Happy New Year to you all! I have no idea what happened to 2024. Actually I
have a vague idea that I worked my way through it with not enough breaks for
enjoying what I love. I only managed to get to 2 of the MPP's of the year
which is a bad sign that I am working a lot of weekends. New Year resolution
to work less!
Welcome to my customary end of year post looking back at my puzzling highs of
2024. As always, thinking about it was triggered by Peter Hajek's request for
the top 3 acquisitions of the year. Peter wants to know the best arrivals in
the collection and I always write about my best puzzles solved which makes it
a little harder to come up with a good list. I have had a pretty good year of
puzzle purchasing much to the disgust of the current wife, but it has felt
like a bad year for me in terms of puzzle solving. Having looked back through
my year of posts, there have been some absolutely amazing creations.
Nowhere near solving!
Smack-n-Moles by Stickman - this has been sitting in my conservatory next to
me for over a year now and I picked it up regularly throughout 2024 and got
absolutely nowhere. I have made a few discoveries but nothing is useful. It
remains in my naughty pile and is not getting put away until done!
The coloured plastic version of the Crazy double circle cube was refought
towards the end of 2023 when the black version began to have issues with the
inner circles catching on me. I duly scrambled this version and whilst it has
worked flawlessly, I don't seem to be able to solve it. I get really close to
the end game and then lose it - sigh! Another one I will keep going on.
Vertigo from Dee Dixon - it looks and smells lovely! It remains in my kitchen
(much to the disgust, yet again, of Mrs S) and to my eternal shame, I have not
even managed to find the first move. The top inner disk spins freely and that is
it - Aargh!
Blinded, also by Dee Dixon. Another one in my kitchen and if this continues then
I am going to get a Whack! Ouch! very soon.
Box of Celts - this won quite a lot of votes at the last EPP and I was very
lucky to manage to get one early in 2024. I haven't even found the first step
yet. OMG! I am so bad at puzzles!
I missed out on Juno's tour de force (the Hippo) but at the beginning of the
year I did manage to acquire this gorgeous puzzle, the Dual Meanders Box.
There are a lot of moves possible with so many maze plates that can move as
well as the centre of the walls. I seem to make progress in two possible
directions but always seem to hit a dead end no matter what I try. This has
been shelved for a while due to frustration.
The Fibonacci box from Jesse Born. Having collected and solved the Pi box, I
had to have the next in that series - it is simply gorgeous and has a very
complex mechanism with some serious brass inside. I have managed to make
things slide but absolutely nothing seems to lead anywhere and I cannot find
any connection to the Fibonacci number series.
Of course, let us not forget that Shane has been quiescent for a while (note
that I did not say quiet because Shane is NEVER quiet!) He produced, in
collaboration with the Two Brass Monkeys, the Who Dares Wins lock. I am not very
good at locks but this one is kicking my butt - yet another puzzle I haven't
even found the first move for. I can see something that I'd like to try to do
but I don't have anything to do it with - sigh!
Finally managed to solve with a good bit of assistance
Orbit by Dee Dixon. This took over a year to solve and was only possible
with a decent hint at the last MPP. Maybe there is something about Dee's
puzzles? There is a massive challenge to them and I just cannot seem to
solve them easily. Very good value for money!
Almost made it
There have been so many great puzzles that I had to relegate a few - this
doesn't mean that they aren't good - they still deserve a mention and
here's a few almost there puzzles:
Mibinity designed by Michel van Ipenburg and beautifully created by Jack
Krijnen is a delightful and unusual manifestation of the N-ary puzzle group.
It's a lovely little delight, not too hard and fun to fiddle with and, of
course, beautifully made. It has reminded me that Stephan Baumegger has
created a whole bunch of new N-ary puzzles that I haven't bought yet due to
funding constraints. Sigh!
Every year I buy a whole bunch of disentanglement puzzles from Aaron Wang
and most of them bamboozle me for the whole year before I give up. This
year, Aaron helped produce some wonderful wire only puzzles which had just
the right difficulty level and some wonderful Aha! moments. I have not yet
managed the string puzzles but I'm hopeful!
