Juno’s Strugg L

I was fortunate to have won this Prototype copy in Juno’s recent auction.

Here’s Juno’s details of this copy:

“The size is larger than the product version.

Two blocks were glued to form L-shaped pieces.

The box material is probably Queensland Maple” (its’s actually Fijian Mahogany).

Here’s Juno’s description of the sale copies from Pluredro:

“This is a puzzle where you take six pieces shaped like the L tetromino out of a box and then put them back in. It may sound easy, but it takes 23 moves using only linear motions to remove the first piece from the state where all the pieces are in the box. It can be done in about 20 moves by using rotational movements along the way, but it is not easy. There is only one spatial arrangement in which the six L-shaped pieces that make up this puzzle can be fitted inside the box. With patient examination of how the pieces can move, it is possible to fit them inside the box even when they are taken apart.

In recent years, puzzles that involve fitting pieces through small openings or removing them from inside small openings have become increasingly popular. Juno, however, found that it was difficult to handle the pieces when the openings were small, and so decided to design puzzles with larger openings. This was achieved by creating grooves and pins on the pieces, and grooves on the inside of the box to hold the pieces. In the actual product, grooves that penetrate the boards of the box are added to make the grooves visible from the outside. By doing this, it has become easier to understand how the grooves in the box restrict the movement of the pieces catching their pins.

The puzzle pieces are made of Fijian Mahogany with bamboo pins. The box is made with American Rock Maple for the sides and bamboo plywood for the bottom. Both the pieces and the box are finished to have a smooth surface, allowing the pieces to be moved by tilting the box and utilizing gravity. The four holes in the bottom of the box also help to manipulate the pieces.

Like many of our puzzle products, we utilized two CNC routers in the manufacturing process. Although the manufacturing process was time consuming, we believe we were able to achieve a comfortable level of precision to play with the puzzle.”