It’s time for another Vinco puzzle review, and this time we have another puzzle that’s not a co-ordinate motion puzzle. Yes Vinco does make them, and he has a fairly good range available. Sputnik is a beautifully shaped six piece puzzle where the object is to take the pieces apart, then re-assemble them into the space faring shape. Thanks to Puzzle Master for sending me this puzzle to review.

Vinco's Sputnik

It almost goes without saying that this is another beautifully made and finished puzzle from Vinco. There really are few other people out there making puzzles at this quality for this price. The woods used have been waxed so the natural colour and grain is preserved, making for a great looking puzzle which will stand out, especially given the unique shape of this puzzle.

One thing I will note in this puzzle is that in order for the pieces to come together the way they are intended, there is a small gap between a couple of the blocks in each of the six puzzle pieces, and while it doesn’t detract from the puzzle at all, and you’ll not notice it in the solution shape, it does make solving the puzzle slightly easier, as you can use the gaps to tell where the pieces are joined into halves, before combining the halves into the final shape.

One of the two halves of the puzzle

One of the challenges with this puzzle is that the way each of the six pieces are combined is not intuitive. Given that all six pieces are identical, it’s hard to see how you join the pieces to create a shape that will interlock into the UFO like solution.

Six identical pieces

This is another excellent puzzle from Vinco, and I highly recommend it. If you’re not a fan of co-ordinate motion puzzles, this will give you a good challenge, and no need to worry about growing a third hand to hold the pieces in place as you assemble it.