Today, I realized I'm writing the 35th puzzle review from Jean Claude Constantin. That's way more than any other puzzle designer. I still have in my collection several more of his creations that haven't been reviewed yet, which most certainly takes the total number to well over 50. And the sad part is that I don't even have half of his puzzles.

My latest addition is Get Charged, a very original puzzle with a clever hidden mechanism. There are countless puzzles in the hidden mechanism family, and if you're familiar with them this one will be solved in no time, as I've seen this concept in other puzzles.

Get Charged is manufactured by Bits and Pieces, which got me positively surprised. As you may know, from some previous reviews, this company isn't famous for their high quality puzzles, but this one is actually pretty decent. The wood has a gorgeous dark red tone, smooth and unscratched, and considering it uses an actual spark plug, it's in very good condition. The puzzle is relatively small, only 9.7 x 5.7 x 2.5cm (3.8" x 2.2" x 1").

As far as difficulty goes, it really depends if you have solved any hidden mechanism puzzles in the past. If you have, like I did, then you shouldn't take more than five minutes to crack the secret mechanism. If you didn't, then I believe it will be a tough one. PuzzleMaster has rated it as a level 8/10, and for beginners it's just about right. For experienced puzzlers, though, I reckon it's more like a 6, 7/10 at the most.

I don't want to go much into detail about the puzzle's solution, but one thing that I always do with hidden mechanism puzzles is to give them a shake and try to hear loose pieces rattling inside. Not all of them have this type of mechanism, but many do, and this is one of them. You just have to find a way to remove that little metal rod and free the spark plug.

Closing Comments:

Get Charged doesn't offer much in terms of new concepts. I've seen it implemented in other puzzles too. However, the design, as Constantin has accustomed us with his gems, is a superb and original idea. Kudos to Bits and Pieces too, for a well manufactured puzzle for a change.

Availability: You can find the Get Charged at PuzzleMaster for just $15 CAD. For other great Constantin designs, check out their special section.

Links:

Jean Claude Constantin - Official Website

Jean Claude Constantin at Puzzle Place

If there's one thing I dread the most in String Puzzles is their natural ability to produce knots out of nothing. Some puzzle are more prone to this than others, and the Quatro puzzle by Eureka is guilty of such crime. The puzzle was designed by the Swedish, Eric Johansson.

Quatro, coincidentally or not, is Portuguese for the number four. It's also the highest level of difficulty used by Eureka to rate their puzzles, 4/4. Quatro is comprised of four wooden rings, each with a colored string attached. The intertwined mesh forms a beautiful symmetry, although quite an intimidating one. The object is to separate the four rings and put them back together.

At first, I wasn't expecting this puzzle to be so stressful to solve. Sure, it's a level 4/4, I assumed it would be challenging, but I didn't know it'd put up such a fight. The problem with the puzzle is that the strings are too tight, and when attempting to solve it, the tension in the strings is so big that it almost tears them apart. And the funny thing is that the description on the puzzle says "No force needed".

After a couple of unsuccessful tries, before looking at any solution, I suspected my approach wasn't right. I was starting to think that making the string go around the ring wasn't the right move, but how else would the puzzle be solved? I was only seeing that option... Much to my surprise, when I finally caved in and looked for a solution, I found out that it was indeed required for the strings to go around the rings. Determined to solve it, I proceeded with the instructions, but even with the solution in front of me I didn't get far. Also, because the colors used in the solution didn't correspond to the actual colors in my puzzle. Talk about a dead end. I guess I don't need to tell you what's the current look of the puzzle, but I'll still tell you... It's full of knots impossible to untie, unless I cut the strings. This is how the puzzle should like when/if solved.

Closing Comments:

The Quatro puzzle is probably the most fiendish puzzle I ever attempted to solve. I'm bummed that I wasn't able to solve it, not by any lack of skills, but by the flawed design of it. It should have been built with bigger strings. Still, if you like a really serious challenge, and you have the patience of angels, go for it.

Availability: I received the Quatro puzzle from Sloyd, and you can get one for about €8.

The Tri-Trick is a sliding puzzle made by the Hong Kong based company Hidden One Design. The puzzle I have is actually an updated version of an older design, now discontinued, which was available in two colors (black or white) just a few years ago. The new design is, in my opinion, much more attractive, although some puzzlers might disagree with me. Now, it does look more like a toy than an actual puzzle, but the mechanism was left intact, as only the colors have changed.

