Looks simple enough but totally difficult!
http://mechanical-puzzles.com/u-sockel-by-jean-claude-constantin/
Showing posts with label entanglement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label entanglement. Show all posts
Thursday, 13 September 2018
U-Sockel By Jean-Claude Constantin
Here is another Jean-Claude Constantin design which I had no luck solving.
Looks simple enough but totally difficult!
http://mechanical-puzzles.com/u-sockel-by-jean-claude-constantin/
Looks simple enough but totally difficult!
http://mechanical-puzzles.com/u-sockel-by-jean-claude-constantin/
Sunday, 14 May 2017
Keys To The Kingdom
Update 24 October 2017 - Dear Reader, please check out my new puzzle blog and e-store at http://mechanical-puzzles.com
I am really hopeless at disentanglement wire puzzles, that's why I rarely, if ever buy any for my collection. However, now and again, I do get a couple during the IPP Puzzle Exchange. Occasionally I would look at the wire puzzles I have and decide if I should give one a go.
Well, Dick Hess' IPP34 exchange puzzle, Keys To The Kingdom caught my eye. And moreover, it didn't look that complicated and entangled, unlike some of the other string/wire puzzles I have come across.
The Keys has not one but two (really four smaller separate) challenges. The first two consist of removing the two "key" from the upper squarish loop and the second is to join both keys into the lower circular loop.
Like many wire puzzles, the Keys at the beginning look like a bit of a jumbled mess impossible to take apart. But you know physically it is doable. But to my (pleasant) surprise, I actually managed to solve the first challenge of removing the two keys frustration free! Of course being lousy and inexperienced at such puzzles, I am am sure I took much longer than a seasoned wire puzzle expert. I was beginning to like wire puzzles already.
However, what took me about 20 minutes to solve the first challenge, I failed to replicate to the second task. Sadly I spend a good part of a whole afternoon without success. Finally I threw in the towel and referred to Dick's accompanying solution. However, despite the text and diagrams presented, which admittedly I did not fully quite comprehend, I still couldn't figure out how to link both keys to the bottom loop. I will have to drop Dick a note to ask for a better explanation.
No doubt I didn't solve the Keys completely, I still think it is a good wire puzzle to have because it not only provides two challenges but also allows a puzzler to have a couple of A-ha moments for the (easier) first challenge.
I am really hopeless at disentanglement wire puzzles, that's why I rarely, if ever buy any for my collection. However, now and again, I do get a couple during the IPP Puzzle Exchange. Occasionally I would look at the wire puzzles I have and decide if I should give one a go.
Well, Dick Hess' IPP34 exchange puzzle, Keys To The Kingdom caught my eye. And moreover, it didn't look that complicated and entangled, unlike some of the other string/wire puzzles I have come across.
The Keys has not one but two (really four smaller separate) challenges. The first two consist of removing the two "key" from the upper squarish loop and the second is to join both keys into the lower circular loop.
Like many wire puzzles, the Keys at the beginning look like a bit of a jumbled mess impossible to take apart. But you know physically it is doable. But to my (pleasant) surprise, I actually managed to solve the first challenge of removing the two keys frustration free! Of course being lousy and inexperienced at such puzzles, I am am sure I took much longer than a seasoned wire puzzle expert. I was beginning to like wire puzzles already.
However, what took me about 20 minutes to solve the first challenge, I failed to replicate to the second task. Sadly I spend a good part of a whole afternoon without success. Finally I threw in the towel and referred to Dick's accompanying solution. However, despite the text and diagrams presented, which admittedly I did not fully quite comprehend, I still couldn't figure out how to link both keys to the bottom loop. I will have to drop Dick a note to ask for a better explanation.
No doubt I didn't solve the Keys completely, I still think it is a good wire puzzle to have because it not only provides two challenges but also allows a puzzler to have a couple of A-ha moments for the (easier) first challenge.
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Coin Puzzles by MINE
I got these puzzles recently from Japanese puzzle designer, Mineyuki Oyematsu, or MINE as he known in the puzzling community. MINE runs a website where he sells a range of mechanical puzzles. The site is all in Japanese and the Coin puzzles don't appear to be listed on the site. But you can contact MINE directly via his international mail order link which is in English.
