Wait, that was the doorbell ...
If one nice package was not enough for today, my neighbor just brought a package from Bill Cutler for me, containing a real beauty: S/M 24 in three different woods
It started with my puzzle friend Bernhard who had some items I could not resist: By George Burr (a burr-like puzzle with several moves and a rotation), Triangle Cube Burr (quite simple, but nice cuts and woodworking), Dutch Cross (a Burr with a solution having an akward turn -- of 180 degrees), a Kei Cube Jr and a Puzzle 7.
TomZ had some interesting and complicated new designs -- and of course the one I had pre-ordered: Super-X
At Wil's table some pre-orders were waiting for me. Now I have the winner of this year's IPP design competition, a 4 Steps Visible Lock, which I already liked and solved during IPP -- of course I left the Euro coin inside for the next one :). At Wil's I also picked up: one of his Aluminum Cylinders, an unknown Framed 6 piece burr (looking like printed by George Miller), and the new Cast Donuts.
I also found some IPP exchange puzzles I did not have: Marcel Gillen had a Burrliner Kruse for sale and Rob Hegge a Five Burr-ito.
There were also some new production range puzzles from 2011 with a nice look and very high quality: Moeraki 4 and 3.
The others are a mixture of cheap vintage puzzles and some new puzzles: Plastic Chinese Rings, Metal Chinese Rings (yes, two additions to my n-ary department), Triple Cross, A Turnstile-Variant (for some insight on the "Triplex" puzzle), Frustr8tor, Calendar Barrel, Keyboard Cube, Dororinth orange and white, from Russia a traditional Screwed Shackle, an 8 Pice Burr, and a Rudenko Clips.
From HKNowStore: The Bermuda Cube series, all variants: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and House I, House II, Column, Star, and additionally some others: Circular Bean Tower, Bandaged Pyraminx, 3x3x3 3 slices, 2x2x2 Bandaged, and 1x2x2
In the package from Eric: Twist the Night Away -- it has many twists in the solution and I am tempted to put it into the Twisty category, but it is definitely a (Dis-) Assembly puzzle, and a very nice one!
From the "Spiel" fair: From Jean-Claude Constantin, some of his and some rare other puzzles: Kugellager 7 (as mentioned above), a Eivon (another kind of smartphone puzzle), and some IPP31 exchange puzzles: Crazy Bottles and Modern Times; and an original Roger Tap and Kamei Money Bank and a level 9 Six Piece Burr. New Twisty puzzles from Hendrik's shop: Spinner and Double Disk. From Rombol and Philos I got: Interlock 3 Pieces, Kaneko Cube, Money, and Polo Shirt Puzzle
I also added a Chinese Finger Trap to the gallery I got at IPP31.
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This nice puzzle was created in different wood versions and looks like a straight and simple rectilinear interlocking puzzle. But beware, it isn't. In the inside not only interlocking pieces can be found, but also grooves and wooden pins forming an internal only partly visible maze, a maze that evolves and changes with every move you make. Moves that were blocked just a moment ago, or only halfway possible, might be there now and you have to keep your track carefully -- or get lost in the maze. If that wasn't enough already, rotations are not only possible but also allowed and part of the solution. Usually, rotations tend to lead to shortcuts in the intended solution. For this puzzle, the only solution is full of rotations and even then an astonishing 23 moves to remove the first piece are the result. Alltogether, 49 moves are required in the unique disassembly solution, with 9 moves for the second and 8 moves for the third piece. Burr-Tools will hate you when you try to solve this puzzle with the help of a computer. Luckily, for the faint hearted, there is a solution booklet included, which is of the nice high quality and craftmanship like the puzzle. To my personal knowledge, this is the first puzzle design with this combination of elements, and a very interesting one. Anyone interested in high level burrs, but getting bored of more traditional ones, try this one (if you can get hold of one, of course)! Happy Puzzling! |
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| Maybe this always empty box could solve some space problems I might run into: IPP31 was great and I met many interesting and nice people there, played with very interesting puzzles and had numerous interesting conversations and lectures. Now I have to solve a packing puzzle consisting of over 30 more new puzzles and my already full shelves, after unpacking them, solving them and putting them into the gallery. It will take some time, so please stay tuned. Meanwhile, in the picture on the right you can see what I am facing at the moment. :) Update: I have eventually managed to put them up in the gallery, but as some of them are still unsolved, I will probably replace some pictures by the solved version some time in the future. |
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From Bill Cutler: He had his very First Design remade as his exchange puzzle. He also carried some puzzles from Jerry McFarland for me: a Quadlock 1 and a Quadlock 4.
During the Puzzle Exchange, I had the honour and pleasure to be exchange assistant to Iwahiro. His exchange puzzle "is a box packing puzzle. Just four identical octahedrons, just put them in the box completely. Simple!". That's what he said.... Of course, "this is not a solution": Gem Box, but it is a very nice and well crafted puzzle.
Some of this IPPs exchange puzzles I got were: 6 piece burr variation II (Andreas Roever), Laby Box (Hendrik Haak), Houdinis Torture Cell (Brian Young), Reunification (Twins, Rob W. Jones), Brandenburg Gate (Marti Reis), Eighteen Eights (Peter Knoppers), and Boxed Mixed Piece Burr (Frans de Vreugd).