Speaking of colors, the new puzzle is quite colored. I see why the choice of a revamped design, because it does draw more attention. I see blue, yellow, purple, white, red and black. While it seems like an exaggeration, the colors blend very well together. The size is relatively small, with measurements of 17 x 4cm (6.7" x 1.6"). Feels light in the hands, but the mechanism works surprisingly well.

The goal of the Tri-Trick is very simple: from a scrambled arrangement, you have to place all nine digits in sequential order. The puzzle comes in the correct arrangement already, so you have to scramble it first before attempting to solve it.

So how does the puzzle work? A slider, containing nine digits from 1 to 9, moves horizontally, and another one is perpendicularly positioned, moving up and down by carrying three adjacent digits at a time. You solve the puzzle by exchanging any group of three tiles with another. This would be too easy, however, if it weren't for the blank tile which has a three-digit length.

There are three levels of difficulty. The first level is the easiest, with over 360.000 combinations, and you play with all nine digits. As you get more confident, you can try level 2 by leaving the digit 9 in place and move the other eight only. The third and hardest level, with about 5.000 combinations, uses only seven digits by leaving the 9 and 8 in place.

I can only imagine, for now, how difficult the other levels must be, since I've spent more than half an hour just to solve level 1. The tricky part is when you have half of the numbers in the correct order and you need to reorder the other half. You'll have to think your moves ahead, or you might end up scrambling the already correct placed digits. I've had the puzzle for a few days now, but I still don't have a very good strategy to solve the puzzle. I'll only try the other levels when I feel confident I can solve level 1 without any problems, but so far I'm liking it very much.

Closing Comments:

The Tri-Trick was a very pleasant surprise. The design is colorful and practical, and it definitely provides a good level of challenge. There are similar concepts around, but this one is different enough that's worth a try.

Availability: You can purchase the Tri-Trick directly from Hidden One Design's website for $10 USD. You can also download the Tri-Trick app for just $1 USD.

Links:

Video Demonstration

Jaap's analysis and solution for the Tri-Trick

Video solution of level 1

Hirokazu Iwasawa is a regular participant at the annual IPP since 2004 and is known for his superb designs, some of which have won awards, like last year's Puzzlers' Award winner, the Square in the Bag. The puzzle I'm  reviewing today is not from the IPP competition, but it's definitely worthy of the same recognition.

The 3M Puzzle, as the name suggests, consists of three M-shaped pieces that need to be packed inside the box. It sounds easy enough. It's just three pieces, right? - Well, these three pieces are all you need to test your patience, since the solution is very unusual.

The puzzle, which is produced by Philos, comes in a nice small wooden box, with measurements of 6.8 x 6.8 x 7.2cm (2.7" x 2.7" x 2.8"). Be careful though, because the puzzle is packaged in its solved state. My advice, if you want to avoid spoilers, is to ask someone to remove the pieces from the box for you, or turn the box upside down and scramble the pieces with your eyes closed. I understand they need to save packaging space, but these type of puzzles should be packaged in another way. Part of the fun with puzzles is to solve them on your own. There's no worse feeling than to unpack a puzzle and see the solution shoved right in front of your eyes. It's happened to me before.

When you have all three pieces out of the box the fun starts. How do you get them inside again? This is actually a very hard puzzle, and judging from PuzzleMaster's rating of 9/10 it's somewhat intimidating. The packaging also shows a level of difficulty, a little different from PuzzleMaster's, with a level of 3/4. Knowing what I was up against with, I proceeded with caution.

The pieces are all identical, so no need for a particular sequence. Each pieces has a small square glued on both sides, which is going to block many of your moves. I started by trying to pack just two of the pieces to see how they interacted and which positions were possible within the box's edges. After some experimentation, and only a few minutes, I ended up with an interesting arrangement. Now, all I had to figure out was how to add the third piece to the already complex arrangement. It wasn't that hard, actually, although it required some dexterity and good hand coordination.

The small squares are certainly a pain to deal with, and to place all three pieces you need to arrange them partially outside the box. I can describe the solving process as some sort of a Coordinate-Motion puzzle, where all pieces need to be assembled simultaneously in place. After solving it, I think the level 9 is maybe a bit too much. I consider it more an 8/10, although it's highly dependable on your skill with packing puzzles.

