Jigsaw puzzle 29

This seemingly innocent puzzle was designed and crafted by Yuu Asaka for IPP design competition in San Diego (2018) and it received a prize!

Many times I wonder why such or such puzzle receives a prize because in my mind it's not deserved. I mean, all puzzles are usually nice, but most of the time (if not always....) the jury committee does not choose puzzles that really deserves to be awarded!!! What's going on in their head?....

So I was thinking: "why the hell did this jigsaw puzzle received a prize"?....until I got one and started to play with it :)

Ok so first it looks very nice: the colors are well choosen.
Then the cuts are very precise and you won't need to use any force at all. I was worried with that point because it can be tricky with plexi puzzles....

Now the serious part, and why in my mind it's a good (and then why it obtained a prize) puzzle: you won't solve it in a "conventional way".
I mean, usually with jigsaw puzzles you know how to start, right? Do the same thing (yes, please do!) won't lead to anywhere and so you will soon realize that you will have to think way more!!
And yes you need to pack all the pieces flat inside the tray :-)

This puzzle is very difficult and could only come from a crazy devilish puzzle designer's mind ;-)

With many possibilities and pieces that have the same color, this puzzle will puzzle you for long time.
With a low price, this is clearly worth the money.

Did I said that Yuu is from Japan and Japan has the best postal service in the world?...Yes it already happened that I got a package 4 days after it's been mailed. Impressive!!

You can check Puzzle Master webshop to get your copy. Maybe you will get too much frustrated and need the solution?

IQ Lolly

IQ Lolly series is designed by Patrick Chan, a Hongkonger who claims that he is always inspired by young people.
This nice looking sliding puzzle has been designed, crafted and presented by Patrick for the IPP design competition 38 (2018) held in San Diego.

What about the look: this is a really nice looking puzzle and guess what? It's made with 3D printers and the quality is, in my mind, stunning. It's indeed very smooth.

The goal of this puzzle is to scrambled the numbers by pushing/pulling/turning the rod and then revert to the initial position.
3 levels of difficulty: the more numbers you have, the more difficult the puzzle is, of course!

The nice features of the puzzle: when you push and release then it's goes in the "middle" position. Same if you pull and release the rod. It's like the cutting corner technique of the famous rubix's cube: it's a way to be faster to solve the puzzle.
Also if you don't turn completely the rod of a turn, there is a little somthing that prevent from screwing up the puzzle (pushing/pulling if the numbers are not horizontally aligned). See below:

When playing with the Lolly you will notice that you cannot turn 2 times on the same way (I mean 2 times clockwise or counter-clockwise).
So far I am not super fast to push/turn/pull, but I think this is just a matter of practice :)

How to solve the puzzle you may ask? Well there are algorithms (see again a common point with the rubix's cube) to rearrange the numbers and several steps to be performed.
Easy if you follow the steps. Way more difficult if you try to discover them...

A nice video of Patrick's skills to solve: HERE

I am not that used to sliding puzzles, not even with 3D printed sliding puzzles and I must admit I like it a lot. Consider asking Patrick a copy of it. I suggest to go with the easiest level ;) Don't be a fool!!

The IQ Lolly comes in 7 different colors: you can see HERE the website (it's still under construction but gives you an idea of the colors.

Did I say that there are some Easter eggs to discover? Patrick mention that on the solution he sends. So far, I have not idea about what they are....

EDIT: I found the 2 Easter eggs. Nice!

Coke bottle in a row

You know the guy and his famous metal puzzles? You may also know his bottle puzzles I am sure.
But did you see so many bottles???

7 coke bottles linked with a long rod and locked on each side and inside!!

A lot of care is needed to handle that. First because it's fragile. Then because if you hold the puzzle on each side you apply pressure in the middle of the rod. It would be a pitty to destroy such a beauty:)

You can unlocked the 2 locks on each side, but how to unlock the inside locks?...

You don't have acces to them with your fingers....probably no tools are allowed....

Seriously I am (b)locked... :-(

Any idea?