Some other puzzles I got: 3-piece Magic, Choreographed Motion, Arch Burr Puzzle, Dino Cylinder Cube, Buttonhole Puzzle, Four Sticks Dexterity, 3 Lives to Live, Five Sticks 28, 4 in 2, Little Tree Box, EQ 12 pieces burr, and an old design remade: William Strijbos' Aluminum Cross.
From the French puzzle Collector Jean Carle I got: Manda 1 Burr, Love's Dozen together with a cubic variation of the same puzzle, and a Pause.
From Gregory Benedetti I received three prototypes, all high level puzzles: Eccentricity, La Foudre, and Troacroas.
From Frans de Freugd I got some nice burr puzzles: Boxed L-burr #2, All Mixed Up, and a variation of this puzzle.
From Hong Kong: Grimace (2 Layers), Grimace (3 Layers), Helicopter Dodecahedron, DaYan Gem III, and Knock-Off Domino with Spindle-Domino number scheme.
A big one from Problemboden, Finland: Outlet (nice Kamei Puzzle Box), The Piston, Stubborn Turtles (more like an interesting Physics experiment!), Timonen Burr, Heart Lock, Double Squared, Bolte 13 (a 13 piece burr set for 6pc burrs) , 9 Chinese Rings (an addition to my n-ary puzzle collection), Elephant Trick Box, Brain String, Coil, Loop, and Rattle.
As this is a typical member of the family, I extended my paper of course: Kugellager.pdf. Enjoy reading!
The paper is hosted on my homepage: Kugellager.pdf. Enjoy reading!
A small, but very nice surprise package from Jack Krijnen, containing the Burrly Sane for Professionals, the last member of the Burrly Sane family to be made and in my collection. Thank you, Jack!
A package from Bill Cutler, containing some true classics: Wausau 81 and Wausau 84 (completing the series), and the Lovely 18 piece burr
A package from XMATRIX, containing two puzzle novelties: Xmatrix Cubus and Xmatrix Quadrus
From Lagoon Group: Trilogy, Caged Knot, Alcatraz, and Squarrel
From auctions: Burrly Sane Woodworkers Edition, Minimal Twist, and Fortress
From some shops at Spieletage 2010 in Essen some vintage puzzles: Two Drawers, COC, Orb-It, Hungarian Rings, Color Puzzler, Findis Teufelsknoten, Very many mini plastic puzzles by German company "Pussy" from the early 1980s, and Westentaschen Puzzle
From Jean-Claude Constantin, whom I met in Essen: 2 Keys, Sliding Lock Puzzle, Sliding Puzzle, Big Sliding Lock Puzzle, Sliding Puzzle, and Schiebelehre
In a Twistypuzzles-Forum post I got an idea what to do with my spare Eastsheen 4x4x4: a 1x4x4 Cube
And some inexpensive puzzles from China: Magic Octahedron, Trajber's Octahedron, Windmill Cube, Dodecahedron, Mozhi Diamon, and Crystal Diamond.
Cast: Marble, Laby, Helix, and Square; MiToys Bamboo Burrs 1, 2, 3, and 4; and additionally: Eureka Key Maze and Trick Lock
Die Welle, Kiste mini, Labyring, Zahnradlabyrinth, and Ahorn Kiste
As a small add-on I got an F-Puzzle
The paper is hosted on my homepage: Kugellager.pdf. Enjoy reading!
Big -- very expensive -- very, very good: From MrPuzzles's Current limited edition: Ternary Burr (closely related to Tern Key and Crazy Elephant Dance) and The Minotaur's Burr
Of course, I have less money on my bank account now and some more very nice puzzles: Chinese Lock, Headstanding Cube, 2D Packing Problem, Assorted Snakes, Diagonal Loop #2, Coffin's Dilemma II, Ozone, Awoi Cube II, Finnish Cross, and 6 pieces framed knot
and a present at work: Soma Cube
From Jean-Claude: Black Jack and Big Sliding Lock,
From Bernhard: 4 Pieces in Frame and More MazeNCubes,
Also, I got a T2 popplock and a Mercury Cube Puzzle
Puzzle number 500: Kugellager
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New from Bernhard Schweitzer's shop: Gonsalve's Dilemma and Quintupels and Keiichiro's Nested Burr Simple (not so simple!)
This nice Kumiki-Puzzle actually consists of three puzzles: A small kumiki in the middle, a kumiki frame, and a packing problem.
With 6 pieces: White Mischief Puzzle and Deadlock Puzzle
With 18 pieces: Labyrinth, The Old Man Of Hoy, and Knossos
The Hammerhead Burr (an unsual relative of this puzzle in the burr family), the tricky Sly Burr, and the fascinating The Karst Phenomenon by Mr. Puzzle,
the Da Vinci's Mona Lisa Codebreaker, and the D-Ball in six colors, accompanied by an unknown metal disentanglement puzzle as a nontrivial present.
Also added: Red Square-1, a custom built white 211x211x4 and Mathmaker, a magnetic contruction game