Any story about interlocking puzzles has to start with the traditional six-piece burr puzzle.
This puzzle is known by several names, including the "puzzle knot," the "Devil's Knot"
(
Teufelsknoten
in German), the "Chinese Cross,"
the "Lock of Luban" (Luban Suo
魯班鎖)
or the "Lock of Kongming" (Kongming Suo
孔明鎖).
The term "burr" is thought to have been first used by Edwin Wyatt in Puzzles in Wood (1928), but
Wyatt seems to use the term as if it was already commonly understood to apply.
Supposedly whoever coined the term did so because the puzzle resembles the clinging
burrs of some plants.
Like other well-known vintage puzzles, the burr has acquired a probably-fanciful backstory,
and details of its history are lost.
Some say it is a Chinese invention, along with the Patience Tanglement, the Sliding Piece Puzzle
known as "The Huarong Path," and the Tangram, and date it to ancient times
(see Wei Zhang's Chinese Puzzles Blog).
According to the literature, the earliest relevant U.S. Patent seems to be
1225760 - filed by
O. W. Brown on June 27, 1916 and granted on May 15, 1917.
But take a look at
U.S. Patent
1261242
, filed by J. W. Keiser on March 16, 1915, and granted on April 2, 1918.
Keiser seems to have filed earlier but his patent was granted later.
(Keiser's pieces are the Chinese Cross set; those pieces are shown in an 1857 book so Keiser did not invent them.)
A traditional six-piece burr appears in Hoffmann's 1893 book Puzzles Old and New
in Chapter III as No. XXXVI "The Nut (or Six-piece) Puzzle."
Jerry Slocum and Dieter Gebhardt put together a compendium of puzzle advertisements found in the
1785 catalogue of the merchant Peter Friedrich Catel, who established a retail store in Berlin in 1780.
The 1785 catalogue contains an ad for a traditional six-piece burr puzzle called "The Small Devil's Hoof"
(in addition to an ad for the Large Devil's Hoof which is a 24-piece cage burr).
Brown's 1917 Patent |
|
Hoffmann's "Nut" Puzzle |
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|
|
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In his 2007 book Geometric Puzzle Design,
Stewart Coffin discusses the six-piece burr in chapter 7, and reports that Jerry Slocum's New Findings on the History of the Six Piece Burr
traces the six-piece burr back to Germany in 1698.
See the 1728
Cyclopedia of Ephraim Chambers
(online at the
University of Wisconsin Digital Collection; additional commentary at
www.cyclopedia.org).
You can see a six-piece burr in the lower left area of the
frontispiece by John Sturt,
which is a modified and left-to-right inverted copy of a
1698 engraving
entitled "L'Académie des Sciences et des Beaux Arts" by Sébastien Leclerc (or Le Clerc).
Read about this engraving at the
University of Oxford.
It is also noted in David Singmaster's
Sources in Recreational Mathematics.
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Stewart Coffin's book
The Puzzling World of Polyhedral Dissections
hosted on John Rausch's site
contains a good introduction to this type of puzzle.
Martin Gardner discusses burrs briefly (as an introduction to the puzzle sculptures of Miguel Berrocal)
in his 1989 book Penrose Tiles to Trapdoor Ciphers, and most of the key puzzle authors mention the puzzle.
There have been sporadic fits of research into the six-piece burr, including an extensive analysis by hand by the Dutch
mathematician J. H. de Boer, and work by Tom O'Beirne and Arthur Cross,
but
William (Bill) Cutler has performed (starting in 1975)
the definitive computer
analysis,
and the statistics cited below are based on his analysis.
| A holey burr can contain from 1 to 20 holes. The weight of a burr relates to the number of internal holes it has, and can range from 32 (no internal holes), down to 12 (the maximum of 20 holes). The weight of a piece refers to the number of cubies not removed from it, and can range from 12 (the key) down to 2 (the Y). If the sum of the weights of six pieces exceeds 32, it is impossible to construct a valid burr from that set. Also, there is a distinction made among the pieces which can be produced without hard-to-manufacture blind (or internal) corners (i.e. where the sides of at least 3 cubies meet in concavity) versus those that cannot. Any piece without any such blind corner can be made using a milling machine and is millable, otherwise it is a general type piece. (In a millable piece, any cut parallel to the long axis of the piece is bounded on both ends by a cut perpendicular to the long axis.) There are 78 millable pieces. However, to produce pieces on a table saw (with a dado blade), or by hand without resorting to a chisel, one must also avoid internal edges that run parallel to the piece's long axis, and employ only cuts running perpendicular to the long axis. These pieces are called notchable, and there are only 59 of them (they're all millable, too). Only 25 of those 59 pieces are useful to build solid burrs, and only 314 solid burrs can be made from that set of 25 (some dups are required, so you need a set of 42 pieces with dups). Overall, the 59 notchable pieces can be used to make 13,354,991 assemblies. The level of a burr puzzle is the number of distinct linear moves (a shift of one or more pieces together, sometimes by one unit but usually by an arbitrary number of units, in just one direction) that must be performed to remove the first piece or pieces - there can be a concatenation of figures usually separated by dots - these are the numbers of steps to remove successive pieces. All solid burrs are level 1 - they come apart without any preliminary shifting. Burrs with internal holes can achieve higher levels, and one goal of research has been to delimit what is possible in terms of level complexity. Bill Cutler has done extensive analysis on both the "holey" six-piece burr and all six-piece burrs in general, and Bill offers several burrs for sale. Jürg von Känel created the wonderful Burr Puzzles Site hosted at IBM Research. Jürg's site offers a solution analyzer applet and historical info about burrs. Bruno Curfs' site (now defunct?) offered additional analysis. Ed Pegg wrote a good survey article about burrs. Peter Roesler's site also discusses burr puzzles, and has an interesting history of Willem van der Poel's Grandfather 6x6x6 burr. You can see some burrs at John Rausch's Puzzleworld. You can use Andreas Röver's Burr Tools to model, solve, and design burr puzzles. If you're interested in collecting 6-piece burrs, I suggest you first check out Ishino's "Puzzle Will Be Played" site to get some idea of the variety available. Look under "Interlocking (6 piece burr: traditional)." Though they may be sold under different names and by different vendors, burr puzzles that use the same set of six pieces are isomorphic and have identical solutions (although using pieces longer than six units might eliminate some solutions). That site also provides a comprehensive catalogue of burr pieces. Note that when discussing traditional burrs, twists or rotations of pieces typically are not required or allowed. It is possible, however, to design burrs that appear traditional but require such moves and frustrate the usual computer analysis - for example, see Bill Cutler's Programmer's Nightmare burr. For some burr designs, twisting a piece might be possible and might offer a shortcut, but isn't strictly required. It is also possible to mimic the outer appearance of a traditional burr but use different internal notchings - but such designs are outside the scope of this section (e.g. Cutler's Explode-A-Burr). |
|
A piece ID is 1 plus the value, shown below, of each cubie removed.
The cubies behind cubies 256 and 512 can be removed, too, and have respective values 1024 and 2048. Such pieces appear infrequently.
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ / 16 / 32 / 64 / 128/ /|
+ +----+----+----+----+ + |
/ / 1 / 2 / 4 / 8 / / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | | | | +
| a | 256| 512| b |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
When trying to identify an arbitrary piece, rotate it about its long axis
(and maybe flip it end-for-end) until you find an orientation where the cubies marked 'a' and 'b' and the cubies behind them are present. Sometimes a piece could be assigned more than one number - use the smaller number. This entails orienting it so that cubies 1024 and 2048 are present if possible. |
1 A A A [p] 1
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ /|
+ + |
/ / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | |
| | +
+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Key |
|||||
| All six positions and widths of a single slot... | |||||
18 B B L [p] 2
+----+ +----+----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Local Mail |
35 C E 1
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +
+----+----+ / +----+----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Out of Town Mail |
52 D P J [p] 2
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Side Tray |
103 F S H 1
+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +---+--/ / +
+----+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Half-Tray |
120 G U 1
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+---+--/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Three-Quarters Tray |
256 J X B [p2] 3
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
| Three possible dual slots... | Three symmetric pieces... | ||||
86 E H 1
+----+ +----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Mailbox |
154 H K I [p] 1
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Toaster |
188 I M M [p] 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The (Bottle) Opener |
871 M T K 2
+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | +----+--| | |
| | | | | +
+ + | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Barbells |
928 V L D 2
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Tongue |
1024 Y Y F [p2] 3
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
| There are six pairs of mirror image pieces... | |||||
359 L F 1
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+----+ |
| | + +--| | |
| | | | | +
+ + | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
615 K G 1
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +--| / / +
+----+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | +----+ | | |
| | | | | +
+ + | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
792 R D 2
+----+ +----+----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + |
/ / +--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
911 N C G 2
+----+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
824 T R C [p] 2
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
975 O Q E [p] 2
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
| The Notched Half-Trays | The Walls | The Offsets | |||
856 S J 1
+----+ +----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+----+ |
| | + + +--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
943 P I 1
+----+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+ + | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
888 U W 2
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + +----+--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
1007 Q V 2
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+----+ / +----+ |
| | +----+----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
960 X N 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +-------| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
992 W O [p] 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
| The Fingered Clubs | The Clubs | The Fingers | |||
20
+----+ +----+----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+----+ |
| | + +--| | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Filipiak #67 |
56
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + +--| | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Triple Slide |
60
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + +----+ + |
/ / +----+-/ /| / / +
+----+ / +----+ | +----+ |
| | + | | +--| | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
UBS.1 |
64
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+ |
| | + +----+--| | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
UBS.24 |
72
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+----+ |
| | +----+----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Interrupted Slide |
88 M
+----+ +----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Piston, Hordern,Dozen, BB31-10-40 |
94
+----+ +----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | +----+ + |
/ / +-/ / +--| / / +
+----+ / +----+ / | +----+ |
| | + | | + +--| | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Triple Slide |
109
+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ +----+ + |
/ /|----| / / +
+----+----+----+ | | +----+ |
| | + +--| | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
BCL6000 |
112
+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | +----+ + |
/ /| | +-------| / / +
+----+ | |/ | +----+ |
| | +----+ +--| | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Interrupted Slide |
124
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + |
/ / +----+-/ /| / / +
+----+ / +----+ | +----+ |
| | + | | +--| | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
UBS.22 |
126
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ +----+ + |
/ / +-/ /|----| / / +
+----+ / +----+ | | +----+ |
| | + | | + +--| | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
STC#36 |
|
128
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +------------| / / +
+----+ / | +----+ |
| | + +--| | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Hedgehog, Kaldeway,
UBS.15 |
240
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Avenger (pc. #4) |
156
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + | + + |
/ / +--| / / +-/ / +
+----+ / | +----+ / +----+ |
| | + +--| | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
Triple Slide |
160 M
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
(many) |
192 M
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +----+--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
#G, UBS.17 |
224 M
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
JVK, Millable 5.4,
UBS.14 |
327 N
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+----+ |
| | + + | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
IPL5S.39 |
551 N
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +--| / / +
+----+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
BC-L5N,
IPL5S.45 |
344 N
+----+ +----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
IPL5S.25 |
687 N
+----+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
IPL5S.33 |
376 N
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
IPL5S.21 |
751 N
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
IPL5S.05 |
410
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.2 |
412 N
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + | + + |
/ / +--| / / +-/ / +
+----+ / | +----+ / +----+ |
| | + + | | + | | |
| |/ /| | |/ | | +
+ +----+ | + +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
(many), UBS.23,
IPL5S.53 |
670 N
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + +----+ | + + |
/ / +-/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + | | + + | | |
| |/ | | | / | | +
+ +----+ + | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
IPL5S.40 |
414
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + +----+ | + + |
/ / +-/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + | | +----+ | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.3 |
416 M
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.20 |
442
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.4 |
444 N
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + +--| | + | | |
| |/ /| | |/ | | +
+ +----+ | + +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.18, IPL5S.49 |
734 N
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | +----+ | | |
| |/ | | | / | | +
+ +----+ + | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
IPL5S.10 |
448 M
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +----+--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
Interrupted Slide,
UBS.12 |
736 M
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
BCL6000, #G |
463 N
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
Tenyo Brother,
IPL5S.24 |
568 N
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+----+ | + + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
IPL5S.34 |
464
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+ + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
Brown's |
576
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+ |
| | + + +--| | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
D. Kriz II |
474
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + +----+ + + |
/ / +-/ /|-+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ | +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.26 |
476
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + + |
/ / +--| / /|-+-/ / +
+----+ / | +----+ | +----+ |
| | + + | | + | | |
| |/ /| | |/ | | +
+ +----+ | + +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
Prog. Nightmare,
UBS.21 |
702
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +-/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + | | + + | | |
| |/ | | | / | | +
+ +----+ + | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
BC-CCU10, Mega-6 |
478
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.16 |
480 N
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.13, IPL5S.23 |
704 N
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +----+--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
(many), IPL5S.32 |
495 N
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+----+ / +----+ |
| | +----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
IPL5S.20 |
632 N
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + +--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+----+ | + + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
IPL5S.06 |
499
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ +----+----+ + |
/ /|-+-/ / +
+----+----+ | +----+----+----+ |
| | +--| | |
| | | | | +
+ + | + + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
BC-CC5H |
757
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+----+ +----+ + |
/ /|-+-/ / +
+----+----+----+ | +----+----+ |
| | +--| | |
| | | | | +
+ + | + + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
Prog. Nightmare |
506
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + + |
/ / +-/ /|-+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ | +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.19 |
508 M
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + + |
/ / +----+-/ /|-+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ | +----+ |
| | + +--| | + | | |
| |/ /| | |/ | | +
+ +----+ | + +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
UBS.11 |
511
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ + + |
/ /|-+----+----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | +----+ |
| | +----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
Interrupted Slide,#D, F#73 |
760
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + +--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+----+ | + + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
