Craftsman: Eureka
Designer: Marcel Gillen
Long overdue post but here it is 1 month late =)
The same size as the King but with a slightly different solution. The Queen also harbors a secret, and in this case… a girls best friend.
King And Queen
You are currently browsing articles tagged Metal puzzle.
Tags: Metal puzzle, Opening puzzle
Craftsman: Eureka
Designer: Marcel Gillen
Long overdue post but here it is 1 month late =)
Designed by Marcel Gillen in 2002 and reproduced by Eureka.
A fairly large piece about 15cm (~6 inches) tall. Not a very difficult puzzle but different.
All Kings has a Queen by their side, and she is a wee bit more difficult to find, but available here.
Can you find the hidden coin?
Tags: Metal puzzle, Opening puzzle
Craftsman: -
Designer: Chris Pitt
Long overdue post but here it is 1 month late =)
This is a HARD puzzle!
I have been working on it on and off and there are some devious tricks in this puppy. Still unsolved, but will hopefully have cracked it before the gold comes out.
Read my blue RevoMaze review for more info on this great puzzle.
Tags: Maze puzzle, Metal puzzle, Revomaze
Face-(Gesicht)-by-Roger
Craftsman: Roger
Designer: Roger
Update Aug 19 2010
Thanks to Wil Strijbos I now know the goal of this puzzle!
The goal is frankly quite simple, however getting there is not =)Goal: Getting the ball from one eye to the other…and back again.
When I first started to fiddle around with this puzzle, the ball was in it’s left socket, and getting it to the right was no problem. The tricky part is getting it back to the left one. There are basically two obstacles to overcome to get the ball to the left eye, and I’m still stuck at the last one. I don’t know if I’m to tired or what, but I might need some assistance on the last hurdle.
This Roger puzzle has me really puzzled! I have no idea what the goal is here… You have this aluminum block which makes out a face (gesicht), and several square holes on it’s sides. There is one metal ball inside, and you have a “stick” ? with rounded edges (one bigger then the other). It seems like the goal of this would be to get the ball out of one of the eyes. All other holes are too small to get the ball out.
There are paths within which directly connects to the holes, and the only obstruction is a couple of “compressed” pieces if foam. (It’s really hard to explain but I will put up more pictures soon) You can poke the ball past each piece of foam with some force. (There is no damage to the puzzle, foam nor ball by doing this). So if the goal is to get the ball out through the eye it’s easy as pie!?
And why does the sticks ends has different sizes? There got to be more to this puzzle then meets the eye!
If you can confirm or dismiss my theory on the goal on this puzzle please contact me and let me know.
Here are 3 pictures of the foam, excuses the poor color balance.
Tags: Metal puzzle, Rare, Roger
Craftsman: -
Designer: Sonicwarp
There were a lot of discussion about this new puzzle from sonicwarp in different forums.
The guys at the forum hadn’t solved it right away (or at least didn’t announce it before I ordered one), so it couldn’t be too easy anyway, so I figured why not give this one a try.
It’s priced a lot less then their regular range (Isis & Ramisis) so I got one from Puzzle Box Direct .
It arrived today so I was keen on getting my hands on it. Apparently getting it out of the box was accordingly to sonicwarp supposed to be a small puzzle itself. Its Not =)
The acrylic box is only held together with 2 x 4 magnets. Strong ones but…
One of the first thing that is going to hit you is the size. It’s about 4cm / 1.6 inches in diameter. In the comparison picture below you can see some references:
1 Euro, a Canadian “twoonie” (2CAD) and a Casino chip sitting on a dollar bill.
I had no problem solving this one, it took only a few minutes actually. Not because I’m all that smart, rather some dumb luck was involved. Even though, I solved it and could take a good look at the internals, it ain’t breeze to repeat the feat.
Kuku size reference
Apparently there seems to exists two versions of the Kuku. Medium and Hard, and unless you ask for the hard one they will ship the medium. (I didn’t know this before I had ordered mine) As far as I know there is no way of telling the two apart on the outside.
This is not something I have verified so if you got more details regarding this please let me know.
However once you have opened your kuku there are tells, that indicate that it can be made harder.
The Kuku itself is made of brushed aluminum and displays very nicely in it’s acrylic case.
As far as value for money I’m a bit torn, since the initial playtime was kind of short… though there is replay value and (maybe) the possibility to modify the difficulty once you open it. However if you are good at decrypting you could easily get your moneys worth IF you manage to solve the vault game that the token inside the kuku gives you access to. Demo of the vault game can be found here.
Edit: I have confirmed that it’s possible to make a medium puzzle into a hard one. The reason why they shipped “mediums” was because they didn’t want to make the initial kuku deliveries impossible to solve. I haven’t tried the “upgrade” yet, but it’s supposed to be much harder then the regular/medium. I know that some pretty good puzzlers out there has been stuck on their hard version for over an week now.