Finally...On with my top ten(ish) puzzles solved in 2024:
Every top ten needs to start at least at 11 because I cannot
count! So here we go.
11) Incredible Packers
Over the last few years I have been delighted by some truly wonderful
packing puzzles with something very special about them. It may be the
wood or it may be the odd technique needed to solve them. In either
case they all share a fantastic delightful Aha! moment. Here's a few
that I had to mention:
Persistence of Memory by Alexander Magyarics Made by Brain
Menold
Nested Soma by Dr Volker Latussek with Lucie Pauwels Made
by Pelikan
Also from Mine-san:
Perfect entrance
3L x2
Sukiyaki by Frederic Boucher Made by Pelikan
10) 234 Puzzle Cube
When Mike Toulouzas designs and makes something you know that it is
going to be very special and a perfect challenge. This came out of the
blue as a gift at the beginning of 2024 and delighted me with it's sheer
beauty as well as a challenge that is just tough enough to make me feel
foolish and yet smile at the same time. Thank you Mike!
Frederic Boucher had an idea - he created a 2x2x3 box with holes in
various places and odd pieces to fit inside. Sometimes it needs odd
rotations, and sometimes there need to be odd holes to allow these
rotations. It is soooo good that he made quite a lot of them. I
haven't gotten around to solving them all yet but I am working my way
through them.
Minima Tower by Frederic
Recently Minima Smiley
Minima Domino by Frederic
Minima Texas
Minima Ludique
Minima Twig
I think the world thinks it was a good idea based on great reviews from
others and the fact that so many other people jumped on this bandwagon
to produce their own variants.
The great Laszlo Molnar designed some
Lucie Pauwels couldn't resist it
Even Dr Latussek added something special
7) Vertigo Puzzlebox
Yes, I actually solved a Vertigo puzzle (just not one from Dee
Dixon
This is the second of the puzzle boxes made from Lego that I have from
Quizbrix. Every time I see a Lego box, I am sceptical but every time I am
amazed at the incredible complexity and fun mechanisms that can be fitted
into an amazingly small volume. I adored this one and it is still
available
here.
6) Oleg's Wardrobe
Oleg's Wardrobe by Dee Dixon
I have this here because it is a fabulous puzzle and beautifully made by
Dee Dixon. The mechanism was incredible and really fun to solve. It isn't
higher up the list because I just cannot seem to reset it at all. I will
need to take it to an MPP next time and see if anyone can do it for me!
Whilst I am thinking about Dee's creations, I have to include the Uplift
puzzle here. I received it in 2023 and spent months and months spinning
the damn thing around. I then finally made progress this year and solved
it with a wonderful Aha! moment and a silly grin at the end!
Uplift
5) Twister Box
When Pelikan produce a box it's a "must have"
Jakub and Jaroslav appear more than once in my top ten(ish) of 2024
because they produce some gorgeous puzzles and work with some of the best
designers in the world! However, when they produce one of their own
designs, everyone should sit up and take notice. Also when they produce a
box, it will be something special. Their craftsmanship is second to none
and their ideas are amazing! This box made me laugh out loud! I solved it
by accident as most people will but the understanding of the mechanism is
the fun part - then you can do it easily every single time! Brilliant!
4) Free Me 9
Joe produces an amazing challenge
When Joe Turner sends out an email about yet another of his brilliant Free
Me puzzles, the puzzling world really pays attention! I said yes as soon as
the email arrived and was not disappointed. The aim wasn't just to free one
coin but 3 with a whole series of mechanisms. It really took me some time
and needed a little hint.
Three coins this time!
3) Picolock
Boaz Feldman does it yet again!
This amazing puzzle lock by Boaz Feldman won a huge number of
accolades at last year's EPP. I finally stopped buying wood for long
enough to pick one up and loved every moment of the solve. It's
classic Boaz with beautifully hidden mechanisms that are a delight to
find.
