RELEASED:4.15.2015PRODUCED:22 CopiesDESIGNER:George BellCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Ash, LacewoodCOMMENTS:Octahedron with Child is a four piece puzzle which uses coordinate motion in the solution. Three identical pieces wrap around each other and the fourth key piece locks the assembly together. While not terribly difficult, the design is interesting and of course looks wonderful in fancy woods and a 19 piece RD assembly. I meant to make more of this puzzle but a miscalculation ruined about ha...

RELEASED:11.3.2015PRODUCED:39 CopiesDESIGNER:Goh Pit KhiamCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Maple, Walnut, Yellowheart, Paduak, Bubinga, AcrylicCOMMENTS:Another one by Goh Pit Khiam, Fusion is the successor of RetroFit. As you would expect from how tricky RetroFit was, Fusion takes it to another level. The goal, to fit the five polyominoes into the partially covered tray, is MUCH trickier than it looks. Here is what Goh has to say about it: This is a redesign of my Crossroad puzzle. In that puzzle, ...

RELEASED:6.18.2015PRODUCED:47 CopiesDESIGNER:Tom JollyCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Cherry, Paduak, Maple, Yellowheart, PurpleheartCOMMENTS:Another very cool interlocking puzzle from the talented Mr. Jolly. Think Outside the Box has a long name and a moderate level 9.2 solution. However, there's a catch! I found this very tricky to solve and tricky to disassemble as well. Simple in concept and brilliant in execution, this is a design you Jolly well better not miss.The construction of this puzzle...

RELEASED:3.27.2013PRODUCED:37 CopiesDESIGNER:Chi-Ren ChenCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Wenge, AcrylicCOMMENTS:I noticed a lot of interesting board and stick burrs coming out on Ishino's site so I decided to make batch of them. After looking at a couple dozen designs I chose six for their representation of the various concepts and levels of difficulty.This and the Quads and Rings 1 are probably the entry-level puzzles in this category when it comes to difficulty. Worm Inside is fairly basic, with...

RELEASED:5.30.2012PRODUCED:20 CopiesDESIGNER:Mineyuki UyematsuCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:YellowheartCOMMENTS:This fun little kimuki design mostly attracted me because of its shape. For some reason I just thought it was interesting. The puzzle itself is simple yet enjoyable. It's fairly easy to solve, yet very strongly built, so it will be a good one to show / loan to a beginner who is checking out your collection.Each copy is signed and dated; 20 copies made for sale. Construction of this puz...

RELEASED:12.16.2015PRODUCED:48 CopiesDESIGNER:Masumi OhnoCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Shedua and BloodwoodCOMMENTS:I saw this puzzle at the IPP design competition this summer and know I had to make it. I was very happy when Mr. Ohno allowed me permission! Cubane is a three dimensional interlocking maze replete with loops and dead ends. It's very reminiscent of the excellent "Wanderer" puzzle by Oskar van Deventer and Tom Lensch. Navigating from start to finish requires a minimum of 15 moves, in...

RELEASED:1.31.2015PRODUCED:38 CopiesDESIGNER:Dario UriCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Wenge, MapleCOMMENTS:Dario Uri is a new designer (to me at least). When I saw his Uri Three Bars design I knew immediately that I wanted to make it. Luckily Mr. Uri was happy to let me make a batch, so now you can get one too! This is a VERY unusual puzzle and a lot of fun to solve. The goal is to intersect the three open ended pieces such that they push all the way in flush to the base. With a single level 10 so...

RELEASED:12.16.2015PRODUCED:40 CopiesDESIGNER:Markku VesalaCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Purpleheart, NylonCOMMENTS:The 3x3x3 cube is pretty played out. With only 27 units there are only so many things you can do with it. That's assuming tradition block glued to blocks...if you open up edge connections, a whole new world of complexity appears! Markku's excellent Liberal Cube makes good use of these dynamics, with a very confusing and difficult seven piece serial assembly. I would estimate that t...

RELEASED:11.3.2015PRODUCED:42 CopiesDESIGNER:Stephan BaumeggerCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Cherry / WalnutCOMMENTS:Here is another extremely difficult burr along the lines of the Binary and Ternary burrs, and Cutler's cube puzzle. Cubloc bridges the gap between those puzzle, being very difficult to solve and disassemble but without the predictability of the n-ary burrs. The six pieces interact with the cage to form various gates which interact in a complicated way. It is exceptionally difficult...

RELEASED:11.21.2014PRODUCED:45 CopiesDESIGNER:Dan FastCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Maple, Walnut, Yellowheart, PaduakCOMMENTS:Dan's new puzzle is aptly named; it's very difficult and may rupture your brain! With a super tricky level 21.7, this puzzle is no joke. The four internal burr pieces interact with the three looped cage pieces to create a series of gates. The interaction creates an evolving mechanism that contains circles and dead ends. Simply disassembling this puzzle is a challenge!Fin...