So I’m toning down my conclusion a bit. =) Will update you on how the hard works out for me once I get started.
Conclusion: Get the hard version and nothing else if you are an experienced puzzler.
This isn’t really a spoiler but people who experienced the ISIS range of Sonicwarps puzzles might get the wrong idea from the text below.
A word of caution: Make sure you don’t sit in the middle if the dessert when you do open it. Chances are that you will be looking for a needle in a haystack soon. It’s not that bad, but just be careful when you open it as some small items may come out.
Tags: Metal puzzle, Opening puzzle, Sonicwarp
Garden-Hose-(Gartenschlauch)-by-Roger
Craftsman: Roger
Designer: Roger
Here is another one of “Roger’s” contraptions, about the same size as the plug (stecker). It also shares a few other elements with stecker other then it’s size. It has a real piece of gardenhose attached and no visible clue how to solve it.
The nozzle is made from two solid pieces of aluminum, of which the front can be rotated. The second piece of the nozzle has a small ball bearing on top of it. One would expect it to be spring loaded, but it want move.
CloseUp Nozzle
The front of the nozzle has a hole where one can see a part of something that looks like the business end of a bolt.
CloseUp Nozzle2
My guess on the goal here is that the front nozzle should be detached.
Tags: Metal puzzle, Opening puzzle, Rare, Roger
Blindlabyrint 1C by Lauri Kaira
Craftsman: -
Designer: Lauri Kaira
Found here: Oy Sloyd Ab
The grandfather of RevoMaze!? =)
This labyrinth puzzle intrigued me quite a bit when I saw it. Because it was so similar to the RevoMaze that I’m quite fond of.
All in all only 2000 copies were made, of which most was sold in 1984
This is 1C, is the hardest one of “Blindlabyrint”
Box front
Transcript of the block of text in Swedish of the front follows:
(It’s exactly the same as the English version on the back)
Blindlabyrint är ett nytt problemspel för gamla och unga. Spelaren söker med den lilla vandraren (tapp) den rätta vägen genom labyrinten till den innersta cirkelformiga gången och tillbaka. Detta problem löses endast med känselsinne. Det här spelet hör till svårighetsgraden A, B eller C, av vilka graden C är den svåraste.
Box back
Transcript of the part in English of the back of the box follows:
Blindlabyrinth is a new problemgame for old and young. Player searches with the little wanderer (pin) a path through the labyrinth to the inner ringshaped passage and back. This problem can be solved only with the sense of touch. The game is classified in grades A, B and C of which the grade C is most difficult.
Blindlabyrint 1C by Lauri Kaira Standing
You probably can’t tell by the pictures, but the entire puzzle (maze & sleeve) is made from lightweight metal, probably aluminum. The pin (which is not spring loaded) seems to be made from steel though.
The fit is perfect, but since the pin is not spring loaded and the maze corners are very sharp, makes it a bit tricky to navigate.
Tags: Maze puzzle, Metal puzzle, Rare
Plug-(Stecker)-by-Roger
Craftsman: Roger
Designer: Roger
This one of my recently acquired “Roger” puzzle. This thing is big 26cm / 10 inches long, (about the same size of the Garden Hose (Gartenschlauch) more on that in a later post) It would actually fit in a regular industrial socket of some sort. The wires at the back is the real thing to. One possible solution (last resort) to this puzzle would be to plug it in. (Joke! please do not kill yourself hahaha).
CloseUp Plug
The goal of this puzzle is at the moment unknown (for me), as with all of Roger’s puzzles they come with no instructions, and hence a part of the puzzle is to figure out the goal.
I do believe that goal is tho remove one of the copper connectors, since one can be turned fairly freely, while the other do not (probably held by one of two screws).
The plug itself is a solid metal block with only two screws in it.
CloseUp Plug2
The wires at the end can be removed, while the red protective sleeve can not. I have found that there seems to be some mechanism, one can “tinger” with, at the base inside the sleeve (did that make any sense?) using one (or more) of the of the cords.
CloseUp Cord
It’s my understanding that this and the “garden hose” are one of the most difficult ones.
A quite extensive catalog of Roger puzzles can be found at Rob’s Puzzle Page.
Tags: Metal puzzle, Rare, Roger
Lighthouse-by-Eureka
Found at: Eureka
Hoffman
A clever little puzzle, quite easy but mainly due to some quality issues.
Tags: bits and pieces, Discovery puzzle, Eureka, Metal puzzle, Opening puzzle
Tap-by-Roger
Craftsman: Roger
Designer: Roger
Here is another puzzle I have not opened yet. The Tap, or also known as “Wasserhahn”. One can hear a ball bearing inside, and the “hot” and “cold” water screws can be turned so they move up and down (block or unblock the little ball inside).
