Finally a puzzle for blind people!!!

This post is pretty much similar from an old one because the mechanism and the appearance of the puzzle is the same. But this time it's very suitable for blind people.

Obvisouly blind people won't look at my blog but if you know any blind people around you, this is the opportunity to get them this puzzle!

So here we are with the looly IQ puzzle designed by Patrick Chan, a Hongkonger who claims that he is always inspired by young people.

For the previous review of the IQ puzzle see HERE 

The puzzle is similar compared to the other IQ puzzle: you can push and pull the central rod and well as turning it. Of course the easter eggs are still here as well :)
The puzzle is very smooth, there are no issues with it. Sometimes when a puzzle is 3D-printed you can expect to have frictions (which is usually the case and happened for some other puzzles that I have) or moves that are made difficult. Trust me: with this puzzle nothing of that !

Like the rubix's cube there are algorithms to solve the puzzle depending on where the pieces are, but even if you don't know them (don't worry, they are provided by Patrick) it's very pleasant to play with this puzzle.

And even if you're not blind, you can play with the puzzle. You just have to learn the numbers from 1 to 5 to check if you have solved the puzzle or no, which adds another challenge.

Patrick made a nice website to explain the moves with a video and the features of the puzzle, you should check it out: HERE


For the moment I don't have his speed ;)

To get it or the normal version you can contact Patrick and you can choose the color of the puzzle!

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!