I was fortunate to have acquired Saul’s version of this wonderful design that was used as his Exchange puzzle in Paris where it was renamed ‘Double Feature’.
I have copied the following that explains Stewart’s newest ’X’ numbering system:
“My spacious and delightfully pleasant woodworking shop in a converted greenhouse in Lincoln has already been described and illustrated on pages 10 and 18. I carried on my puzzle craft there for thirty years. In 1998, finding myself living alone, I decided to move to Andover and live with Mary Dow. She allowed me to use her basement for my new workshop. I carried on there for thirteen more years. But in 2011 Mary’s house had to be sold, and I moved to smaller quarters in a rental condo in Lexington. I again had the use of the basement, and still had most of my power tools. But by then in my early 80s, I decided to spend less time producing and more time having fun “inventing.” I put that word in quotes because I sometimes think “discovering” is more appropriate. I often made only one of each new creation, hence the prefix X for experimental and the start of this new numbered list. Incidentally, I was forced to move again in 2016, but luckily only three doors away. My newest workshop is tiny and meagerly equipped by comparison, but I am still able to fashion at least some rough models for use in illustrating this Compendium.”
Here’s Stewart’s description from his Compendium:
“The name Doubleplay comes from the two tasks – finding the one solution to the 3x3x3 cubic assembly, and then figuring out how to get the darn thing into the box, both difficult.”
After having spent many decades in the puzzling world Saul passed away in 2023, Rest in Peace.
I added a Box I made from Cherry with Peruvian Walnut Slipfeathers.
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