MisFit by Bozo - finally solved !!

I made a quick post about the new Bozo puzzle in September called MisFit. The quality is still top level and the tray has improved a lot, especially the cover lid.

I really like the fact that you have an empty space for the puzzle to get an initial configuration that does not spoil you the solution.

Ok so now, what can I say in this new post? Well....just that I finally solved the puzzle!!!

Of course I played with it a bit when I first made my previous post. But honestly you cannot really count on the previous attempts to remember and make significant progress. In fact, many pieces can be placed at many spaces, making it confusing and almost impossible to remember what you tried to do some days ago while playing with the puzzle.

So I sit down and played with it. It must have taken me around one hours to solve and at the end, still some pieces to move...and....SOLVED !

I would say this is a challenging one, more difficult than his broken heart puzzle.

solved. Picture over lighted to not spoil!

 

 

A must-have in your collection if you like challenging, tricky, well-made, plexi puzzles. 

I can only recommend to buy all of his creations, because they all have that little something extra special that makes his designs so awsome :)

You can buy them at Bozo's website!

And if you want to enjoy a 10% reduction, you can use my coupon code: RPW7ZMDYF6XZ

The reduction is applied an can be seen after you click on "checkout" button, then on the page you can apply the coupon code.

If you don't like the colors, Bozo offers you to choose other colors (like all white, all black, etc.), but I feel the colors of mine are the best!

This puzzle has some wonderful mathematical properties

This is a pretty unusual puzzle, not because it's made out of 3D printers (which has become more and more usual these days) but because of the way it works (well the way it opens).

So a ball shape with a marble inside, probably composed of 3 (?) identical (?) pieces that you have to disassemble.

There are 2 methods to disassemble the puzzle:

-> the brute force: actually you won't use "brute force", but still this is not the intended solution

-> the intended solution which is very very nice.

 

I have solved it with the Solution many times and it is always super funny.

No, I am not a weirdo! And I am sure that my readers who have solved it know what I am talking about.

The solution is easily repeatable and will blow your mind again and again. You should really trust me.

Despite the seemingly simplicity of the puzzle, well there are some strong maths behind, that I am not going to share. I may have the explanations in PDF format somewhere in my computer though.

But don't worry, no need to understand the explanations to have fun with the puzzle. 

Did I tell you that it even got a prize during a puzzle design competition? and i tmy opinion it is well deserved :)

You can buy it on Puzzle Master webshop!

 

Can you beat the MisFit

A new puzzle by Bozo has landed for the joy of puzzlers !!!

The MisFit will now challenge your skills :)

I have not yet solved it and I will update this post or make a new one once done, but I just wanted to share my joy. The quality is still top but it has even raised to sky now:

the tray is less fragile

the "lid" has magnets to maintain the pieces (either in a solved position or unsolved position)

 

To be honest: this is very clever to have this configuration, so that you can display the puzzle in the way you want and it protects well the pieces.

 

Unless my internet brower does not work well, it does not seem that Bozo has updated yet his website.

But you can order this puzzle with the following link (it includes a 10% reduction price): order MisFit

Remember that you can still use the coupon code RPW7ZMDYF6XZ to get a 10% reduction for the puzzles in his website. 

And once again, I really advise you to buy all of them.

They all have something special and all are challenging!

Some bolts

The bolt puzzles are a nice market inside the nice market that are puzzles.

Indeed, not a lot designers made trick bolts (that the name of puzzle bolts) and even the famous ones don't implement a lot of things inside a bolt. Well....because of the size, it's obvious that you cannot have a lot of things inside a bolt.

The most famous designer is Rocky Chiaro who stopped making puzzle. Wil Strijbos also made some big bolts. Both designer can be considered as "premium bolts". For cheaper bolts, this review is for you.

I will quickly review 3 bolts. In terms of difficulty, they are very easy, with still an increase of difficulty among them.

Trick Bolt #1

A very easy trick bolt, actually it's more a trick than a "real" puzzle. It should not take that long, even for newbies. This also depends on how the previous solver reassembled the puzzle...

Trick Bolt #3

This is the most difficult among the series. So far this bolt has a "unique" mechanism, ie: I have not seen so far the same mechanism in a trick bolt puzzle. So a good surprise. Took me like 30 seconds to solve though :)

Trick Bolt #2

A nice bolt, easy, but I would say still a bit trickly to fidle as it can jammed. I mean not "blocked" nor been broken, but just things things not properly aligned can cause the puzzle to not open :)

I would recommend these puzzles more for children or newcommers to puzzles as they won't challenge you a lot. Still, they are nice and will display well in any metal / trick bolts collection !

If you want to get all the 3 and have a reduced price: you can find them on Puzzle Master webshop

C1 puzzle

Creative Workshop is pretty productive in terms of puzzles released over the past few months. I have reviewed many (just browse in my older reviews).

