Extremely Puzzling - Goetz Schwandtner's Puzzles

Puzzle Group: 18 Piece Burrs

High level 18 pieces burrs -- these are some of my favourites. After receiving a bigger set of puzzle packages, I could create this page with an overview of the interesting ones I have in my collection, and will add new arrivals when I receive them. The puzzles on this page are not only classic 18 pieces burrs with pieces of dimensions 2x2x8 (or 2x2x10), but I have also included some 18 pieces burrs with other piece dimensions (2x3x10, 2x3x9 and 2x2x9) and non-classic arrangements (like the Manda Burr).
The most prominent parameters of these puzzles has been used for ordering them on the page: the level, in particular the moves required to remove the first piece. Some of the puzzles have complex move sequences for the second and even further pieces, like the Phelan, which stays interesting for a long time. The levels provided on this page are the number of moves to remove the first piece in the shortest solution for a unique assembly, whose uniqueness is sometimes enforced by piece colors or routings. Some puzzles do have solutions with lower levels as well, like the Coming of Age MKII, whose level 14.10.7.3.5.12.10 solution (which I have currently in my puzzle) may be more interesting than the maximal level 19.4.
The 18 pieces Burrs with level over 100 moves have been part of a challenge between Alfons Eyckmans and Jack Krijnen. For some years, Jack was the winner with his 152 moves burr, closely followed by Alfons "Tiros". All the puzzles with level over 113 on this page are based on the level 113 Phoenix-Cabracan and are some variations of them. From a historic point of view, the oldest one is the Van der Poel Burr dating back to the 1950s, the Lovely Burr was an amazingly high level Burr for its time (early 1980s), and the Super Cross has been around for a while. The latest developments with the high level challenges are mainly due to computer support available, which allows to solve these puzzles with an intuitive yet powerful program: Burr-Tools by Andreas Roever. One of the latest designs is the Century, not as high level as the Phoenix-Cabracan descendants, but with a completely new and interesting structure.
Autumn 2012 showed some interesting new developments in high level 18 pieces burrs, all by Alfons Eyckmans. The "Echo-1" (not in my collection) added a burr with level 150, like Tiros. The "Muff" has only 93 moves for the first piece, but if you have a look at the level for the first nine pieces, it is impressive (and the movements are quite different from known high level burrs): 93.18.18.7.4.10.6.10.6. The latest addition in 2012 is "The Baron" raising Alfons' personal record to a level of 151 -- only one move away from BSfEP and two moves from a new world record. This new burr introduces a new color scheme to keep the solution unique: Three colors, and one color with routing at one end of the pieces only.
Also 2013 seems to be very promising. I received "The Barones", which was a new personal record for Alfons in the last quater of 2012. Based on this puzzle, Jack created a new world record, beating his own record by first 2, then 3, and eventually 4 moves, raising the level of traditional 18 pieces burrs to an astronomical 156. The name "Excelsior" of this puzzle just captures what has happened here. After more than two years it is a brilliant success of both Jack and Alfons to raise the level once again. I have the feeling we are going to see more records soon, now that the two renowned experts have joined forces!
Only the second month in 2013, yet another world record. In their cooperation Alfons raised the level to 166 with the latest puzzle, the "Supernova".
Beside the true traditional 18 pieces burrs, also some close relatives are shown on this page: With frames, additional hidden pieces, or strangely shaped pieces. Actually the first entry in the list, with the highest level of a whopping 192 is not the highest level traditional 18 pieces burr. It is a double burr based on two level 150 Tiros burrs, a concept first devised by Stephan Baumegger in his Burrdos.
Level 192
Double Tiros Double Tiros (Guillaume, Alfons, Stephan — double 18 pieces burr)
Level 166
Supernova Supernova (Alfons, Jack (cooperation)) Phoenix Family Phoenix Family Burr Set (Jack, contains Super Nova)
Level 156
Excelsior Excelsior (Jack, Alfons (cooperation))
Level 152
BSfEP Burrly Sane for Extreme Puzzlers (Jack) The Barones The Barones (Alfons)
Level 151
The Baron The Baron (Alfons)
Level 150
Tiros Tiros (Alfons)
Level 148
BSfP Burrly Sane for Professionals (Jack)
Level 138
BSfP Burrly Sane for Woodworkers (Jack)
Level 134
Sidestep IISidestep II (Jack)
Level 130
Apollo Apollo (Alfons)
Level 126
Sidestep Sidestep (Jack)
Level 113
Phoenix-C Phoenix-Cabracan (Alfons)
Level 109
