Puzzle Master Kickstarter campaign

The famous puzzle webshop, Puzzle Master, has recently launched a campaign on kickstarter to release some metal puzzles.

Unfortunately I don't have them, so I cannot give my opinion, but at least they seem top-quality puzzles! 

 

And this is what really matter for puzzle collectors, right ? :)

Two puzzles are from Oskar's design and the skull is from Jerry Loo's design, a fellow blogger.

It seems that the difficulty of these puzzles is super high, so be prepared to be challenged.

The campaign is fully funded, so don't be afraid of supporting it, you will get the puzzles!

The link is here: HERE

....simple (^_^)

Less than 2 days left to benefit from a huge reduction in prices for Bozo's puzzles!!!

I put again below the post I wrote

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I wanted to share with you a super interesting news!!!

As you know I am a very fan of the Bozo's puzzles. He designed and made the famous and super challenging Ugly4 and 8cat puzzles.

I reviewed them on previous blog posts, so check them out if you want a real and neutral feeling. I need to mention that because when I need to critizise a puzzle, I do it. So you can rely on my blog post rather on other blogs where the reviews are (surprisingly) always positive...

Bozo released a new puzzle called Broken Heart. I cannot say anything for the moment about it, but I am sure it has a twist and is surely a challenging puzzle!

Ok now what about the great news??

1/ You can use the code: H2JMBDSVD2Z4  and you will get a 30 USD reduction price for at least 3 puzzles bought in one go. It may be 3 different puzzles or 3 identical.

Note that this reduction is only valid until Sunday 5th December ! So don't wait too much :)

2/ There is still a 10% reduction code always valid for any puzzle that you buy: RPW7ZMDYF6XZ

It works for 1 or more puzzles.

So now, hurry up and prepare the puzzles to put under the coming X-Mas tree :)

Black Friday is not over for some puzzles!!!

I wanted to share with you a super interesting news!!!

As you know I am a very fan of the Bozo's puzzles. He designed and made the famous and super challenging Ugly4 and 8cat puzzles.

I reviewed them on previous blog posts, so check them out if you want a real and neutral feeling. I need to mention that because when I need to critizise a puzzle, I do it. So you can rely on my blog post rather on other blogs where the reviews are (surprisingly) always positive...

Bozo released a new puzzle called Broken Heart. I cannot say anything for the moment about it, but I am sure it has a twist and is surely a challenging puzzle!

Ok now what about the great news??

1/ You can use the code: H2JMBDSVD2Z4  and you will get a 30 USD reduction price for at least 3 puzzles bought in one go. It may be 3 different puzzles or 3 identical.

Note that this reduction is only valid until Sunday 5th December ! So don't wait too much :)

2/ There is still a 10% reduction code always valid for any puzzle that you buy: RPW7ZMDYF6XZ

It works for 1 or more puzzles.

So now, hurry up and prepare the puzzles to put under the coming X-Mas tree :)

My first 3D-printed burr puzzle

I have already tried metal burr puzzle like one of the Strijbos', but never before a 3D-printed burr. 

Now this is done and I will express my feeling in this post.

This burr puzzle is called Moai's Tomb (MT for the rest of the review), designed and made by Andrew Crowell, famous for all his several 3D puzzle and interlocking ones as well.

The goal of MT is to free the head, literally, of the puzzle. Do do so you need to push/pull and 4 buttons and the head as well. Note that only the head-piece can be taken out of the box.

14 moves are enough to solve the puzzle, but I assume I made way more. However I did not apply any specific logic (is there any to solve burr puzzles?) and at some point I solved the puzzle. Honestly it's not a super difficult puzzle, so for a non-burr solver this is the perfect puzzle to start with.

I did not only manage to solve it, but also to reassemble it. Congrats for myself :)

Seriously I feel a bit proud, as burr puzzles are known to be super difficult. But don't get me wrong this is still a challenging puzzle, it's not that straight-forward.

Now, how is it great or not to solve it due to its material? Honestly, it's very great! The moves are smooth, it's very pleasant.

