful combination of packing puzzle and interlocking burr, Soma Burr is sure to become a favorite!

Construction of Soma Burr was done with extraordinary attention to detail. Each Soma piece is precisely milled and finished with full bevels. The fit is perfect; not too tight or loose, ensuring a lovely solving experience.

56 copies are available for this release, each signed and dated. This puzzle is shipped disassembled.”

Reza 4-4 by Juno

This is a very cool Polyhedral puzzle from the brilliant puzzle craftsman Juno, drop by Pluredro and snag yourself a copy!

Here’s Juno’s description:

“A polyhedral shape interlocking puzzle designed and made by Junichi Yananose in 2017. The shape of the puzzle is based on a compound of two tetrahedra.

The puzzle is the smallest family members of the Reza series. The puzzle is easier compared to its two larger family members, Reza 6-8 and Reza 12-20 and it can be assembled without using the aid of rubber bands.

Juno designed the puzzle to have all twelve pieces different. He also chose the combination of pieces to make the puzzle stable when the puzzle is assembled.

It's hard to describe the size of the puzzle by length, height and width because of its unusual assembled shape. The length of sticks are 160 mm and 120 mm. Please also refer to the images below to estimate the size of the puzzle.

The puzzle is named after Prof. Reza Sarhangi who made great contributions to math-art community.

The puzzle is sold assembled. The printed solution of the puzzle is enclosed.”

Radius of the circumscribed sphere: 90 mm

Number of pieces: 12

Material: Silver Ash (citrus family tree) + Jarrah

Mirii 4x3 by Juno

This is a very cool Polyhedral puzzle from the brilliant puzzle craftsman Juno, drop by Pluredro and snag yourself a copy!

Here’s Juno’s description:

“A polyhedral shape interlocking puzzle designed and made by Junichi Yananose (aka Juno) in 2017. The shape of the puzzle is based on four intersecting triangles.

Thanks to the advancement of computer technology and puzzle solving/designing programs, like BurrTools, many people design puzzles nowadays. Most of those puzzles are based on orthogonal space grids. A puzzle based on cube elements is easily understood and designed using BurrTools.

Juno always thinks that he should design puzzles which could not easily be designed by computer program. Non-orthogonal puzzles are one of the options and he has already designed three Reza series puzzles combining two regular polyhedra. Of course those polyhedral puzzles can be produced using a 3D printer but he loves working with wood, putting various ideas to shape puzzle pieces precisely with tools and jigs.

Although the number of the pieces is the same as Reza 4-4, this puzzle is far more difficult than Reza 4-4. The color of the timber gives you a hint of the orientation of the pieces but you still have to work out which piece goes where and in which order the puzzle should be assembled.

Mirii is an Aboriginal word meaning star in English. It is his wife, Yukari's idea, to give an Aboriginal name since we have been living in Australia. We think that the sound and name matches the shape of the puzzle.

The puzzle is sold assembled. The printed solution of the puzzle is enclosed.”

Size: 139 m x 139 mm x 139 mm

Number of pieces: 12

Material: Silver Ash (citrus family tree), Jarrah and Blackbean

Keep Locked by Stickman Puzzle Box Company

As I anxiously await the arrival of my copy of this spectacular puzzle box I thought I should blog about it, most info was drawn from Robert’s email description dating back to when he first started on the Padlock portion of this epic box last year!

I now have received this masterpiece and added more photos below, this was a surprise gift for my wife Barb and is number 39.

Here’s the description from Robert:

“Its concept is a box that is locked by four unique wooden puzzle padlocks on all of its sides.  Each must be solved, with the padlocks themselves being used as clues and tools to gain entrance to the box.  Think of “Pirate's Wallet", but with more emphasis on the padlocks. 

This puzzlebox consists of 4 uniquely opening puzzle padlocks preventing access to a single castle dungeon chamber.  Locks must be removed, and discovered parts used in the progression towards the castle solution.    This puzzle requires a minimum of 40 sequential steps, and is of moderate difficulty to solve, (by Stickman complexity standards).   Puzzle measures 9” x 9” x 7.5”, and is hallmarked with the Stickman logo.  This puzzle is limited in edition to only 52 completed copies.”

Special thanks to ‘TheRigaletto’ on the Discord for this awesome photo.

Rebanded Dovetais - Robert Sandfield & Kathleen Malcolmson

I thought I would share this gorgeous PuzzleBox designed by Robert and Kathleen.  Kathleen is a terrific woodworker and her skills are on full display!

Here’s an excerpt from Boxes and Booze:

“The Sandfield’s ReBanded Dovetails was their IPP 32 exchange puzzle in 2012.  Designed by Robert and Kathleen and crafted by Kathleen from light baltic birch plywood, walnut and lacewood, these little boxes feature a double dovetail on the ends and are wrapped tightly with double bands of shimmering lacewood.  They are a follow-up to the original Banded Dovetail box exchanged at IPP 29.  Robert felt that the original version, which Kathleen ironically mentions was harder to make, was a little easier to solve than he wanted (which reportedly meant that some people were able to solve it too quickly!).  

