Two Guys and a Gal...

Guess Which Was the Toughest?

Free Me 9 aka Two Guys and a Gal (named after the heads of the coins)

Update from last week - my solution for the Rippl puzzle turned out to be completely correct! After checking with Aaron, the critical move that I felt was too tight turned out to be the correct move - my copy of the puzzle was just a bit tighter than it should be. I persisted in doing the tight move because I felt that I had completely exhausted all other options for that section of the puzzle. The rest was an absolute delight and a bit mind boggling. Phew! I'm not as thick as I thought.

I can almost hear your sigh of relief! He finally managed it! Yes it took a hint and partial collaboration with Dominic to get there and it has taken me more than six weeks to get there but, Oh boy, was the journey worth it.

I have only been collecting the puzzles by Joe Turner for a few years and they have never failed to delight me. They are always beautifully made and a combination of wood and metal combined into a very non-intuitive sequential discovery puzzle. Usually there is just a single coin to work out how to release by activating the most ingenious mechanism his diabolical brain can come up with. The mechanisms have been so interesting that the amazing Jon Keegan even collaborated to reproduce the iconic Free Me 5 in metal - I did not have the cash to buy one at the time but they looked amazing and Allard loved it.

For this year's outing Joe upped the ante and gave us 3 coins to release - it has two JFK half dollars (guys) and a Statue of Liberty (gal) one dollar coin - I had no idea there was any such thing as a Dollar coin! This puzzle was Joe's entry in the IPP design competition but amazingly did not win anything due to the incredible list of amazing puzzles entered this year. It will certainly be on my list for top ten of the year.

As usual the coins are held in the block with a dovetail cap at each end. Starting out, progress begins reasonably quickly which gives you some (misplaced) confidence. There is a pretty classic move that Joe has used before that starts the first dovetail sliding. The interesting thing is that this confidence dissolves very fast when that first move stops dead after a mere 3mm of movement. Whatismore, not only does the slide stop dead, it also won't go back! OMG! A bit of frantic fiddling with the puzzle gets it to go back and then there's obviously something else needed. There are not a lot of clues but eventually another aha! moment happens and progress is made with the reward of the first guy. It's nice and shiny and I also receive a couple of tools. These have been causing the locking up and a quick inspection reveals the ingenious way that Joe has made it happen.

After the first coin removal, and the use of the light on my phone to peer inside, I realised that the next coin had to come out the other end. The tools were going to be useful at this point, I was sure of it. There's an obvious place for them to go except sometimes they won't fit and sometimes they will - you need to work out what to make it happen and once you do... nothing gets released! Of course, he's not going to make it easy!

Ok, let's try that classic move again at the same time as using the tools elsewhere. Hahaha! You all know that he's not going to use the same trick twice! Well I didn't know that and spent a very long time trying to make it happen. Yes, the Einsteinian method fails again. There is a tantalising little click and a few mm of play in the second dovetail but it goes nowhere. I have lost count of the sheer number of times I tried the same thing or variants of it in different orientations or with spinning and very nearly submerged in gin. I was stuck.

I was stuck for weeks! This is where Dominic came to my rescue with an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini clue. All he said, basically was to use ALL the tools given. Not much of a clue was it? Of course, I am very stupid and started looking at the coin for removable bits (similar to a classic by Boaz Feldman) but that was not it. I had misinterpreted what was meant as a tool. after another day, I had my Homer Simpson "Doh" moment and realised what tool Dominic was referring to and I heard a satisfying click inside and praise be, there was some movement. Finally! 

I have to sheepishly admit that this had taken me so long because I had gotten completely fixated on one or two mechanisms and been unable to break out of that mindset without a nudge. I dare say, Joe knew that many of us would fall into the same trap. Or maybe it was just me?

After a little more fiddling with other mechanisms I had my second dovetail end removed and my second guy out. Phew! I was on a roll! Except I wasn't. Stuck again...the gal had to come out and the only way out was through one of the existing holes but she was blocked. Looking inside, the basic approach to the removal seemed obvious and I had my tools. But again, it wasn't working. I tried the gin trick (drinking it rather than submerging the puzzle) and that helped me realise something else that was possible but I was stuck again. My goodness! This is a stupendous challenge.

I kept think©ing and kept failing. I even received the solution from Joe (he sent it out to all recipients last weekend) but I was very careful not to look at it. I HAD to solve this thing myself even if it was going to kill me - with all the swearing I was doing, Mrs S might have killed me! Then, after lots and lots of thoughts© I was hit by Mrs S a bolt from the blue and I tried something extra. Wow! That is really clever! I had my gal and a huge sigh of relief!

OMG! Brilliant!
Only took me 6 weeks

Having taken my photos and worked out the reset mechanism, I can now solve the puzzle in one swift fun sequence. It is a work of puzzling art which everyone should try - this is a simply beautiful challenge. Tanks to Dominic for the tiny clue and a special thank you to Joe for the opportunity, I cannot wait to see what you produce next year.