Sunday 10 March 2024

I Do Love Recreational Maths

So The Fibonacci Box Had To Be Mine

Who could resist?
I bought and adored the Pi box from Jesse Borne and was delighted when he followed up with the Fibonacci box. I had a rather long wait for it to be manufactured but it was worth the wait. Now I need to find time to play.

Underside

Certificate



Sunday 7 January 2024

Alexander is Trying To Kill Me!

14 puzzles with multiple variants!
I count Alexander Magyarics as a friend! Not only does he design wonderful puzzles to bamboozle the community but he also is willing to chat to me about them (and about life) and occasionally he sends me a package of toys that he has designed and 3D printed. This time there were 14 of them and when I put them all out for photography, Mrs S was distinctly unimpressed. I heard mutters of murder and mayhem and have directed her to Alexander for any violence!

Most of these have multiple challenges but I will be lucky if I even solve one of them! These are great to take to work with me as they don't take up much room and are lightweight. I cannot lift heavy weights yet after my surgery. 



Sunday 13 August 2023

Scrambling My Brain with Scramb L

Scramb L next to Strugg L
Juno recently offered up for sale the next in his series of packing puzzles in open topped boxes. With these it is the pins and grooves that make the puzzle challenging. I couldn't resist buying another in the series and jumped at the chance to add Scramb L to my collection.



Sunday 11 June 2023

Orbit by DedWood Crafts

Orbit
When Dee Dixon of DedWood crafts offers up a new toy then I pretty much always immediately jump to his site and hand him a bunch of PayPal!

The Orbit is beautifully made from a vibrant Canarywood and Purpleheart. The aim is to remove the centre piece which has been locked in place. These are still available for sale now so grab one if it interests you.

I have had Walter's radio next to me on my armchair partially solved for quite a few weeks now. I got stuck after the first move and then managed the second one after some discussion with Louis at the MPP - he was trying something that I had not done and I suggested a helpful move to him that allowed him to find the second step. I went home and immediately completed that second step but have gotten stuck again. 

I am rubbish at puzzles! 


Sunday 14 May 2023

Pelikan Puzzles Positively Perfect

Pelikan's upcoming release
I am currently racing to produce reviews for some new and wonderful puzzles from Jakub and Jaroslav's wonderful workshop.
From back left:
Nebelung by Alfons Eyckmans
Dino by Christoph Lohe
Ode to the bevel by Dr Volker Latussek
Tetra Flop by Dr Volker Latussek
Shutout by Osanori Yamamoto
Slider 2 by Osanori Yamamoto
Ladybug by Pelikan

I have solved a few so far and they have all been great fun


Sunday 2 April 2023

The Pressure Is On Again!

New toys coming from Pelikan soon
I received a lovely delivery this week from Jakub again and I will try to power through them as quickly as I can to provide reviews
From back left:
Edition of Additions by Alexander Magyarics
Euklid meets Fuller by Dr Volker Latussek
Lomi Lomi  by Alexander Magyarics
Paraugus by Alfons Eyckmans
Pento-stamp (2 versions) by Alexander Magyarics
Snail by Pelikan

I can't wait to begin!

Sunday 19 February 2023

I Couldn't Resist It!

Euroka from Junichi Yananose
When I got an email from Juno's Pluredro site about this and saw that Brian Young had considered it an instantaneous purchase, I couldn't resist it. Mrs S caught me looking at it over my shoulder and gave me the warning look that I had better not. When her attention was elsewhere I did. I really really did and the deliver arrived whilst she was up in Edinburgh visiting the outlaws. I quickly put it on display in my study window and I don't think that she has noticed yet despite it being huge! It is 24cm in diameter. It is made of New Guinea Walnut and PNG Rosewood for the puzzle pieces, and the base is made of Fijian Mahogany. The white small part that has Juno's branding is American Rock Maple.

It certainly looks fabulous on display and I really don't know whether I will ever have the courage to disassemble it. I did remove one of the 30 identical pieces and had a bit of a struggle putting it back in place!

3 of my 4 Pluredro interlocking puzzles



Saturday 14 January 2023

Dee Makes a Bad Moon

Bad Moon
Having really enjoyed Angry Walter and put it in my Top 10(ish) of 2022, I couldn't resist buying Dee Dixon's latest creation - the Bad Moon. It is beautifully made from a lovely grained Bubinga and European Beechwood. The aim is to find the Dedwood crafts logo somewhere inside.


Sunday 13 November 2022

Pelikan Are Preparing For Your Christmas

Coming soon from Jakub and Jaroslav
I am working as fast as I can to get these solved and reviewed so that they can go up for sale.
Vega (2 versions) designed by Stewart Coffin
Rosebud designed by Stewart Coffin
Detonator designed by James Fortune
Dracula designed by Alfons Eyckmans
Eros designed by Volker Latussek
Pearl designed by Lucie Pauwels
Corner Pack designed by Lucie Pauwels
Bornage designed by Stéphane Chomine
P-Badge designed by Osanori Yamamoto
Twinkle Star designed by Osanori Yamamoto

As always, they are beautifully made and look fabulous. There is a whole range of difficulty levels as well as puzzle types. I hope to have this done by next Sunday.


