. This delightful puzzle is not terribly difficult. It consists of a key, a
shackle and 2 burr sticks. It requires
linear moves so do
not try to turn the key. Like all of
, it is a lovely little puzzle to explore. Finding the correct path is more
fiddly than tough but is a nice little diversion which at the end left me
astounded at the precision required to make something like this move so
smoothly. It also looks gorgeous and will be very nice on display in any
collection.
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Just amazing precision - everything slides like a hot knife through
butter
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Reassembly from scrambled pieces is definitely possible (although it took me
a whole evening).
Christmas tree
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Xmas Tree by Stephan Baumegger
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I can't have a Christmas tree at home because the last time we did have one
it was destroyed by the cats in a most upsetting manner. They are absolutely
fascinated by it and whilst tinsel may look funny going in the front end, it
very much is NOT funny when it exits the other 😱😱! This year, however, I
shall have a Christmas tree on display in my living room! It will be on my
mantelpiece...it is a beautiful design from
Stephan Baumegger (go and explore his FB page
here -
it is wonderful). It looks like a burr puzzle but initial exploration shows
that it is more like a wood chuck puzzle. A piece slides and then another
and then I got stuck for a bit. After a close look at what was revealed I
was able to proceed and after that quite rapidly had a pile o'pieces. The
disassembly probably took me 10 minutes and was quite fun.
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Not really a burr - I classified it as an interlocking puzzle
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The real challenge is to reassemble it with all the colours in the right
place. The first couple of times I put it back together with great
satisfaction only to realise that the light cubies weren't all aligned
properly. It took me an extra 5 or 10 minutes of fiddling around before I
got it right. This is a perfect seasonal gift and a nice little challenge
for the new puzzler.
Den cube
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Den Cube by Osanori Yamamoto
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This lovely cube is stunningly made from a maple frame and 3 interlocking
bright yellow Garapa burr pieces. The aim, obviously, is to separate all the
pieces from the frame but they are quite well interlocked and despite quite
a lot of possible movements (all of which are beautifully silky smooth), in
almost all directions, they seem impossibly intertwined. Being systematic
allowed me to find one pathway that looked better than the others and on we
go. This is very like untying a knot whilst it is inside a box that you
can't quite see inside of. It's actually a lot of fun.
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I didn't realise until taking this that the 3 sticks were identical
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Having taken it apart I tried to put it straight back together again and
couldn't do it. I had forgotten one crucial part and had to work it out from
scratch. Even that is possible for the experienced puzzler with a bit of
thought and an extra hour on their hands. A wonderful challenge. I have now
reassembled this from scratch a few times and it is quite a fun challenge -
the disassembly will make it good for new puzzlers and the assembly
challenge for experienced burr solvers.
Bison
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Bison by Jack Krijnen
Not a model of the mother in law!
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A first look at this puzzle leaves you absolutely stunned - it is
breathtakingly realistic! The intricacy of the design and manufacture is
incredible. I am amazed that this can be produced in any numbers and indeed,
Jakub did tell me that it was very difficult to produce. Jack Krijnen
designs some wonderful puzzles and this year he produced a very small run of
these Bison puzzles and then allowed Pelikan to make some more. This is a
new category for me. Kumike is a very old Japanese tradition but not
something I've ever played with before (apart from very simple plastic
puzzles as a child). My friend Frank is a world expert on these - have a
look at his very extensive site
here.
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This is a delight to play with
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It is not a terribly difficult challenge but is an absolute delight to look
at, hold and to dismantle. There is a nice surprise inside. Whilst not hard
to do, there is something compulsive about it and I keep dismantling and
reassembling it with a big smile on my face. It is not suitable for young
children or clumsy people as the interlocking sections are quite thin and
could be broken if inadequate care was taken.
Ronde
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Ronde by Dr Volker Latussek
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I am absolutely terrible at assembly/pattern forming puzzles and anything by
Dr Volker Latussek
is going to be a challenge so I approached this with some trepidation. The
aim of this is to assemble the 5 pieces so that the puzzle creates 5 whole
yellow (Garapa) cubes amongst the Wenge cubes and also incidentally is self
supporting. All of the yellow cubes have been cut in half diagonally and
attached to the whole cubes oriented in different directions. This means
that an assembly appears to be progressing nicely and then suddenly the
final piece positioning is either blocked or just won't meet up where it's
needed. This could be solved by brute force trial and error but there's no
fun in that and the best approach after a little experimentation is to
think© and actually plan it out. It's not terribly hard but it's quite a
pleasant diversion. This is suitable for kids/newbie puzzlers as well as
experienced solvers. Dr Latussek contacted me to tell me that he intended
this as a beginners puzzle but I still really enjoyed it.
Tutu
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Tutu by Dr Volker Latussek
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This puzzle was designed by Dr Latussek as a tribute to one of the best
packing puzzles ever designed and made. Volker and I agree that the
4L puzzle by Yasuhiro Hashimoto
is an absolutely tremendous puzzle. I recall that the 4L took me a very long
time and it was with some considerable trepidation that I set to work on
this - at least 2 other packing puzzles from Volker remain unsolved by me so
far (Euklid for Nick and Fermat). So, you're all wondering, how does it
compare? Right up front, I have to say that this puzzle is absolutely
FABULOUS! If you have solved 4L then it will not be quite as
challenging but it has a couple of truly lovely Aha! moments. If you've
never done 4L then expect a really fun challenge with thought and planning.
It is also made perfect by the sheer quality of the woodcraft and the
wonderful choice of woods used.
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Solved! No spoilers here.
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Serpentarium
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Serpentarium by Lucie Pauwels
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Another stunning creation by the incredibly prolific
Lucie Pauwels. She always
produces designs
that are interesting to look at either as pieces or as an assembled puzzle.
This has been made by Pelikan in Wenge with a Padauk box and is simply
stunning in the depth of colour. Of course the woodwork is superb. There are
4 different snakes along with 2 smaller pieces (?eggs or ?food) to be placed
inside the caged box. The entry is very limited and forming the 3x3x3 cube
through such a small set of holes is a big challenge.
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This took me quite some time as my intuition for where to place the small
pieces turned out to be wrong. The solution level is not terribly high but
it is a significant challenge worthy of any decent puzzler. It also will
look gorgeous on display. I had left it in the solved state for a few days
and it actually proved a considerable challenge to dismantle as well - I
would suggest storing it unsolved.
Moose
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We have two Mooses (or are they Meese?)
Both are absolutely
gorgeous
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Moose is another fabulous creation from
Alfons Eyckmans. He has designed quite a lot of members of the
Burr zoo
and each one is a wonderful challenge. Most are not too horrifically
difficult but are certainly a very decent challenge that will take all but
the very best of burr solvers a pretty decent amount of time. As I write
this for Jakub, I have spent 3 evenings working on it. I've made some decent
progress (I think) but have not yet solved it. The puzzle is available in
two versions. There's the standard one with alternating Maple and
Purpleheart burrsticks and then there is the gorgeous version made using the
same woods but created in a totally new way for Pelikan...the burrsticks are
all made from Purpleheart and they are edged with bevelled Maple on every
face. This produces a stunning looking puzzle. The moose hidden inside the
12 piece burr (both versions) is made from American Walnut. Obviously the
solution is unchanged with each version but the look is extremely different
and very striking. If you have a lot of burrs on display then the special
version will need to be placed front and centre. I hope to solve this in the
next few days.
