(Click to Enlarge) - Left: Trefoil Knot; Right: Icosahedron w/ 20 Triangular pieces

It seems that my interest for puzzle sculptures has been raised quite rapid, lately. This is the second review this week for another one of such beautiful objects.

Tom Longtin is the author of my latest acquisition, the Trefoil Knot 3D. Tom is a graphic artist, computer programmer and mathematical sculptor. You can read more about him in this page. I also received another very interesting puzzle by Tom, which uses four types of triangle pieces with slots or tabs, and you can build several geometrical shapes with them. I'll talk more about them below in the review, but for now, I'll start with Tom's Sculpture.

The Trefoil Knot 3D

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The Trefoil Knot is built with 24 pieces and they can be grouped in four types, each progressively bigger. The material used is 100% recycled fiberboard and laser-cut with precise tolerances. The pieces are connected by slots and tabs, so no other gluing agent is necessary. Don't be fooled by the recycled material, though, because the finished structure is very strong and sturdy. The quality and overall appearance is superb.

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Building the puzzle wasn't very hard. The first thing to do is separating the pieces in identical groups. Your task here is simplified, because all the pieces come already packaged in these groups. The first stage of the building process is the most complex, but I used the photo in the puzzle's website to serve as a guide. You are provided with instructions on how to build it, but for me it was just easier to rely on the photo. Building time takes approximately 30 minutes or so, although it certainly felt like less, because it was a very satisfying experience.

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The finished sculpture looks just absolutely wonderful. The shape looks like almost an impossible object and I love the single curved lines that criss-cross the entire structure. A great thing about the curved lines is that they'll assume a totally different pattern on the puzzle, depending on how you swap the pieces during assembly. One thing worth noting is the cut tolerances on the pieces. The fit is so perfect that there's no wobble on the connected pieces or extra space. If the entire puzzle were to be painted in one color, it would look like it was made out of one single solid piece.

The Triangle 3D Puzzle

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The second puzzle I got from Tom can be looked at as a construction kit. I received 24 pieces, also laser-cut from the same material, and again, they can be separated in four different groups. They represent the four possibilities for placing slots or tabs at the edges of a given equilateral triangle.

The pieces can be used to build many different models, including an icosahedron (20 faces - See top right photo). As a particular tab will only fit into a slot, some of these geometrical shapes can be quite hard to build, especially the higher order ones with more than 10 faces. Another particularity with the pieces is that any shape you build needs to have an equal number of tabs and slots. For example, an octahedron will have 12 slots and 12 tabs.

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As suggested by Tom, a nice game you can try with the triangular pieces is to have a large pile of them and randomly picking pieces with another player, see who can be the first to build a tetrahedron.

There are eight convex deltahedra you can build with the pieces. There's a Wikipedia page with figures that better illustrate these forms. Also, as I understand, it's possible to build a few Catalan solids, which basically replaces the faces of a polyhedron with pyramids.

I loved this puzzle just as much as the Trefoil Knot. The fact that it allows you to build so many different shapes, it's enough to keep it fresh and avoids being too repetitive.

(Click to Enlarge) - Tetrahedron

Closing Comments:

I'm glad I discovered Tom Longtin's puzzles. The Trefoil Knot will look stunning on a coffee table or a desk or even a shelf. Its surprisingly striking appearance will for sure, capture the attention of anyone that notices it. The Triangle 3D Puzzle is a great design idea as well, and the multiplayer aspect of it only enhances the playing experience.

Besides these two puzzles shown here, Tom has other designs as well. The Step-Star 3D is just another one. There is also available at WoodMarvels, a Hollow Burr Puzzle with the same construction design as the Trefoil Knot.

Look below for more interesting links from Tom Longtin's fascinating work.