Sunday 23 October 2022

Alexander and Brian Team Up to Annoy Mrs S

Line Up
Stealth
I love the sheer variety of puzzles that Alexander Magyarics designs (he even 3D prints quite a few of them) and I absolutely adore the wood choices and craftsmanship of Brian Menold. How can I possibly resist buying these when they came up?


Sunday 14 August 2022

Fastest delivery from Australia Ever!

Latest toys from Juno
Amazing! The express delivery option got these here in 5 days!
Yes, I couldn't resist it. A new "case" from Juno and some more of his fancy board burrs! I had to buy them and even had to admit to Mrs S how much they cost me.us. She didn't seem to mind which was odd until she admitted that she might have been summer sale shopping and she had been receiving almost daily deliveries! I am very restrained in comparison.

Card case is reviewed today on the main site.


Sunday 7 August 2022

Aaron annoys Mrs S

Mrs S is very unhappy!
I couldn't resist it! My friend Aaron produced a bunch of new disentanglement puzzles and I bought a nice big bunch of them! Mrs S was horrified to see what came out of the box and, to be honest, looking at some of these, so am I! Most of these are level 10 or 10+ and I very much doubt I will ever manage to solve them but I will have a happy time getting chest pain and trying!

Thank you my friend!


Sunday 10 July 2022

Pelikan have made yet more beauties

The Upcoming release from Jakub and Jaroslav
I have not had a lot of time to play yet but we have (from back left):
Scrooge designed by Alfons Eyckmans
Golden Pot designed by Yavuz Demirrhan
Minas Tirith designed by Tamás Vanyó
Insider designed by Alexander Magyarics
Typhoon S1 designed by Osanori Yamamoto
Soma 6 pack designed by Lucie Pauwels

They all look absolutely amazing and are finished beautifully. I can't wait to play!

Sunday 29 May 2022

I Don't Know Why I Keep Buying These!

I don't know whether I can ever solve these
I haven't bought any twisty puzzles in many months and decided to catch up with a few that had gone by. I have bought these:

Gemini 4-Corner Magic Cube
Lanlan X Cube
Clover Pyraminx Cube
Fission Skewb Cube
DodeRhombus
Crazy DodeRhombus 

The two at the back scare me to death! First I need to sticker them and then I really doubt I can solve any of them.


Sunday 22 May 2022

Pelikan Do it Again!

Gorgeous stuff coming very soon from Pelikan
I have received the upcoming puzzles from Jakub and Jaroslav and they are simply incredible.
We have (from back left):
Hippo designed by James Fortune
Stir the coffee designed by Dan Fast
Boo Burr designed by James Fortune
Four Mirror One designed by Osanori Yamamoto
Fermat meets Fuller designed by Dr Volker Latussek
One Flower designed by Osanori Yamamoto
Time - 4 - T designed by Alexander Magyarics

I hope to solve them and have my reviews ready by 29/05/2022 for them to go on sale.

Sunday 15 May 2022

A Few New Arrivals in the Last Couple of Weeks

 Not posted here in a while - really not had much time. But this week's blog was quick leaving me a little time.

The Hanayama Cast Planet arrived from Nic Picot's Hanayama Uk site:


Looks like a fairly complex maze for a level 4 puzzle

I backed the PuzzleMaster kickstarter a looong time ago and was aghast when my puzzles crossed the Atlantic to France for some reason, got lost for several weeks before being returned to Canada. Paul from PuzzleMaster was good enough to repackage them and send them back to me. This time they arrived quite quickly.

Quintus extreme

Total Eclipse

The Skull
A design by Jerry Loo - looks wonderful and intimidatingly tough

Sunday 19 September 2021

A Beautiful Gift From Casey

Twistytex's 3x5x7
This week I received a new copy of one of the seminal cuboids ever produced. SuperAntonioVivaldi encouraged the production (by 3D printing at Shapeways) of the original 3x5x7 and I got a copy from my friend Rline who had the Ultimate solution YouTube channel. 

The original
I adored this puzzle but after the first few solves, I had to put in down out of fear! It continually dropped black powder and this drove Mrs S wild! I now have a version made by Casey Weaver that I can play with. I just have to hope that I can solve it as it has been a VERY long time!


 


Sunday 12 September 2021

Jakub and Jaroslav do it Again

Yes, it's that time already! Pelikan puzzles have produced another wonderful batch of puzzles for us to drool over and for me to fail to solve!

Play-girl 2
Yes Alexander Magyarics has been working with funny grids again! Another wonderful packing puzzle with two holes to cover. Made from Pink oak and Wenge, this should be a fun challenge.