 

So now, what about starting to like burr puzzle? Want a try? Check Puzzle Master website to buy it !

Cube 1 puzzle

Here is a new puzzle from Efcé Jeux, a French puzzle business from which I lave already reviewed some time ago their puzzles.

This time this is a cube puzzle and the goal is to free the small squared shape that is located in the middle of the puzzle.

 

For this task you need to use the wooden "key" to push/pull some small sliders that surround each side of the puzzle

Basically Cube 1 puzzle can be considered as a dynamical maze as you want to create a path to achieve your goal, so you need to open and close some paths several time.

What is funny is that when you push some parts of the puzzle you don't know in advance where it will have the consequence. I mean: if you push on a part on one side, then it won't necessarily be pulled out from the exact opposite side, you get it? :)

 

After some time of puzzling I finally managed to solve the puzzle. I would say that the puzzle is challenging in my mind. So I would not totally agree with the difficulty that is supposed to be medium. 

But again, the difficulty is somewhat different from some people to others.

 

I had some fun to see all the small parts being pushed and pulled during the solving process. 

But take care of where you put your fingers, as you don't want to go back during the solving process if you push some parts without doing it on purpose :)

Anyway, this is a nice little puzzle and as usual with Efce Jeux a nicely made one!

You can grab one on their website!

Slideways cube

I've played with several 3D-printed puzzles so far, and what I can say is that some are of better quality than others. Of course, and you're expecting me to announce it: the puzzles that I will review belongs to the top quality 3D printed puzzles!

Slideways Cube consists of only 3 (weird) pieces that slide together to form a cube, in a co-motion sequence (it's very pleasant to slide again and again the pieces!). 

This puzzle was designed by the genius Lee Krasnow.

Very easy to disassemble, way trickier to reassemble. Not overly difficult though.

With these kind of puzzles, I am always amazed how easy they are to disassemble. But more difficult to put back in their initial state. The main reason is that we don't pay enough attention (and me, being the first) to how they disassemble. And we need exact positionning to put the pieces together.

Usually it's very unstable at the beginning, and if you have strong nerves, you should do it. For this one, the structure is not so unstable, and as it has only 3 pieces then it's very manageable, don't worry :)

I do recommand this puzzle for anyone, maybe a bit more for the less seasoned puzzlers. But of course for the big fan of 3D printed puzzles there is no question to ask :)

You can find the puzzle on Puzzle Master Webshop

When you like chess but you don't want to play chess

 So yes it's about chess, but not the game itself. It's about the chess pieces!

Basically there are 6 differents pieces in a chess game. The design and mechanism were initially created by Marcel Gillen and several firms produced the chess pieces. Actually they are puzzles :)

The set here is produced by Hanayama with a high quality standard and nicely packaged. The finish is nice and the look of the pieces are stunning.

For each, you need to open them and get your reward (a small piece inside).

They have different clever mechanism, so each open in a different way even if they share some common features. I quickly solved the pawn but it took me more time on the rook or on the king and queen. After all the pawn is weaker than the queen :)

Maybe you will solve them with a bit of luck but once opened you can understand fully the mechanism and try to reproduce the solving process.

They are very enjoyable puzzles and I do recommend them for any puzzle collectors. Moreover, the price is not expensive for the puzzle experience you will get!

So is there any difference between these "copies" and the original design by Marcel Gillen? Yes there are many:

• First of all, the original pieces are way bigger and are not molded as they were made on a lathe. So the quality of the original is way better.
  
• Secondly, the mechanism is different for several if not all (basically I cannot comment as I have not played with all the original pieces). The steps are a bit different for the original pieces and, in my opinion, a bit more enjoyable
  

To conclude, go at grab them asap :)

You can find them on eureka website

Nosey puzzle

This puzzle was entered in the Puzzle Design Competition at the International Puzzle Party in 2018 and won an honorable mention as one of the top 6 puzzles in the Jury Awards. 

It was designed by Alexander Holroyd and if made of plexi.

The goal seems simple (actually it is!): put the pieces inside the frame.

