Category Archives: Puzzle Reviews

Pagoda Puzzle boxes

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After the most recent Puzzle Paradise auction had finished, I was in the site looking at the details for the Stickman #2 that I’d won, and a few items which hadn’t sold popped up again. Two of them were Matt Dawsons’ Improved Pagoda Puzzle Box, and Pagoda Puzzle Box #3.

My fiancée saw these, and really like the look of them. Then asked me to get them. Both. After I’d picked myself up from the floor, I did just that!

Pagoda puzzle boxes showing Makishi's Signature

Pagoda puzzle boxes showing Makishi's Signature

Both boxes are designed by Matt, and built by Makishi. Makishi has signed the back of both boxes as can be seen on the shot of the back of the Improved Pagoda. Each box is limited to 40, and are beautifully made. Makishi has done an excellent job on these, and they look like a matched pair. The object on both boxes is to open the drawer that can be seen a the front of the puzzle. The boxes are made from Red Oak, Walnut and Maple, giving the boxes their striking appearance. The boxes both measure 5.3125 inches high, by 3 inches square.

Improved Pagoda Puzzle Box by Matthew Dawson and Makishi

Improved Pagoda Puzzle Box by Matthew Dawson and Makishi

The Improved Pagoda Puzzle box is an improved design from the one submitted to the IPP 29, hence its name. The box is a sequential move puzzle box, requiring 13 moves to open. You open it by raising and lowering the topmost section of the pagoda by spinning the lower two sections. The design is quite clever and is executed in such a way that it’s quite easy to get turned around and close the box again rather than open it. It took about 15 minutes for me to open this one, as the last couple of moves eluded me. This is where keeping track of what you did is really essential, otherwise, you’ll go backwards rather than forwards. After opening the box I spotted a smiley face drawn on both the inside of the box and the drawer, which can be fully removed from the pagoda. I have to assume that these are marks Makishi added to keep the drawers and boxes together while making them. It’s a nice little touch and I’m quite glad he didn’t remove them. I’ve already found myself doing exactly the same thing when working on my own puzzle designs!

Pagoda Puzzle Box #3 by Matthew Dawson and Makishi

Pagoda Puzzle Box #3 by Matthew Dawson and Makishi

The Pagoda Puzzle Box #3 which uses the Walnut as the main wood for the body is a slightly more challenging puzzle, requiring 25 moves to open it. The same basic rules apply for this box, with a few additional steps added to make things just that bit more challenging. This is a really nice puzzle, and I do like the extra complexity added. For myself this is a better challenge than the Improved Pagoda, however the Improved Pagoda is less frustrating for newer puzzles, or non-puzzlers. (We bought the Improved Pagoda for my son who has shown an interest in puzzling having watched me, so it’s simpler opening allows him to find the solution without getting annoyed).

If you’re a serious puzzler, I’d recommend the 25 move box over the simpler 13 move box, but as a pair, these look great together!

You may still be able to get these from Puzzle Paradise currently, or get in touch with Matt Dawson.

Revomaze, The series so far…

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I was introduced to the Revomaze puzzles about 6 months ago, since then I’ve been hooked. I was on the lookout for a new puzzle to keep me busy, and wanted something that I wasn’t going to solve in an hour and then have it gather dust on a shelf after that. I’d been looking around a few forums and keeping a quiet eye on some of the discussions, and the name Revomaze kept popping up, so I did some digging, and liked what I found.

The puzzle seemed to be some sort of maze, that you navigated blind, with the objective being to remove the core of the puzzle. With estimated solve times ranging from 4 hours to 300+ hours depending on which puzzle you were looking at, I thought I have to give this a try. Anything that has the audacity to market itself as “Probably one of the hardest puzzles in the world” is either pretty good, or rather full of itself. And I wanted to find out which it was.

Revomaze Bronze Extreme Puzzle

Revomaze Bronze Extreme Puzzle

The Bronze pictured above is the third most difficult in the series after Blue and Green. The fourth puzzle, the Silver Revomaze is the most difficult to date, and estimated at 160 hours to open on average. Gold isn’t yet released, and is expected later this year. Chris is working hard to complete production and testing of the puzzle to complete the Series I puzzles.

There are two types of puzzle available, both of which are basically the same. The Obsession series is a plastic version, and was released later, and the origina Extreme series, which are 600g metal puzzles, machined to the highest quality, and guaranteed to test the strength of your fingers and wrists. I personally like teh weight and feel of the metal puzzles, while others like the plastics. Certainly the plastics are much cheaper, but the feel and weight of the metal puzzle really gives it that solid high end feel that so many puzzles lack.

The designer of the Revomaze puzzle, Chris Pitt, is offering a competition with real prize money if you can open one of his puzzles in the top number of people per puzzle, where you’ll be invited to a live event to compete for a chance to win the cash. The other prize on offer at the live event is the chance to own a limited Purple puzzle. In all honesty I think this is the bigger prize than the money!