Get Trunk 1
Another hangable tray packing puzzle designed by Alex, this will be very special for me - my family connections with elephants makes anything like this very poignant for me. This looks really tough!

Half soma
No Pelikan release is complete without something from Dr Volker Latussek. This is another of his anti-slide puzzles based on the soma cube pieces (this time they have been sliced in half. The aim to fit them into the box so that they hold up and fill the top layer and do not fall down inside. This will be VERY tough as I cannot even put the pieces neatly back in the box again!

Hidden curry no 90
Another by Dr latussek - a packing puzzle with pieces in a tray - tip them out, turn the tray over and start packing - slightly harder that way around!

I suspect I will not break my failing streak on this!

Octopus 33
Another puzzle by Osanori Yamamoto - remove the pieces from the frame - the movement is heavily constrained though!

Turtle
Turtle is a burr designed by Alfons Eyckmans and, I think, it contains a captive centre piece shaped like a...turtle! This might be rather difficult!

Dragster
Another fabulous design by Stephan Baumegger - there is a small dragster racer inside which considerably hinder the movement of the pieces. This will be a huge challenge as I have tried the original from Stephan himself and singularly failed to solve it.


Sunday 5 September 2021

Save Me From Mrs S! I Have More Jingly Puzzles

I bought another batch of puzzles from Aaron!

An embarrassment of complex toys!

Inside the boxes were a nice amount of protective padding and some of the most wonderfully complex N-ary puzzles:







Sunday 8 August 2021

She Might Just Murder Me Soon

 

Delivery from Mine
Mrs S gave a gasp of horror when we emptied one box out - Mine has been toiling away for weeks assembling his latest batch of delights and I ordered erm....quite a few!

Delivery from Eric
Then just a few days later she opened a box from Eric. So far she hasn't shouted at me too much or threatened to chuck me out but she certainly is starting to mutter evil imprecations whenever she sees me.

Maybe I should tidy up my study?

It has been months since I put anything away



Saturday 31 July 2021

Derek Gets Dastardly

Polar Burr
Named because of the ice cap on the end, this is the most challenging helical type burr yet from the evil genius brain of the doctor of twist, Derek Bosch. Printed by Big Steve (one of the two brass monkeys), this will prove to be a huge challenge I think. Ali has solved it but that doesn't mean much because Ali solves everything!!!


Sunday 25 July 2021

Mrs S SaysIt's Never Ending!

Free Me 7
Joe Turner has released his long awaited Free me 7 puzzle and it looks lovely. Hopefully I am up to the task.

Mrs S has seen me receive rather a lot of new toys recently and she is hoping it will end soon. Do I dare tell her about the one coming from Juno?

Sunday 18 July 2021

Something Really Special from MrPuzzle

Abraham's Well
The puzzle community have been waiting for a new sequential discovery delight from the warped mind and brilliant hands of Mr Puzzle himself, Brian Young. To try and stop the massive increases in price that occur after a new puzzle release, Brian has made a LOT of these and will be releasing them in phases. I was lucky enough to get in there as soon as the first batch was made available and it arrived really fast!

It is incredibly beautifully made and the instructions look really intriguing:




 


Sunday 11 July 2021

Obscure Burr

 

Obscure burr
Yes I know you all recognise the craftsman immediately! Apparently this puzzle solution is based on an obscure mathematical theorem. I need to avoid using the usual lock picking method of solving it and work out the solution from the theorem. Not managed it in the last 4 days!

Sunday 4 July 2021

Jakub Goes Into Overdrive!

Upcoming puzzles from the New Pelikan Workshop
Luckily for me I am about to start a week of annual leave. Jakub has just sent me 9 (yes NINE!) puzzles to play with. The pressure is on to solve them and get some words for him and you (so that you can decide what is worth your cash).

We have (from the back Left to Right):

Camel Ride by Stephan Baumegger (a 12 piece burr with a character inside)
Colliding Galaxies by Alexander Magyarics (a packing puzzle through an odd shaped hole)
Fermat by Dr Volker Latussek (a packing puzzle with prism shapes and the usual box)
All tetra pod by Osanori Yamamoto (a new shaped packing puzzle)
Palace by Oasnori Yamamoto (a new variant of packing puzzle)
Play-boy 2 by Alexander Magyarics (a packing puzzle based on a triangular grid)
Lutz by Dr Volker Latussek (a sliding piece puzzle)
Waffle by Osanori Yamamoto (a take apart puzzle with rotations)
Web 3 by Dan Fast (a grid assembly puzzle)

All these are gorgeous and beautifully made - I have had time to only photograph and have a little fiddle so far!

Sunday 27 June 2021

Aaron Produces Something Challenging

Axes and Hammer and Three Bodies
These puzzles have been stuck in limbo in a Chinese airport for 3 months! Finally they arrive and boy, they are worth the wait. 2 challenges that are beautifully made and both based on very old ideas - they have been made MUCH more difficult! I cannot wait to have time to play!