Each of the puzzles have got rather cute names such as "Hard-Boiled Coin", Hole Vacancy Coin and "Remove A! Coin (^^)". There is also a fourth heart-shaped version called "Lucky Sixpence" which I now regret not getting.
The object of each of the coin puzzles is, yes.... to remove the coin. All three puzzles are made of precision laser cut acrylic and the puzzles are made by layers stacked and screwed together. Quality of manufacture is excellent with nicely etched wordings.
In terms of difficulty, Hard-Boiled and Hole Vacancy are not difficult and I solved both quite quickly. Notwithstanding, both puzzles are rather tricky and may throw some puzzlers off for a bit because their mechanisms are well hidden.
However I had some trouble with Remove A! Coin. Took me quite a while to figure out the mechanism and even then, after a few tries, I am still not exactly sure how the puzzle works. Of the three, this last one is the most tricky and difficult. I checked with MINE and he confirmed indeed the puzzle had a few tricks not found in the previous two.
Very nicely made and pocket-able puzzles worth getting, and value for money too; their prices ranging from 1,700Y (US$14) to 2,100Y (US$16).
Each of the puzzles have got rather cute names such as "Hard-Boiled Coin", Hole Vacancy Coin and "Remove A! Coin (^^)". There is also a fourth heart-shaped version called "Lucky Sixpence" which I now regret not getting.
The object of each of the coin puzzles is, yes.... to remove the coin. All three puzzles are made of precision laser cut acrylic and the puzzles are made by layers stacked and screwed together. Quality of manufacture is excellent with nicely etched wordings.
In terms of difficulty, Hard-Boiled and Hole Vacancy are not difficult and I solved both quite quickly. Notwithstanding, both puzzles are rather tricky and may throw some puzzlers off for a bit because their mechanisms are well hidden.
However I had some trouble with Remove A! Coin. Took me quite a while to figure out the mechanism and even then, after a few tries, I am still not exactly sure how the puzzle works. Of the three, this last one is the most tricky and difficult. I checked with MINE and he confirmed indeed the puzzle had a few tricks not found in the previous two.
Very nicely made and pocket-able puzzles worth getting, and value for money too; their prices ranging from 1,700Y (US$14) to 2,100Y (US$16).
Sunday, 7 December 2014
Cross & Crown 2013
The Cross & Crown (C&C) puzzle you see here is not a modern puzzle design by any means, no, not at all. In fact, the C&C has its roots in a puzzle designed by Louis S. Burbank in 1913, which was patented by the US Patent Office.
The C&C was Dr Goetz Schwandtner's IPP34 Exchange Puzzle. It all started when Goetz had a chance to see and play with a very rare metal version of the original design belonging to puzzle collector Rob Stegman at IPP32. Goetz collaborated with another collector, Michel van Ipenburg and together, worked with IPP31 award winning designer Robrecht Louage to reproduce the version that we have today, making it available to puzzle enthusiasts.
The modern C&C is made of trespa, a strong and durable material widely associated with table surfaces. Metal would have been too expensive and impractical for production in large quantities. The puzzle is precision cut to tight tolerances but everything slides smoothly as intended. Quality of construction and finish is very good like in all of Robrecht's work.
The C&C is a N-ary puzzle. I still have little idea what this means but you can see examples of these and read more about it on Goetz's site. Like the original design, the C&C consists of a "cross" pivoting on a circular disc containing cut-outs. Both the cross and disc are "linked" by four rivets that can slide along each arm of the cross as well as along the channels of the cut-outs. The object is to move all the rivets through these zig-zag channels and reach a point at the end where the cross can be disengaged from the circular disc.
Like an N-ary puzzle, there is a kind of repeating pattern of moves (this aspect I know!); sort of a back-and-forth motion. I have played with several other n-ary puzzles such as the Lock 250, Alles Schiebung and Numlock and have solved them without help. Yet, for this C&C, despite spending a lot of time on it, I just could not get beyond a certain point and found myself keep getting stuck halfway. Perhaps I am way off-tangent on this one, but I am finding the C&C very difficult!