Now I came to the game quite late on, and all the spots for Blue, Green and Bronze were gone. Having said that I worked my way through each of them in turn, before moving on to Silver. From start to finish I opened all 4 in under two months. I’ve been told that’s pretty good going, and with some people having spent more than 6 months on a single puzzle, I’ll believe it!

I did manage to open the Silver as one of the first 30 people in the world, and as such have a place in the final. If you’re also going to be there then I look forward to meeting you!

One of the things that really stands out about the Revomaze, and the company is the people there. The customer service is excellent, and although it’s rare, should anything go wrong with your puzzle, you can bet that Chris himself will deal with it, and make sure you get back to solving in no time.

There are also a number of special edition or limited edition puzzles out there, including Black, Red and a soon to be released Orange. While these are not part of the main series, they have become very sought after!

Look out for my reviews of each of the individual puzzles coming soon. Until then, if you want a hint on how to open it, Map, and Think (c) Allard!

Karakuri Small Box #1

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When I won the auction on Puzzle Paradise recently for the Stickman Box #2, Robert was kind enough to throw a small extra into the package when he shipped it to me. He didn’t mention what it was, only that he’d include a little extra for me to pass around at Puzzle Parties.

When to package arrived, I found buried amongst the packing peanuts a Karakuri Small Box #1.

Karakuri Small Box #1

Karakuri Small Box #1

There are a number of different versions of this particular box, with a different outer appearance. The internal mechanisms however are the same. This particular box is KK-1-3 and is made from Keyaki, Katura and Walnut.

This should be a really simple box to open. The information from the Karakuri group themselves is “At first, we produced around 10 works through trial and error to create “Karakuri Small Box Series”. This was the most popular work among those works. If you know the solution, you can open it with only 3 moves. But, almost no one can open it without knowing the solution. We named it just “#1″, so we wouldn’t give you a hint with the name.”

I have to agree, that this is a tough little box. It took me around 20 minutes to open over several weeks messing with it for a few minutes each night before I went to bed to open it. The solution is really simple, but only the first move is obvious. After that two clever little tricks are used to make opening the box a little harder.

I really like this box, and it brought a smile to my face when I finally opened it. The Karakuri small boxes are a great way to get an affordable Japanese puzzle box that not only looks good, but has enough of a challenge to slow you down.

These can be bought from a number of sources including directly from the Karakuri Creation Group or through Puzzle Box world or Puzzle Master .

The Ball Puzzle (Charles O. Perry)

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I received my copy of “The Ball Puzzle” by the late Charles O. Perry today from PuzzleMaster. They currently have both the brass version and the perspex version for sale. Since these aren’t being made any more to the best of my knowledge, they may sell fairly quickly, so if you’re interested after reading the review I’d suggest picking one up as these will be limited in numbers.

The Ball Puzzle by Charles O. Perry

The Ball Puzzle by Charles O. Perry

Charles is probably best known for his mathematical scupltures which can be found throughout the USA and abroad, so owning one of his sculpture based puzzles, created by him is quite special.

The first thing that struck me about this puzzle is the size. It’s a lot smaller than I thought it would be at around 1.5 inches at its widest. Even though it’s small, given that this is solid brass it’s still a heavy puzzle. Warning: Don’t drop this on your toes!

The puzzle comes with a heavy canvas bag (the puzzle is sitting on it in the photo) and is etched with Charles’ signature on the solid piece.

As you’ll see from the pieces, this isn’t a difficult puzzle, and it’s not going to take long either to disassemble or reassemble it. I think with this, it’s not the difficulty that’s the interest, but rather the overall shape and weight of the puzzle that appeals. The brass is well polished and as such really reflects the light so it’s going to look good on the puzzle shelf, although at such a small size, it may be easily lost amongst bigger pieces. This wouldn’t be out of place hanging on your Christmas tree.

Puzzle Master ranks this as a Level 7 (Challenging) puzzle, but if I’m honest it’s only a Level 2 at best. There’s only really one way that the pieces go together, and it’s not going to take even the newest of puzzlers long to solve it. As I mentioned though, I don’t think that’s really the charm of the piece. Edit: After handing this around at work today, I’m going to revise my original thoughts. This seems to be a little more difficult than I originally thought and it took a fair few people a good 10 mins to solve this. With that, I’ll say it’s probably a 3-4, but still not near a level 7.

One nice touch is that the solid piece has a sprung ball bearing in the centre which ‘locks’ the final piece in place, and adds just enough friction to stop it sliding out under it’s own weight. It may not seem like much, but it’s addition finishes the puzzle nicely.

If you’re looking for something a little different either to add to your collection or as a gift, then I’d recommend either the brass or perspex versions. There aren’t many people who’ll have one of these, and they are a nice talking point sitting on the coffee table.

Stickman #2

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If you read my post on the Puzzle Paradise auction, then you’ll already know that I had won this puzzle, and was eagerly waiting it’s arrival. Before I delve into the review, there’s a few things I want to mention.