Solution: PuzzleMaster doesn't provide a solution for this puzzle, but if you need help solving it you can check out a photo of its solution here.

Closing Comments:

I really liked the design of the 3M Puzzle. It's simple and yet can be rather challenging. It's not a good puzzle for solving over and over again, because once you know the solution it's hard to forget about it, but since it's quite affordable it's a nice addition to any collection.

Availability: You can find the 3M Puzzle at PuzzleMaster for just $16 CAD.

You might know Nob Yoshigahara for his many design contributions over the years to the Cast Puzzle series. However, one of his most successful designs to date, the Rush Hour, is not a Cast Puzzle, nor the game I'm reviewing today, the Subtrax, but they're equally fascinating... And addicting, I might add.

Even though the concept is not entirely new, since it's a variation of the classic Peg Solitaire, the new design is very attractive and comes with plenty of different challenges to solve - 40, to be exact. The game is produced by ThinkFun, so you can expect a high-quality product.

One of the reasons I liked the Subtrax instantly was its color combination, blue, white and orange. You can see why, by the colors in my blog. Also, because I always enjoyed Peg Solitaire games. I have a few variations in my ever-growing collection.

The design is both elegant and very functional, like most ThinkFun games and puzzles, ideal for travel. The contents are stored in a sliding compartment and there's a slot in the top to place the challenge card being used at that moment. The dimensions are quite appropriate for this kind of portable game, with 18 x 13  x 3.5cm (7.1" x 5.1" x 1.4").

There are two major differences between the classic Peg Solitaire and the Subtrax: The grids are completely different. While in the Peg Solitaire you have straight lines connecting the pegs with an overall square area, the Subtrax uses diagonal lines to achieve hexagonal shapes; The other visible difference is the total number of pegs. The original has 32 and the Subtrax has only 15. I guess I don't need to tell which one is harder to solve...

If you ever played a Peg Solitaire game before, the rules are basically the same: the pegs move from hole to hole following the lines on the grid; you can only move one peg by jumping over an adjacent one and remove it; in the Subtrax, the orange peg is the last one on the grid.

I've seen countless variations of the Peg Solitaire game, and I have even reviewed one here recently, the Hoppers. So, with all these variations, you might wonder if the Subtrax brings anything new to the Peg Solitaire concept. My answer? - Yes and no...

No, because there's always that sense of dejá vù, that you played this before: you're jumping over pegs until only one remains. And yes, because in addition to the more traditional challenge, you're given a plethora of different challenges to solve in four different levels of difficulty. The new design with diagonal lines is also very interesting, and while not changing radically the concept, it does provide a new experience to an already known game... And I think I've already mentioned the superb color combo - That's a major plus!

Closing Comments:

If you like Peg Solitaire games, I guarantee you you'll love this new approach to the concept. The challenges start rather easy with very few pegs to remove and will gradually become harder until all pegs are used. It's made by ThinkFun, so you won't be disappointed.

Availability: I got my copy of Subtrax from Sloyd in Finland. International shipping available.

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.

What does a mechanical puzzle blogger do exactly? - Why, write about mechanical puzzles, of course! Well, that was until blogger Jerry Loo came and made us bloggers feel kind of lazy for just write about other people's puzzles. He went out of his way and created an amazing puzzle. There were some hurdles he had to overcome as a first-time puzzle designer, but with perseverance and determination he did one hell of a job. The end result of his hard work is the Ball in Cylinder No.1, or BIC 1 for short, which technically is his second design.

When I was contacted by Jerry a while ago, offering me one, I didn't think twice. Finally, I had the opportunity to see for myself what these cylinders were actually about, and if they deserved such high praise. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, since it would be the first time I would try one of these, but I was surely very eager and curious about it.

Jerry used aluminum as the source material for the BIC and the result is a clean polished look. The design is sleek and stylish, and for the untrained eye it doesn't resemble anything you might take for a mechanical puzzle - That's a compliment. The size is relatively small, only 7.5cm in height and 4.4cm in diameter (3" x 1.7").

The BIC, even for certain puzzlers like me, is hard to explain or classify. I had seen similar designs before featured on fellow bloggers' write-ups, but until this one I had no previous experience with this type of puzzles. From what I know, Wil Strijbos is a master when it comes to Cylinder puzzles, but what kept me from getting one is their somewhat high price - You know how I feel when it comes to expensive puzzles - which is understandable given how difficult they are to manufacture.