Baffling, Brother |
512 N
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
(many), UBS.8,
IPL5S.19 |
768 N
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
(many),
IPL5S.04 |
564
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
Tenyo Brother |
624
+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | +----+ + |
/ /| | +----+--| / / +
+----+ | |/ | +----+ |
| | +----+ +----+--| | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
BC-CCU10 |
800
+----+ +----+----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+----+ + |
/ / +--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+ |
| | + + +--| | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Brown's |
820
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+----+ |
| | + +--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
STC#36 |
832
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+ |
| | + +----+ +--| | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Brown's, G4 |
976
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+ +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
D. Kriz II, Enigma, #G |
880
+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | +----+ + |
/ /| | +----+--| / / +
+----+ | |/ | +----+ |
| | +----+----+----+--| | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Dubois/Gaby |
883
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ +----+ + |
/ /|-+-/ / +
+----+----+ | +----+----+----+ |
| | +--| | |
| | | | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
BC-CCU10 |
896
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+ |
| | + +----+----+--| | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Avenger (pc. #2) |
1008
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
(many) |
909
+----+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/ / | | +
+ +----+ +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Tenyo Brother |
922
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Piston |
926
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + +----+ | + + |
/ / +-/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + | | + + | | |
| |/ | |/ / | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
BC-CC5H |
927
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ +----+----+----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Tenyo Brother |
956
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + +--| | + | | |
| |/ /| | |/ | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Prog. Nightmare,BC-CC4H |
990
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | +----+ | | |
| |/ | |/ / | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Interrupted Slide |
984
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | +----+ + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+----+ |
| | + + +--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Avenger (pc. #7) |
996
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+----+----+ |
| | +----+--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Baffling |
1015
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ +----+ + |
/ /|-+----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | +----+----+ |
| | +----+--| | |
| | | | | +
+ + | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
(many) |
1016
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + +----+--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Tenyo Brother |
1021
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+----+ + + |
/ /|-+----+-/ / +
+----+----+----+ | +----+ |
| | +----+ | | |
| |/ / | | +
+ +----+ +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Prog. Nightmare |
1023
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ + + |
/ /|-+----+----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | +----+ |
| | +----+----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Teufelsknoten
Schlüsselanhänger |
1933 N
+----+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | + +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Avenger (pc. #9),
IPL5S.38 |
2836 N
+----+ +----+----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+ | | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
IPL5S.44 |
1 A A [p]
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ /|
+ + |
/ / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | |
| | +
+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Key |
256 J X [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
256 J X [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
256 J X [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
928 V L
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Tongue |
928 V L
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Tongue |
| This set of pieces appeared in a French puzzle (I don't have) called "Charpente Diabolique" (the Diabolical Structure). The pieces include: 1, 3x256, and 2x928 (AJ-VV-JJ or ALLXXX). The colorful burr on the right I have from "Melissa & Doug" uses the same set. It is very easy to construct - in fact this is possibly the easiest of all 6-piece burrs. |
|
1 A A [p]
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ /|
+ + |
/ / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | |
| | +
+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Key |
256 J X [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
824 T R [p]
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The |
975 O Q [p]
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Offsets |
928 V L
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Tongue |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
 This small plastic red burr is one of my older puzzles - I don't recall where I got it. |
Licorice Stix - Reiss (1974) |
This is a small plastic burr pendant, made in China. |
||
|
||||
52 D P [p]
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Side Tray |
792 R D
+----+ +----+----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + |
/ / +--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The |
911 N C
+----+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Walls |
824 T R [p]
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The |
975 O Q [p]
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Offsets |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
I got this aluminum burr called "Rainbow" from Bits and Pieces - it came in a nice black drawstring pouch. It was designed by Paul Eibe. |
This is DNORTY from Pentangle. The name derives from the bold piece letters given in my table above: 52 (D), 911 (N), 975 (O), 792 (R), 824 (T), 1024 (Y). |
This is a Toyo Glass puzzle called "Tongari Kun and Roppongi." Not only is there a burr, but it must be assembled inside the glass container. The mouth is too small to pass the burr in fully assembled form. Remember, there are 6 different ways to construct this burr - you must find one that permits construction within the container! |
|
|
|||
To resolve all six different solutions, I found it helpful to ask myself,
"What sits in the notch of piece #52, and then which piece is opposite #52?"
I found the following:
|
1 A A [p]
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ /|
+ + |
/ / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | |
| | +
+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Key |
188 I M [p]
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The (Bottle) Opener |
824 T R [p]
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The |
975 O Q [p]
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Offsets |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
The vintage Japanese Yamato Block Puzzle. |
This is "No. P19 Joe's Puzzle" from Wm. F. Drueke & Sons of Grand Rapids Michigan. There is no date on the box but it seems fairly old. |
This is a small brass burr, called the "Ultimate Puzzle," made for Chadwick Miller and dated 1969. It came with a small black case with a question mark on the front. |
In this aluminum burr, piece 824 is fixed to the base. I think this came from B&P. |
||
88
+----+ +----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|
512
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
|
704
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +----+--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
|
960
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +-------| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
992
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
1008
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
|
This is Bruce Love's Dozen, (the version without the D's) purchased from Bill Cutler, and made from Maple by Jerry McFarland. This burr is special because it is the only burr at the highest level, 12. Unfortunately the solution is not unique - there are 89 ways to put these pieces together, and most of them don't achieve level 12. Note that there are no other level 12 burrs (for any length stick), and no level 11 burrs at all. |
88
+----+ +----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|
512
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
|
768
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
|
922
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
1008
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
1008
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
|
| This is Peter Marineau's "Piston" burr, so named because of the large number of times pieces must be moved back and forth during the solution. This burr is special because it achieves the highest level possible for length-6 pieces, level 9 (i.e. it requires 9 moves to release the first piece), and the solution is unique - it has no other solutions at lower levels. I made an example from Lego. I also bought a version made from six exotic woods, by Thomas Moeller. It is quite large - each piece measures 1.5" x 1.5" x 4.5". Check Bill Cutler's site for availability. |
624
+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | +----+ + |
/ /| | +----+--| / / +
+----+ | |/ | +----+ |
| | +----+ +----+--| | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
|
702
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +-/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + | | + + | | |
| |/ | | | / | | +
+ +----+ + | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
|
768
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
|
883
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ +----+ + |
/ /|-+-/ / +
+----+----+ | +----+----+----+ |
| | +--| | |
| | | | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
1015
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ +----+ + |
/ /|-+----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | +----+----+ |
| | +----+--| | |
| | | | | +
+ + | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
| This is Bill Cutler's Computer's Choice Unique 10 burr. I don't know who the craftsman is - I bought it as part of a group of hand-made puzzles. This burr is special because it is one of 18 burrs that have a unique level 10 solution, the highest level achievable for six-piece burrs with unique solutions. The pieces must be length-8, however, not length-6. |
|
52 D P [p]
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Side Tray |
615 K G 1
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +--| / / +
+----+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | +----+ | | |
| | | | | +
+ + | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Left Notched Half-Tray |
792 R D 2
+----+ +----+----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + |
/ / +--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Left Wall |
960 X N 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +-------| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The |
992 W O [p] 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Fingers |
975 O Q E [p] 2
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Right Offset |
|
This is called The Baffling Burr Puzzle ("Six interlocked pieces of wood that will challenge the experts") - there is no other information on the box. This has pieces numbers 52, 615, 792, 960/992, 975 and is Bill Cutler's #305, not Bill's Baffling Burr, which has pieces 103, 760, 960/992, 996, 1024. |
1 A A [p]
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ /|
+ + |
/ / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | |
| | +
+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Key |
188 I M [p]
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The (Bottle) Opener |
256 J X B [p2] 3
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
960 X N 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +-------| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Right Finger |
975 O Q E [p] 2
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Right Offset |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
|
| This is the Burr Puzzle from Toys From Times Past. This has pieces 1, 188, 256, 960, 975, 1024 and is the same design shown in Hoffmann, except Toys From Times Past has incorporated a locking mechanism into the key piece. |
120 G U 1
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+---+--/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Three-Quarters Tray |
160
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|
256 J X B [p2] 3
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
512
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
|
880
+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | +----+ + |
/ /| | +----+--| / / +
+----+ | |/ | +----+ |
| | +----+----+----+--| | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
960 X N 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +-------| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
|
This small black plastic burr I found in a puzzle shop in Prague during IPP28 is a copy of the Philippe Dubois/Gaby Games burr that requires 6 (or 7, depending on how you count) moves to release the first piece. It is one of the "Fearsome Four." |
463
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
|
564
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
|
760
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + +--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+----+ | + + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
|
909
+----+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/ / | | +
+ +----+ +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
927
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ +----+----+----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
1016
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + +----+--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
| I bought this plastic burr in Japan. I believe it was made by Tenyo. It is number 4 in a "Family" of burrs - this one is called "Brother." This burr uses six general pieces: 463, 564, 760, 909, 927, 1016. It has no holes, and comes apart in one move into two 3-piece halves. This might be #72 in Filipiak's list (c.f. Anthony S. Filipiak, 100 Puzzles - How to Make and Solve Them, 1942, p. 86). |
|
1 A A [p]
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ /|
+ + |
/ / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | |
| | +
+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Key |
188 I M [p]
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The (Bottle) Opener |
256 J X B [p2] 3
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
911 N C G 2
+----+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
52 D P [p]
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Side Tray |
103 F S H 1
+----+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +---+--/ / +
+----+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Half-Tray |
120 G U 1
+----+ +----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+---+--/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Three-Quarters Tray |
928 V L D 2
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Tongue |
960 X N 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +-------| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The |
992 W O [p] 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +--| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Fingers |
|
This set of twelve pieces is called the "6+6=Cube." It was designed by Kozy Kitajima. The pieces include: 1, 52, 103, 120, 188, 256, 911, 928, 992, 960, and 2x 1024. According to the instructions, there is only one way to build two burrs at once. The twelve pieces can also be combined to form a cube, with holes. |
1 A A [p]
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ /|
+ + |
/ / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | |
| | +
+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Key |
188 I M [p]
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The (Bottle) Opener |
512
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+----+
|
832
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+ |
| | + +----+ +--| | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
975 O Q [p]
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| | | / | | +
+ + | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Offsets |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
1 A A [p]
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ /|
+ + |
/ / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | |
| | +
+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Key |
188 I M [p]
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +----+-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The (Bottle) Opener |
768
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
|
976
+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+ +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
824 T R C [p] 2
+----+ +----+----+----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | +----+ + |
/ / +----+--| / / +
+----+ / | +----+----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
Offsets |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
| This burr's wooden length-12 pieces are stained a dark color. The burr comes in a box with a fitted slip-out cover. At some point I saw it referred to as "G4," also as "The Cross of Marseille." The pieces used are: 1, 188, 512, 832, 975, 1024. The mirror images of the 3rd-5th can also be used: 1, 188, 768, 976, 824, 1024. |
|
240
+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +----+----+-/ / +
+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | +----+ | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|
768
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+----+ | +----+ + /
| | +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+----+ +----+----+
|
960 X N 2
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | + + |
/ / +-------| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+ |
| | + +----+ + | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
984
+----+ +----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | +----+ | +----+ + |
/ / +--| | +-/ / +
+----+ / | |/ +----+----+ |
| | + + +--| | |
| |/ /| | | +
+ +----+ | + + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
1933
+----+----+----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ +----+ | + + |
/ /| | +-/ / +
+----+----+----+ | |/ +----+ |
| | + + | | |
| |/| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | + +--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
|
|
The Avenger is offered by
PuzzleMaster.ca.