Links:

Fulcrum Design - Purchase Tom's Sculptures

Tom Longtin's Official Website

Tom's Laser-Cut Gears

Tom's Interactive Puzzles and Contraptions

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Puzzle Crafthouse is known for their wide selection of wooden mechanical puzzles, manufactured right at their shop in Florida, USA. But they also carry a large variety of trick puzzles or magic trick objects. These usually require at least a second person for the trick to actually work, as it's mostly a show and tell. The following puzzles are just three of such examples:

Magician's Shelf

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The Magician's Shelf or Drawer Box is a classic example of making something disappear in front of someone's eyes. The trick consists of placing a small object, like a playing card or a dollar bill inside the box, and then close it and immediately reopen it. If done right, the object will have disappeared.

The box is very well made in light wood and measures about 12.5cm x 9cm x 2.3cm (4.92" x 3.54" x 0.91"). What makes the trick work so good is that even when one inspects it, it appears to be just an ordinary box. I won't go over much detail as to how the trick actually works, as it would spoil the fun, but you can see a video of it in its description page at Puzzle Crafthouse. What I can say is that it's very easy to learn and to perform.

Mind Reader Cards

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This next puzzle will make you turn into a mind reader. The goal is simple enough for anyone to try it - Just ask a friend to pick a number from 1 to 60, but don't let him say it out loud. Then, ask him to select the cards that contain the number he's thinking of and turn them over to you. After a few seconds, you will be able to guess the exact number he chose.

Each of the six wooden cards contain a selection of 29 or 30 laser engraved numbers on it, ranging from 1 through 60, in a 6x5 matrix. Some of the numbers will be repeated throughout the cards, and this is the key of the trick.

Based on a mathematical principle, the Mind Reader Cards trick is so simple that the only skill required is knowing how to do elemental adding.

Puzzle Crafthouse has a few versions of this puzzle. You can purchase the cards with the classic design of box and cover in two sizes, or more affordable, with just the cards. There are other versions with more numbers on the cards as well, like the 61 numbers version or the 125 numbers version. Plenty to choose from.

Hooey Stick

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The final trick puzzle is a classic, dating back to the colonial times. Also known as "GeeHaw Whimmy Diddle" and "Truth Stick", the trick consists of making the propeller turn in one direction by rubbing the notched stick and then, by saying a "magic word", you'll leave your audience amazed as you make the propeller turn in the opposite direction.

The previous puzzle was based on a mathematical principle and this one, to mix things up a little, is based on a physics principle. It took me a while to understand how it works, but when you see how it's done, it's actually very fun to do. When done right in front of someone, it's extremely difficult for them to see the real trick, because the required movement is very subtle. You can see a video on the puzzle's page to have a better idea on how it works.

Closing Comments:

... And there you have it. Three great examples on how to entertain your friends on a party or any other social gathering. If you're into this type of objects, I can highly recommend them and there's much more to choose from at Puzzle Crafthouse.

This will be my last review for a Puzzle Crafthouse puzzle for a while, but do stay tuned to their website, as they release new stuff very often. Until then, keep on puzzling!

Logika Spiele is a German puzzle manufacturer. Probably their most interesting puzzle is the Cuboid in Cuboid (Schalenquader in German), an Assembly Puzzle.

The puzzle consists of 12 pieces plus the cuboid. The goal is to assemble the pieces around the cuboid in order to completely cover it. From the 12 pieces, you can divide them in two groups - one is for the eight corner pieces and the other is for the flat four pieces that go around the cuboid, one per face.

The jigsaw-like cut pieces and the puzzle concept sort of resembles the Happy Cube, especially the four flat pieces, which connect just about the same way. Assembling the puzzle is not that difficult, particularly if you take a trial and error approach, and with the low number of pieces, you'll probably solve it in less than 30 minutes. PuzzleMaster rates it at 8/10 (Demanding), but in this case I think it's probably more a 6 or 7.

Note that every piece is slightly different from each other, so you won't find two identical pieces. It's because of this that the systematic strategy has to be the best approach and direct way to solve it. More practical if you will. You start by placing the first corner piece on the cuboid and from the seven remaining ones, you see which one fits next. For every corner piece, there's three possible orientations, by rotating it around its vertex. 