Belonging to the family of sequential movement puzzles, the BIC is much more than your average puzzle. At first, you might feel a bit lost as to what exactly you need to do in order to solve it. I was too, but after the initial puzzlement and with a bit of careful examination you start to see some rather curious features.

The goal is simple enough to understand, although the solving process is anything but... All you have to do is free the hidden ball bearing inside, not the one you can actually see at the end of the central slit. That one is impossible to remove and it's there just make things harder for you. The tricky part about solving the puzzle, the part that took me quite a while to figure out, is finding a way to free the other ball bearing by bypassing the slightly larger one.

You will rely heavily on you hearing to have a clue on what's going on inside the cylinder. After some tries, you'll notice the hidden ball bearing behaves differently depending on its location. Knowing how the larger sphere moves, you have to worry about getting the hidden one out ahead of it. The exact steps to solve the BIC are best be left for you to discover for yourself.

Closing Comments:

I was positively surprised by Jerry's attempt at puzzle design. And quite a successful attempt, I must say. His first BIC turned out pretty good and I can only foresee great things from here on out. I already know the production of the BIC 2 is well underway, so I can hardly wait to try it.

Availability: To get a copy of the Ball in Cylinder No.1 contact Jerry directly at his personal e-mail. You can find it here. At £26.50, the BIC is very affordable for a puzzle of this nature. I highly recommend it.

The Sequencer is the fourth puzzle I'm reviewing from the Paradigm Puzzles collection by Family Games America. This series of six Packing Puzzles are all designed by William Waite, and feature some of the most mesmerizing patterns you'll ever see in mechanical puzzles.

Like all the puzzles in the series, the Sequencer is laser-cut, made from plywood, so all pieces can fit perfectly in the frame. Not the best of qualities for a puzzle, but the result is still nice and makes it very affordable. The size is about the same as the others, with a diameter of 10cm (3.9").

While not as visually elegant as the previous three (Celtic Knot, Interlace Square and Interlace Diamond), the striking symmetry of the overall pattern in the Sequencer is still quite impressive. When solved, the twelve dissimilar pieces will form a pattern showing thirteen holes, so keep in mind the area will not be completely occupied. Also noticeable is that four of the thirteen holes located in the center are slightly bigger than the rest. The pieces, unlike the previous puzzles in the Paradigm series, are double-sided, so you can place them on which side you think it's best.

As far as difficulty goes, this one's the easiest from all six. And judging by the rated difficulties of the others (I still have two left to try), it should be a walk in the park to solve with a level 4/10 (6/10 by PuzzleMaster's rating system, which only goes from 5 to 10). After solving it within 5 minutes, I have to agree with this level. Although at first sight the puzzle appears to be a little complex, the main reason why it's easy to solve is because of its multiple solutions.

Closing Comments:

With so many different arrangements, and with double-sided pieces, there's not really much to keep you challenged for long. Still, the Sequencer is quite enjoyable to solve and you can always try other solutions for a different experience every time. I recommend this one for beginners or if you're looking to complete the series of six.

Availability: You can purchase the Sequencer at PuzzleMaster, as well as the other five in the Paradigm Puzzles Series.

We all knew that Jean Claude Constantin can create amazing original puzzles, but did you know that he can also take someone else's design and turn it into something even more appealing? That's what he did to Stewart Coffin's design #167, the Cruiser. A difficult Packing Puzzle with only four pieces.

Quattro Formaggi, the new version, has more character, more style. It can capture your attention right away by the originality of its design. Simply put, the new design is a whole lotta cheese. Both the frame and pieces represent the famous Swiss cheese, Emmental. Even the wood used for the puzzle has that characteristic yellowish tone. This is also a relatively small puzzle, with dimensions of 11cm x 9.5cm (4.3" x 3.7"), with the inner frame being 8.7cm x 6cm (3.4" x 2.4").

If you solved the Cruiser before, there's really nothing new to challenge you here, unless you'd like it for collecting purposes. The concept and proportions of the puzzle are exactly the same. The difficulty is unchanged, which is quite challenging by the way, considering it's only a four-piece puzzle.