Lovely lacewood lends luster

So of course he designed this version, which has a completely new mechanism and adds a few extra steps.  Like the original, there is a coin hidden inside to discover.  I’m taking a bit of puzzle box liberty to call this a “box” but it does have a storage compartment inside for the coin, which counts in my book.  The ReBanded Dovetail is an expertly crafted little beauty and really fun to explore.  Like all of Robert’s designs, it disguises its secrets well, plays with your assumptions and makes you discover each step in turn.”

Sonneveld’s 9 Piece Board Burr - Dic Sonneveld by Pelikan

This is a very nice board burr by Pelikan, originally George Miller made (prototype) versions in acrylic.

Here’s a description rom George Miller:

“This puzzle was designed by Dic Sonneveld of The Netherlands. It is made of clear acrylic .  It seems as though it would be impossible to make a board burr using 9 pieces, but Dic persisted, using a computer to test a combination of three very simple triplets. There is plenty of room inside each piece leaving enough space for the 9 pieces to come together into a burr. One would think that there would be many solutions. No, there's just one. One would think that the solution would be symmetrical. No, its asymmetrical. It is one of a kind, quite unique and fun to play with.”

Level count of 3-3-4-1-1-2-3

Japanese Wood Joint Burr Puzzle - Frans de Vreugd by Tom Lensch

Frans used this design as an exchange puzzle at the 19th International Puzzle Party (IPP19), held in London in 1999, with copies made by Wayne Daniel.

The puzzle consists of six notched pieces which must be joined together in burr fashion. This copy appears to be from a run that Tom made after the IPP (note bottom photo that I gleaned from the internet).

Eric Fuller recently made copies using a different joint and here’s his description from CubicDissection:

“Japanese Wood Joint Burr was designed by Frans de Vreugd for the London IPP in 1999. Originally crafted in very small quantities by Wayne Daniel, Frans considers it one of his nicest designs. This burr is uniquely difficult in both concept and operation.”

Non-Void Cube by Andreas Rover

 

This is a very clever puzzle by the creator of BurrTools which coincidentally you cannot use to solve this puzzle!

Andreas used this puzzle as his Exchange at IPP 37 in Paris.

This was printed using white PLA.

Here’s an excerpt from Jerry’s Blog:

“What is unique about the Non-Void Cube is that it has got no voids (holes) within the cube, yet it has a Level 4.3.3 solution, something that is impossible to achieve with a typical burr design. Andreas managed to create this puzzle by attaching the cubes of the 4 pieces not by joining the faces of the cubes, but via their corners.  In this manner the pieces can slide in the various directions even without the voids or voxels necessary.”

Infinity by Jean Claude Constantin

This cool puzzle box is a fascinating piece that I was lucky enough to acquire in a trade.

Obviously your goal is to retrieve the coin and watching all the gears in motion is quite literally mesmerizing!

It’s a very clever design from Constantin!

Constantin has a website that you can check out as well.

You can grab yourself a copy at Puzzlemaster.

Here’s a description:

“Infinity is a very unique box in the Jean-Claude Constantin range. Here, there are no twists and turns, no infernal riddles, no convoluted solutions, no flamboyant processes… The rule is very simple: a one euro coin is trapped in a sophisticated system of cogs. The “challenge” is to turn the only visible knob until it is freed from the box… and it works every time! Except that, according to its designer, you would have to turn the wheel without interruption for more than a century to achieve your ends... Infinity is in truth a philosophical reflection on time, on the fact that an insignificant action repeated ad infinitum can solve what seems futile and out of reach. This work is an ode to passing time. Its timeless beauty, mixing Art and Reason.”

The Flag - Stewart Coffin #203-D Helsinki - Tom Rodgers (D.2012) - IPP Exchange 2005 Helsinki, Finland

I was pleasantly surprised by this puzzle in a trade with Mike on the Discord.

This cool sliding puzzle was designed and crafted by Stewart Coffin, he was crafting puzzles in Massachusetts under the name ‘Castle Creations’ at this time.

Of course many will also recognize Tom Rodgers who used this as his IPP exchange puzzle in 2005.  Sadly Tom passed away in 2012 and is fondly remembered as the founder of the ‘Gathering4Gardner’ organization.

Invisible Oink by Rex Rosano Perez

My first go at this quirky puzzle had me dropping pieces all over the place, so be warned!

If you’ve got a hankering for this style of puzzle then you need to head on over to either Puzzlemaster or JP Games and grab yourself a copy.

Here’s a description from JP Games:

“Designed by Rex Rossano Perez, this is another sequential discovery puzzle, with the aim to help Lucky and Chewy find their missing sister Bouncy in their mud puddle!

The Invisible Oink is a fun and quirky puzzle with a solution which requires a tool from within the puzzle itself.”