It includes 9 length-10 pieces, one of which (their #1) is not traditionally notched.
Subsets of the pieces can be assembled into six-piece, seven-piece, eight-piece, and nine-piece burrs.
The pieces are:
|
1 A A [p]
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
/ /|
+ + |
/ / +
+----+----+----+----+----+----+ |
| | |
| | +
+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Key |
154 H K I [p] 1
+----+ +----+----+ +----+
/ /| / /| / /|
+ + | + + | + + |
/ / +-/ / +-/ / +
+----+ / +----+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | + | | |
| |/ | |/ | | +
+ +----+ +----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Toaster |
256 J X B [p2] 3
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
256 J X B [p2] 3
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + | | |
| |/ | | +
+ +----+----+----+----+ + /
| | +
| |/
+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The Tray |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
1024 Y Y [p2]
+----+ +----+
/ /| / /|
+ + | + + |
/ / +----+----+----+-/ / +
+----+ / +----+ |
| | + +----+----+ | | |
| |/ /| / | | +
+ +----+ | +----+ + /
| | +----+--| | +
| |/ | |/
+----+----+ +----+----+
The Y |
| This is The Double-Cross Puzzle, issued by the General Engineering & Design Co. of Detroit, Michigan. (No date.) Six metal pieces. A very easy design. |
|
The light brown burr is perhaps the more difficult of this group, but we've seen it already -
its pieces are the familiar "Six Way" set: 52, 792/911, 824/975, 1024.
The white and two (identical) dark brown burrs all employ the familiar "Chinese Cross" piece set: 1, 256, 824/975, 928, 1024.
A plastic burr from China (The Chinese Cross set - 1, 256, 824/975, 928, 1024):
This set of 13 length-8 pieces is called Boite 13.
The pieces are assigned letters A thru M, and correspond to our codes as follows:
| A | B | C | D | H/E | I/F | J/G | L/K | M |
| 1 | 52 | 103 | 256 | 792/911 | 824/975 | 888/1007 | 960/992 | 1024 |
Colin Gaughran is a woodworker in Lyme, Connecticut. Colin can make any burr pieces, notchable, millable, or even general, using his CNC machine. Colin has made several burr pieces for me, including 52, 359/615, 871, 911, 928, 943, 975, 960/992, 1007, and 1024. These pieces can be used to make at least four interesting burrs, including Bill Cutler's #306, CINTVY, FILTVY, and FGINOY. You can contact Colin via his eBay sale here. I gave him permission to use my piece ID graphic so you can clearly specify your desired pieces. (I put labels on mine so I can easily identify them.) |
Wayne Daniel (Interlocking Puzzles) made this nice set of 42 of the notchable pieces which can be used to make 314 solid burrs.
I believe the pieces are made of
of Mahogany wood,
with a Walnut box.
Each piece is 0.75" square and 2.5" long, so his unit cube is 3/8 inches on an edge, and these are "length 6."
The set includes a series of cards listing the six-tuples of each of the 314 burrs, and giving assembly hints
by telling the adjacent pairings.
Unfortunately, I have found that certain holey burrs that are constructible from the notchable set, cannot be made to work
using Daniel's set - his esthetic beveled treatment of the ends of the pieces, while fine for the 314 solid burrs, prevents
certain necessary movements when trying the holey burrs.
In particular, designs which use the "jutting jaw" technique as in the JVK 25.1 design, don't open far enough to allow
the 3/8" cubie of a piece to pass through.
Pentangle offered a nice boxed set of the same 42 pieces. Unlike the IP set which has length 6 pieces,
the Pentangle pieces are length 8.
Interlocking Puzzles also offered another nice boxed set, of 35 pieces - called the Level 5 Set.
Another collector, Jim Storer, shows both the
IP 42-piece set I have here,
and the
IP Level-5 35-piece set
on his website.
A Level-5 Burr Set in mahogany and plane woods, made by Jack Krijnen.
The attention to detail is superb!
This set provides 35 (42 including duplicates) out of the 837 possible traditional six-piece burr pieces, at length 6.
(The same as in a similar set made by Interlocking Puzzles ca. 2000,
shown on Jim Storer's site.
The piece numbering employed by Krijnen, David Winkler's scheme,
is also identical to that used for the IP set.)
The particular pieces are all notchable, and are those needed to build level-5 burrs.
The set includes a small pair of wooden tweezers with which one can extract pieces from the box.
The box is about 118mm x 90mm.
The pieces measure 3x1x1 cm.
|
Creative Craft House offers the Ultimate Burr Set that includes 27 pieces and can make over 60 puzzles. Thanks, Dave! Ken Irvine wrote up a nice article about this set, which he has given me permission to mirror so you can download a copy. |
Philos offers their set #6025, called "151er Teufel" having 20 pieces and making 159 puzzles (I don't have this.) Check Amazon.de |
|
|
The book Puzzles in Wood, written by Edwin M. Wyatt,
was published in 1928 by the Bruce Publishing Company.
Wyatt includes a section on the six piece burr,
shows clear plans for 13 pieces he labels A through M, and gives a list of six-piece sets for 15 puzzles.
In the list below, Wyatt's puzzles are highlighted like this. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wyatt's Pieces They correspond to:
all of which are notchable. |
Wyatt's Puzzles |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The book 100 Puzzles - How to Make and Solve Them, written by Anthony S. Filipiak,
was published in 1942 by A. S. Barnes and Company.
In his book, Filipiak includes a section on the "Six Piece Burr Puzzle," beginning on page 79.
He says that though he has over a thousand mechanical and manipulative puzzles in his collection,
his favorite puzzle is the six piece burr.
He gives diagrams for 38 burr pieces, and lists his "prize collection" of 73 burr puzzles using those pieces,
"collected the world over by correspondence, travel, and research into ancient books of magic, tricks, games,
and puzzles."
He admits "no doubt there are a few more to be added."
I have not reproduced all 73 designs here, but I highlight Filipiak designs like this.
Several of the designs in his list of 73 puzzles, when I checked using Jurg's applet, have no solution - maybe
the wrong pieces were listed,
or as noted below, the actual configuration of the pieces themselves are open to interpretation.
Or, perhaps Filipiak himself hadn't bothered to actually construct all of the designs -
but that seems unlikely given his enthusiasm.
I cannot imagine that his editor could have checked the work, however!
|
Filipiak's pieces correspond to:
The mirror pair 512/768 is used only once, in his burr #63. |
|
|
The recent history of discovery related to the burr puzzle seems to me like the history of world exploration - at first, the "known world" was small and encompassed some well-traveled areas, beyond which lay either the "edge of the world" (for those who thought they had seen all the burrs and only "a few" remained to be found), or a "terra incognita" that stretched off into the hazy distance. Decades, perhaps even centuries, of exploration served to extend the frontiers of what was known, with some impressive voyages of exploration by intrepid souls using relatively primitive technology. But it was not until the computer age and Bill Cutler that a "satellite view" became available, delimiting the "globe" and showing its full extent - 35 billion assemblies. Most of that area is "water" - assemblies that cannot be constructed. Roughly 17% is "land" - the 5.95 billion constructible burrs. The "Old World" of the solid burrs stretches across 119,979 assemblies, and features many well-known cities and well-traveled routes. Cutler's satellite view has identified several impressive peaks in the larger world beyond, and much ground remains unexplored. Are the burr pioneers really "inventors?" Or, like the explorers of old, are they really more "discoverers?" I don't claim to have "invented" any unique burr puzzles myself, but like others I have spent some time exploring the world that Cutler delimited. In particular I have been interested in finding high-level (holey) burrs that can be made with the notchable set, at length 6. Bruno Curfs has utilized computer analysis performed by Keiichiro Ishino, and makes several output files available at his site. Bruno mentions and discusses several burrs already. |
The core:
+----+ / 1 /| +----+ | +----+ | | +----+-/ 2 /| | |/ 4 5+----+ | + + | | + | 3 / | | | | +----+----+ + | +--| 6 7 8 | + | |/ + +-|/-+----+ | | + 10 | 9 |/ +----+ |
Of the 314 solid puzzles that can be made with the 25 notachable pieces, there are 158 that use the key piece #1.
If you start with 6 Y pieces and make one key piece, you use up 10 of the 20 "floating" interior cubies.
The "core" shown here is then composed of the 10 interior cubies
that remain to be distributed among the other 5 pieces.
Imagine that the key piece goes into the page resting on the plane formed by the core
cubies labeled 4,5,6, and 7.
The other 5 pieces would start as instances of the "minimal" piece #1024 (Y), and acquire some share of
the 10 cubies of the core.
Note that no single piece can have all 10 - this would result in a second key piece,
which some reflection should convince you
doesn't work.
I have chosen an arbitray orientation for the other 5 pieces, which I'll call P1 through P5,
resulting in the particular core shape shown.
Other shapes are possible.