Their recent puzzles have been pretty big, the new one C1 is smaller. That does not mean easier!

The goal remains the same: open the big by trying to make your path through the devilish traps. It's obivous that there are locking pins allinside the puzzle. The real question is: how to deal with them.

Actually there are 3 challenges: understand how to move the top, how to move the bottom, solve the puzzle.

I fugured out quickly how to solve thefirst 2 goals. The 3rd one puzzled me for some time. But I am still proud of having been able to solve it without any help and without taking hours and hours.

I still must admit I was lucky (luck is always welcome anyway!) and once opened I realized that the puzzle is more complex than what I expected: very well thought, clever, and not for the faint of art.

Of course, as usual the quality it top and the mechanism is very reliable.

I tend to think that C1 is more or less equal to the orb in term of difficulty. I would rate Newton as a bit more difficult.

The marks on the side of the puzzle: are they of any help? or just here for the beauty? you will need to figure out :-)

If you like the puzzles in the series and/or you want to be puzzled, go for it, you won't regret.

The puzzle is available at Puzzle Master webshop

SSSP & Valve puzzles

Quick review of 2 hanayama puzzles

SSSP Emblem Shooting Star

It's basically the same kind of puzzle that another existing puzzle in the hanayama series: cast diamond. But in a different shape. It's also a bit more expensive. I don't know if this (and the other in this special series) was released for a specific event. 

Personally I like the design a lot and for sure I love the solution. For a true collector, both cast diamond and SSSP are needed. For a newbie, only cast diamonde will be "mandatory" :)

Note that this puzzle is sold out at Puzzle Master webshop. But I still put the link of it. So check from time to time if there is stock again!

Cast Valve

Cast valve has a nice shape and it's very pleasant to play with it. Push, pull, turn the pieces to solve it. I managed to solve it blindly, and I am quite sure many of you will not completely understand how it works.

It's designed by Vesa Timonen who is famous for having designed many cast puzzles!

I have a mixed feeling about this puzzle: for sure it looks beautiful and it's pleasant to play with it. However I solved it by luck without by real analysis (even if I deduced that there must be some groves to be aligned, etc.).

Putting back together is way more difficult. I managed to find solution, but it was not easy at all. I wished that the outside part of the puzzle (not the silver core but the golden part) had some writtings on it so that we could better see which side we have to align with which part of the silver piece. Else this is very difficult to follow the explanations. 

So a nice puzzle, but definitely not my favourite one !

Some more 3D printed puzzles !!

Here are the latest 2 puzzles by Creative Workshop, a Canadian company specialized in 3D printed puzzles. I review several of their puzzles, have a look :)

So here comes the Arcturus, a spherical puzzle with many tiny bits inside. Not really a surprise from these puzzle makers!

The goal is to open to puzzle and yes, you have to open both halves....not yet a surprise. On Puzzle Master webshop, a guy wrote a comment stating he solve the puzzle in 2 minutes. This is not possible, even with luck. Basically I think I had luck when I managed to opened the puzzle because even if you can try to deduce some things through the small openings, you cannot see all the traps and locks. So yes basically I think a bit of luck is involved. Well, I must admit a more logical solution will be applied for the most seasoned of my viewers ! :)

I think this is a clever puzzle (and a big fidget toy if you cannot open it). No new mechanism but a clever way of using ball bearings. It may keep you busy for a while. Before closing the ball, just study carefully the locks, not only to reassemble in the correct way the puzzle, but also to manage to open it again later on.

The second puzzle is called Traffic Light

This is more a sequencial discovery puzzle as you will find tools to use. The puzzle is pretty big, well bigger than I imagined !

The goal is to take out the 3 lights and open the box. You can open the box only after taking out the lights.

There are pins and magnets. You know what you have to do when it's about pins and magnets? Well then you should manage to solve some steps. The 3 lights don't open the same way, and the difficulty is increasing. Don't loose your tiny bits you will get, they may be helpful somehow somewhere. 

This is a challenging puzzle and I see well how people will be puzzled with it. The use of the tools is clever, and this is why I like this puzzle.

This is the only SD puzzles among the other puzzles from Creative Workshop. So whether you like SD puzzles and/or their puzzles, don't hesitate and go for it ! :)

Nice little puzzles

Here is a quick post with a selection of puzzles for high puzzling value and low price.

Yeah you asked for it, now you get it !

Labyrinth

 

A nice puzzle made by Jean-Claude Constantin. The goal is to free the ball bearing. Easy? At a first glance, yes. When looking more carefully...not that much. Because you need to take into account several parameters: the top plate rotates and there are several hidden paths.