2) Matchbox playground
The Matchbox Playground by Pelikan and Peter Gal
I adore a puzzle set but I seldom actually attempt more than a few
challenges from them. This wonderful set is a fabulous collection of
matchbox challenges stunningly made by Pelikan comprising the exhaustive
analysis by Peter Gal. I keep returning to it. Even the box looks like a
matchbox. Amongst all of the beautiful puzzles that I received in 2024,
this is probably the most beautiful item on my shelves - it is simply
stunning.
So many pieces - it's a challenge to put them in the box
The simplest challenge
1) Brass Monkey Sixential Discovery puzzle
You knew it had to be this one!
This is an absolute masterpiece of puzzle design and manufacture by Big
Steve and Ali. It's a fitting end to the Brass Monkey series. I doubt it
can ever be beaten - it might be the best puzzle ever made! There are so
many beautifully made mechanisms that lead to one Aha! moment after
another. I wish I could solve it all over again. I hope the guys are
feeling the pressure because I want another tour de force like this
again.
Solved after so many steps!
All six Brass Monkeys
Do you agree with my top 10? If you have any different thoughts then please comment below or even use my Contact page to tell me how wrong I am. I look forward to your thoughts.
Happy New Year to you all!
I really hope that you all have a fabulous year in 2025 with good health, success and plenty of wonderful puzzling. I look forward to entertaining and maybe helping many of you in this year.
No post today. I will be at Peter Hajek's End of year Puzzle Party and have no time for a blog post. As always, we have to decide on a top 3 puzzles for the year in advance of the party and this has got me thinking on my top ten(ish) puzzles of 2024.
Come back on New Year's Eve or Day for my best puzzles of the year.
This may well be a little late for many of you who don't keep an eye out on the
Pelikan website or follow me on
Facebook. I
received a package out of the blue about 10 days ago and had very little time at
first to do any more than open it and take my photos. I am definitely not clever
enough to solve all of these challenging puzzles in just 5 days and Jakub wanted
to get them up for sale before he and his team go off on their well-earned
Christmas break. These puzzles went up for sale on Thursday and I'm afraid that
at least 2 are sold out already. If there is anything that you particularly want
to buy then keep an eye on the auction sites or see whether Jakub might agree to
make another batch - sometimes if enough people ask then he does get agreement
from the designers to make a few more.
In this release there are some truly stunning and clever designs: Minima
Smiley by
Frederic Boucher Trimini Frame by
Lucie Pauwels Euklid's Cabrio by
Dr Volker Latussek Nested Soma by Dr Volker Latussek with Lucie Pauwels Lunchbox by
George Miller
Minima Smiley
There have been quite a lot of Minima puzzles over the last few years. The
series started out as fun small packing puzzles with relatively simple pieces to
fit in a small box with restricted entry and usually some odd holes or slots to
allow rotations to occur. I have now bought lots and lots of these and
thoroughly love the combination of thought, fiddling and Aha! moments. Several
other designers have jumped on the Minima bandwagon and I have, of course, added
these to my collection (partially thanks to Tye Stahly's Nothing Yet Designs
site as well as Jakub and Jaroslav's Pelikan puzzles.
When I received this one, I really wasn't sure what to make of it. All the
pieces were inside and there seemed to be a ball in there too as well as a
bolt in the side. What on earth was going on here. It cannot be a packing
puzzle - is it an unpacking puzzle? Does such a thing exist? It would appear
that Frederic has branched out into other genre's again (remember the amazing
Res Q
and my own special
Visitor Q?) This time the aim is to work out how to release the ball.
Initially only the ball moves from one empty space to another but no further
than that and therefore the only thing available to me was to remove the
bolt. I got a bit of a surprise at the sheer length of it! After removal,
there was suddenly the ability to slide a piece around and this opened up a
bit of pathway for the ball. Except it wouldn't go very far and then nothing
else happens. I was able to work out what the shapes were inside the box and
map them out - there is absolutely no way any more is going to happen. Now I
know that Frederic is a sneaky so and so and Jakub is very happy to
encourage this sneakiness. A little exploration with fingers revealed
something interesting and also some rather strong magnets. a tiny bit more
progress happens but I get stuck again. Whilst exploring at this point, I
realise that a piece can rotate and I eagerly encourage it only to find it
doesn't really help me. Once I realised this, I tried to get it all back to
the start and, OMG, it wouldn't go! Cue, minor panic before I got it all
reset after 15 minutes of swearing at myself whilst Mrs S giggled at me and
said that I don't seem to be very good at this puzzling business - oh, the
shame!
