The Sixi Cube is proof that Václav Obšivač (Vinco) can craft any type of puzzle and do a magnificent work every time. Many of his designs need coordinate motion and steady hands to be solved, but today's puzzle is a little different, since it doesn't require a simultaneous assembly of its pieces. If you think the absence of coordinate motion makes the puzzle easier to solve, think again... After all, this is a Burr puzzle.

The puzzle is superbly crafted with Vinco's trademark waxing finish, giving it a smoother surface while also making it easier for the pieces to slide in place. Another great characteristic of Vinco's puzzles is the use of different kinds of wood to create a beautiful contrast between the pieces, and this particular version of the Sixi Cube is made from walnut (dark) and acacia (light). It's a relatively small puzzle, measuring 5.6cm (2.2").

Comprised of six distinct interlocking pieces, with two pairs being a mirror of each other, the puzzle is rated as a difficulty level of 3/5 and a Burr level 1 - It's considered a level 1 because it's a solid burr (no internal voids) and requires only one move to remove the first piece. Nevertheless, for someone not used at solving Burr puzzles, this can still be quite challenging, considering the pieces need to be arranged in a specific sequence.

One particular thing you'll immediately notice when you receive the puzzle is that it comes disassembled in its box. Unless you want to keep it in the box in this shameful state, you're forced to solve the puzzle. While this might seem a mean thing of the designer, I agree that it's a good thing. How many puzzles have you bought in their solved state, took them apart and assembled them back? - I bet your answer is more than zero. My OCD personality just doesn't allow to leave a puzzle in its unsolved state. I'm glad not many designers do this, else my free time would be spent solving puzzles uninterruptedly.

Each piece, with the exception of the plain key piece, has one or two small cubes attached to the main structure in different arrangements. The result is a complex solution with each piece having a specific order of placement. At first, this task seems too difficult, but as you solve the puzzle multiple times it becomes progressively easier. After several attempts, I can now solve it in less than one minute, when at first it must have taken about an hour to do it.

Closing Comments:

Vinco's Sixi Cube makes for a nice break of coordinate-motion puzzles. Perfectly crafted with high-quality materials, it's not extremely difficult, even for Burr beginners, but will sure put your patience to the test if you're easily frustrated by a challenging puzzle.

Availability: The Sixi Cube is available from Brilliant Puzzles for about $20 USD. You can browse other puzzles from Vinco at Brilliant Puzzles dedicated section.

Usually, I don't go for Burrs very often, not because I don't like this type of puzzle, but because they can really put my patience to the test. Some of them are great works of art made by extremely talented craftsmen, and the Satellite is a good example of this. Also known as Knobbly Burr, the puzzle was designed by Dic Sonneveld way back in 1975. Several different versions were made of it and the one I have is available from the folks over at Brilliant Puzzles.

The Satellite is not your typical Burr puzzle, with notched sticks. The six pieces are interlocked by a series of sequential movements, similar to the solving process of the more traditional Burr, but instead it uses an alternate interlocking mechanism. The result is rather interesting, providing a whole different experience.

The striking design of the puzzle is what really drew my attention in the first place. The intricate pattern of each of the six faces is stunning, with a mix of straight and curved lines, creating a beautiful symmetry seldom seem in puzzle design. The puzzle is also unusually large, with a diameter of 14cm (5.5"), but still comfortable enough to manipulate.

The Satellite has a rating level of 4/5, which is challenging, but not crazy difficult like other Burrs. As with most Burr puzzles I've tried so far, taking them apart is usually easier than it is to reassemble them. Much to my surprise, both disassembling and reassembling were easier than I expected. I took about 10 minutes to do solve both challenges, although reassembling was slightly trickier, as I was unsure which sequence of pieces I should've followed. Dexterity certainly plays a major part in the reassembling, because the puzzle seems to conspire against you and doesn't want to be solved, falling apart at any given opportunity. The trick for an easier assembly is to connect the pieces in two groups of three pieces and finally join them in a two-move sequence.

Closing Comments:

I loved everything about the Satellite puzzle. The design, the concept, the right level of difficulty, all combined to provide a really enjoyable puzzling experience. This one gave me extra confidence to try other Burr puzzles in the future, maybe a tad more difficult even...