The quality is awsome, so I don't have much negative things to say. Suitable for children and for seasoned puzzlers. If you're completely lost and want to start from the beginning, just unscrew the screw, open the puzzle, free the ball and play again!

Crazy crescents

This is not a puzzle but more a toy and the goal is to make different shapes. I like a lot the screwing process. It's fun and can be considered as a fidget toy. And it's colorful !!

Rubix's cube secret box

Well the correct name is: Oskar's treasure chest, but the idea is that you have a box in the shape of a rubix cube. And this is clearly a rubix'scube that you solved with the existing algorithms of the rubix's cube.

I need to tell you it's not a professional rubix's cube so you cannot perform the "corner cuttings".

Valentine puzzle

A nice plexi puzzle with several challenges created by Russian designer Vladimir Krasnoukhov.

Task 1: Using all five elements of the set, make different silhouettes as pictured in the instructions.  Elements can be flipped and turned, but they must not overlap.  You can make more than 100 different symmetrical polygons with different number of angles.  The hardest one to make seems to be a polygon with 13 angles.

Task 2: Using all five elements of the set, make two congruent shapes simultaneously (ie. equal in form and size).  There are 2 solutions.

Task 3: Prove that using this set of elements one can tile an infinite plane.

I think this is a fun puzzle because you can being entertained for several hours. You don't get only one puzzle, but many!

I think there is one missing challenge (easy): put all the pieces in the tray

Perplexus

Well known game: many traps, many path. You need dexterity, patience and nerves to solve it. Don't be in a hurry to move slowly the ball from start to end!

You can find the puzzles on Puzzle Master webshop (click on the name and there will be a link that put you direcly to the puzzles

Labyrinth

Perplexus

Rubix's cube secret box

Valentine's puzzle

Crazy crescents

Nice little puzzles by Doug Engel

Doug Engel is a prolific puzzle designer. He has an etsy shop where he sells his designs made out of 3D printers. Note that he made one metal puzzle and this should be a limited edition, so grab one while you can :)

Atome 

The easiest in the series. It's looking great and display well. Not super difficult. A nice warm-up. Don't forget that usually disassembling a puzzle is easier than reassembling it. So keep track of what you do.... :)

 

Saturn puzzle

No need to explain the name I guess :)

The goal is to seperate the pieces. A nice fidget toy as well as a puzzle. Not super difficult but rewarding. In my opinion, this would make a nice level 1 or 2 hanayama puzzle. Hope the designer thought about asking Hanayama to produce it !

Now more challenging: Six Circles

Way easier to disassemble than reassemling as reassembling ca be pretty much confusing with all those circles. Note that the solution is displayed for this puzzle on the product page, so don't be tempted to look at it !

Finally: the Borromean Cage

Tricky as there are many moving parts. The goal is to free the 4 star constellation inside.

Note that the solution is displayed for this puzzle on the product page, so don't be tempted to look at it !

Many of these puzzles were presented at past IPP. Even if they did not get a prize, they are preatty unique in their respective type and for the  soft price tag, I can only recommend to have a go !

Very suitable for beginners as well as for seasoned puzzlers.

If the links on my post don't work well, you can search on etsy: Puzzleatomik

And normally you should find easily the shop.... plenty of puzzles to buy !!!

The most difficult 3D packing puzzles on earth !

The title means it, it's no joke, wait and see !!

These puzzles are designed by No Problem puzzle "company", basically a group of 2 people (sorry I don't remember the names and they are hard to write, sorry guys!). 

Their packing puzzles have rotations and many tricks and despite their simple look are extremely hard.

Turn Them In

The goal is to pack the pieces inside and close the box. The thing is that if you do it the way below, you won't be able to close the lid because of the corners forned by the cube.

Obviously you will need to make some space, enough so you can turn a piece inside the hole. Ok, sound obscure, but you will see what I mean when you play with the puzzle. I would say this is the easiest of the puzzles in this post!

Naaidoos

Only 3 pieces.... sounds easy?? Not way. Probably the most difficult one! You need to rotate the pieces inside using the finger holes and sliding the two parts of the box. Difficult and the tolerances are small and tight.

Quadrille

A challenging puzzle with several difficulties: the obstacle (the rod), but the holes created and top and bottom. You need a bit of dexterity to keep the pieces stable. 

Toogle Box

Challenging without being frustrating, toogle box is a nice puzzle. The obtacle is not my favourite one, but it does the job to annoy you :)

Push-Pull

A very difficult puzzle! You will need to use your brain and do something new that you've not tried with the other puzzles from the same series. Yes, something new!

To conclude: for sure you will have a lot of fun for your money. There are very innovative, very well designed and made. And for sure, they are not the usual packing puzzles you're used to. 