The beginning is the hardest part, because you still have most pieces to place and a lot of possibilities. Not sure how many solutions are there, but probably not many or just only one, as there seems to be very few possible connections for a given piece. More over, I have solved it two times (weeks apart) and in both occasions the solution was exactly the same. 

There will be a few times when you think you're going well, but when you try to connect the fourth corner, no piece seems to fit. The solution in this case is to start over with a different corner piece. When you finally have the first four corners in place, you can start placing the flat pieces. Although you may have the corners in place, it's still possible that they're not solvable. Assuming you have a "winner combination", the next steps will be progressively easier, so when you reach to the last four corners, the solution is now certain and by then, you just have to fit them in their correct places.

Note: A customer on PuzzleMaster's product page comments that his puzzle doesn't stay together after assembled. All pieces on mine actually held on pretty good, except for one corner that keeps falling, but if I keep it in the upwards position it stays fine. I'm guessing the cut tolerances are different from puzzle to puzzle, so it's up to lady luck when you get yours. The puzzle comes with its own plastic container, though, so you can always put the pieces back inside.

Even though the concept is not the most original you ever saw, I can still recommend the Cuboid in Cuboid. It's probably not a big challenge for an experienced puzzler, but it's fun to solve and accessible to anyone.

Until very recently, PuzzleMaster had an easier version of this puzzle called "Cube in Cube", which basically just uses the eight corner pieces to assemble a cube, but it has been out of stock. Nevertheless, the Cuboid in Cuboid is still available.

Today, my review is for something quite different. The beautiful sculpture you see in the picture is actually an assembly puzzle as well.

Designed by George Hart for the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) and produced by Artifacture Studios, the Frabjous puzzle is made from 30 laser-cut S-shaped pieces in frosted acrylic. What makes the puzzle so interesting and fascinating is that all of the pieces are identical. After assembly, the sculpture represents a great rhombic triacontahedron (thirty rhombic faces). Notice the star-like shapes when looking down at one of the vortices.

The design of the pieces looks very simple, but when joined together, they form a strong bong that will make the overall structure very stable. Each piece has on both ends a pin and tail, sort of like the dovetail joints you see in woodworking, and it's this clever mechanism that allows the pieces to create this beautiful swirling pattern. The two openings found on each piece will also create a nice hollow effect throughout the puzzle, and provides a slightly different view as you rotate the puzzle in a flat surface.

Looking at all the pieces before attempting the assembly task, could be a little intimidating, as it can be quite difficult to grasp how to connect all those pieces in order to complete that complex structure. The important thing, however, is to think one step at a time and you'll have it finished in no time. It took me approximately half an hour to complete the assembly process.

Always keep in mind that the pieces have all the same orientation. In other words, they all connect when viewed from an S-shape, not a backwards S. The hardest part for me was to connect the first ten pieces. Because I was basically relying on the picture to see the actual finished result, it was very hard to see how the first pieces would fit in the whole structure. When you start to see the pieces form something you can finally recognize, that's when the fun part begins.

Although the later stages can be a little trickier, especially when you're left with very little space to maneuver the pieces into place, by then, you'll know how it works and the process becomes very intuitive, because most of the final shape is already assembled. During assembly, I only had to reconnect two or three pieces that were overlapping, so my advice is: don't make the connections in the pieces so tight until you have the assembly finished. After finishing it, you can then do the final adjustments in the joints.

My copy of the Frabjous puzzle came from Artifacture's Etsy store, the actual producers of the puzzle. Also available in their store is another beautiful version of the puzzle, a special edition made of dichroic acrylic, that changes colors when viewed from different light angles.

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Not used to this type of puzzles, I wasn't sure what to expect from such an object, other than the fantastic appearance. After having finished it, I can honestly say that it's not as difficult as you may think and it'll certainly give you a very satisfying experience. When assembly is completed, you're left with a gorgeous sculpture that will make a random desk look extraordinary.