Availability: The Satellite is available at Brilliant Puzzles for about $28 USD.

Little things can be deceiving, and Timonen Burr is a good proof of that. This 5cm length burr puzzle will have you screaming obscenities at it in no time, as you try to remove the very first piece. The puzzle is named after its Finish designer, Vesa Timonen, who created it in 2007.

Timonen Burr is made from Sloyd's trade mark birch wood, present in all their puzzles, which gives it this beautiful light tone. The design is also a bit different from the classic burrs with six squares intercepting each other in the middle.

The puzzle is comprised of six pieces with two distinct groups: the first group of three pieces is somewhat similar to the type of pieces you're used to see in the traditional burr (two C's and one G). The second group of pieces, however, is what makes Timonen Burr so unique: three pieces and all different from each other (although one of them is a variation).

When it comes to the difficulty level, Timonen Burr is everything you'd expect from an extremely  challenging burr. Sloyd's own rating system, from 1 to 5, classifies it as a level 5 and I completely agree. It took me about 45 minutes to completely disassemble it, and 15 of them were just to remove the first piece. After that, it was a series of seemingly endless sequential movements that always led me to the same starting point. I was eventually able to remove the second and third pieces, almost at the same time, and the remaining larger three pieces followed right after with very little effort.

If the challenge of disassembling the puzzle wasn't enough, you're supposed to put it back together to fully solve it. Just like my love/hate towards string puzzles, the burrs seem to fall in the same category - A pain to take apart and an even bigger pain to put it back.

If you ever tried to solve a burr puzzle, then you know you have to follow a strict sequence of moves: backwards from the ones you did to take it apart. Well, this wouldn't be a problem if I could remember exactly which moves I did to disassemble it, which I don't... After the initial trial and error to see which piece would fit, I saw that I wasn't going anywhere without instructions. It still took me about 20 minutes to put the puzzle back to its original form, so you can see that even when you're following instructions, it can still be quite tricky.

Closing Comments:

Timonen Burr is a "little" devil to solve, but I enjoyed particularly taking it apart. Maneuvering the small pieces might take a while to get used to, but other than that it's a highly recommended puzzle for burr lovers.

Availability: You can get a Timonen Burr at Sloyd's for about €19. For other exclusive Sloyd puzzles check out their wide selection.

Links:

Vesa Timonen's Shapeways Shop

The Doornail is a very interesting interlocking puzzle from Brilliant Puzzles, and prior to get this version I already knew the concept: In my collection, I have a simpler version with six rods and about half the size. You may also know it as the Computer Chip, which in my opinion is more fitting.

The concept of the Doornail is similar to a traditional burr puzzle, where notched rods are interlocked and intersect at right angles. In this version, eight rods are interlocked inside a square box with four on each side. The object is to get all rods out of the box and then return them to their original position. It's a fairly challenging task, but if you carefully analyze it, it's actually quite simple to solve. Its dimensions are 8.5 x 8.5cm (3.3").

Brilliant Puzzles rates this as a level 4/5 difficulty, and in my opinion it all depends on how good you are at solving burr puzzles. Just like any other burr puzzle, to take it apart you need to find the "key" rod. In other words, there should be a plain rod without any notches, which would be the first one out. After you get the first one the others won't be a problem. The real challenge, however, is to get all of the pieces back in their original positions.

(Click to Enlarge)

Again, if you're used to solving burr puzzles, you'll know what to do. The first thing you should do after getting all the rods out is to arrange them by groups: If you look closely you'll see that there's one rod with four notches, two rods with three notches, two with two notches, two with just one and finally the plain rod. Just like when you were taking them apart one by one, reassembling the puzzle requires a specific sequence that needs to be followed, which is the complete opposite of the first task. You'll start by the four-notched rod and work your way to the final plain rod. The strategy is pretty simple: with every new rod you place, you have to make sure you leave all remaining slots free for the other rods. Once you place a rod there's no need to move it again.

(Click to Enlarge)

Closing Comments:

The Doornail was an enjoyable puzzle and a satisfying challenge. This is a must-have for any burr type puzzle fans and if you fancy a good challenge, it's worth a try. Even if you're a beginner, I'm sure you'll eventually find a way to solve it. Just give it a chance.

Availability: You can get your Doornail from the online puzzle store Brilliant Puzzles for just about $9 USD.