N-ary puzzles exist in all styles, shapes and sizes. The Chinese Rings is perhaps the early originator of such puzzles but it is binary rather than N-nary. The C&C is yet another example of a growing number of N-ary puzzles that have come to the market since Jean-Claude Constantin's 1250-move Kugellager a while back. For those keen to acquire a copy of C&C, you can contact Goetz via his puzzle site.
Puzzle Master of Canada and Mr Puzzle of Australia also retail different N-ary puzzles, as do Wil Strijbos.
The C&C was Dr Goetz Schwandtner's IPP34 Exchange Puzzle. It all started when Goetz had a chance to see and play with a very rare metal version of the original design belonging to puzzle collector Rob Stegman at IPP32. Goetz collaborated with another collector, Michel van Ipenburg and together, worked with IPP31 award winning designer Robrecht Louage to reproduce the version that we have today, making it available to puzzle enthusiasts.
The modern C&C is made of trespa, a strong and durable material widely associated with table surfaces. Metal would have been too expensive and impractical for production in large quantities. The puzzle is precision cut to tight tolerances but everything slides smoothly as intended. Quality of construction and finish is very good like in all of Robrecht's work.
The C&C is a N-ary puzzle. I still have little idea what this means but you can see examples of these and read more about it on Goetz's site. Like the original design, the C&C consists of a "cross" pivoting on a circular disc containing cut-outs. Both the cross and disc are "linked" by four rivets that can slide along each arm of the cross as well as along the channels of the cut-outs. The object is to move all the rivets through these zig-zag channels and reach a point at the end where the cross can be disengaged from the circular disc.
Like an N-ary puzzle, there is a kind of repeating pattern of moves (this aspect I know!); sort of a back-and-forth motion. I have played with several other n-ary puzzles such as the Lock 250, Alles Schiebung and Numlock and have solved them without help. Yet, for this C&C, despite spending a lot of time on it, I just could not get beyond a certain point and found myself keep getting stuck halfway. Perhaps I am way off-tangent on this one, but I am finding the C&C very difficult!
N-ary puzzles exist in all styles, shapes and sizes. The Chinese Rings is perhaps the early originator of such puzzles but it is binary rather than N-nary. The C&C is yet another example of a growing number of N-ary puzzles that have come to the market since Jean-Claude Constantin's 1250-move Kugellager a while back. For those keen to acquire a copy of C&C, you can contact Goetz via his puzzle site.
Puzzle Master of Canada and Mr Puzzle of Australia also retail different N-ary puzzles, as do Wil Strijbos.
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
More Wire Puzzles!!
Update 24 October 2017 - Dear Reader, please check out my new puzzle blog and e-store at http://mechanical-puzzles.com
After I had solved the Panic Attack loaned to me by puzzle designer Goh Pit Khiam, he passed me a another two more to try! I had decent success with the Panic Attack, so I decided to try my hand with these two new ones while I was on a roll.
I couldn't believe it when he handed me the C&U and Twin Tangle puzzles. To call them wire puzzles are a bit of an understatement...these two are humongous puzzles...real solid stuff fashioned out of thick steel rods! Solid and indestructible! They are probably the largest and heaviest wire puzzles I have come across so far; well, not that I have come across that many....
The C&U was designed by Jean-Claude Constantin. When stretched, it measures a whopping 17cm from top to bottom...huge!
The C&U looks impossible to separate, short of sawing the rods apart. But again, all illusory. It is not a difficult but rather tricky puzzle. There is a technique to it and once you figure it out, repeated solving becomes a cinch. Took me a several minutes to disentangle but a little longer to reconnect the two parts. No force whatsoever necessary
The Twin Tangle (invented as early as the 1900s and had the name "Devil's Claw") on the other hand is one tough cookie. Like the C&U, this one is also very hefty and big around 7.0cm square per M. It is much thicker and bigger than the version by Hanayama, the Cast Devil.