Imagine P1 through P5, oriented around the core as follows.
|
| 1 and 3 | 2 and 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 and 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | x | x | x | ||||
| P2 | x | x | x | x | |||
| P3 | x | x | x | x | |||
| P4 | x | x | x | x | |||
| P5 (opp. key) |
x | x |
| P5 plus | (none) | 5 | 7 | (5,7) | (9,10) | (4,5,9,10) (6,7,9,10) |
(4,5,6,7,9,10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| equals | Y | W | X | V | J | I | H |
| P5 plus | (none) | 5 | 7 | (5,7) | (9,10) | (4,5,9,10) (6,7,9,10) |
(4,5,6,7,9,10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| equals | Y | W | X | V | J | I | H |
| plus 2 equals |
Q or U | S | P | not possible | G | E | not possible |
| Here is a list of the 17 configurations employing one of E,G,Q,U,P, or S opposite A. All require an M. |
There are only 5 other configurations that use M - these do not require its rotation.
All are very easy.
|
|
|
|
|
The next smallest class should be the AI configurations. The I piece used 4 out of 10, leaving 6.
1/3 and 2/8 still must be assigned as pairs, but 4 and 5 can be independently allocated to different pieces.
The possibilities: 6/0/0/0,
4/2/0/0,
4/1/1/0,
3/2/1/0,
2/2/2/0,
2/2/1/1.
There are 16 AI configurations as follows:
|
V uses only 2, leaving 8 - the pairs
1/3, 2/8, and 9/10, and 4 and 6.
The 16 AV configurations:
|
This section is about the "Traditional" 18-piece Burr.
This type of burr can be visualized as having a 6-piece burr shape at its core, but instead of 2x2x2 pieces crossing, it has 6x6x6.
Each group of 6 pieces along an axis is arranged in a 2x3 block.
The minimum length of a piece is 8 units - pieces are typically 2x2x8.
Willem van der Poel seems to have designed the first 18-piece 6x6x6 burr, in 1951-1953 - this type of burr is a much more
recent development than the Traditional 6-piece Burr. In this case, "traditional" refers to the canonical 6x6x6 shape rather than hinting
at any deep history.
(Other shapes or arrangements of 18 pieces are possible.)
Van der Poel's burr is known as the
Grandfather 6x6x6 18-piece burr.
The Grandfather burr is
discussed on Pete Roesler's site,
where you can read
a brief history written by van der Poel.
Willem made a copy by hand from Beech wood - that copy is now in Jerry Slocum's collection.
Willem's design is level 3.2.4.1.1.2.
Ishino has
a catalogue of length-8 pieces here.
Ishino also has
a selection of 18-piece burr designs,
and
a table of some designs, listed with piece codes.
The burr diagrams used below are Ishino's.
As discussed in the section on Traditional 6-piece Burrs, Bill Cutler completely analyzed those.
However, as of this writing in Feb. 2011, no-one has yet performed an analysis for the Traditional 18-piece Burr.
In van Delft and Botermans' Creative Puzzles of the World, van der Poel's puzzle is shown on page 71.
In Slocum and Botermans' Puzzles Old and New, plans for an 18-piece burr are shown on page 71 - Ishino
calls this one
Unnamed 18 Piece Burr #1.
Its pieces are length 10. (Maybe designed by Gillett as noted in
this thread on the PuzzleWorld forums?)
Frans de Vreugd is a notable collector with an interest in high-level burrs - Frans has published nice articles on the topic in
CFF #80 (Nov. 2009) Recent 18-Piece Burrs, and CFF #82 (July 2010) More 18-Piece Burrs, as well as an article in
the book A Lifetime of Puzzles: A Collection of Puzzles in Honor of Martin Gardner's 90th Birthday -
Extreme Puzzles on p.195.
At the higher levels, even disassembly is a challenge. Re-assembly without instructions becomes almost impossible.
Guillaume Largounez posted an interesting account of his attempts to construct and solve the most difficult 18 piece burrs,
at the PuzzleWorld Forums.
His conclusions are in
this post.
Some quotes from Guillaume:
.
The earliest designs (e.g. Grandfather, Lovely) are composed of a core 6-piece burr, surrounded by a "cage" of relatively simple pieces, usually x00FFFF.
According to Ishino, in 2003 Paul Blake designed a level 4.4.3.4.2.5.3.4.2.2.1.2.1.2 using 18 of x00FFFF, called
Simply Complex.
I entered the traditional 18-piece burr shape into BurrTools, along with 18 copies of the x00FFFF piece -
the run finished very quickly in only 1.4 minutes.
My run gave 1960 assemblies, of which 1372 are solutions.
The highest level found was 4.3.1.4.2.2.2.2 with 29 moves;
the highest number of moves is 32 for a level 1.3.1.3.3.4.3.3.3 solution.
My 1960/1372 statistics agree with Ishino's, but my run did not find the purported level 4.4 (39 move) solution, so there seems to be some error somewhere -
or we are counting moves differently when several pieces move together, or when pieces move further than one unit in a given direction.
| Year | Designer | Level | Name | Source |
| 1980s | Bruce Love (by hand) | 18.2.5.4.2.1.2 | Lovely Burr | Bill Cutler's website |
| 1999 | Brian Young (by hand) | 19.4.1.1.7 | Coming of Age Mark II | Mr. Puzzle |
| 2002 | Goh Pit Khiam | 33.7.2.1.2.3.3.1.3.1.2 | Burrloon | |
| 2003 | Jack Krijnen | 43.2.2.2.3.1.2 | Tipperary | |
| 2005 | Goh Pit Khiam and Jack Krijnen | 50.2.1.1.1.1.1.2.3 | Burrserk | |
| 2008 | Alfons Eyckmans | 59.2.6.1.2.3.2.2.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.2 | Condor | |
| 2008 | Krijnen | 62.4.21.1.2.2.1.1.1.2.2.2.1.1.1.2 | Condor's Peeper | Mr. Puzzle |
| 2008 | Jan Naert | 65.1.2.1.1.4.3.2.2.2.2.1.1.2.2.2 | The Monster | |
| 2009 | Eyckmans | 113.14.7.4.9.14.3 | Phoenix Cabracan | |
| 2010 | Krijnen | 138.7.5.1.1.2.1.1.2.2.2.1.1.1.1.2 | Burrly Sane for Woodworkers | |
| 2010 | Krijnen | 148.3.4.3.10.13.3 | Burrly Sane for Professionals | |
| 2010 | Eyckmans | 150.6.3.10.3.1.1.1.2.4.2.1.2 | Tiros | |
| 2010 | Krijnen | 152.7.9.5.11.14.4.1.1.1.1.2 | Burrly Sane for Extreme Puzzlers |
|
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A design by Bruce Love called the Lovely Burr. Level 18. Only 1 solution. Made by Jerry McFarland, from Walnut and Mahogany. You might find one at Bill Cutler's website. Brian Pletcher blogged about this puzzle. |
Coming of Age Mk.II - Mr. Puzzle Australia An 18-piece 6x6x6 burr designed by Brian Young, without the use of a computer. There are multiple solutions - the highest level is 19. It was analysed using BurrTools by Andreas Roever and he found a level 14.10.3.2.5.11.10. That makes 65 moves for complete disassembly. Here is a YouTube video of Brian assembling this burr. Here is a YouTube video of a level 19.5.1.1.7.1.1.1.2 assembly. Here is another YouTube video, of a level 16.3.1.1.3.4.1.1.2 assembly.
Brian gives the following statistics based on Andreas' analysis:
|
Condor's Peeper designed by Jack Krijnen made by and purchased from Mr. Puzzle Australia Level 62 Only 1 solution, respecting the color scheme. |
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The Dragon Burr - a burr having 18 unique pieces. From Creative Crafthouse. Rated as one of their most difficult puzzles. Level 1.1.3.2.2 This was originally designed by Maurice Vigouroux in 2003 and called simply "The 18 Piece." |
Tiros, shown here, is an 18-piece burr designed and made by Alfons Eyckmans. I obtained this in a trade with French puzzler Guillaume Largounez. Tiros requires 150 moves to get the first piece out! Guillaume suggests, "If you want to turn mad someone who owns a copy of the Tiros burr, disassemble it until pieces J and K are out, swap them, and rebuild the whole puzzle without the piece G (it can't fit if J and K are swapped). If the way Burrtools gets pieces J and K out is the shortest, solving the puzzle back to its assembled configuration should take 331 moves." |
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18 piece burr #3 - Not known who designed this Level 1.2.1.2.1.1.1.1.2 Available from Creative Crafthouse Here is a YouTube video of Dave showing three 18 piece burrs offered by Creative Crafthouse. |
Burrly Sane for Woodworkers - designed and made by Jack Krijnen Level 138.7.5.1.1.2.1.1.2.2.2.1.1.1.1.2 Thanks, Jack! |
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Burrly Sane for Extreme Puzzlers - designed and made by Jack Krijnen The record holder for highest level traditional 18-piece burr, at 152.7.9.5.11.14.4.1.1.1.1.2. |
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In Slocum and Botermans' Puzzles Old and New, plans for an 18-piece burr are shown on page 71 - Ishino calls this one Unnamed 18 Piece Burr #1. Its pieces are length 10. (Maybe designed by Gillett as noted in this thread on the PuzzleWorld forums?) Creative Crafthouse sells this one as their 18 Pc. Burr #2. |
Arjeu CT666 (aka Super Croix (Cross) or Ushuaia) Gift from Jeff Taylor Designed by Jean-Paul Pierlot. No internal holes. Offered by Arjeu circa 1988. Pieces shown in photo. Here is a link to the solution in a French puzzle forum. Here is a link to a solution video on YouTube, and another in lower resolution. Van der Poel wrote that Pierlot designed 3 versions with no internal holes. I read on the PuzzleWorld Forums that another is called "Tricolore." Peter Knoppers' defunct site had the piece diagram shown above. |
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Burrloon pieces (I don't have this puzzle.) |
Phoenix Cabracan pieces (I don't have this puzzle.) |
Century burr - an 18-piece burr at level 100, designed by Jack Krijnen, produced with Jack's permission by Colin Gaughran. |
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Bill Cutler designed the Slider and used it as his exchange for IPP30. It looks innocent enough, but judging by the internals, it is not your typical 18-piece burr! It is made from Walnut, by Jerry McFarland. I obtained a copy at Eureka Puzzles. |
Vertigo from Pentangle is also not quite "traditional" internally. |
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From left to right:
Knobulus by Haba,
the vintage Jane's Puzzle by Drueke,
and a vintage acrylic diagonal burr, the Prism Puzzle, issued in 1970 by the Pacific Game Company of N. Hollywood CA.
The plastic "Lady" burr shown later on is another example.
This clever version of the diagonal burr is called Insoma.
It has a hollow center in which a Soma Cube must be constructed simultaneously with the burr, since
all but one of the Soma pieces are connected to the burr pieces!
Designed and made by
Mr. Puzzle Australia (Brian Young),
and purchased at the NYPP 2008.
These are examples of the Diagonal Star.
It can be derived from the diagonal burr by beveling the ends of each of the pieces.
The shape is formally known as the first stellation of the rhombic dodecahedron.
(See Steven Dutch's site
for a nice explanation of stellations of polyhedra.)
After the traditional six-piece burr, I would say this is one of the best-known and most widely manufactured designs.
The earliest patent seems to be Swiss -
CH245402 -
Iffland 1946; Iffland's design includes the unnecessary key piece.
Read more about this puzzle in
Chapter 7 of Stewart Coffin's The Puzzling World of Polyhedral Dissections.
The rhombic dodecahedron also has a
second
and
third
stellation.
Clever variations exist where the inside is hollow, forming a cubic cavity.
