Tag Archives: IPP

Laby Box

2 Replies

Laby Box was Hendrik Haak’s IPP31 Exchange puzzle which I was fortunate enough to buy a copy of from Wil Strijbos some time back after I saw it listed in one of his regular puzzle emails. Since it looked a little different to the rest of the puzzles in my collection at the time, and also being a pretty handsome box, I decided to get one. Wil seems to have that effect, as various other puzzlers will attest!

Laby Box in the starting position

Laby Box in the starting position

Made from Quilted Maple, and what I believe is Paduak for the keys, with perspex to hold the pins and let you see what you’re doing, this laser cut puzzle, really looks great. It’s a step above the quality of many other laser cut wooden puzzles out there in terms of finish and looks, and with 3.5″ x 2.5″ x 2″ as the internal space, and an overall size of 5″ x 4″ x 2.5″, it’s not a small puzzle. The large internal space, would allow you to store some things in there, and given all the open space in the lid, you’d be tantalised with glimpses of what’s inside. The design is superb as everything is on show, there’s no hidden components, so the only thing between you and an open box is your ability to navigate a simple maze (if only it were that easy!)

Allard has also written about this puzzle. Now I don’t normally mention other reviews quite as soon, but here I have a point in doing so. Allard mentions in his review that there’s a hint as to how to start from Hendrik by the holes in the ends of the maze keys, and notes that you’re sent in the wrong direction to start with. Well the first time I solved this one, I found exactly the same as Allard did, I was off in the wrong direction to start. But after resetting, and solving it many more times, I’ve never done the same again. I can easily open and close the lid without starting off in the wrong direction.

The Key Removed

The Key Removed

It probably took me around 5 minutes to solve this the first time, but I can now solve it in less than a minute as I know the path that’s needed. One disappointing thing I have found is that the left most pin in my photo, and the corresponding top maze box really doesn’t add much to the puzzle. From the starting position you can quickly move the pin to the top, and slide the bottom key off that pin, and from there on, it never needs to move again as the top and bottom maze grooves give full motion left/right, so it’s use is limited.

I had initially thought that once you solved the puzzle with the maze plates in one orientation, you could then flip the plates to create a new challenge, however the maze plates are cut to only allow them to engage with the pins in one orientation, so it’s a single challenge.

Open, and the pieces separated

Open, and the pieces separated

Once you’ve removed the bottom maze plate by sliding it all the way off the pins, the top perspex sheet can be lifted off, and the corresponding perspex sheet can be lifted up and slid out of the end, allowing you access to the internal space. It’s a fun puzzle, that may not keep you guessing for too long, but does make you think and observe the interactions between each of the maze sections. It’s a nice puzzle to hand to friends as it’s not too tough, but from my experience tends to make people smile when they get it open, so all round a good puzzling experience.

You can get a copy of Laby Box from Hendrik Haak’s shop, for the very reasonable sum of €35.

Log Jam

4 Replies

I recently put in an order for a few wooden packing puzzles since I’ve found a liking for them recently, after spending a long time not being very good at them. I made an order with Brilliant Puzzles who have a good selection of wooden puzzles at very affordable prices. The first of those puzzles I’ll be reviewing is Log Jam, or “Log Pack” as it is known on the Brilliant Puzzles site. The puzzle has seven pieces in the tray, and an eighth in the end. The goal of the puzzle it to fit the extra log into the box, in typical packing puzzle style.

Log Jam by Vesa Timonen

Log Jam by Vesa Timonen

Designed by Vesa Timonen, this is a fairly well known puzzle design, and was entered in the IPP 22 design competition where it was known as Lox in Box. I’ve been looking to try it for a while, after reading Brian’s review and having seen various copies of the puzzle in friends collections. The copy from Brilliant Puzzles is not expensive, and as I was ordering something for Jen, I decided to added this to my order. Creative Crafthouse also make a copy of this puzzle.

The puzzle comes sealed in shrink wrapped plastic, with the solution sheet folded and on the bottom of the puzzle. At least you can avoid accidentally seeing the solution. It’s 7.5″ x 2.75″ x 1.25″ and made from two contrasting woods. If I were to guess I’d say the wood used is rubberwood, which seems very common in the cheaper, mass produced puzzles that I have seen recently. Given the price, the quality of the pieces is what you’d expect. This isn’t a high end collectors piece, but a puzzle to be played with.

The fit of the pieces is fair, and the puzzle functions exactly as it should. As nice touch, and something which seems fairly common with this design is that the extra piece has a place in the end of the puzzle for storage so that the puzzle can be kept in its unsolved state without leaving pieces stacked, or losing the piece.