Consisting of two parts bent into the shape of an M (or W if you like), the difficulty quotient for this one far exceeds the C&U. Instead of minutes, the Twin Tangle took me several hours over a few sessions to get it untangled. And even then, I solved it purely by chance, pulling, twisting and tugging, through trial and error rather than any systematic approach. But I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to assemble the two "M"s to the original state and eventually resorted to the solution.
Both the C&U and Twin Tangle are great wire puzzles; the latter being a very much harder solve but featuring a rather elegant solution. The C&U and Cast Devil are available from PuzzleMaster. The bigger Twin Tangle is available from Mr Puzzle retailed under the name MM Wire Puzzle. And not forgetting to mention, the prices for these puzzles are also inexpensive, really great value for money!
After I had solved the Panic Attack loaned to me by puzzle designer Goh Pit Khiam, he passed me a another two more to try! I had decent success with the Panic Attack, so I decided to try my hand with these two new ones while I was on a roll.
I couldn't believe it when he handed me the C&U and Twin Tangle puzzles. To call them wire puzzles are a bit of an understatement...these two are humongous puzzles...real solid stuff fashioned out of thick steel rods! Solid and indestructible! They are probably the largest and heaviest wire puzzles I have come across so far; well, not that I have come across that many....
The C&U was designed by Jean-Claude Constantin. When stretched, it measures a whopping 17cm from top to bottom...huge!
The C&U looks impossible to separate, short of sawing the rods apart. But again, all illusory. It is not a difficult but rather tricky puzzle. There is a technique to it and once you figure it out, repeated solving becomes a cinch. Took me a several minutes to disentangle but a little longer to reconnect the two parts. No force whatsoever necessary
The Twin Tangle (invented as early as the 1900s and had the name "Devil's Claw") on the other hand is one tough cookie. Like the C&U, this one is also very hefty and big around 7.0cm square per M. It is much thicker and bigger than the version by Hanayama, the Cast Devil.
Consisting of two parts bent into the shape of an M (or W if you like), the difficulty quotient for this one far exceeds the C&U. Instead of minutes, the Twin Tangle took me several hours over a few sessions to get it untangled. And even then, I solved it purely by chance, pulling, twisting and tugging, through trial and error rather than any systematic approach. But I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to assemble the two "M"s to the original state and eventually resorted to the solution.
Both the C&U and Twin Tangle are great wire puzzles; the latter being a very much harder solve but featuring a rather elegant solution. The C&U and Cast Devil are available from PuzzleMaster. The bigger Twin Tangle is available from Mr Puzzle retailed under the name MM Wire Puzzle. And not forgetting to mention, the prices for these puzzles are also inexpensive, really great value for money!
Friday, 23 May 2014
Seven & A Panic Attack
The last couple of evenings I had the opportunity to play with two very different puzzles. Both while challenging, were not unduly difficult. Fun (not frustration) was the order of the day.
Seven
The last time I came across something entitled "Seven" was the thriller movie with Morgan Freeman and Brat Pitt. If you have not watched it, do so...you won't regret it.
Seven (the puzzle) is no less thrilling. It is a 2D packing puzzle by Minoru Abe, who is very well known for his cute and whimsical, colourful and some extremely difficult sliding block puzzles. Minoru Abe puzzles are retailed by Torito in Japan. Unfortunately they do not ship internationally. Your best bet is to buy from CU-Japan unless you happen to have a friend who lives in Japan who can get it for you. My copy came to me courtesy of puzzle blogger Roxanne Wong, who got me a copy while in Tokyo last year during IPP33.
As far as I know, Minoru Abe designed only two packing puzzles, the "Seven" and the "9 Puzzle" (the latter which I will review another day). If anyone is aware to the contrary, please drop me a note, thanks.
The Seven consists of 7 pieces (all Hexominos; ie 2D or 3D shapes made from 6 square units) and the accompanying tray. Object is to fit the red piece outside of the tray into the tray with the rest. None of the pieces are identical. The pieces and tray appear to be made of pine with the pieces painted over to give them that colourful look. Very well made with both the tray and pieces really thick and chunky and nicely packaged in a blue cardboard box. One corner of the tray has been deliberately cut away to leave space in the packaging for the red piece that needs to go in.