Luckily for me, solving the puzzle wasn't as hard as I was expecting. It took me less than 10 minutes. That's because I had solved a similar puzzle a while ago by the name of Quadratum Cubicum, more specifically Abu Bakr Al-Khalil's design. The idea is to form a perfect square with the provided fragments, or pieces. The only difference between these two puzzles is that the solution for the Quattro Formaggi doesn't involve a square, but a rectangle instead. Also, when solved, the pieces don't occupy all the rectangle's area, leaving some empty spaces (excluding the piece's circular cuts).

Solution: If you need help with the solution, just take a look at the solved puzzle here.

Closing Comments:

Quattro Formaggi is proof that Constantin can accomplish anything in puzzle design, even with other's creations. I never tried Coffin's original design, but from what I've experienced with Constantin's version, the puzzle concept in itself is a superb puzzle. If you like Packing Puzzles, you should give this one a try.

Availability: You can get a copy of Constantin's Quattro Formaggi at Sloyd.

Links:

Jean Claude Constantin - Official Website

Jean Claude Constantin at Puzzle Place

Since the Rubik's Cube was introduced worldwide, back in 1980, we've seen countless variations, some better than others. Uwe Meffert, who's known for his popular Twisty Puzzles, launched in 2011 a very interesting version of the 3x3x3 cube we all know and love, the Wellness Ball.

In essence, the Wellness Ball is a Rubik's Cube with an extreme makeover. The core is the same 6-axis "spider" (see video of its internal mechanism), but pretty much everything else is different. For one, instead of a classic cubic shape, the Wellness Ball features 27 spheres and sports a new color scheme (orange opposite yellow, blue opposite green and red opposite pink). Also, no stickers are used, since the spheres are made from combinations of two and three colored plastic pieces. I always prefer non-sticker variations.

The Wellness Ball is slightly bigger than a standard cube, but not by much. The maneuvering of the cube feels nice and smooth, although for someone used to cubic-shaped puzzles it seems odd at first. While the movement of the puzzle is most of the time problem-free and turns nicely, speedcubing is not recommended.

Meffert calls this puzzle the Wellness Ball, because it's said that the sphere-shaped cubies help to stimulate the 70.000 nerve ends in our palms and increase circulation. Whether or not it's true, I don't care. I just love to play with it.

In terms of difficulty, the Wellness Ball is no different from a Rubik's Cube. If you know how to solve one, you will most certainly have no problems solving this newer variation, albeit a bit slower than you current 3x3x3 best time.

Closing Comments:

Whether you end up buying the this puzzle to stimulate the nerves in your palms, to just play with it, or to simply add it to your collection, the Wellness Ball is a welcome addition to the ever growing Twisty Puzzle family.

Availability: I received the Wellness Ball from PuzzleMaster, which is available for $16 CAD. There's also a white body version, if you prefer. Check out other Meffert's puzzles from PuzleMaster.

How many different concepts can a puzzle designer come up with? - Apparently, not even Jean Claude Constantin himself could answer that question, since he's one of the most prolific puzzle inventors and manufacturers I know of. He doesn't seem to run out of ideas and most of the puzzles I own from him are completely different from the other in every way.

Today's puzzle, worthy of an IPP award, is Prison Block. A simple concept to understand, and yet a bit challenging to solve. What do you have to do? - Just try and free the block from the frame imprisoning it, and put it back as it were. Be careful though, because if you happen to remove the block without fully understanding its mechanism you can have some trouble putting it back again in the frame. I know from experience...

There are two versions of this puzzle, the one you see here in wood made by Constantin, and another one in aluminum manufactured by Eureka, which for reference is about twice the price. Honestly, although the aluminum one looks shinier, I very much prefer wood for my puzzles - You can't replace the feeling of open your puzzle cabinet and have that pleasant wood smell. The wooden version has about 11.5cm (4.5") in diameter. I'm not certain if the aluminum version has the same dimensions, but they shouldn't be that different.

The mechanism is quite ingenious and a little tricky to understand at first. All you can see and feel is the block moving freely inside the inner edges of the frame. A more thorough inspection, however, reveals a couple of details you may have failed to notice the first time you picked it up. One of them is the difference in thickness of the block's tips, while the other is only perceptible if you slide your finger under the inner edges.

Even after you have noticed those details on the puzzle, it's still far from being solved. There's a couple more things you have to do in order to free the block, but I'll leave those for you to discover yourself. The difficulty is not that high, though. It is rated as a level 2/4, which is average, but solving time can vary greatly on how well you're used to this type of puzzles. It took me about 10 minutes to free the block, but I removed it without really knowing what was going on inside. Took me another few minutes to put it back, and only after a couple more tries I was able to fully understand its inner workings.