When I had seen this puzzle elsewhere, I’d tried mentally solving it, so before I started I had a few ideas to try. After a few minutes I’d exhausted those, so I had to think a bit. Sorting the pieces, and then looking at what I had let me see a possible pattern, and after another few minutes of playing I had the solution. It’s a very elegant solution, and well worth getting a copy to play with. The design of the pieces and the initial presentation leads you down one avenue of thinking while the actual solution is quite different. It is something that I have noticed with these ‘fit the extra piece in’ style puzzle that the initial presentation is often designed to start you off on the wrong path, and this is no different. Very clever.

Closeup of one of the pieces

Closeup of one of the pieces

In the solved state, the fit is not as close as I would have expected, and there’s still a degree of wiggle room in the tray. Not enough that there’s a different possible solution, so perhaps it’s just the perfectionist in me looking for more. As you can see from the closeup of one of the logs above, the finish on the pieces is pretty rough, and the tray shows some signs of the fit and finish not being stellar. But as I mentioned earlier, this is a puzzle to be played with, and not a collectors piece, and that is reflected in the price.

For the price, this is a great puzzle, and I’m happy to have had the chance to play with it.

Sunrise – Sunset

Leave a reply

Sunrise – Sunset is a Stewart Coffin design which I recently found for sale on Ebay with a Buy it Now option. Seeing it, I didn’t hesitate as this is a Coffin original, which was going for a very good price so I couldn’t resist. Labelled as design #181 in the Coffin numbering system it was used by Jerry Slocum as his IPP exchange puzzle at IPP22.

Sunrise - Sunset top tray

Sunrise - Sunset top tray

This is another tray packing puzzle from Stewart, and as I’ve noted in the past, I’m terrible at tray packing puzzles, so I didn’t hold out much hope for this one. If you’ve seen previous reviews of Coffin Packing puzzles, like the Check Me Out puzzle, you’ll know that Coffin is a real sod when it comes to messing with your head, and how you normally go about putting pieces into a square box.

The puzzle itself is a twofold puzzle, hence the name. The tray is two-sided, so you get twice the puzzle from the same pieces. On one side of the tray is a 5×5 grid, with the centre cube permanently stuck in place (representing the sun if I were to guess), and the other side is a 4×6 grid. The idea is simple pack the pieces into one side, then flip the tray over and do the same on the other side.

The base is make from three layers, making for a very solid frame. Guessing I’d say the frame is Mahogany, but that’s a wild guess! Four of the five pieces are five units in size and the fifth is four units and are made from three different woods. If I were to guess, I’d say Bubinga (the almost purple looking wood), Lignum Vitae (green), and Mahogany (light). As you can tell from some quick math, the pieces match the grid sizes, so they’re going to fit exactly in this one, which for me is a good thing, as these strange sized grids really mess with my head!

Sunrise - Sunset bottom tray

Sunrise - Sunset bottom tray

When I sat down to solve the puzzle, I expected to be at this for hours, as I have been with other tray puzzles, but I was shocked and pleasantly surprised when I had solved the first side within 5 minutes. So I flipped the puzzle over and tried the other side, thinking it was going to be a lot tougher. Again I solved it fairly quickly and was very happy with myself. So on the difficulty scale I’d rate this one as easy, but rewarding.

Once of the really nice features of this puzzle is that the solutions (and there is only one per side) have a degree of symmetry to them, which really adds to the effect of the Sunrise / Sunset theme of the puzzle.

This is a great little puzzle, and if you’re like me and not very good at packing puzzles, if you can find a copy of this one, pick it up as you’ll feel better about yourself having solved one!

PS: I make no guarantees about your feelings or success at solving this puzzle 😉

Tromino Trails

Leave a reply
This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series IPP 31

Carrying on with my review of IPP31 puzzles, here’s another of the puzzles that I picked up when I was at the recent Post IPP California Puzzle Party. Tromino Trails was Stan Isaacs exchange puzzle from IPP31, and given that Stan was the host of the Puzzle party, it would have been rude not to buy one of his puzzles.

Tromino Trails

Tromino Trails

Tromino trails is designed by Donald Knuth and made by Pavels Puzzles. You can read Pavel’s description about the puzzle by following the link, and also purchase a copy for yourself if you’d like one. And I highly recommend you do!