It took me about 5 to 10 minutes of fiddling with the pieces to solve. Only one solution I think. A rather pretty and fun packing puzzle that is not too difficult.
Panic Attack
I am not a fan of wire or string type puzzles. In fact I have only a few in my collection, one of which, the "Tricky Dick" which I had blogged about quite while back and the others are several handmade jungle puzzles.
Panic Attack was loaned to me by puzzle designer Goh Pit Khiam. I had mentioned to Goh that I found wire puzzles too difficult and frustrating and he told me to give Panic Attack a shot. And I am very glad I did. And I also did not for a moment panic while playing with it.
Panic Attack (as marketed by PuzzleMaster) was designed by Kirill Grebnev and was entered for the IPP26 Puzzle Design Competition under the name of "Love Secret", which subsequently was changed to "Clear Heart". Check out the interesting reasons for the change on Kirill's site.
The object is to get the yellow loop completely off the wire heart. At first glance Panic Attack seems like its impossible to solve; no way out for the loop. But this "impossibility" is more illusory than anything else! I am not sure if readers here would agree with me, but wire and string puzzles are probably the biggest group of puzzles which resemble "impossible objects" (things that appear to defy physical laws)....at first sight.
The first evening playing with Panic Attack, I couldn't figure it out and left it. However the next night, out of nowhere I extracted the loop within minutes of trying! With a bit of practice I even managed to repeat solving it in seconds!
It is not too difficult as a puzzle, but pretty tricky. A nice a-ha moment when you solve it. What I like about it is that the design is relatively simple looking. You know its probably hard, but It doesn't intimidate and put you off....unlike the wood and rope puzzles where the rope is so long, it entangles even before you start to seriously work on the solve. And certainly Panic Attack is also nowhere near the difficulty of a puzzle like Tricky Dick.. I am now even seriously considering other similar type wire puzzles to buy!
Both Kevin Sadler and Gabriel Fernandes have reviewed the Panic Attack on their blogs so you may wish to check out their comments.
Seven
The last time I came across something entitled "Seven" was the thriller movie with Morgan Freeman and Brat Pitt. If you have not watched it, do so...you won't regret it.
Seven (the puzzle) is no less thrilling. It is a 2D packing puzzle by Minoru Abe, who is very well known for his cute and whimsical, colourful and some extremely difficult sliding block puzzles. Minoru Abe puzzles are retailed by Torito in Japan. Unfortunately they do not ship internationally. Your best bet is to buy from CU-Japan unless you happen to have a friend who lives in Japan who can get it for you. My copy came to me courtesy of puzzle blogger Roxanne Wong, who got me a copy while in Tokyo last year during IPP33.
As far as I know, Minoru Abe designed only two packing puzzles, the "Seven" and the "9 Puzzle" (the latter which I will review another day). If anyone is aware to the contrary, please drop me a note, thanks.
The Seven consists of 7 pieces (all Hexominos; ie 2D or 3D shapes made from 6 square units) and the accompanying tray. Object is to fit the red piece outside of the tray into the tray with the rest. None of the pieces are identical. The pieces and tray appear to be made of pine with the pieces painted over to give them that colourful look. Very well made with both the tray and pieces really thick and chunky and nicely packaged in a blue cardboard box. One corner of the tray has been deliberately cut away to leave space in the packaging for the red piece that needs to go in.
It took me about 5 to 10 minutes of fiddling with the pieces to solve. Only one solution I think. A rather pretty and fun packing puzzle that is not too difficult.
Panic Attack
I am not a fan of wire or string type puzzles. In fact I have only a few in my collection, one of which, the "Tricky Dick" which I had blogged about quite while back and the others are several handmade jungle puzzles.
Panic Attack (as marketed by PuzzleMaster) was designed by Kirill Grebnev and was entered for the IPP26 Puzzle Design Competition under the name of "Love Secret", which subsequently was changed to "Clear Heart". Check out the interesting reasons for the change on Kirill's site.