I was stumped and had to draw the shapes and the box to work out a possible
alternative sequence. Only after I had drawn it out was I able to make
further steps and I could see the reason for the name of the puzzle:
Now I have to get the little bugger back inside
Having taken my photo, I tried to reset it, only to hear a lout "clack!" as
the pieces reset themselves. OMG, my heart leapt into my throat again and I
was forced to work it out from scratch again. For a while I kept trying it
wrong and repeatedly heard that clack again and again until I realised the
move needed to prevent it.
This is wonderful - very clever and shows that Frederic is able to set his
talented brain to all types of puzzle. It has been absolutely beautifully made
by Pelikan in Mahogany and Maple.
Trimini Frame
Trimini Frame by Lucie Pauwels
There have been a couple of incredible packing puzzle/antislide puzzles by Lucie
this year (Minimal Frame and
Open Frame which is
still available
as I type). I really struggled even to solve the basic packing element of these
and completely failed with both of them to solve the antislide challenge. I was
amazed at the last MPP when Wil Strijbos sidled up to me and showed me the he
had solved it in about 10 minutes. I shouldn't have been surprised as the man is
a total genius at design and solving. That display made me all the more
determined to succeed at the latest of the challenges. Based on a triangular
grid there are 8 oddly shaped pieces to place in a frame with only a single
triangular voxel at the corner to hold the pieces in place.
Pepper Castor (another triangular grid)
This time I decided to be more analytical rather than just randomly place
pieces in the tray. My usual approach to packing puzzles really isn't terribly
efficient. A little trial and error revealed that certain pieces would either
have to be oriented a particular direction if the abutted an edge or they
would need to be positioned in the interior. This realisation was the key and
significantly decreased the number of random moves. It didn't make it easy by
any stretch but a true analytical approach made this solvable even by an eejit
like me! After about 30 minutes of swearing under my breath, I had a true Aha!
moment and it was solved. Absolutely wonderful to play with a triangular grid
for once (very few designers do this - the best that I can recall is Alexander
Magyaric's
Play-girl
and
Play-boy
puzzles as well as his
Pepper Castor). There are still 13 in stock as I type - well worth buying to challenge
yourself and even non-puzzlers.
Not only is this a packing puzzle...this is a sliding piece puzzle. Getting
everything in place is going to need careful placement and then careful
jiggling about inside to make room for subsequent pieces. I needed another
couple of days to figure this one out in my head (luckily there is plenty of
space in there). I let out a huge shout when I finally closed the box with all
the pieces inside - that man is a genius!
Make sure that you pay proper attention to what you do and how the pieces sit
inside because it will require an exact sequence of moves to get them out
again and initially you will be blind with a box that is closed or only opens
a little bit. As you would expect, I got the box stuck in the closed position
for a panicked hour as I shook it about and desperately tried to work out how
to open the bloody thing! I actually had to sit down for a bit and think to
open it and felt a sudden urge for a gin when I finally did it. I have managed
it a few times since then and it is incredibly clever. This is an essential to
all followers of Volker and all packing aficionados.
Nested Soma
Nested Soma - a collaboration by Lucie Pauwels and Dr Volker Latussek
Lucie has recently designed a new puzzle in the Minima series, the Minima
nest (I haven't gotten around to it yet), and she decided to try and create a
bigger version using a shifted 3x3x3 box. When Volker saw the puzzle idea, he
suggested that she try and use slightly altered Soma pieces and sent her a
couple of designs for the pieces and then the Nested Soma was born.
The manufacturing skill for this puzzle is totally off the scale! It is
stunning made from Elm and Bubinga. The puzzle screams to fit the pieces
inside and as you do so it quickly gets blocked up leaving spaces inside that
cannot be reached. Time to solve it outside of the box and then you realise
that it isn't very stable when the pieces are piled up on a table or your lap.