Lately, I have been fortunate enough to have tried some of the most amazing puzzles, since I started collecting them, back in 2008. The latest addition to my collection is the Quadratum Cubicum, which was entered at last year's 31st IPP Design Competition.

The Quadratum Cubicum is a group of nine square trisection puzzles, ranging from six to nine pieces, that essentially, turn a bigger square into three identical smaller ones. Christian Blanvillain was the one responsible to group together the eight best solutions from past mathematicians and turn them into a unique puzzle.

As you might have have noticed, I mentioned that there were nine solutions in the Quadratum Cubicum, but only eight were chosen. That's because the remaining one and most recent solution, was discovered by Christian himself in 2010. His solution, however has a particularity, as it's the first one proposed, that has all its six pieces having the exact same area. One of my favorites, because of its elegant symmetry.

In history, there have been many examples of how to cut a square into three identical squares. Abu'l Wafa' was the first one, in the tenth century, to have come up with a solution to this problem, with nine pieces. Also, one of my favorites. To know more about the history of the square trissection, visit this page.

Others have followed since Abu'l's solution. Nobuyuki Yoshigahara, the famous Japanese puzzle designer, known for his many Hanayama Cast design contributions, have also discovered one solution in 2003, with nine pieces and actually, the only one with the same piece arrangement for the same three squares. Curiously enough, it was the hardest one for me to solve. Another notable mathematician, the French Édouard Lucas, famous for inventing the classic Tower of Hanoi puzzle, also proposed his solution in 1883, a century before I was born.

The puzzle is presented in a beautifully made wooden box with pin-lock, measuring 18.5cm x 18.5cm x 3.5cm (7.28" x 7.28" x 1.38"). Inside, comes with the nine solutions, with its 68 pieces, all built in plexiglass. The material chose for the pieces looks very appealing, although after some use, you might see them covered in fingerprints. A good wipe with a microfiber cloth will make them as new, though.

One thing that I appreciate the most in puzzles, and very few can provide it, is the variety of challenges that you can try and solve with them. The Quadratum Cubicum is fortunately, one of such examples and throws at you a few of them, with different levels of difficulty.

With the 68 pieces of the nine solutions combined, there are four sizes of squares that you can build: 1 large square with 42cm (16.53") in length; 3 medium large squares with 24.2cm (9.53") in length; 9 medium small squares with 14cm (5.51") in length and finally, 27 small squares with 8.1cm (3.19") in length. By the way, the logo on the box, cleverly shows this notable relation between the square sizes and numbers.

The puzzle already comes with its nine solutions, solved into their medium small squares, although by no means, it will make things easier for you. The first challenge that you can try to solve, in order to become more familiarized with all the solutions and try for the bigger square, is to solve each of the nine solutions, into its smaller three identical squares. When you turn all nine solutions into smaller squares, you'll be left with 27 squares. By stacking them on top of each other, you can build a cube with exactly the same height as the length of a small square, since each piece has the thickness of 3mm (0.12"). This cube is simply called the Cubicum.

After you've solved the solutions into the 27 squares, you can try next to solve them into their original squares, one at a time. Some of them will be easy, but you'll find others much more tough. The ones I found the hardest, were the Nobuyuki Yoshigahara's and the Edouard Lucas'.

Building the next larger three squares, even though its counter-intuitive, is actually much easier, because you just have to place nine smaller squares from three solutions, side-by-side in a 3x3 grid.

On the other hand, building the larger 42cm square, is the hardest challenge. In principle it's easy to build it, because like the above example, it uses all nine 14cm squares in a bigger 3x3 grid. The hard part, however, is to solve it. By mixing all 68 pieces, it becomes extremely challenging to recognize which piece belongs to what  solution. That's why, in order to successfully solve it in a good time frame, you have to know most of the nine solutions by heart. It took me almost a whole afternoon to finally have the biggest square built.