The plastic Stumpa 2 has an un-notched key piece, with two other pieces each of which therefore has an extra notch.
It was issued by Executive Games Inc. of Dorchester Mass.
This is called the "Asteroid" from Bits and Pieces. It has the same internal structure as the diagonal burr, but
the pieces have been rounded off on the outside.
It's not very precisely made, so it doesn't hold together very well.
This is The Ball by Charles O. Perry. I got it at the MoMA shop when I used to work in Manhattan. The brass pieces are cylindrical, with curved ends. The notches are cylindrical, too. It relies on a small spring-loaded ball-bearing and a corresponding detent to hold the key piece in place. I found an acrylic version, too (the MoMA shop used to sell it). |
 This 6-piece burr has the same internal structure as the Perry Ball (without the detent and spring/ball), but this is made of Kel-Tec bullets! Fortunately they're not live rounds. This was an advertising premium at a gun show. |
Skor Mor's Log Jam - this is a rounded version of the diagonal burr. There was a brown plastic version, too, called Stumpa 1. |
This is an enlarged construction related to the Diagonal Star, called variously the Chestnut Burr, the Asterisk, the Snowflake, and the Gem Cut Puzzle. The Chestnut Burr appears in Wyatt's 1946 Wonders in Wood on page 36. My copy is fairly small, and I do not know who the craftsman is. |
 These are examples of a common 3-piece design known as O-C-C, after the shapes of the three pieces. The OCC design was described by Edwin Wyatt in his 1928 book Puzzles in Wood (pp.24,25) - he called it the Three-Piece Cross; Wyatt gives no history. Hoffmann describes the OCC in his 1893 book Puzzles Old and New in Chapter III No. XXXV "The Cross-Keys or Three-Piece Puzzle" but gives no history. Van Delft and Botermans also describe the puzzle, as "The Wooden Knot," on page 67 of their 1978 Creative Puzzles of the World but again cite no history. See U.S. Patent 4198053 - Rao 1980. According to Singmaster, the Hordern collection contains an instance called "Le Noeud Mysterieux" from circa 1880-1905. It has been produced in wood, and also in plastic as the Triple Cross by Skor-Mor. Here is a link to Jurgen Koeller's page showing the solution. Someone had the idea to notch a knife, fork, and spoon so they could be assembled like the OCC burr. |
Only a few other three-piece burr designs can be considered at all well-known.
They are discussed on
Jurg von Kaenel's site.
One other common design employs two notched pieces, and a piece with a rounded shaft that allows
the piece to be rotated in place.
I made a copy from Lego, and
posted photos on Brickshelf.
This design was also described by Wyatt in Puzzles in Wood, on page 26. This is also the simplest form of a Pagoda or Japanese Crystal puzzle. |
Here is an example of Bill Cutler's GigaBurr design, made by Tom Lensch. (I don't have this.) During 1998-1999, Bill Cutler performed a complete computer analysis of all 3x3x3 three-piece burrs. He found 248,540,275,292 (i.e. almost 250 billion) different designs. There are 80 designs at the highest level, 8, and they come apart in two different ways. Of the 80, there are only 3 that have 9 internal voids - 2 of those come apart in one of the ways, and just one comes apart the other way. Bill named this GigaBurr. The other type is called GigaBurr II. GigaBurr was Bill's exchange puzzle at IPP19. |
Here are additional examples I made from Lego: Bill Cutler's Cubie Burr #1 and Cubie Burr #2, both of which require 6 moves to open. These are based on the 3-piece GigaBurr, expanded to a 5x5x5 cube by adding edge and corner pieces. Cutler's 2000-2001 complete computer analysis of all such designs found three different disassembly sequences at the highest level, 6. Cubie Burr #1 was Bill's exchange puzzle at IPP21. |
The Three Piece Not designed by Frans de Vreugd and made from Sapelle and Padauk by Eric Fuller. Masquerades as the innocent OCC, but it's NOT. Eight steps to remove the first piece. |
This is Neptunus from Arjeu (CT1101). It is made of three notched plates. |
 Triple Play - designed by Jim Gooch and made by Eric Fuller, from Walnut and Redheart. The solution requires an unconventional move, and Eric says some people thought it was an impossible object. |
 The Schaekel Knot, made of Kingwood, by Tom Lensch, and purchased from CubicDissection. It was designed by Oskar van Deventer. |
R. D. Rose - #4 X-Y-Z Burr Three identical pieces that assemble using coordinate motion. This is a nice aluminum example of the design by Wilhelm Segerblom of Wakefield, MA, published in the April 1899 issue of Scientific American magazine. |
The Slideways Burr designed by Ray Stanton and made by Eric Fuller, from Curly Maple. The 3 identical pieces assemble with coordinate motion. Note: this looks like the Improved Segerblom three-piece burr discussed on Jurg's site. The original design by Wilhelm Segerblom was published in the April 1899 Scientific American, and is described in Slocum and Botermans' Puzzles Old and New on page 66, as well as in the Book of Ingenious and Diabolical Puzzles on page 73. |
Tri Again - designed by Frank Potts, and made from Walnut and Maple by Eric Fuller. This actually has six pieces, but they interlace to form the traditional three-bar shape. Magnets hold the pieces in their closed positions. |
This is the Yamaosa 3 Piece Burr, designed by Osanori Yamamoto and made by Eric Fuller from Walnut. |
Just the Three, designed by Jack Krijnen and made by Eric Fuller, from heavily Quilted Sapelle. A nice sequential level 7.2 assembly - according to Eric, the highest level possible for this form factor. |
Three Open Windows, designed by Tom Jolly and made by Eric Fuller, from Bloodwood, Wenge, and Holly. |
Invented by Nob Yoshigahara, this little burr is a poseur - read about it on Jurg's site. A gift from Peter Wilshire at IPP-29 in SF. Thanks, Peter! |
I got this 3-piece burr, made of acrylic, at IPP 29 in SF. It's called 33E and was designed by Frank Potts. |
| Several other unconventional designs using three pieces are shown on Ishino's website. | |
 This is a boxed burr I got from Tom Lensch. Each face of the outer box is attached to one burr piece inside the cube. Freeing the key piece requires a trick. The burr pieces used are: #1, #256, #888, #911, #928, and #1024. The box definitely makes it easier to solve, since the faces are distinctly fitted. The mahogany wood is really beautiful. |
 This is a 4-piece burr in a box from Arjeu, variously known as the "Secret Box" or "Pandora's Box" (I also made a copy from Lego). It employs (2x) #792, but the other two pieces have notches where Jurg's system does not allow them (beneath positions 1,4,5, or 8). |
 This is the "Combustion" burr from B and P. My first became hopelessly jammed; I obtained another. According to Brian Young, both Internal Combustion and Pandora's Box are the same design, by Tadoa Muroi in the early 1990's. |
||
 "Life at 21" |
 Burr in a Cube |
 This puzzle from Bits and Pieces is called Hard Core and was designed by Frans de Vreugd. |
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 This boxed 6-piece burr is called Quantum Entanglement. It has a unique level 48 solution. |
 The red puzzle is a 3-piece boxed burr called the Swiss Cube. There are two versions - easy and hard - they look the same from the outside, but their pieces are differently notched. I have both. The red and blue puzzle in a clear cube is called the U.S. Cube. It has six interlocking pieces. All created by Jurg von Kaenel. |
 Innowoo Cube (?) |
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 Yin Yang - Pelikan An unusual six-piece burr inside a hollow ball. The Yin-Yang symbols are attached to the ends of the burr pieces. Purchased from Puzzlewood.de. |
 Nested Burr Four CubicDissection |
Prisgon from Philos, designed by Markus Goetz Purchased in Prague. |
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This is Swirls 1, designed by Bram Cohen. Purchased from Bernhard Schweitzer at IPP 29 in SF. Four pieces in a cage - a very difficult puzzle! |
Choreographed Motion, designed by Andreas Roever Purchased at IPP 29 in SF. The four pieces have angular cuts, and multiple pieces must be moved at once. Clever, and not overly difficult. Nicely made from acrylic. |
This is Quintuplets, designed by Franklin Gonsalves. Purchased from Bernhard Schweitzer at IPP 29 in SF. |
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An inexpensive "Ball Lock" - one piece seems needlessly truncated. |
"Luban Lock Box" from China, a boxed burr with 6 pieces. The pieces are 2x4x8. BurrTools says this has 98 assemblies but 18 solutions. The highest level is 10.6.1.2.2. |
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Sticks in a Cage - designed by Tom Jolly - made by Maurice Vigouroux |
The Sonneveld Cubed Burr puzzle, designed by Dic Sonneveld and made by Tom Lensch 3 unusual burr pieces inside a cubic cage - rotations are required to solve. Made from Shedua, Prima Vera, and Granadillo |
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Five Sticks 28 designed by Stéphane Chomine, made by Eric Fuller, from Walnut (frame) and Gum (burrs). 28 moves to remove the first piece. |
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4 in 2 designed by Stéphane Chomine, made by Eric Fuller, from Walnut (frame) and Mahogany (burrs). 14 moves to remove the first piece, 17 for the second. |
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3 Sticks Trapped designed by Stéphane Chomine, made by Eric Fuller, from Walnut (frame) and Yellowheart (burrs). Level 12.6.8. |
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Six piece caged burr Purchased at a puzzle store in Berlin during IPP31. |
Six-Piece Framed Burr by miToys |
Turtle's Heart - Kotani |
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Boards and Sticks with Frame, designed by Gregory Benedetti. (See this design at Ishino's site.) Made by Eric Fuller, from Wenge, Bubinga, and Leopardwood. |
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Cage for Four Sticks, designed by Stephane Chomine, made by Eric Fuller from Dark Rosewood and Sycamore. Level 24.6.3. |
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Ice Pillar - designed by Osanori Yamamoto Level 30.6.3 - the first of the four pieces won't be coming free from the cage quickly! |
Pylon 2P2C - designed by Yavuz Demirhan Level 9.9 - a very satisfying puzzle that was more difficult for me the second time around! |
Columnata 2P3C - designed by Yavuz Demirhan Level 12.5 - another fun and great-looking puzzle by Demirhan. |
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Clamped Burr - designed by Logan Kleinwaks Made by Eric Fuller, from Cherry, Walnut, and Ash Level 15.3.5 A partially boxed burr - one in a series of increasingly Constrained Burrs including: Bookend (base and 1 side), Cornered, and Looped. |
Triaxe - designed by Stephane Chomine, made by Eric Fuller from Quilted Maple and Bloodwood. Three burr pieces interlock in the frame at level 24. |
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Vectes / Ghidorah - two designs that share the same cage, made by Eric Fuller The cage is walnut, the Vectes (longer) pieces are yellowheart, and the Ghidorah pieces are canarywood. Ghidorah uses the three shorter, distinct pieces and was designed by Yavuz Demirhan. It is at level 22.3. Vectes was designed by Alfons Eyckmans and uses the three longer identical pieces. It is level 37.2.3. |
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Shackman Clown and Man in a Vest - part of a fairly rare set of figures. Discussed in Slocum and Botermans' "The Book of Ingenious and Diabolical Puzzles" on page 86. |
 A group shot of several other Kumiki burrs in my collection. |
 The Cornered Cube from Wallingford Toy Works is a very large version of the usual kumiki cube, with a beveled corner. |
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a wooden kumiki barrel |
 an octagonal "barrel" |
 "Hidden Passage" |
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 a plastic ball |
 a newer plastic ball |
 The "Gold Moon" I got in Japan |
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Terra-Toys offers a series of four "3D Puzzle" animals in their Wildlife Conservation Collection, made in China from woods claimed to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. I picked up a Polar Bear and a Panda. Both have unusual opening tricks - not difficult, but distinct from the typical Kumiki-style animals. There are also a Rhino and a Sea Turtle. The Rhino is very similar to the Nanook Polar Bear. |
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Here is a wooden Kumiki Trolley by Shackman:
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A vintage boxed set of wooden Kumiki puzzles, marked "Made in Japan" but with no other provenance. Includes: a barrel, a caged ball burr, a truncated cube, a six-piece burr, a "crystal," a ball, a pistol, a battleship, a dragonfly, and a small pagoda. [10] |
A very nice vintage turned wooden Kumiki Barrel, purchased from the UK. May be of German origin. |
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The Chuck puzzle, according to Slocum and Botermans in Puzzles Old and New on page 74,
was patented by Edward Nelson in 1897
(U.S. Patent
588705 - Nelson 1897).
