Remove The Yolk

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A few days ago, I reviewed Robrecht Louage's 4 Steps Visible Lock and I was very impressed with the concept of removing a coin from the puzzle. It's like getting a reward for solving it... 

Today, I have another one of Robrecht's puzzles to review and this one requires to remove a coin as well. How does it compare to the previous puzzle? - Continue reading to find out.

Remove the Yolk was entered at the 2010 30th IPP Design Competition and it's about the same size as the 4SVL, also built with trespa and manufactured by Robrecht himself. The appearance of the puzzle is made to resemble an egg and the coin represents the yolk. The goal is to remove the coin, but for that you have to work out how a hidden locking mechanism works.

The mechanism consists of what appears to be small steel balls, judging by the rattling inside, and they lock some movements depending on the way you're holding it. By tilting the puzzle at different angles, it will make some of the balls inside shift back and forth, allowing this way the sliding platform with the coin to move.

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The big difference between the Remove the Yolk and the 4 Steps Visible Lock is that the latter had most of the mechanism visible and you knew what you were doing, despite the last step being a "blind step". In this puzzle, however,  there's no visual perception of what's going on inside, so you have to rely only on your hearing and your sense of touch.

I solved this puzzle after the 4SVL one, and my impression is that it's a bit harder. It took me about an hour to get the coin out, and even when I solved it, I wasn't sure what I had done specifically to accomplish that. It does have its advantages, because since you don't know exactly how to do it, you can solve it multiple times and still enjoy it, until eventually you figure out the exact process to get it opened.

I found a YouTube video showing how to solve it, and after seeing it I had another try and it did work. If you have one and had enough of frustration, you can see the video here.

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Closing Comments:

After solving two of Robrecht Louage's puzzles, I can honestly say that I've became a fan of his work and I will look forward to seeing other designs by him. He also entered in other two previous IPP's with La Cerradura Doble in 2008 and La Cerradura 3D in 2009. I'm very curious to see what he prepared for his next puzzle entry at this year's IPP.

If you'd like to buy a copy of the Remove the Yolk puzzle, contact Robrecht Louage.