Tags: Metal puzzle, Rare, Roger
R2D2-by-Roger
Craftsman: Roger
Designer: Roger
Not solved this one either… the goal (I assume) is to get the smaller ball bearing past the 2 big ones. NOT as easy as it sounds.
Tags: Metal puzzle, Rare, Roger
Key-&-Lock-by-Roger
Craftsman: Roger
Designer: Roger
“Key and Lock” also known as “Schluessel” is one of Roger’s puzzles that I managed to open so far. The goal is to get the key out of the lock. Once solved just enter the key and turn it to lock again. Not too difficult but smart.
Tags: Metal puzzle, Rare, Roger
Propeller-by-Roger
Craftsman: Roger
Designer: Roger
One can hear something moving inside, and the propeller only moves slightly to the left and right, or “R <-> D” as seen in the picture.
I managed to solve this puzzle once now, but are having problems repeating it.
However if you wish to know what I found out, you can check the spoiler below. It will first give a description about what it is about to spoil, and then you need to click again to actually find out.
Show spoiler (it’s not the solution and never will be) »
This will display the goal of the puzzle »
Rotating the propeller freely
Tags: Metal puzzle, Rare, Roger
Popplock-T4-by-Rainer-Popp
Craftsman: Rainer Popp
Designer: Rainer Popp
Found here: Puzzlemaster.ca & Grand-Illusion
This must be Rainer’s pride and joy! In par with DanLock (if not better) in my opinion.
I broke down and looked at the solution for this puzzle, in fear of damaging the puzzle if I continued. Boy do I regret doing that.. I would probably still be working on it if I hadn’t looked.
These locks ain’t cheap, but they are milled from a solid block (you could probably kill someone with it judging by the weight =) and are hand crafted.
Tags: Collecting, Metal puzzle, Popplock, Rainer Popp, Tricklock
Popplock-T3-by-Rainer-Popp
Craftsman: Rainer Popp
Designer: Rainer Popp
Found here: Puzzlemaster.ca & Grand-Illusion
Excellent lock, I would rate this as Rainer’s second best lock.
(This one I managed without having a look at the solution sheet)
Tags: Metal puzzle, Milled, Popplock, Rainer Popp, Tricklock
RevoMaze-Bronze-by-Chris-Pitt
Craftsman: -
Designer: Chris Pitt
This is (at the time I writing this) Chris’s hardest puzzle yet. It took me approx. 12-13 hours of working on the puzzle to get it open. It incorporates some devious “tricks”.
Read my blue RevoMaze review for more info on this great puzzle.
Tags: Chris Pitt, Maze puzzle, Metal puzzle, Revomaze
RevoMaze-Green-by-Chris-Pitt
Craftsman: -
Designer: Chris Pitt
The second in the series, this is a step up from the blue. It took me a good 9-10 hours of working on the puzzle to finally get the core out.
Read my blue RevoMaze review for mor info on this great puzzle.
Tags: Bronze, Chris Pitt, Maze puzzle, Metal puzzle, Revomaze
Craftsman: Rainer Popp
Designer: Rainer Popp
Found here: Puzzlemaster.ca & Grand-Illusion
(My lock is currently loaned out to a friend, so I have not been able to take my own photo of it yet.)
This lock has a few tricks up it’s sleeve, though the first one is fairly obvious.
It’s a really solid lock with a good weight to it. Unfortunately it ain’t obvious if you manage to open the lock because the hatch ain’t spring loaded.
I like to think that I would have managed to open the lock without solution, had I known this. Overall a great quality tricklock. =)
Tags: Metal puzzle, Milled, Popplock, Rainer Popp, Tricklock
RevoMaze-Blue-by-Chris-Pitt
Craftsman: -
Designer: Chris Pitt
The first in a series of five. You navigate “blind” in a maze by turning the shaft that’s surrounded by the blue sleeve. The goal is to get to the end of the maze so you can remove the shaft completely, and get the core out from the shaft. There waits a signed certificate with a registration number and a transparent map.
The registration number will get you a place on the leaderboard and in the cash prize tournament.
The map will give you clues to the series code, which if you solve (in time) guarantee a place in the tournament finals. More info about this on http://www.revomaze.co.uk/
The best part about these puzzles is the sense of progression and satisfaction as you progress in the maze. This is a GREAT puzzle and will last a long time.
The blue (the easiest one) took me approx. 5-6 hours of working on it to get it open.
Tags: Bronze, Chris Pitt, Maze puzzle, Metal puzzle, Revomaze
YOT-by-Hi-Q-Products
Craftsman: Hi-Q Products
Designer: -
Tags: Metal puzzle
Cast-NEWS-by-Hanayama
Craftsman: Hanayama
Designer: NOB 2003
Tags: Cast, Hanayama, Metal puzzle