The design was improved and developed by Ron Cook at
Pentangle Puzzles.
Pentangle offers a series of chuck puzzles - the simplest is the Baby Chuck with 6 pieces.
The Woodchuck (shown here) has 24 pieces, the Papa-chuck has 54, the Grandpapachuck has 96,
and the Great Grandpapachuck has 150.
Pentangle's Lunatic puzzle, also shown, is a close relative of the Chuck family.
Richard Whiting's website offers a
solution to the 24-piece Woodchuck.
(The knock-off versions are called "Crystal" puzzles but that is a misnomer.)
Here is a Chuck burr made from Maple and Walnut by
craftsman Colin Gaughran, who has a shop in Lyme, Connecticut.
The Arjeu CT1102, the 51-piece Pagoda from Bits & Pieces, and the Miyako puzzles are examples
of "Pagoda" or "Japanese Crystal" burrs.
(Note that the Tower of Hanoi puzzle is sometimes called the Pagoda puzzle - but here we're talking about burrs.)
You can see the pieces for several sizes of Pagoda puzzle at Ishino's
Puzzle Will Be Played... website.
Peter Kaldeway's website also had a
nice page on pagoda burrs.
A nineteen-piece Pagoda (and a similar 15-piece puzzle) are described in Wyatt's 1928 Puzzles in Wood
on pages 33-37.
Plans for a 51-piece Japanese Crystal are given in van Delft and Botermans' 1978 Creative Puzzles of the World on
pages 77-79.
Slocum and Botermans describe The Great Pagoda puzzle in their 1986 book Puzzles Old and New on page 73.
They state that the simplest has only three pieces. Larger versions then have 9, 19, 33, 51, 73, 99, and 129 pieces.
In general, the nth degree pagoda requires 2n2+1 pieces.
The 3-piece version requires a rotating piece.
I made a Lego 3-piece version shown on
Brickshelf.
The tiny Miyako puzzle is a 9-piece pagoda and does not require a rotation.
You can see more Lego versions at
Maarten Steurbaut's website.
Last time I checked, you could buy a 129-piece pagoda from
Cleverwood,
where you can also find smaller sizes for sale.
Creativecrafthouse.com sells
99-piece and 51-piece versions.
In 1890, William Altekruse patented
(430502)
an interlocking puzzle now known as the Altekruse Puzzle.
You can read about the Altekruse puzzle in Stewart Coffin's
The Puzzling World of Polyhedral Dissections.
Many variations have been made.
The Altekruse can be made with 12 or 14 pieces.
Pentangle
offers a 14-piece version called Hybrid, and a 12-piece version called Holey Cross.
See a solution online at
Casse-Tete et Solution.
The Xeon Molecule by Skor-Mor is a plastic, modern-looking version. I managed to find 3 separate copies - one is all blue, one is red/white/blue, and the third is red/yellow/blue. One of them even came with a solution sheet. On two of them, some of the pieces had broken fins, but the bits were included and I was able to glue them back together. |
The vintage 12-piece Panel Puzzle by Adams is also a version of the Altekruse. This is also called the "Block Puzzle Senior." (I have a Panel Puzzle in the package, and a loose Block Puzzle Senior.) |
 This is Arjeu CT679 - I purchased it from Ishi back when they offered such things. This variation of the Altekruse puzzle uses single pin/single hole pieces, six left-handed and six right-handed. Stewart Coffin describes this variation in his book, The Puzzling World of Polyhedral Dissections. |
 Stewart Coffin developed and licensed the pinned version of the Altekruse puzzle which was marketed by 3M and Avalon Hill and named Frantix. Here are the 12 pieces of the plastic version of Frantix. [John Rausch's Frantix page] |
Kerry Verne made this version of Stewart Coffin's Giant Steps #10 puzzle, from Sapelle. Purchased from CubicDissection. This looks like a pagoda burr, but notice the missing blocks in the inner corners. It is actually an Altekruse variant. |
Altekruse - Colin Gaughran |
Arjeu CT14 "Criss Cross" This is an example of the 14-piece Altekruse variant. |
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3-piece Heart Box - Bits and Pieces |
Triple Decker - Bits and Pieces |
 This is called "Iwahiro's Apparently Impossible Cube #1." It was designed by Hirokazu Iwasawa. It was made by Eric Fuller from Chakte Cok wood. |
Duodeciburr Designed and made by Vaclav Obsivac Presented at IPP27 by Rick Eason 12 identical pieces |
TriKubus by Rik Brouwer Purchased from Bernhard Schweitzer |
This is the Crystal Cube, designed by Bill Darrah. Purchased from Bernhard Schweitzer at IPP 29 in SF. I especially like this design because the pieces are not identical. |
This is the Dice Box, designed by George Bell [S], with input from Scott Elliott, and printed by Scott. It's not overly difficult, but I think the printed live hinges are cool. |
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Obtained at IPP31 in Berlin, here is a four-piece Dual Tetrahedron coordinate motion puzzle, beautifully crafted from Walnut, Acacia, Maple, and Plum, from Vinco. |
Little Slide Plank Cube - designed by Gregory Benedetti Greg has achieved a very clever dissection of the cube into three similar but different pieces that fit together with coordinate motion. Precision made. |
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Six Piece Sliding Cube - designed by Gregory Benedetti A coordinate motion puzzle using six similar pieces. Not easy to get started. However, unlike many other coordinate motion puzzles, putting it back together was actually pleasant rather than frustrating. |
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These are from the (defunct) French company Arjeu, which put out an extensive line of interlocking puzzles in a wide
variety of shapes.
Some are shown under other sections in this website, and some I do not own and show only for reference - such cases are noted. |
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Arjeu CT14 "Criss Cross" (Altekruse) |
Arjeu CT16 |
Arjeu CT28 |
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Arjeu CT666 Here is a link to a solution video on YouTube, and another in lower resolution. |
 Arjeu CT718 This looks like the "Eighteen Piece Double Cross" described by Edwin Wyatt in his 1946 book Wonders in Wood, on page 31. |
Arjeu CT752 La Lanterne From an Ergatoudis auction |
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Arjeu CT753 This is made from pieces very similar to CT752 - the slots are moved out towards the board ends. (I don't have this - shown for reference.) |
Arjeu CT456 15 2x2x12 pieces, to be arranged in a 4x5x6 structure. Purchased from PuzzleMaster.ca. |
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More Arjeu, collected here in one place for convenience, though I wouldn't call all of these burrs.
Some of these are shown under other sections in this website, and some I do not own and show only for reference - such cases are noted. |
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 Arjeu CT442 (Colorado) |
 Arjeu CT210 |
 Arjeu CT795 (Cactus) |
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This is Arjeu's Quadro (CT755) |
This is Neptunus from Arjeu (CT1101). It is made of three notched plates. |
This is a 4-piece burr in a box from Arjeu, variously known as the "Secret Box" or "Pandora's Box" |
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Arjeu CT1102 Mercurius |
This is Arjeu CT679 |
This is Arjeu's CT87 designed by Oskar van Deventer. |
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Arjeu CT5152 aka Achille |
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| Here are some unusual burrs by various designers, from CubicDissection... | ||||||
 The Switchboard Burr designed by Jim Gooch and made by Eric Fuller mixes pieces from 3 different styles of burr, and its solution employs a move one does not often see. The woods are: Pau Amerillo (the yellow), Wenge (the dark), and Bocote (the brown striped). |
 This is Stewart Coffin's Octo-Burr design, made by Mark McCallum and purchased from CubicDissection. See the pieces on John Rausch's site. |
Die in Prison (with a central puzzle box), designed by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels and made by Eric Fuller. The six pieces are made of Bubinga, and the central cubic box is made of Yellowheart. |
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 Lassen Risti - made by Eric Fuller |
 RD001 Designed by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels and made by Eric Fuller at CubicDissection. Gum wood and Ipe. |
Anderson's Delusion Designed by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels. Made by Eric Fuller from Gum wood and Rosewood, and purchased from CubicDissection. |
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Here is a hand-crafted puzzle from Eric Fuller at CubicDissection - the Tornado Burr designed in 2007 by Junichi Yananose.
My copy is made from Padauk wood. Eric says, "This is one of the most difficult puzzles I've ever made. They are extremely time consuming to make, requiring many specialized jigs. I doubt I'll be making these again!" This burr, with its unusual and interesting movement, won an Honorable Mention award in the 2007 IPP Nob Yoshigahara Design Competition. 