Closing Comments:

With a highly clever design and mechanism, Constantin's Prison Block is a brilliant puzzle among his best, actually. Whichever version you end up choosing, you'll certainly love to discover its solution. The nature of the puzzle means you will probably play with it only until you have solved it, because it's like knowing a card trick. Once you know how it's done...

Availability: The Prison Block puzzle is available at Sloyd for just €15.

Links:

Jean Claude Constantin - Official Website

Jean Claude Constantin at Puzzle Place

Secret Boxes, or Puzzle Boxes, however you want to call them, have some of the greatest designs in mechanical puzzles. Just look at some of the Karakuri boxes and you'll see what I mean. The problem with Karakuri boxes and similar ones is that they're very expensive. However, not every Puzzle Box is that expensive, and PuzzleMaster has some good and affordable ones produced by themselves.

The Secret Opening Box 2 is a beauty. Made as an improved version of the original Secret Opening Box, this one turned out to be almost perfect. The only thing lacking, in my opinion, is some kind of motif or carving on the top, as the icing on the cake. Otherwise, the design is gorgeous with a striking visual effect of two contrasting wood types, dark red and plain wood (almost golden). It'll look great on any desk or coffee table.

The inside compartment is slightly smaller than a standard-sized deck of cards, but if you want to surprise someone with it, I'm sure you can think of something special to put inside it. The puzzle has an average size for a Secret Box with measurements of 14.6 x 4.5 x 7.6cm (5.8" x 1.8" x 3").

This box is perfect for anyone starting with this type of puzzles, even if you want to offer it to someone not used at solving mechanical puzzles. It has a difficulty level of 6/10, so if you ever solved any of these, you can open it in just a couple of minutes, which is the time it takes approximately to study its mechanism.

It takes only three moves to open the box, with the final one being just a little tricky, although it's a common move found in other puzzles. When you first pick it up, you immediately discover its first move, which is just to slide the top lid clock-wise. After this, you can pull the lid back a little, but it won't move farther out. Something is blocking its movement. The third and final move requires just a bit more thinking, but with some persistence you'll get the box open.

Closing Comments:

Who says great puzzles have to be crazy expensive? The Secret Opening Box 2 is a perfect example of superb craftsmanship at a very affordable price. If you have experience with Puzzle Boxes, this one offers very little challenge. However, regardless of how challenging it is, or lack thereof, it's a great addition to any collection.

Availability: Since this is a PuzzleMaster brand puzzle, you'll probably find it at PuzzleMaster only. You can get a copy of the Secret Opening Box 2 for just $16 CAD.

If you're an avid puzzle collector like me or remotely interested in logic puzzle games, you've probably come across Rush Hour by ThinkFun one time or another. Launched in 1996, Rush Hour took a long ride before reaching today's recognizable design, since Nob Yoshigahara's Tokyo Parking puzzle. You can read more details about the game's creation here, and more about its inventor here.

Rush Hour has something special about it that draws you in and keeps getting more and more addictive as you play. It's because of Rush Hour that I have today in my collection more than a dozen different logic games from ThinkFun and other brands.

The goal of this game is very easy to understand, although some of the later challenges can be a little frustrating. The included 40 challenge cards are grouped in different levels of difficulty, though, so you have this real feeling of progression.

There are 16 colored vehicles (4 trucks and 12 cars). The bright red one is your car, which you should get out of the traffic jam. You start by setting up the cars as shown in the chosen challenge card. When you're done, you have to slide the cars back and forth in their direction of movement and make way for the red car to slide out the opening in the grid. One of the only rules you should always follow is that you can't lift up the cars when you're trying to solve a challenge. Sliding is the only way out.

The game is now so popular that ThinkFun has launched additional packs, each including 40 extra challenges and a new car, and even different versions, like the Rush Hour Jr. or the Safari Rush Hour. If you're a gadget geek, there's also something for you, like the Rush Hour App with a whopping 2500 challenges.

Closing Comments:

Rush Hour has sold millions of copies since 1996, so I'm not saying nothing new by recommending you this superb puzzle game. It's suited for all ages (8 to adult) and the different levels of difficulty make it accessible for everyone to play it. When you get into this type of logic puzzle games, there's a whole world of them waiting to be discovered.