The first three or four solutions were relatively easy to solve, because their pieces were easily recognizable, but the rest were quite challenging and given the fact that some had very similar pieces, complicated things much more. Slowly, with time, I got to finish another two or three solutions and, as the number of pieces got progressively smaller, so it became less complicated, until with much relief of mine, there was only one solution left. I had finally conquered the ultimate Quadratum Cubicum challenge.

When you're done with the Quadratum Cubicum challenges, there are a few more that you can try to solve. Building a rectangle, using the highest number of pieces that you can and without using any of the nine solutions, is probably the most interesting one. But there are more... Visit this page to know more.

Picpulp, the company that builds the Quadratum Cubicum, has a few other designs presentations for this puzzle, that can fit anyone's budget. Other than the Collector's Box you see in this review, there's another one, also with the nine solutions, but with the box format of the Cubicum, the cube with the 27 squares. You can also get a box with just three solutions of your choice, or if you prefer to just try a single solution, there are more affordable options. Finally, if you have one of the three boxes with three or more solutions and want to solve one solution at a time, you can get a separate tray, just for this task.

From the history behind the solutions, to the actual presentation and build quality of the puzzle and the variety of challenges, Christian Blanvilain's Quadratum Cubicum is a very special addition to any puzzle collection, and the different levels of difficulty, as well as the varied purchasing options, sure makes it accessible to anyone, puzzler or not.

I haven't been so immersed in a puzzle for quite some time, for the Quadratum Cubicum is the dream puzzle of the packing and dissection fans and most importantly, it's like owning a mathematical treasure.

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The Math Snake is a Puzzle Crafthouse exclusive design, in collaboration with Ken Irvine, who wrote the program for the block layout.

There are two versions. One with only 7 blocks, with 1024 possible permutations, and the version I have, with 9 blocks and a whopping 16.384 different permutations. As if the seven block version weren't hard enough, I got the nine block version instead.

By rotating each individual block at a time, the goal is to have a valid equation on all four sides of the snake.

The nine blocks on the snake are held together by a string and have a few particularities: fortunately, each block has a number from 1 to only 4 engraved on it, otherwise the possibilities would been even higher; each block number is alternated by one with the four operations (+ -  ÷  x), and here, operation priority is not a taken into account; also, each block has a different sequence of numbers and operations. For example: by rotating counterclockwise, the first block number has a sequence of "1, 2, 3, 4", but the second has a different one of "1, 3, 2, 4", and so forth... The operation blocks follow this same logic.

I've had this puzzle for more than a month and have been trying to solve it since, although not exhaustively, as I've played with other puzzles as well. Suffice it to say, I haven't been able to solve it yet... The main problem has been to find a good strategy in order to get a more direct solution, instead of resorting to luck alone. Opening a 4-digit vault would be easier...

I believe that there's got to be a way to discard many of the possibilities by some sort of calculation, but I have no idea as to how I can do that. If by any chance, there's a math wiz reading this review, I would really appreciate some pointers. Not the solution, though.

Closing Comments:

For math lovers who like a challenge, the Math Snake is a perfect puzzle. Presentation wise, the design is really clever and the wooden blocks with the engraved numbers are worth taking a try, even if you're not that good at math.

To get a Math Snake, you can visit Puzzle Crafthouse website. One thing worth mentioning is the fact that there are more than 20 different solutions. Not on the same snake, though,but if you want, for example 10 snakes, just contact Puzzle Crafthouse customer service and they will provide you with your 10 different snake challenges. Great for schools or other projects.

It's been a while since I've reviewed a Cast Puzzle. One of the reasons is that I wanted to review other types of puzzles as well, to keep the blog's contents varied. With that task accomplished, I decided it was time to write another Cast Puzzle review.