A combination approach would be good. My trial and error approach rapidly
failed. There are some very peculiar shapes which have to be fitted into a
very restricted part of the box and quite quickly I saw that one piece could
only fit in a particular orientation and, gulp, it needed a rotational move -
Burrtools won't help much here.
I spent about an hour having increasingly useful breakthroughs and inched my
way forwards progressively. The final Aha! moments are delicious. I have
posted the solved puzzle because it appears on the Pelikan page - it's a
minimal spoiler as most of it cannot be seen.
Solved - really not much of a spoiler here
Lunchbox
Lunchbox by George Miller
I think this might be my first puzzle by George which is strange because he
has been very prolific for a very long time. Recently he
and Roxanne have
been focussed on creating the greatest puzzle museum in the world.
George wrote this about it:
"Lunchbox is a variation of a puzzle I found in a pile of puzzles I
had purchased in Prague. One of the puzzles was simply 10 pieces of
wood with no clue as to the goal. I guessed it had to be a symmetric
solid shape and began to explore all of the possibilities. This was,
in essence, a meta puzzle – that is – and the goal, then solve the
puzzle by stacking the pieces into the shape of the goal. The ten
pieces were all the ways four 2 unit squares of one unit thickness
could be glued together at with two unit cubes cubes glued to the
squares to form a checkered patterns on each piece.
I made a copy of the ten pieces on a 3D printer. I used BurrTools to
test using these ten pieces to pack a 4x5x3 shape I called a
“sandwich”. I forced the squares to the top and bottom and the red
cubes to the middle making it look ever so much like a jelly
sandwich.
A simple packing puzzle is fun, but making a good puzzle involves a
presentation mode plus a theme or story. A presentation mode too often
is simply the solved puzzle. This takes away the pleasure of a
discovered solution. Again, using BurrTools I found a solid packing of
a set of steps with a unique solution. This led to the development of
a box in the shape of a lunch pail with the inside conforming to the
shape of the set of stairs. The story then becomes that of a young lad
taking to school a lunchbox prepared by his mother. When he opens the
box he finds his lunch in many pieces he has to pack together into a
delicious sandwich before eating his lunch. Putting the pieces back
into the lunchbox presents a puzzle unto itself."
This challenge is incredibly well presented - it arrives in one of the
solved positions with the pieces packed in the box. Tipping them out
reveals the wonderful variety of ways that 2 cubies can be placed on the 4
tetrominoes with gaps.
All the tetrominoes with checkerboard patterns
The first challenge is to create a sandwich from the contents of the
lunchbox. Jakub has made the pieces in such a way that it looks like a piece
of meat between 2 slices of white bread. I initially attempted to make it so
that only checkerboard pieces were next to each other. This seriously
restricted the pieces that I could try in each position but left me unable
to form the 4x5x3 shape. Once I had determined that it might be impossible
with pure checkerboard positioning, I looked at other arrangements and with
some thought created lunch:
One ham sandwich
Burrtools tells me that there are another 3 ways to make my sandwich - I will
keep working on it. Getting the pieces back into the box has so far proven
impossible for me. I know the shape to achieve and it is not a simple cuboid
which seems to be confusing me. I will be using Burrtools in the
meantime.
Unlike the sandwich, the orientation of the white bread is not all in the same
direction which seems to confuse my feeble brain a lot. It is very similar to
the Tabula cubes I
wrote about
way back in 2013 which I really struggled with:
Tabula cube 1
Tabula cube 2
Tabula cube 1 pieces
Tabula cube 2 pieces
These puzzles are selling very fast - order them quick if you don't want to miss out. They are all amazing. My favourites are Minima Smiley, Nested Soma and Euklid's Cabrio.
The Fibonacci box from Jesse Born. Having collected and solved the Pi box, I
had to have the next in that series - it is simply gorgeous and has a very
complex mechanism with some serious brass inside. I have managed to make
things slide but absolutely nothing seems to lead anywhere and I cannot find
any connection to the Fibonacci number series.