The object is to get the yellow loop completely off the wire heart. At first glance Panic Attack seems like its impossible to solve; no way out for the loop. But this "impossibility" is more illusory than anything else! I am not sure if readers here would agree with me, but wire and string puzzles are probably the biggest group of puzzles which resemble "impossible objects" (things that appear to defy physical laws)....at first sight.
The first evening playing with Panic Attack, I couldn't figure it out and left it. However the next night, out of nowhere I extracted the loop within minutes of trying! With a bit of practice I even managed to repeat solving it in seconds!
It is not too difficult as a puzzle, but pretty tricky. A nice a-ha moment when you solve it. What I like about it is that the design is relatively simple looking. You know its probably hard, but It doesn't intimidate and put you off....unlike the wood and rope puzzles where the rope is so long, it entangles even before you start to seriously work on the solve. And certainly Panic Attack is also nowhere near the difficulty of a puzzle like Tricky Dick.. I am now even seriously considering other similar type wire puzzles to buy!
Both Kevin Sadler and Gabriel Fernandes have reviewed the Panic Attack on their blogs so you may wish to check out their comments.
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Tricky Dick
I am not a fan of entanglement puzzles but this rather interesting (and inexpensive) one with a strange name caught my eye when I was at the Yallingup Maze in Western Australia. The Tricky Dick was designed by Rick Eason and presented at the 19th IPP in London in 1999. The copy which I bought was made by Mr Puzzle Australia.
The puzzle consists of three wooden pieces (looks like stained radiata wood), namely an octagonal block attached by a rope to a long cylindrical rod. The rope which runs through the centre of the rod is sealed into the rod. A circular disk is attached to the end of the rope. Overall the construction and quality is good. A brass ring encircles the rope and the object of the puzzle is to remove this ring.
This is my first entanglement puzzle and my attempts to remove the ring initially ended with the brass ring and the wooden pieces all tangled up in a twisted mess. I suppose there is a reason why these puzzles are called entanglement puzzles. Now I had two objectives...one, to disentangle the knotted mess and two, to solve the puzzle by removing the ring.
After over an hour or so, I finally managed to untangle the puzzle back to its original unsolved state. This actually gave me the "A-ha" feeling and I was pleased with myself for achieving the disentanglement. However, I didn't want to put myself through another hour of frustration, so I decided to check out the solution that accompanied the puzzle. I found the solution not exactly easy to follow but it was better than none. This is a tough puzzle. I would never have been able to solve the puzzle without the solution. Following each step to the tee, eventually I got the brass ring out!
The Tricky Dick is rated at a difficulty level of 8 out of 10, so I am not surprise that I didn't even come close to solving it. Honestly, even with the solution which shows the sequential steps, I still cannot quite comprehend and figure out how the brass ring is removed from the rope-wood ensemble, given that it looks really physically impossible to do so. Anyway, for entanglement puzzle enthusiasts, here is one challenging puzzle to consider.
Rick Eason has a website which features two variations of the puzzle and hints to solving. Tharn Jaggar's puzzle blog also has nice photos of the step by step solution.
The puzzle consists of three wooden pieces (looks like stained radiata wood), namely an octagonal block attached by a rope to a long cylindrical rod. The rope which runs through the centre of the rod is sealed into the rod. A circular disk is attached to the end of the rope. Overall the construction and quality is good. A brass ring encircles the rope and the object of the puzzle is to remove this ring.
This is my first entanglement puzzle and my attempts to remove the ring initially ended with the brass ring and the wooden pieces all tangled up in a twisted mess. I suppose there is a reason why these puzzles are called entanglement puzzles. Now I had two objectives...one, to disentangle the knotted mess and two, to solve the puzzle by removing the ring.
The Tricky Dick is rated at a difficulty level of 8 out of 10, so I am not surprise that I didn't even come close to solving it. Honestly, even with the solution which shows the sequential steps, I still cannot quite comprehend and figure out how the brass ring is removed from the rope-wood ensemble, given that it looks really physically impossible to do so. Anyway, for entanglement puzzle enthusiasts, here is one challenging puzzle to consider.
Rick Eason has a website which features two variations of the puzzle and hints to solving. Tharn Jaggar's puzzle blog also has nice photos of the step by step solution.
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