Here is the Tornado Burr partially disassembled, into two halves: 
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This is Luxemburr, designed by Matti Linkola, exchanged at IPP16 - made by Eric in Yellowheart and Walnut. |
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Padaung Rings, designed by Alfons Eyckmans and made from Tulipwood and Acrylic - it takes 24 moves to remove the first piece. |
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Zauberflote, designed by Gregory Benedetti. (See this design at Ishino's site.) Made by Eric Fuller, from Yellowheart and laser-cut acrylic. |
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The Ribbon Puzzle, designed by Tom Jolly, made by Eric Fuller from Chakte Cok and Zebrawood - six pieces that form the 3-piece burr shape. |
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Chen's Six Board Burr Designed by Chi-Ren Chen Level 2.14.12 Made by Eric Fuller, in Walnut, Ash, and African Mahogany |
N-One - designed by Osanori Yamamoto Three pieces, level 15.3 Made by Eric Fuller, in Jacaranda Pardo and Bubinga |
ISBR x 5 - designed by Mineyuki Uyematsu Made by Eric Fuller, from Yellowheart |
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The Missing Notch burr by Stewart Coffin, made from Canarywood, by Eric Fuller. |
Two Halves burr by Gregory Benedetti, a caged 3-board burr, made from Ash and Mora, by Eric Fuller. |
Burr Circus, designed by Stewart Coffin (STC #116) and made by Eric Fuller, from Purpleheart. Six sticks, having notches both slanted and tilted. Not easy to make, nor easy to assemble. |
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Moonflight, designed by Osanori Yamamoto and made by Eric Fuller, from Walnut, Mora, and Wenge. Level 20.2.5. |
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Aramis, designed by Stephane Chomine and made by Eric Fuller, from acrylic and bloodwood. Level 12.11.7.12 solution. |
Captain, designed by Stephane Chomine and made by Eric Fuller, from acrylic and bubinga. 34 move solution. |
4 Stick 8, designed by Frank Worrell and made by Eric Fuller, from acrylic, bubinga, bloodwood, wenge, and ash. Unique level 21 solution. |
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Worm Inside, designed by Chi-Ren Chen and made by Eric Fuller, from acrylic and wenge. |
Quads and Rings 1, designed by Yavuz Demirhan and made by Eric Fuller, from acrylic, bloodwood, and ash. |
Quads and Rings 2, designed by Yavuz Demirhan and made by Eric Fuller, from acrylic, bubinga, and ash. |
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| These small but elegant burrs are made from a special plywood, from Pacific Puzzle Works... | ||||||
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Knot Mass 36, designed by Oskar van Deventer. This instance is pretty small, at 36mm. It's made from a 5-ply maple core / maple-top hardwood laminate. |
Tubular Burr Box (aka Space Invaders), designed by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels. This instance is pretty small, at 36mm. It's made from a 5-ply cherry / maple-top hardwood laminate. |
Oskar's Egg A 3-piece ball inside a 2-piece egg. How does it come apart? |
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| These are members of the "Quad Squad" family of burrs with interchangeable pieces, from Viktor Genel... | ||||||
 Quadrocube - Viktor Genel |
 QuadroPrizm - Viktor Genel |
 Long-Beamed Star - Viktor Genel |
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| The burrs below are from a variety of sources... | ||||||
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Easy Livin' designed by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels Purchased from Bernhard Schweitzer at NYPP 2008 This is notable because a copy sold for $11,111 in one of Nick Baxter's auctions! |
 William Waite's Stellar Burr |
From Davan's, a Rojo |
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 T Time - Davans |
 Maruca - Davans |
 Zinato - Davans |
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 P24 Marian's Puzzle - Drueke You can see a solution at Richard Whiting's site. |
 Karin's Outline Burr |
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 Stewart Coffin's Lock Nut |
 Sliced Burr - Philos |
Vesa Burr Simple - Philos - designed by Vesa Timonen for IPP21. A gift from Bernhard - thanks! |
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"Numero Caro" This is an Asian copy of Oskar van Deventer's Knot 12. Have a look at the version offered at Pacific Puzzle Works. |
The four members of the Wausau burr series by Bill Cutler - '81 (I don't have '81, yet.), '82, '83, and '84. See Allard's blog for a nice review of the Wausau burrs. |
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 The Blitz - Mr. Puzzle Australia Seems similar to the Saturn shown at Philippe Cichon's site. |
 Here is "Sonneveld's Illegal Burr" - Tom Lensch made it. It's "illegal" because a rotational move is required. |
 The Twisty burr, designed by Derek Bosch and made by Tom Lensch. Purchased from Tom at NYPP 2008. |
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 The Boston Tea Chest, from Mr. Puzzle Australia. I have one of their Craftsman Range examples in Australian Flooded Gum wood. Six pieces, with a two-step internal locking mechanism. A traditional burr-solving computer program won't help you with this one. |
 This puzzle from Imagin is a knock-off of von Kaenel's Coated Burr idea. You can see a solution on Richard Whiting's site. |
 This is Ozone designed by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels. It is a six-board burr, with a "hook" attached to each piece. It requires 13 moves to remove the first piece, then 11 for the second. Ronald has designed several unusual burr-type puzzles, and you can see many of them at Bernhard Schweitzer's Puzzlewood site. Richard Whiting has put together a nice page at his site where you can read about several other high-level burrs. |
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 This is Frans de Vreugd's design he used for his exchange at IPP25. Frans calls it a Plated Six-Piece Burr. Mr. Puzzle Australia called it Around the Bend. Frans says he developed it while working on Bent Board Burrs. It uses pieces 120, 154, 256, 412, 960, and 1024. Each has a 2x4 unit plate attached to its right end. It is the highest level burr of this type with notchable pieces. It is made from Queensland Silver Ash (the light wood) and Queensland Blackbean. |
 Decemburr - Mr. Puzzle Australia A 12-piece, level 13 burr designed by Goh Pit Khiam in December 1999 without the use of a computer. |
Coming of Age Mk.II - Mr. Puzzle Australia An 18-piece 6x6x6 burr designed by Brian Young. There are multiple solutions - the highest level is 19. |
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 Eight Piece Burr - made by Scott T. Peterson |
 Yananose 2x3 Type 0 |
 QED - Pentangle |
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TriRods by Serhiy Grabarchuk - from Bernhard Schweitzer |
Willem van der Poel's Grandfather 6x6x6 18-pc burr (rough handmade copy - unknown craftsman) Discussed on Pete Roesler's site, where you can read a brief history of this puzzle. You can see this on Ishino's site, too. This copy has one piece that differs from van der Poel's design - instead of piece "I" there is another "J." |
Bombay Co. Angles and Edges |
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Dovetail Burr - designed by Frans de Vreugd Issued by Bits & Pieces A single solution, at level 6. Based on Yananose's 6-board burr. |
Double Cross - B&P |
Coming of Age - designed and made by Vaclav Obsivac Presented at IPP27 by Laurie Brokenshire Six pieces made from every possible combination of 3 (out of 18) 1x1x5 Walnut bars, plus 8 1x1x1 blocks. The right-hand picture shows the puzzle properly assembled. |
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I bought this burr in Japan. It is made by the Yamanaka Kumiki Works. It is the "Masu Model." |
I bought this in a department store in Japan. It is called "The Cell" and was made in New Zealand. |
Mixed Pieces Burr #2 - designed by Frans de Vreugd. Purchased from Frans at IPP28 in Prague. |
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Double Kongming Lock |
This inexpensive Samanea (Monkeypod/Raintree) wood 12-piece burr was sold as the "Mercury Star" but it is a shrunken copy of Akio Kamei's Box and Cage design, without the box. |
The Desert Rose micro-burr, designed by William Waite and made by Allan Boardman, who is well-known for crafting microscopic puzzles. It's only 1/2 inch across! Made from walnut and masur birch. Purchased from William at IPP 29 in SF. |
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Flange 99A, designed by Tom Jolly. Purchased at IPP 29 in SF. Laser-cut. Six pieces, only two identical. 8 moves for the first piece. |
Flange 77A, designed by Tom Jolly. Purchased at IPP 29 in SF. Laser-cut. Six pieces, all identical. 4 moves for the first piece. |
I found
Linking Squares from
Philos
at
The Games People Play.
Linking Squares consists of 12 pieces with embedded magnets, that must be constructed into an octahedral shape composed of three interlinked rectangles. It was designed by J. Verhoeff. |
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I found
Sheffield Steel 6BB from
Philos
at
The Games People Play.
Sheffield Steel 6BB was designed by the prolific Ronald Kint-Bruynseels - it is a six-piece burr at level 17.14.5.2.3 (see the pieces at Ishino's site; Richard Whiting describes the puzzle on his site, and gives a solution). |
"Knobbly Burr" designed by Dic Sonneveld made by Brian Menold |
The Quadlock 1 is an interlocking burr cuboid puzzle made by Jerry McFarland from Mahogany, Walnut, and Maple, and designed by him in 1992. Purchased from Jerry. It has 19 pieces and is difficult to take apart. It is beautifully finished! You can read reviews here and here. |
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Snookstick (aka Starburst) designed by Jean Claude Constantin issued by Bits & Pieces, as Starburst |
The Ambigram Burr, designed by Gregory Benedetti. Available from Puzzlewood.de. Made from Wenge, Padauk, and Robinia. Thanks to Bernhard Schweitzer and John Devost! |
An inexpensive (and imprecisely made) 6-piece board burr. This is the same design that appeared in the French Fabbri series. |
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In CFF #84 March 2011, Vesa Timonen published an article "A Travelogue to My Puzzle Designs" where he describes the genesis of several designs including the 1998 6-piece Timonen's Burr. |
Double UT, designed by Osanori Yamamoto, made by the New Pelikan Workshop, exchanged by Abel Garcia at IPP32 |
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Heart to Heart This is similar, but not identical, to Timonen's Vesa Burr. |
A six-piece "knot" laser-cut by Steve Kelsey at AccurateLaserEngraving. Thanks, Steve! |
Nur Mut from Wil Strijbos (Pic from G.S.) |
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36 Piece Burr - designed by Jacques Frossard, made by Maurice Vigouroux This has only eight holes inside. It has one solid key piece, but without using piece coloring constraints, even BurrTools cannot solve it! |
Burr Cube by unknown designer - made by Maurice Vigouroux from Caroline (Loblolly) Pine |
IPP Burr - Mr. Puzzle Australia
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456 Burr Almost identical to the Arjeu 456 Burr (I don't have this - sold at NYPP2012.) |
This is the Q Burr, designed by Jim Gooch, made by Steve Strickland, from Rosewood. Four pieces, one of which is a cube. Purchased from Steve Strickland's new website (defunct). |
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Vinco 4 Piece Burr made by Brian Menold |
Phelan, designed by Alfons Eyckmans. A non-traditional 18-piece burr, made by Maurice Vigouroux, from Walnut. Purchased from the French online puzzle shop Arteludes.com run by Jean-Baptiste Jacquin and Maurice Vigouroux. Ishino shows the pieces, and indicates Phelan is level 17.1.16.8.5.16.2.8.1.1.1.2.2.2 |
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Hyperboloid Burr, designed by Oskar van Deventer and Naoaki Takashima, made by Kanagawa Toy Co. Ltd., exchanged by Naoaki Takashima at IPP32 |
John Rausch calls this one the 12 piece Twist Burr, and lists the designer as unknown. My copy is a cheap one from Asia. |
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The Four Piece Burr Cube, designed by Osanori Yamamoto, and made from Curly Maple and Purpleheart by Peter Wiltshire. I really like this design, and the beautiful craftsmanship makes this a much-appreciated one-of-a-kind gift! |
BurrBlock by Jerry McFarland One of Jerry's first copies of his new design, which was entered in the 2012 Design Competition. It's beautiful, hefty, and quite puzzling! |
 Triade, designed and exchanged by Andreas Röver, made by New Pelikan Workshop |
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 Four in the Vice, designed by Stephane Chomine, made from Silver Ash and Snakewood by Mr. Puzzle Australia. Exchanged by Frans de Vreugd at IPP32 |
 Brandenburg Gate designed by Jos Bergmans requires rotations produced by Puzzlewood.de |
 Dragon Puzzle with Washington Monument, designed, made, and exchanged by Zandraa Tumen-Ulzii at IPP32 |
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Glued, designed and made by Gregory Benedetti. Resembling a six-piece burr, this puzzle is composed of six conventional burr pieces that have been glued together in pairs. The puzzle is level 4.3 and [dis]assembly requires a rotation. It is made from Bolivian Santos Rosewood, Kingwood, Tulipwood, Bloodwood, Difu, and "Wood of Jesuit" and is very pretty. It is a nice size - the pieces are 25x25x75mm - and is quite heavy. |
Knobbly Box, designed by Oskar van Deventer, made by Tom Lensch, exchanged at IPP32 by Rob Jones |
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SIXI Cube by Vinco. Assemble the six unique pieces. A nice sequential interlocking puzzle. |
CEI Burr - designed by Gregory Benedetti 12 unusual pieces. Disassembly appears easy at first, but beware! From Bernhard Schweitzer at Puzzlewood.de. Thanks, Bernhard! |
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Trilogy aka "Three Open Windows" (made by Eric Fuller) Designed by Tom Jolly |
Squarrel Designed by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels See it on Ishino's site |
Mental Block Designed by Rick Eason aka the Twenty Cube |
Caged Knot Designed by Tom Jolly See it on Ishino's site |
Alcatraz Designed by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels aka Die in Prison #2 See it on Ishino's site |
 George Miller made this version of Frans de Vreugd's "Extreme Torture" separated board burr. It takes 28 moves to free the first piece and then 21 more to free the second piece! Here is a link to the solution on George Miller's site. Here is an article at woodcentral.com by Steve Strickland about making 6-board burrs. |
Thinkfun now offers an inexpensive and colorful version of the Extreme Torture puzzle. They call it "Gordian's Knot" and it includes a step-by-step reversible solution booklet. You can see a solution on Richard Whiting's site. |
 Sonneveld 9-piece Board Burr - made by George Miller. |
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The Zig Zag Knot, from Thinkfun. This is a nice plastic mass-produced version of Ronald Kint-Bruynseels' 2003 design he called "ZeeZee ZedZed" - see it on Ishino's site. Thanks to Tanya Thompson! |
Four-piece red weave |
Kaiyue Ball Burr (Kong Ming Lock 30394) |
 This is Junichi Yananose's H-Burr, made in aluminum and purchased from Torito. |
The Tubular Burr by Derek Bosch. Purchased from Derek at IPP 29 in SF. |
The Arch Burr in aluminum, from Bits and Pieces. Designed by Oskar van Deventer. |
 Cold Fusion, designed and exchanged by Oskar van Deventer, made by Shapeways |
 Boy |
 Papa |
 Lady |
Brother |
 Fancy Square |
 Knot |
 "Stack Cubes" (A Kumiki Cube) |
The Chinese Ball Puzzle from Bell of the U.K. A vintage interlocking burr. |
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Scott T. Peterson
is a talented craftsman who produces high-quality limited editions of
puzzles in fine woods.