RELEASED:11.21.2014PRODUCED:40 CopiesDESIGNER:Alfons EyckmansCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Cherry, Walnut, Maple, Zebrawood, HollyCOMMENTS:Recently there have been a spate of 18 piece designs using 2x3 stick size. All of them were interesting, and I definitely wanted to make a representative puzzle from this style. It was difficult for me to pick one, but in the end the uniqueness of camel and rider locked inside the puzzle caught my eye.Goetz Schwandtner made himself a personal copy of this des...

RELEASED:11.3.2015PRODUCED:41 CopiesDESIGNER:Christoph LoheCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Cherry, PurpleheartCOMMENTS:This puzzle is more than just a pretty shape...it's also got a very interesting feature. Included with the six burr pieces is a small rectangular piece which can be added to the inside of the puzzle. Solved without the internal piece, Tulip has a level 16 solution. When the internal piece is added, the solution changes to a level 9.14...double the trouble for your money!The constr...

RELEASED:11.3.2015PRODUCED:40 CopiesDESIGNER:Tamas VanyoCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Wenge and BubingaCOMMENTS:This is a very unique and fun puzzle, and probably my favorite design of the update. The box captures six sliders which move around to form an evolving maze for the four identical pieces to maneuver. Moderate in difficulty but over the top in enjoyment! If you haven't noticed I really liked this one, assembling them all was actually a pleasure.The construction of this puzzle is excelle...

RELEASED:6.8.2015PRODUCED:40 CopiesDESIGNER:Yavuz DemirhanCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Maple, WalnutCOMMENTS:This little gem was a last minute addition to the update. A fairly low level 7.2, it's nonetheless fairly tricky. I ended up solving it outside the box because things got tricky quickly once they were inserted. The 2:1 ratio of endgrain dispite having 2x2 sticks, and having a final 5x5 solved volume is fairly unique, and I found this design to be very well executed.The construction of th...

RELEASED:6.18.2015PRODUCED:41 CopiesDESIGNER:Tom JollyCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Bird's Eye Maple / Lacewood or WengeCOMMENTS:Tom always comes up with intweresting cubes, and this is no exception. Dispite being fairly simple with a level 4.3 solution, it's a lot of fun to solve. The bird's eye maple is absilutely beautiful and makes the puzzle really pop on the shelf.The construction of this puzzle is very precise, with nice solid clicks every time you move a piece. Each joint was clamped dur...

RELEASED:8.14.2014PRODUCED:52 CopiesDESIGNER:Alfons EyckmansCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Walnut / MapleCOMMENTS:The interesting shape of this burr is what attracted me to it initially. The unique level 12 solution was also a contributing factor. Once I figured out the color scheme and put it in production I was very pleased with the result. A definite departure from your normal six piece burr, the construction sequence is tricky and non-intuitive. The finished shape is pleasingly symmetrical an...

RELEASED:11.21.2014PRODUCED:40 CopiesDESIGNER:Tamás VanyóCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Maple, Bubinga, AcrylicCOMMENTS:I very much enjoyed making William Hu's "Simultaneous Maze" puzzle for the last update, so when I saw that Tamás had made a sequel using two mazes and one pin, I knew I had to make it. Vanyó's design uses an identical top and bottom plate to confuse and trick the solver. I won't say much about the solution but it's a lot of fun and not what you would expect. An excellent add...

RELEASED:6.18.2015PRODUCED:46 CopiesDESIGNER:Terry SmartCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Walnut, Bird's Eye Maple, AcrylicCOMMENTS:I'm trying to include at least one interesting packing puzzle in each update, and the A-Pack absolutely overdelivers in that regard. The concept is unique and brilliant, and I'm very glad I made it. There are two sliding shuttles which are captured in the acrylic frame. The goal is to pack the pieces completely in, and it's very very difficult. Right off the bat you're ...

RELEASED:4.15.2015PRODUCED:39 CopiesDESIGNER:Jerry LooCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Maple, Acrylic, Various Exotic HardwoodsCOMMENTS:I like *some* packing puzzles, and this one made the cut. It's a set of pentominos and a simple box, yet there is only ONE solution to packing them all in. A truly extraordinary achievement! I interpreted this one with a lot of panache, using 12 different woods for the pieces (Canary, Bubinga, Yellowheart, Peruvian Walnut, Paduak, Wenge, Shedue, Mahogany, Ipe, Boco...

RELEASED:5.14.2014PRODUCED:38 CopiesDESIGNER:Dan FastCRAFTSMAN:Eric FullerMATERIAL:Walnut Box, Yellowheart and Chakte Viga PiecesCOMMENTS:Dan is a new designer and brought a fresh idea to the table with Shake Something. This level 14 packing puzzle uses four burr pieces in a box and is anything but simple. The name comes from the fact that you have to turn the box various directions and shake it to accomplish some of the moves. While all the pieces are visible, many of the underlaying interactio...