 

Now with all the devilish packing puzzle designers such a Yuu Asaka, Bozo Stimac (8cats, Ugly4), MINE (newly made GoLeGo), then you should now be prepared for the "unusual" packing puzzles and you should now be able to "think outside the box". Are you?

Despite being pretty much prepared now, I feel always stupid to be stumped for long time on unusual packing puzzles. They always have something new and this is why I like them a lot! :)

Nosey puzzle is just an innocent 9 piece-puzzle but it will puzzle you because you will wonder why you always have one piece left. It was a challenge, less challenging than Bozo or Yuu puzzles, but still a nice challenge. And a doable one by any puzzle I feel.

Remember: if the technique you're using does not work, change your perception and do something crazy. Maybe that thing will work !

I highly recommend Nosey puzzle! A colorful and challenging puzzle that you should not miss !!

You can buy it on Puzzle Master Webshop

They even have the solution: HERE

Quick news regarding puzzle makers

 Quick news regarding some famous puzzle makers, that will impact the price of their puzzles

Trevor Wood is dead some time ago

He is famous for crafting exquisite wooden puzzles with quality wood species and accurate precision.

Rocky Chiaro won't be making anymore (nor selling) puzzles

His website is shut down

He is famous for his brass trick bolts. All are well made and pretty tricky. 

Even if trick bolts are usually not difficult, his are the most difficult ones

Stephen Chin won't be making anymore puzzles

He is famous for his handmade wooden puzzles made in small batch. They usually have a twist in them. 

Solitaire chess

Solitaire chess is a very interesting concept: it gathers the goal of the solitaire game and adds the chess rules.

As for the solitaire; the goal is to have only one piece left at the end.

As for the chess rules: well you have the pawn, knight, tower, king, queen and fool. The pieces move in the same way as the chess game. Some exceptions: "check" does not exist, so the king can be close to the queen. The pawn does not convert in any piece if they reach an edge of the tray. And last rule: each time you move a pice you have to eat another piece. So you cannot move a piece without eating.

Of course if you end with more than one piece in the tray you did not perform well the steps :)

I love chess game so I can only like this game !

There are 60 challenges from easy to very difficult. I have almost finished all the challenges, but for the moment I am a bit stucked. So expect to spend hours and hours with Solitaire Chess :)

The solutions step-by-step are not included, but there are tips like: which piece has to move first, which piece has to be eaten first and which piece should be the remaining piece on the tray.

I truly recommend Solitaire Chess, you won't (and cannot) be disappointed.

You can buy it from Puzzle Master webshop !!

 

 

 

 

 

C & U

Sounds like a hidden message? Well not at all, just the shortname of a pretty big metal puzzle designed by the genius Jean-Claude Constantin, a French guy who is living in Germany.

From the shape of the pieces, you can now understand the name of the puzzle, right?

So the goal is easy, just separate the 2 pieces. The solving process is a bit harder than what it looks at a first glance ! The quality is perfect as usually with JCC puzzles. You cannot go wrong with his metal puzzles !

I was playing a bit for some time and it solved by itself (not completely but still). It is harder to reassemble than to solve because you usually get lost with these kind of puzzles.

Basically you need to use a little bit of force, those who solved it know what I am taling about. I think this is normal, you won't beak the puzzle !!

In my opinion, this is a nice puzzles among the disentanglement puzzle. It's not super super easy, but it's far from being hard. You can easily let your friends play with it and enjoy how they struggle to reassemble (one of my friends solved it but could not reassemble it...).

For the metal lovers and for the JCC puzzle collectors, this is a must-have in your collection !

You can find the puzzle on Puzzle Master webshop

And you can also find there the solution !

N-5

Not sure why this name, but I am sure this is a puzzle !!

Made in wood and designed directly from the devilish head of Jean-Claude Constantin, this nice little puzzle should puzzle you :)

The goal of N-5 is to free a small beall bearing and to be able to do so, you need to move the 4 sliders so that at the end the 2 holes match.

Of course, when you maneuver a slider sometimes it's restricted to few moves, sometimes it just does not move because of the position of other sliders. So you need to plan how to move other sliders before moving one slider.

