Quite Simple...So It Took Me Six Months!

Two Face 3

This Man-bonic plague has continued for almost another whole week and only now is beginning to improve! I can now tell you that it is worse than She-bola as "her" suffering ended much quicker than mine and did not involve large postural drops in blood pressure which made me think I was going to die whilst I was forced to work in the garden! It is probably not a good idea to go wobbly with a length-extended hedge trimmer 2m above your head as you stand up!

Today I am going to give a much overdue review of a stunning puzzle designed by Alfons Eyckmans and produced back in October by Eric Fuller (for some reason this does not appear in his very fascinating Discontinued work archive). The Two Face 3 puzzle is a tour-de-force by both designer and craftsman as it consists of a frame within another frame and 6 burr sticks crossing them both to form a challenging puzzle with a level of 20.2.2.2.1.3 to disassemble. It was reviewed very nicely by Mike on his new blog (you really should keep an eye on his posts) and I have been meaning to write something about it since I received my copy. The problem? Not illness! This delay has been primarily because I could not solve the bloody thing!

First of all, let's discuss the joinery...the outer frame is Maple (I think) and beautifully slip-feathered for strength and then all the inner parts are Padauk. The inner frame is so perfect that it actually looks like it has been milled from a single piece of wood. The joints are completely invisible which is quite a feat. All 6 burrsticks are up to Eric's usual impeccable standard.

When first played with several of the sticks can slide and after moving a few, the inner frame can slide up and down too. There are a whole lot of possibilities and I suspected that finding the pathway to the solution was going to be a huge challenge due to multiple blind alleys. This made me shy away from it for a week or so but I left it on my pile of "currently playing" puzzles next to my chair in the living room so that I could pick it up again as the fancy took me (much to Mrs S' disgust - she thinks that pile is far too big). After a while, I thought to myself that Eric NEVER chooses to make a puzzle that is impossibly tough or full of dozens of blind ends. One thing to remember about Mr Fuller...he likes to have fun (sometimes I am sooo envious of him!) he produces puzzles that he himself wants to play with and so my initial worries about an impossibly tough burr were unfounded.

I picked it up, again, and again, and again, and again! Over several weeks I had found a very nice pathway of about 14 moves and during that discovery, it is possible to see a lot of the interior shapes of the inner frame and more mobile burr sticks. At the point where I had reached, I could see what was required...I KNEW what needed to happen next and where it should be. BUT... I could not make it happen. After a few months of trying several evenings a week, I abandoned my idea and decided that I had been wrong all along and should go back to other pathways! Eventually, I found some new moves and managed to get some more burrsticks moved and stopped. Backtracking proved a problem for a couple of days and a minor panic occurred when I thought I was going to be stuck with 2 sticks poking out! Finally, after 3 or 4 nights I got it back to the beginning again and started afresh. Still the same issue... I could see what was required but I just couldn't make it happen.

Suddenly last week, whilst feeling sorry for myself and trying to avoid the laser burning stare for coughing and "snortering" whilst watching TV, I made a new move which I should have found before - it was just a single move from a position I had found before and I had no idea why I had not discovered it before. All of a sudden, the opening I had been trying to achieve just stared at me and I could pull a burr stick out and then dismantle the rest easily. The inner frame slid out with just a nice little friction showing how perfectly made it all was - I was finally able to marvel at the workmanship and design.

Just look at the tremendous workmanship!
It only took me 6 months for a level 20!

As for putting it back together? I had not paid any attention to how the pieces were oriented or where they came from so Burrtools came to my rescue! Subsequently, I was able to dismantle it and then reassemble it all from memory and deduction - it is a brilliant design and should NOT have taken me so long! My only excuse is that I am not terribly bright!

Obviously, after such a long time, this puzzle is no longer available. It is certainly one to consider bidding for if it ever comes up at auction - it is terrific in both design and construction. Trust Alfons to design something fabulous and fun and trust Eric to choose the best challenge and make it perfectly! Thank you, my friends!