This puzzle came directly from Robert Yarger’s personal collection, so I had the pleasure of talking directly with Robert about the puzzle. Robert is a great person to deal with. He was really open about the puzzle, and we have chatted back and forth since the auction finished. Not only did he send #2, but he also threw in a Karakuri small box as well for me to take to puzzle parties for anyone there to have a go at.

While we were talking, Robert mentioned that Stickman #2 was one of his favourite designs, due to the rhythm of the moves when opening it. He plays guitar as do I, and likened it to playing “Babe I’m Going to Leave You”, by Zepplin. Having been able to play with it myself, I know what he means.

So the puzzle itself is a good size, at 11″ x 6″ x 5″. And it’s solid. This is not a puzzle you would be worried about passing to someone to try. One small thing to note is that one of the sliders (the one on the back of the puzzle) is a little loose, and tends to move on it’s own, with the help of gravity. That does mean that for some of the moves, you need to take a little care that it doesn’t move before you want it to. On the whole not a big issue, but it does mean you have to watch what you’re doing.

Solving the puzzle for the first time is really nice. There’s a few obvious moves, then you hit a wall. There seems to be nothing else to do, but you’ve not opened the box yet. After a little more exploring, you find out what to do, and get a bit further. Another 10 minutes of playing and you can remove the first hidden compartment, which reveals the second … and third although you don’t realise it at first!

Knowing that there are 4 hidden compartments in the box, you know there is more to find, but at this point nothing else will move. The final step is really clever and needs some out of the box thinking which I really like. Overall, I really enjoyed this and am very pleased to have it in my collection. Robert tells me that it can be opened in 30 seconds (all 55 moves) so I have some practice to do!

There are a couple of things that disappointed me slightly. The box comes with a small book which gives the number of the box in the series, and a little bit of background to Stickman. That’s great. But The next page is the start of the solution. Now I quite happily put the book down without reading the solution, but I’d rather the solution had been sealed so you had to make the decision to read it, rather than it being a little too easy. Again, not a big issue, but something I’d rather have seen done differently.

The last thing is a little oddity, which I’ll have to ask Robert about. The book tells me I have number 24/50. Stamped on the bottom of the box along with the Stickman logo is 18. I have to believe that this means it’s #18 out of 50, but I’m not sure. Again not an issue but a little inconsistency.

If you get the chance to own one of these, then I’d say go for it, you’ll not be disappointed. And Robert, if I’m in your neck of the woods, or you’re out by me, the beer is on me.

Kuku (SonicWarp)

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I was recently lent Sonic Warps cheaper entry to the puzzling market, the Kuku by a fellow puzzler. He has had it for some time, but was unable to solve the puzzle, and offered me a shot. I lent him my Isis at the same time. (I’ll review it at some point as well).

The version I have is the ‘hard’ version. Since the person who lent it to me is a serious puzzler, he opted for the harder version after hearing many reviews saying that if you are at all good at solving puzzles, then you don’t want anything less.

The first thing you realise with the Kuku is the size. This puzzle is tiny. As you can see from the photograph, it’s diameter is around 1.5 inches. It’s a great looking puzzle, with the three colours of metals used providing a good contrast and making for a very striking puzzle. When you pick it up, the whole thing rattles and it’s rather difficult to know what’s going on in there. This is nothing new for a SW puzzle so I set about trying to find out what’s going on. The object, open the ball. Sounds simple enough!

Holding the puzzle to my ear, and slowly rotating it, you can figure out that there are several distinct components inside. That’s useful but it doesn’t help you open it. I will admit that this puzzle sat on my desk for many months, with me picking it up and playing with it for 10 minutes at a time, and I never came close to opening it.

The reason sadly was down to issues with the puzzle itself. When the puzzle was put together, the coating used on the pieces is tacky. For most of the joins this wasn’t a problem, but one of the joins was sealed together, meaning that the puzzle physically wouldn’t move. So even doing everything right, I had no chance of opening this puzzle. It’s a comment I’ve heard from a number of people, enough to make me believe that this is a general issue with the puzzle, and not just a one off problem. My issue is that this really spoils the puzzle, and in fact makes it unsolvable.

With some hints from a fellow puzzler I have the tools to attempt to open this , but it requires some force which really should not be needed on the puzzle, and given that I am borrowing it, it made me less happy to go down that route.

There are many videos online that show you how you can open this puzzle. They do require that the puzzle doesn’t suffer from the problems the one I was borrowing had, but also defeat the point of the puzzle somewhat. If you don’t want it spoiled, then avoid searching for the solution. Really you shouldn’t need it!

Would I recommend this puzzle. Sadly no. It seems to be plagued by the Sonic Warp curse of poor production and is sadly let down as a result. If it worked as it was supposed to, this would be a fun puzzle, but as it stands, I’d say stay away.