Availability: My copy of Rush Hour came from Sloyd in Finland and it's available from about €20.

I'm not sure why, but I love puzzles with German words - Sounds cool and difficult. Jean Claude Constantin, a German puzzle designer, has named a lot of his inventions with German words and expressions. For example, today's puzzle, with a wine theme, is called "Einer Geht Noch" and could be translated as "one more?" or "let's have another", or something along these lines.

Like most Constantin's puzzles the design is visually stunning. With a lighter tone wooden frame and contrasting darker tones for the pieces, everything about this puzzle looks harmonious and balanced. The frame is perfectly squared and measures 12.8cm (about 5") in diameter, with an inside area of 9.3cm (3.7").

Einer Geht Noch consists of four identical pieces in the shape of a corkscrew that need to be packed inside the frame. The irregular shape of the pieces make this simple task a tough challenge, since they won't occupy all the frame's space. Each piece is marked with a number, supposedly a date, to denote the front and back of the pieces. When solved, the pieces must be facing upwards (showing the numbers), not a mix of front and back, and have very little wiggle room for moving around.

As mentioned above, the difficulty of the puzzle is quite challenging. PuzzleMaster has a rating of 8/10 (Demanding) for its level of difficulty. I reckon it's a fair rating, since most people will have a hard time solving it. I have played and reviewed several puzzles like this, and because of that I've solved it in a reasonable amount of time, in about 10 minutes.

The solution is a bit counter-intuitive, but not as much as other similar puzzles. I think the small number of pieces helps to bring down the level of complexity, compared to other puzzles with much more pieces. There's only so much you can do with four pieces and with a little patience and persistence anyone can solve this.

Solution: There's no solution provided or on the site, but you can take a look at the solved puzzle here. Don't click if you want to solve it by yourself.

Closing Comments:

Einer Geht Noch is yet another great puzzle by Constantin. Superb design and original idea. For packing puzzle fans, this is a must-have. Also, perfect as a gift for a wine lover.

Availability: You can get the Einer Geht Noch at PuzzleMaster for $19 CAD. You can also check out other designs by Jean Claude Constantin.

My latest reviews for Sloyd's puzzles led me to the conclusion that this store is the ultimate one-stop shop for the most difficult puzzles you will ever encounter. My latest fiend is Vesa Timonen's High H. In fact, this has little to do with "latest", as I got this puzzle almost a year now, and I've been saving it all this time, waiting to be able to solve it, to write its review.

High H is like your typical puzzle, where you're given a set amount of pieces and you have to build a simple and recognizable shape from all of them. In this case, the shape you're asked to build is the capital H (not so simple as the one in the picture above) and to do so you have at your disposal only 5 pieces. Two of these pieces are identical and the rest have different lengths and shapes. The most intriguing is the T-shaped piece, and definitely the most deceiving, for obvious reasons.

There's no fancy design or anything like that. Just pure puzzle genius... Or madness, depending on your level of patience after (if) you solve it. The material is Sloyd's characteristic Finnish birch wood, and in terms of dimensions the lengthiest pieces measure 8.6 x 1.7cm (about 3.4" x 0.7").

So, what makes this puzzle so damn difficult? - It's hard to explain, but my theory is, what the designer makes you think to take you away as far from the real solution as possible... And there's some evidence that points to that conclusion: The vague explanation - "Make the letter H from the five pieces"; The T-shaped piece itself. All of this to make your task one hell of a challenge.

Another question you may be asking is "how did you solve the puzzle"? - First, this may be the biggest "a-ha moment" I have ever experienced with a puzzle. Second, I solved it almost by accident by leaving a couple of pieces, apparently in the right position, for a while and when I returned I looked at the puzzle in a different angle. I placed the rest of the pieces and to my surprise I had the exact shape seen in the package. Obviously, I won't reveal much of the solution, because this is one of those puzzles you want to discover it for yourself.

Closing Comments:

Vesa is a master of illusion and the High H, in my opinion, may be one of his masterpieces. This is coming from someone who has reviewed several of his designs, but this one is borderline genius. You must experience this puzzle.

Availability: Sloyd.fi in Finland is the place to get this amazing puzzle. For just €7.06, this is great value for money, as you probably won't solved it right away.