It did not take me that long to solve, and it should not take you so long before solving it I am sure. It's just a question of analysis. So this puzzle is approcheable by non seasoned puzzlers as well and it's like a nice starter to introduce puzzles to your friends and family.

I do advise it if you like nice looking puzzles and wood puzzles, and of course if you like JCC puzzles in general. 

If you're only into super hard puzzles, this may not be your cup of tea then... :)

You can buy the puzzles at Puzzle Master webshop.

And find there the solution as well !

Screw burr puzzle

I must admit I am not a fan of burr puzzle, but some puzzles that are called "burr" are not really burr, and this puzzle is the perfect example of a non-burr puzzle :)

Let me introduce you the screw burr puzzle designed by the famous Oskar van Deventer !!!!!

The puzzle is composed of 6 sticks to disassemble (easy) and reassemble (less easy) made out of 3D printers. Trust me: the quality is very good and does not look fragile at all. The colors are also bright, so they won't fade soon!

There is something special with this puzzle: the shape of the pieces. Unlike many puzzles of this kind, this one cannot fall apart because you need to unscrew the first piece to disassemble the others pieces (and some other need to be unscrewed and not just simply pushed/pulled).

So you won't disassemble it if you don't want to disassemble it :-)

I find very enjoyable the solved process with unscrewing pieces, it's something unusual and relaxing in a way. Reassembling the puzzle is not something super complicated if you remember which pieces go where. So for a bigger challenge, disassemble it and come back a bit later to reassemble the puzzle.

In my opinion, this is a very nice puzzle to display and for sure it will attract the attention of your visitors!! 

For the solution you can see the video here. Ok it does not show step-by-step, but just pause the video and try to follow :)

Doug Factory fund raising campaign - The Donjon is coming !!!

You know that I love the puzzles from Doug Factory, the French company which designs many puzzle mazes, all 100% made in France, rare enough to be mentioned!

They designed many puzzles, like the novice cube series, the legend series, the phantom series and the new campaign's goal is to raise funds for the Donjon puzzle.

  

Doug Factory also designed CARAPACES, which is a DIY kit to make some geometrical shapes. A mix between puzzles and origami

 

 

So the this new project sounds really exciting because it uses the same maze principle, but with some new features like the way to free the marble in an easier way!

Do you think a dragon is hidden inside??? Only if you believe in dragons ;)

If you want to participate in this fund raising campaign, just click HERE

You support will help them a lot, and I am sure that you like their products.

In case you're new, I advise to buy the easiest cubes first to get used to how to read the maze maps and so on. And then trackle biggest challenges! Don't burn steps! :)

Don't be jealous if you're not a smart puzzle solver :)

 Hi all, hope you're enjoying the current nice weather that seems to occur all around the world :)

I have just seen a review of the famous youtuber Chris Ramsay solving a packing puzzle by Bozo:

Don't look at it if you don't want to get the solution!!!

Some people seems smarter than other, clearly I struggled way more!

To remind you Bozo still have them to sell through his website. And I do encourage you to buy them as they are super clever (and very challenging !!) puzzles.

To buy the 8cat puzzle with a reduction in price, click HERE

Have a nice day :)

NKD fund raising campaign: Architecto puzzle box is coming !!!!!

Dear puzzle friends, I wanted to let you know about new fund raising campaign by NKD puzzle company!

And this time, it's on kickstarter to attract of broader audience !!

The previous time the goal was to make the Mecanigma Kit available for everyone and this time it's about Architecto puzzle box, their most challenging box so far, it really looks amazing!!

Some pictures below:

Look at the wondeful details ! It looks promising !! Full of mechanisms and gears, you cannot ask for more. Sounds they planned the perfect puzzle box ever ???

And what a wonderful box that protects the puzzle. I wonder the goal of the compass and the paper....humm I am sure it must be useful at some point. 

Maybe it can give clues on how to solve Architecto? Honestly I have no idea at all, just a quick guess...

You want to be part of this amazing campaign? Then don't wait and bid HERE !!