... And what better way to resume these reviews than an Oskar van Deventer design? - Released in December 2001 by Hanayama, the Cast Keyring is level 2 out of 6 and PuzzleMaster rates it equivalently at 6/10. As you might have guessed, it's a relatively easy one.

One curious thing of the Cast Keyring is that it can actually be turned into a key ring. If you look closely, you'll see a tiny hole at one of the extremities, which is large enough to attach a ring to hang your keys.

The puzzle consists of two identical pieces, although as Hanayama does best, they've coated one in golden and the other one in silver, to better distinguish them apart. These two pieces are interlocked, perpendicular in relation to each other's plane, and your objective is to separate them. To make things a bit more difficult, the pieces can't move freely, without some strategy. There are a couple of indentations at the front of each piece and one at the back, and a pin at the center, which will fit right into these indentations.

In order to separate the pieces, you'll need to rotate one of them so that both exits can be at the same direction of movement. Sounds complicated, but trust me, once you try it for yourself, you'll see that after a few minutes of fiddling with the puzzle, it'll be solved. For another challenge, simply put back the pieces together. However, to make sure that you have succeeded, you need to look at the words read from each piece. Seen from one angle, you can read "Key", but if you turn it upside down, you will read "Ring" instead. This nice word play is beautifully done by Scott Kim and is called an ambigram. If you need a graphical solution, check out Puzzlemaster's here.

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I loved the design of the Cast Keyring. You can't go wrong when you combine design excellence from Oskar and high-quality finish by Hanayama. The puzzle is small, but feels heavy and sturdy. The coating is flawless and the ambigram with the "Key" and "Ring" words is a clever touch.

For being an easy puzzle, it's recommended to those that are new to the Hanayama Cast Series and want to have a little fun, without being too much frustrated.

The Cast Keyring and all the other ones in the Hanayama Cast Series can be found at PuzzleMaster.ca.

Hanayama's Factory Visit (Many thanks to Roxanne Wong for sharing these pictures)

The Bishop Cubes were yet another entry of last year's 31st IPP. Invented by Forrest Bishop, in 1992, this shape-shifting puzzle was finally  made commercial available in late 2010.

A set of Bishop Cubes contains 27 colored smaller cubes in a 3x3x3 cube. Each cube has three colors (yellow, red and blue), and two types of tracks - one for every opposite face. This track design is what makes the cubes slide within the limits of the cube and allow countless shapes to be formed.

There are various challenges that you can try. The most obvious is to change the cube to a random shape and then return it to its original form. You can also change from one shape to another, but keeping in mind not to disconnect any cube from the set. By taking advantage of the cube's colors, you can try to make different colored patterns. Finally, a simple, but also challenging task is to move one particular cube from one part of the cube to another, with the same rule of not disconnect any cubes.

To move a certain number of cubes, there are three possibilities. They will slide accordingly in one of three axis at a time (xyz). A nice feature to let you know that they were moved correctly is by a form of a "click", otherwise they would just slide off the edge.

To get more acquainted with the puzzle's mechanics, you can take eight individual cubes and build a smaller 2x2x2 cube. This way, it gets much simpler to learn how the cubes interact with each other, before attempting other more complex challenges. There are also three basic moves you should know: the slab move, which makes a sheet of cubes slide back and forth; the row move, as the name suggests, only moves one row in a certain direction; and finally the single-cube move will of course let you slide a cube at a time when one and only one face is connected to the set.

The first challenge that I tried was to scramble the cube and solve it to its form again. This proved to be much harder than I was expecting. After only a few random movements, the puzzle form was beyond recognition and when I tried to reverse the movements, it did more damage than good. I remember that it took more than one hour to finally get it to a cube shape again.

Making other shapes is very fun as well. There are endless possibilities, but you can expand the cubes capacity as well, by connecting two or more sets to make even more complex shapes. I have tried a few, some of them found already in the booklet, and others by trying slightly different variations. In a few of them, I admit to have cheated, as I'm a bit lazy to return them to the cube form in order to try a new shape, so I end up taking all the cubes apart and assemble the cube freestyle...