This puzzle goes back to 2009, and IPP29 in San Francisco. There Donald Knuth gave a talk about varying puzzles he was working on and passed out a sheet with some puzzle problems that people could play with later. One of those problems was the Tromino Trails problem. I’ll let you read about it on Pavel’s site, as he was there and will explain it far better than I.

However I digress.The Tromino Trails puzzle is a physical version of Don’s paper problem from IPP29. The puzzle consists of 24 L shaped trominoes with varying paths marked on them, a tray that can be configured to a number of different sizes and five challenges.

The first problem, a 6x6 loop

The first problem, a 6x6 loop

You start off with a 6×6 square, and 12 pieces, with the goal being to fit the pieces into the tray and form an unbroken loop with the trail marked on the pieces. There’s a single unique solution to the problem. Given that the tiles are transparent, the trail is visible on both sides, and therefor can be flipped over and rotated as desired.

The 6x8 challenge and pieces marked with one dot.

The 6x8 challenge and pieces marked with one dot.

You then move a few bars around and get a larger 6×8 tray, add four marked pieces, and have the same goal of an unbroken loop. Again this problem has a unique solution.

Reconfiguring the tray to the next size

Reconfiguring the tray to the next size

Moving the tray around is easy as the spacers all have tabs on their ends that fit into notches in the tray and have a number of dots based on the challenge you’re attempting. A great idea and really well thought out.

Next up a 6×9 tray created by moving more black frame pieces, and two new trominoes. Same goal, same unique solution … are you seeing a pattern yet?

All five challenges, add progressively more pieces, and a bigger tray until you’re using all 24 trominoes, all with unique solutions, and you have a beautiful, and elegant puzzle design. I think the nicest thing about this (given that we know I’m not good at tray packing puzzles) is that this one is really approachable. I’ve been able to solve all five problems, and none of them are too difficult. Yes they’re a challenge, but not such that you get frustrated and want to throw the puzzle across the room.

There’s no solutions provided, but if you are stuck, or just curious, then click the 6×6 solution link or the 6×8 solution link to see the solutions. After that you’re on your own. After all, what’s the point in my giving you the solution. This is actually a fun tray puzzle!

Tubular Burr

Leave a reply

The Tubular Burr is a 3D printed puzzle, created by a good friend of mine Derek Bosch. The goal of the puzzle is simple. Remove the two black pieces from the cylinder and put them back. Derek kindly gave me this version when I gave him a copy of the Involute puzzle by Stewart Coffin I made recently.

Tubular Burr by Derek Bosch

Tubular Burr by Derek Bosch

Measuring 1.5″ tall x 1.75″ diameter it’s a good sized puzzle, and as you can see from the photos, having the puzzle dyed with different coloured pieces from the cylinder really makes the puzzle pop. The White Strong and Flexible material really stands up well in the puzzle, and despite the model being hollow, there’s no worry about anything breaking.

Inside the cylinder are a couple of notches, and both pieces are also notched. These notches all interact with one another inside the cylinder to make for a fairly tricky puzzle. Don’t be put off by the fact that this is a 3 piece puzzle. I’ll attest to it not being easy to solve. (See my later comments on that!) It total it takes 14 moves to re-assemble the puzzle so it’s a good challenge.

Tubular Burr Open

Tubular Burr Open

Tubular Burr IPP Entry

Tubular Burr IPP Entry

Derek originally created this for IPP29 in San Francisco as his design puzzle entry, where it was created from sheets of laser cut acrylic which were glued together. He also used it as his Exchange party puzzle that year too. The puzzles for the IPP were created from a clear blue acrylic, however the first time I was able to play with this puzzle was with Derek’s prototype “Darth Vader” version which is made from solid black acrylic. If I’m honest, I love this clear version, and can only imagine that it makes things even more infuriating as you can see everything that’s going on inside the cylinder! Truly an excellent puzzle as nothing is hidden.


Darth Vader Prototype

Darth Vader Prototype

Darth Vader Prototype pieces

Darth Vader Prototype pieces


Derek first gave me this puzzle to play with one morning at work, and I took the pieces apart and placed all three pieces back on his desk. He told me that wasn’t good enough, put it back to the way it was when he handed it to me. When I first played with the puzzle it took me around 5 minutes to take the pieces out of the cylinder, and less than a minute to put the pieces back in. When I handed it back to Derek less than a minute after he’d told me to put it back, he was astonished. I had put it back together far faster than anyone else had, and generally, he notes that it’s much harder to put the pieces back in than it is to remove them.