So you know what to do for some challenged! :)

You can buy them on Puzzle Master website:

Turn them In

Naaidoos

Quadrille

Toogle Box

Push-Pull

369 SD puzzle box

 369 puzzle box is a 3D-printed puzzle designed by CreativeWorkshopCA.

I already review Eye of Horus, the Tiger and the Cryptex. But 369 puzzle box may be my favourite one.

It's a sequencial discovery with several tools you need to use to make some progress during your puzzling journey :)

You should discover some tools are the very beginning but you may be soon confused with how you should use them. That's not that obvious, but you need to experiment even if you think this is a stupid idea.

At some point I was blocked and I really wondered what to do. Basically the puzzle needed a bit of shaking (not necessary normally) because the official solution proved to me that I was right withmy ideas and that it should be opened. But again the puzzle does not need any force nor tapping. A slight shacking won't damage anything though and may be a bit useful.

It's not a big puzzle but still have many things inside its body and this is what I like. You don't need to have a big puzzle to have many things going on inside. And usually the biggest puzzles don't have (proportionnaly speaking) so many things inside.

I do recommend it at 200%. You will have a nice challenge with a satisfying solution for pretty cheap and for a top quality !!

You can buy it on ETSY

Many cast puzzles in a row !

In this post, I will quickly review some cats puzzles by Hanayama. Many of them are not that difficult, but all are enjoyable !

Cast Diamond

The seemingly easy puzzle that will puzzle you for some time. As with this kind of puzzle, I am sure you will be able to solve it, forget how you did, then solved it again....process should be this for some time.

A perfect puzzle to torture a beginner and to challenge an experienced puzzler!

Cast Key II

It's an interested maze-like puzzle. Well it's not a maze in the proper sense of the word. But it's a path-finding as you will move one key on the path of the other, with different kind of moves. I feel this is a must-have in any cast puzzle collector. I mean it !

Cast Marble

Long time ago it was rated as 4 and now it's 5/6. I pretty mcuh agree with 5/6 rating.

The goal is to separate the 4 parts of the puzzle: there are 2 part for the ball and 2 parts for its cage.

And to do so, you will have to find the perfect alignment. The disassembly move is very satisfying and unexpected!

This is a perfect level 5: it's challenging, but you should be able to reasemble it easily and quickly if you remember the trick. It's not going to take forever like it ca with some level 5/6 cast puzzle.

Go for it !!

 

Cast Loop

This embodies the perfect level 1 cast puzzle with very clever twist moves. I am sure you will love it.

Cast Harmony

This gorgeous looking puzzle is not that difficult bt still interesting: you need to navigate the music notes along each other. Personally I think the link is more interesting than the solving process, but the solve is still nice.

 

Cast Love

One of my favourite puzzle. The 2 halves go together is a loving twist move. It will need you some thinking on how to approach the puzzle. And once solved, you will want to solve it again and again like a fidget toy :)

 

Cast Slider

A very weird looking puzzle composed of 3 parts, all of them dancing like a fidget toy. You will understand once you've played with it. I would say the most original cast puzzle from this post. For only this reason you have to buy it. Of course, the solve is nice!

Cast Diamond, Cast Key II, Cast Marble, Cast Loop, Cast Harmony, Cast Love and Cast Slider can all be bought from Puzzle Master webshop.

Note that Puzzle Master also sells sets of puzzles for discounted price! The best way to start of complete your cast puzzle collection for a reduced price!

A set of 58 Hanayama puzzles

A set of 33 puzzles with level 4-6

A set of  23 puzzles with level 1-3

More chess pieces

I already reviewed a chess piece by Hanayama in a previous post and this time I will review all the other ones from the same series.

All these puzzles were initially designed and made by Marcel Gillen long time ago and since then mass-produced by several companies.

The mechanism are somewhat a little bit different from the original pieces in the way that the original pieces were a bit more difficult. Resulting in these recent ones being pretty easy. But it depends on the experience you have with solving puzzles!

 

The knight is the easiest one in the series and should not take you that long. A nice starter for the whole series.

Let's continue with the rook: a nice one with another trick. I like the design of it with the star on the top!

What about the pawn? In my opinion, this is the best in the series. I like the implementation of the tricks, pretty clever!

The queen is a bit like the king (well they love each other, don't they?) in the solving process. Does not mean the same ;)

And to finish: the bishop. It gave me a bit of difficulties. I would rate it the most difficult in the series. The solving process is satisfying. Don't break his head :)

In my opinion, the mass-produced version are an affordable way of playing with these very famous puzzles. I do recommend them if you're a metal puzzle lover or an hanayama puzzle collector.

If you're really looking for challenging puzzles, then they may not be your cup of tea: they are rather easy.

You can find them on Puzzle Master webshop and if you buy the bundle with all the pieces, it's cheaper.

Don't get fooled by the color: black, silver, gold or any possible color it does not matter. The solving process is the same!