Phoenix Phoenix (Alfons)
Level 101
Buzzard Buzzard (Alfons)
Level 100
Century Century (Jack)
Level 97
The Kick The Kick (Alfons)
Level 95
Garuda Garuda (Alfons)
Level 93
Muff Muff (Alfons)
Level 82
Dubstep Dubstep (Stefan)
Level 79
Armilla Armilla (Alfons)
Level 66
Rombak Rombak (Alfons, with frame)
Level 62
Condors Peeper Condor's Peeper (Jack)
Level 60
Aldie Aldie (Alfons) Lippelo Lippelo (Alfons)
Level 59
Condor Condor (Alfons)
Level 54
Lange Wapper 54 Lange Wapper 54-2 Lange Wapper 54 and Lange Wapper 54-2 (Alfons, longer pieces of 10 units), Phoebe Phoebe (Alfons, 4 additional small sticks)
Level 53
Frame Me Up Frame Me Up (Stephan, self framing, with the six frame loops attached to one middle piece each)
Level 52
Smeagol Smeagol (Alfons, additional ring piece)
Level 47
Morpheus Morpheus (Alfons)
Level 45
Minerva Minerva (Alfons) Toban Toban (Alfons)
Level 44
Sleipnir Sleipnir (Alfons, 2x2 and 2x3 shape mixed)
Level 43
Tipperary Tipperary Tipperary (Jack) Jiminy Jack Jiminy Jack (Jack) Devil's Pet 4 Devil's Pet 4 (Alfons, 1 extra piece)
Level 42
Cannich Cannich (Alfons, 2x2 and 2x3 shape mixed)
Level 41
Burrner Burrner (Stephan, middle pieces with small extensions)
Level 40
Beware of the Snake Beware of the Snake (Stephan Baumegger, 1 extra piece)
Level 38
Waddon Waddon (Alfons, 2x3 shape) Devil's Pet 3 Devil's Pet 3 (Alfons, 1 extra piece) Hell Hell (Alfons, 12 extra frame pieces)
Level 37
Tadpoles Tadpoles (Alfons, 2x2 shape, and some 2x3 shape at one end)
Level 34
EarringsEarrings (Alfons, two extra ring pieces) John's Goliath John's Goliath (Alfons)
Level 33
Burrloon Burrloon (Pit Khiam Goh) Devil's Pet 1 Devil's Pet 1 (Alfons, 1 extra piece)
Level 32
Enmarcado Enmarcardo (Stephan Baumegger, Self-framing)
Level 31
Anlon Anlon (Aaron Davila, mixed pieces 2x2 and 2x3)
Level 30
Eiger Eiger (Alfons, with four frame plates)
Level 29
Cephio Cephio (Alfons, flat pieces)
Level 28
Goliath 2 Goliath 2 (Alfons)
Level 27
Spy Hole Spy Hole (Alfons, some wider pieces)
Level 25
Saturn Saturn (Alfons, 2x2 and 2x3 pieces) Frankenstein Frankenstein (Alfons, 2x3xn shape with some cutouts to middle pieces) Gateway Gateway (Alfons, two middle pieces attached to base) Scrooge Scrooge (Alfons, some flat pieces)
Level 24
Full House 2 Full House 2 (Alfons, middle pieces wider and cage) Wobbe Wobbe (Alfons, with some wider pieces)
Level 23
Mayhem Mayhem (Alfons, oddly shaped pieces) Friend with a shield Friend with a shield (Alfons, 4 additional shield pieces)
Level 22
Typhyter Typhyter (Stephan Baumegger, strangely shaped piece to connect both wings to burr, but overall 18 pieces) Hooks 2 Hooks 2 (Alfons, extra baseplate with four hooks)
Level 21
Skunk Skunk (Alfons, 3 additional frame pieces) Spidernest Spidernest (Alfons, 2 additional spider pieces inside)
Level 20
Knudde Knudde (Alfons, additional pieces hidden inside)
Level 19
Coming of Age MKII Coming of Age MKII (Brian Young, also lower level solutions), Save the Gorilla Save the Gorilla (Alfons, 1 extra Gorilla piece) Crocs Crocs (Alfons)
Level 18
Lovely Burr Lovely Burr (Bruce Love)
Level 17
Phelan Phelan (Alfons, 2x3 shape) Devil's Pet 2 Devil's Pet 2 (Alfons, 1 extra piece) Burrdos Burrdos (Stephan Baumegger, siamese 18 pieces burr with 34 pieces in total) Simplicity Simplicity (Jack)
Level 16
Jalpa Jalpa (Alfons) Matryoshka Burr Matryoshka Burr/Lange Wapper Casino (Alfons) Aurora Aurora with 6 additional slim boards (Alfons) Blue Beetle Blue Beetle (with an additional beetle piece, Alfons)
Level 15
Burrn Burrn (Stephan) Fly Trap 2 Fly Trap 2 (with additional 4 flies, Alfons)
Level 14
Mountain Mountain (Dan Fast, some extensions to 12 pieces looking like an embedded 6 piece burr) Alf 3 Alf 3 (Alfons)
Level 13
Centauri Centauri (Stephan Baumegger, boxed 18 pieces burr)
Level 12
18-in-Blocks 18-in-Blocks (Alfons, 2x3 shape) Gumball 3K Gumball 3K (Stephan Baumegger, two extra car pieces inside) Casino 2Casino 2 (Alfons, two extra dice inside)
Level 10
Nightmare Nightmare (Alfons, oddly shaped pieces) Free the Monkeys Free the Monkeys (Alfons, two additional hidden pieces) Alien Alien (Alfons, looks like 18 piece burr, but has 26 pieces) Fortuna Fortuna (Stephan, with additional cage, level 9 without cage)
Level 7
Columbus Columbus (Alfons) Assembler's Challenge Assembler's Challenge (Jack)
Level 6
Bottom Line
Level 4
Manda 1 Burr Simply Complex Unnamed 18 piece burr Lattice Lattice (Bill Cutler, unusual moves)
Level 3
van der Poel Burr CT52 van der Poel Burr Grandpa Framed Framed! (both framed variants by Jack) The Slider (by Bill Cutler, looks like typical 18 piece burr, but has 20 pieces, coordinate motion and an additional trick) Eighteen Piece 6x6x6 Burr
Level 2
Vertigo Vertigo (with half notches) Burrly Legal Burrly Legal
Level 1
18 pcs Burr #3 Super Cross Dragon Burr Microburr 18-Piece II 18-Piece II (Bill Cutler)