I can confirm that having played around with the copy Derek gave me, I’ve not repeated this incredibly fast re-assembly, and in fact the second attempt took me a good 20 minutes to put the pieces back in! (going back to the Involute I gave him, he’s still not taken it apart in over 2 months, so I think on average I’m still up – or rather Stewart Coffin is!)

Going back and resolving it several times now, it still takes me on average 5-10 minutes to put it back together, so perhaps my first attempt was beginners luck! I am getting quicker as I remember the solution but I get the feeling that leave this for a few months and come back to it and you’ll still find it a challenge every time.

This is a great little puzzle, and is well worth picking up a copy if you weren’t lucky enough to be part of the IPP exchange. Visit Derek’s Shapeways Shop to pick one up, or one of his Maze Cubes. They’re offered both dyed and undyed, and while frustrating me that I didn’t solve it as quickly the second time, it proves that it’s not a simple puzzle, and well worth owning.

Houdini’s Torture Cell

1 Reply
This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series IPP 31

Carrying on in the IPP series, today I’m looking at Mr Puzzle’s IPP31 exchange puzzle “Houdini’s Torture Cell”. I was lucky enough to be given this one as a gift from my fiancée for my birthday, after dropping a few hints. Mr Puzzle (Brian Young) is great at making sure that his exchange puzzles are relevant to the location of that year’s IPP, and this is no exception. The puzzle celebrates Harry Houdini’s first public performance of The Torture Cell at the Circus Busch in Berlin on 12th September 1912. A small copy of the original poster from that show is printed on the presentation card as you can see below.

Houdini's Torture Cell

Houdini's Torture Cell

As the info card states, the object of the puzzle is to free Houdini from the torture cell. For those not familiar, during this illusion, Harry Houdini was suspended by his feet, locked through the top of the box which was filled with water, and escaped without drowning. Now having performed this illusion myself many years ago while I was still doing magic, I can confirm that there was no steel ball in the bottom of the tank, however the puzzle does recreate nicely the shape of a suspended figure, with no apparent way to escape.

The puzzle is very well made, as with all of Brian’s puzzles. The puzzle makes use of the wood and perspex together to create a very sharp looking puzzle. On the bottom of the puzzle you’ll find the Mr Puzzle Logo branded into the wood. Despite the very visible screws, there’s no screw driver required to solve the puzzle, so you can stop thinking along those lines! At just under 4″ tall, and a little under 2″ square at the base, this is a good sized puzzle, and feels good in your hands when you’re working on it. Not too small that it’s fiddly.

If you’re a seasoned puzzler, you’ll be tempted to get the compass out for this puzzle, as Brian states that there’s lots of magnets, but no “tapping” required to solve the puzzle. You’ll find a very strong magnet in the base, and a couple of others elsewhere. The question is what to do with them.

On the Mr Puzzle website, Brian states that the idea for Houdini’s Torture Cell came from one of the locks in the incredibly complex “The Opening Bat” puzzle. Brian felt the idea was unique and very satisfying to solve so he revisited the idea and changed it to present in a way that would suit IPP; this way it’s available for lots more people to experience a great ‘Ah Ha’ moment.

Houdini safely out of the cell

Houdini safely out of the cell

And the Ah Ha moment in this puzzle is excellent. The beauty of the puzzle is that everything is on show for you, so really you can; after a quick investigation; think about how to solve the puzzle and then go ahead and solve it. Well, when I say everything, I mean almost everything is on show for you. There’s a little bit of discovery required, and you’ll need to find a tool or two hidden in the puzzle to help you solve it, but everything you need is right there in front of you. If you really get stuck there is a solution provided in a folded piece of paper, so if you don’t want hints, don’t unfold that paper.

Balancing the Ball on the base is easier than it looks

Balancing the Ball on the base is easier than it looks

The puzzle’s party piece as I think of it is that once you’ve figured out how to solve it, you can leave it sitting on the shelf with the metal ball balanced on the podium at the bottom of the puzzle. Trust me, there’s no way you’re going to be able to get it there with dexterity alone, and leaving it in this state not only makes it look great on display, but also makes people wonder how on earth you got it there.

I highly recommend this to any and all. It’s a brilliant little puzzle, and solving it is a lot of fun. I have to agree with Brian’s thoughts, that this is a very satisfying puzzle to solve, and I’m really glad he decided to make this version of the puzzle as it’s unlikely I’ll get the chance to play with an Opening Bat. With Christmas coming up, this would make a great gift for the puzzler in your life. To see what other people think of it, read Allard’s review and Oli’s review for another perspective.