Having already reviewed a few puzzles from Vinco (Václav Obšivač), their common denominator is high quality and design originality. The Kamarad, a six-piece coordinate-motion interlocking puzzle, is no different.

The Kamarad has such a brilliant and original design that it'll be very hard to write about it without giving too much away about its solution. It's one of those puzzles that you should experience on your own and find out for yourself how it works. There's one phrase that perfectly describes it: "Looks can be deceiving". With this in mind, I'll try to describe it with no major spoilers.

The puzzle is comprised by six identical pieces made from natural wood and the different colors indicate, at least, two types of woods. It measures about 6.3cm in length (2.5") and it's coated with some type of wax that helps disassemble and assembling it. The goal, of course, is to find a way to take it apart and then return it to its original shape.

(Click to Enlarge)

When looking at the puzzle, the first thing that comes to mind is a burr puzzle: One of the pieces should slide off pretty easily - although not every burr is as straightforward and simple as this - leaving the inside mechanism visible. So, the first thing I tried was to push on the various pieces and see if any of them would move. However, there's one thing rattling inside the puzzle, a small bead, that quickly shatters the burr notion. Knowing that inside of a burr there are intersecting pieces, there's little to no room for a bead. With the help of this bead it shouldn't be that hard to imagine how the interior of the puzzle looks like. Now that you have a pretty good idea of the mechanism, you still need to take it apart. I'll leave this part for you to figure out, but I'm sure it won't be much of a challenge.

This puzzle is rated as a 3/5 level of difficulty, and given the fact that the bead gives you a nice clue about the interior of the puzzle, I'd say it's about right. Were the puzzle not featuring this bead, and it could very much be classified as a level 4.

After successfully taking the puzzle apart, you still have to reassemble it. While it might not be harder than figuring out how to take it apart, it still requires a good level of dexterity and hand coordination. You will find yourself a few times having to get the bead inside again, as in the process of reassembly it'll fall off quite easily.

(Click to Enlarge)

Closing Comments:

Overall, the Kamarad is a fantastic design and the concept is a pleasant surprise once you discover how it works. As with many of Vinco's puzzles, besides their high quality you can also count with very affordable prices, taking into account the type of puzzle and level of craftsmanship. A must-have for any collector.

Availability: The Kamarad came from Brilliant Puzzles and it's available for about $20 USD.

Links:

Vinco's Official Website

The Inverse Cube or Sam's Cube, invented by Sam Mcflay, is a non-traditional six-piece burr with additional parts that make it into a cube.

As the name suggests, the pieces are grouped in three sets of pieces, each with an inverse image of the other or mirrored, if you will. The puzzle is built from Samanea (Rain Tree) wood and measures 6 x 6cm (2.4"). The goal in any type of burr is to discover how to take it apart and then, after careful study of the pieces, assemble it back to its original form.

Unlike the traditional burr, this puzzle needs a different approach to be solved. The pieces interlock in a way that when you try to pull them apart it doesn't seem to do much good. They do have to be pulled apart in order to disassemble the cube (no pushing necessary), but they have a very specific way to accomplish that. You just need to figure out for yourself where exactly do you need to pull.

(Click to Enlarge)

From my past experience with burr puzzles, taking them apart is most of the times easier than actually assemble them back together. The notches on the pieces connect with each other in right angles and not always in an intuitive way. Good visual perception and 3D spacial skills are two of the most important abilities for solving this kind of puzzles.

This is rated as a 3/5 difficulty puzzle in the Brilliant Puzzles' website, so if you're experienced with these puzzles, you won't find it that much tough. The first thing you need to be aware of when trying to assemble it back is that each of the cubes' faces has a large and a small square adjacent to each other, and two rectangles with perpendicular orientation in relation to each other. Also, the two stripes that criss-cross the cube are off-set from the center. This is important for visualizing how the pieces might connect together and helps the solving process. Re-assembling time took about 10 minutes.

(Click to Enlarge)

Closing Comments:

I liked the originality of Sam's Cube. It's not extremely challenging, but still quite fun to solve and very affordable. A higher contrast between the stripes and the outer parts would've made it look even better, though.

Availability: The Inverse Cube is available at Brilliant Puzzles for about $11 USD.