To buy your set of Bishop Cubes, just stop by their official website.

The Bishop Cubes is an original puzzle that takes the shape-shifting category to a whole new level. It's extremely fun to solve, just by returning it to a cube form and the extra challenges are a nice way to keep it fresh, avoiding this way to get bored more quickly. 

As many other shape-shifting puzzles, there's no particular goal. Your creativity is your ultimate building tool. How many different shapes can you build?

This is my second review of a Jean Claude Constantin puzzle in a week... No wonder, I'm becoming more and more a fan of his work. Each and everyone of his puzzle designs is unique and very original. I own several puzzles of him in my collection and I love all of them.

Today, I present to you an Assembly/Packing Puzzle by the name of Apothekerschrank (that's German for Apothecary Cabinet), but it's also known as the Pharmacist's Cabinet, the Apocathary Chest or even the Drawers Chest. It seems that every store selling this puzzle, calls it a different name. The latter is named by Brilliant Puzzles, where I got mine.

The Apothekerschrank is beautifully crafted in wood to resemble a cabinet full of drawers. The handles are made from a darker wooden tone, that accentuates the contrast between the frame and the pieces. When I first saw it online, it looked bigger, but actually it just measures 14cm x 10.5cm x 3.5cm (5.51" x 4.13" x 1.37"). By the way, the measurements at Brilliant Puzzles are wrong and apparently, I have the exact same version. 

At first sight, all the drawers look exactly the same, but once you start analyzing each one, you notice that every single one has a slightly different configuration. All sixteen drawers occupy the tray area in a 4x4 arrangement and each one is unique, although they follow a simple rule when you group them together.

Before my first attempt, I was a bit afraid that it would take a long time to solve, because it seemed a lot more complex than it actually is. The unique configuration of each piece led me to think that only one solution was possible.

I started by selecting the pieces that could fit in the first slot and when I chose one, I just continued with that strategy. When I was almost done, only three pieces remained, but couldn't fit them anymore. So, by swapping a couple of pieces I was able to fit one more. Now there were only two pieces left... After swapping places with just a few more drawers, the puzzle was solved... I couldn't believe it! It only had taken me just about 10 minutes to solve the puzzle and I thought to myself: "Well done, you genius!". I was a bit suspicious, though, and with that in mind, I took a look at the solution sheet provided. I was then able to confirm that it had at least, more than one possible solution.

Later, I searched for information about it and found on the designer's website, that he classified it as a two star level puzzle out of six. Moreover, PuzzleMaster classified it as a 6 out of 10. I was a little disappointed, as indeed, it wasn't a stroke of genius, because the puzzle is pretty much, easy to solve. Because of this easiness to find a solution and even though I'm not sure, I can most certainly assume that it has several other solutions.

When I was separating the pieces for the photos and grouping them in similar pieces, I discovered an even easier solution. All the pieces are different, but not in a random way. They form an easy to spot pattern that proves to be very helpful to pack them. You can see this in the photo below. Although, the arrangement seen isn't the final configuration, it doesn't differ much from the actual solution.

As pointed at the beginning of the review, there are a few online stores that sell the Apothekerschrank, but as you can verify for yourself, the most affordable option is the Brilliant Puzzles' version at $16.95. PuzzleMaster sells a much more stylish version with the drawers' handles in stainless steel, but at about $44 and more than two and a half times the price that I paid, to me, it's simply not worth it. There's also a version at Creative Crafthouse, very similar to the one I have, for $22 and finally, in Europe, Sloyd.fi sells another version for €33 (≈ $43).

Even though the solution is deceivingly easy, I love the concept of the Apothekerschrank and it's extremely fun to solve. It's ideas like these that makes me appreciate puzzles even more and ultimately, collect them. 

Having several more Jean Claude's designs in my collection, you can expect more reviews of his puzzles soon...