See his website polyhedralpuzzles.com; and info at CubicDissection. Scott made a few instances of my the first in Bocote and Yellowheart, and the second in Kingwood and Holly. (I have since traded the Kingwood instance.) 
but I think it presents a good challenge for the casual puzzler, particularly if one starts with it disassembled and hasn't seen the assembled arrangement. The design is the product of a search "by hand" (i.e. without a computer) for a selection of non-planar pieces formed from two n-tetrominoes each that would allow interlocking assembly into a 4x4x4 cube. My "theme" was the frequent mis-spelling of my last name, which has two n's. I was pleased to discover an arrangement that used four pairs of pieces - thusly again doubling the double-n theme - and yet assembled in a way that was not completely symmetric. Scott's tolerances are so accurate that when I first received the cubes, I had trouble finding the disassembling moves! Naturally, wood tolerances vary with humidity, but Scott's pieces are very nicely made. |
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At IPP28 in Prague, Bernhard Schweitzer had a nice surprise for me - he presented me with a copy of my 2 N's Cube No. 5
that he had made - I believe the wood is Meranti. Thanks again, Bernhard!
The French puzzler Guy Brette also made a copy - see a video on
Guy's website.
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The Juha #6 cube by Juha Levonen (Ishino shows other Levonen designs) |
The Noris Cube designed by George Pfaffinger, made by Philos, purchased from Cleverwood (discontinued). |
The nine-piece Improved Mehandros Cube by Michael Toulouzas of Greece. Purchased from Bernhard Schweitzer. |
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 Three Trapped Sages - designed by P.F. Ramos and Rafael Abad Purchased from Puzzlewood.de. This was entered in the IPP 2006 Design Competition. Maneuver the three maple pieces free of the frame. |
This is the Cubed Burr II designed by Tom Jolly. I bought this instance, made from English Brown Oak, from Eric Fuller. This is a 6x6x6 cube of six large pieces. The basic plan is that of a traditional six-piece burr, but the pieces have been heavily modified and augmented to form a cube. It requires ten moves to free the first piece. There is only one solution. Tom also designed a simpler version, Cubed Burr. |
The Edge Corner Cube II by Markus Goetz. |
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This is a version of Trevor Wood's Holey Squares Cube puzzle, made by Eric Fuller. It is made from Leopardwood and Honduras Rosewood. |
From William Waite, the Literal Lateral Slide. |
Waite's Wonder A 4x4x4 cube made of only five pieces that fit together nicely and ingeniously. |
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Confusio (Product No. 6170), from Philos. Designed by Georg Pfaeffinger. Made from Schima, Hevea, and Samena woods. Form a 5x5x5 interlocking cube from 9 pieces. Purchased at The Games People Play. |
Barb's Cube - John Devost A miniature 3D print from Shapeways Thanks, Brett! |
Reunification - Bram Cohen Purchased from PuzzleWood at IPP31 in Berlin |
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The Ramube Octahedron designed by Ramu Kaminoff in 2008 and exclusive to Creative Crafthouse. Eight complex pieces and 2 balls locking things up inside. Dave says, "This is in my opinion our MOST difficult puzzle. It is difficult for me to imagine anyone solving this without use of the provided instructions." |
The Century Cube II - a 4x4x4 cube composed of five serially interlocking pieces. A nice design that yields to logical thinking. A copy of Juha A. Levonen's "Juha's No 2." |
The (Count Your) Blessings Cube - six interlocking pieces. The pieces occur in three mirrored pairs. |
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Six Pack, designed by Jim Gooch and made by Steve Strickland from Mahogany, Red Oak, Padauk, Bubinga, Walnut, and Pecan. Six interlocking pieces. |
The Rattle Box, designed by Tom Jolly, made by Eric Fuller from Quilted Ambrosia Maple, Leopardwood, Padauk, Walnut, and Canarywood. A 5x5x5 cube with a hollow interior containing a 2x2x2 cube with one unit missing. |
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Slow Waltz - designed by Jeff Namkung Made by Eric Fuller, in Canarywood and Cocobolo. |
Don's Dilemma - designed by Don Kuchen, made by Brian Menold at Wood Wonders, from Yellowheart and Purpleheart |
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I received Tango, designed by Jeff Namkung, from PuzzleWood.de. It is nicely made, from Maple and Walnut woods. Five pieces form a 4x4x4 cube, with some holes. Like many of Jeff's designs, Tango requires rotations of pieces on [dis]assembly. Thanks, Bernhard! |
The Accordion Cube by Ken Irvine, made from Holly, Canarywood, Sapele, Zebrawood, and Walnut, by Eric Fuller. Turns out, in a case of independent discovery, Ken duplicated a 2008 design called "Disjointed Cube" by Mineyuki Uyematsu. |
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 Triple Trouble Purchased from Potty Puzzles. |
 Black and White by Kubi Games Purchased from GPP. |
 Double Trouble Purchased from Pentangle. I really like this one - six different pieces loosely interlock. Each consists of a plank and two or more half-cubes attached in various orientations. They can be assembled using logical deduction. |
I am the proud owner of
Corner Cube #28 by
Lee Krasnow.
It has six dissimilar pieces which assemble only one way.
It is not easy to find the sliding axis to disassemble the puzzle!
My instance is made from beautifully figured Tulipwood, Brazilian Kingwood, Cocobolo, and Bocote.
I bought this directly from Lee in 2003.
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 My Keyvos is made of Bois de Rose, Wenge, and Mahogany |
 It's not easy to find the right slide... |
 There are six distinct pieces |
 It comes with a certificate |
I have one of Michael's
"Brain Attack" puzzles, too.
It is difficult to overstate the contributions of Stewart Coffin to mechanical puzzle design.
In fact, it is difficult to decide where in this website to put a subsection devoted to him, since his ideas have become
so widely applied across the field.
Many of his primary contributions do lie in this area of interlocking polyhedral assemblies.
Stewart coined the term
Ap-Art to describe
his "sculptures that come apart."
In the 1970's through 1990's Stewart ran a puzzle club of which many of us can only wish we had been members.
With the publication of his The Puzzling World of Polyhedral Dissectons
(hosted on John Rausch's PuzzleWorld site),
Stewart literally
"wrote the book"
on entire classes of interlocking puzzles that simply did not exist before he thought of them.
Moreover, Stewart has been incredibly generous in allowing puzzle enthusiasts worldwide to utilize his
designs without financial impediment.
For these and other reasons, in 2006 Stewart became the first recipient of the IPP Nob Yoshigahara Award
for "Lifetime Achievements in Design, Craftsmanship, and Popularizing Mechanical Puzzles."
Stewart has a new book out in 2007,
Geometric Puzzle Design.
Several other related books are described, offered, and/or hosted online at
John Rausch's PuzzleWorld site.
I've managed to acquire a few puzzles designed by
Stewart Coffin.
Some are originals bearing his mark "STC" while the rest are copies of his designs made by other skilled woodworkers.
Based on the compendium called Ap-Art, written by Stewart and produced by John Rausch,
I put together the diagram below which is my attempt at showing a "family tree" of Stewart's interlocking puzzle designs.
This is Jupiter - designed by Stewart Coffin, and perhaps his most iconic work. See U.S. Design Patent 232571 Coffin 1974 This instance was made by French craftsman Maurice Vigouroux This Jupiter came in 60 unit pieces, 10 each of six colors. Five unit pieces assemble to make a "star" and 12 such stars go together, in two halves of six stars apiece, to form the puzzle. The colors must be distributed such that colored pieces mate, and all pieces of a given color run parallel. |
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This is a Double Triangular Prism, based on the Triangular Prism #12. This instance was made by Pelikan - I obtained it from Bernhard Schweitzer. Shown assembled, beginning disassembly, in two halves, and in six dissimilar, asymmetric pieces. |
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Twelve Point (33) or Augmented Second Stellation made by Stewart Coffin |
 Perhaps one of Stewart's best-known designs is the simple two-piece Pennyhedron (52). I purchased this one made of Wenge from Stewart at IPP26. |
 Fancy This! (115-A) made by Interlocking Puzzles |
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 Prism Cell (192) STC 2003 purchased from Stewart at IPP26 |
 Polly-Hedral was made by Stewart in 2006 and was Jerry Slocum's exchange puzzle at IPP26. |
12-piece Separation (85) Two copies made by Thomas Moeller |
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 Star of David - Improved (37A) six pieces unknown craftsman |
 Four Corners (6) made by Thomas Moeller See U.S. Patent 3885794 - Coffin 1975. |
 Triumph (15) made by Thomas Moeller |
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Fusion Confusion (15-A) made by Interlocking Puzzles. |
Augmented Stellation - designed by Stewart Coffin (#46 - Vega), made by Brian Menold from Plum and English Sycamore woods. A simple puzzle having six identical pieces, but very nice work - edges straight and sharp! The Vega is a derivative of the classic diagonal burr - its lineage is: diagonal burr -> diagonal star Sirius #4 aka first stellation of the rhombic dodecahedron -> Nova #8 aka 2nd stellation of the RD -> Vega. |
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 I purchased this "Multisphere" by Janod from Puzzlemaster.ca. It is Stewart's Scorpius (5). |
 Dislocated Scorpius (16) Purchased from Bernhard Schweitzer |
 Broken Sticks (32) Purchased from Bernhard Schweitzer |
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 Nova (8) six identical pieces unknown craftsman |
 Vega (46) six identical pieces unknown craftsman |
 Square Prism six identical pieces unknown craftsman |
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Scott T. Peterson made this Super Nova (14) in Bird's Eye Maple and African Blackwood. |
 The Hill Introduced at IPP26 in 2006 at Boston. Unusual Coffin design, as a single piece comes out on the first move, then another piece, with the remaining four requiring coordinate motion! |
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This is Stewart's Split Star (75), made by Mark McCallum. It is a two-tier design, with a garnet at its heart and outer pieces of bubinga wood forming the diagonal star shape. |
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I bought this beautiful version of Stewart Coffin's Garnet (60) design, from
Cubicdissection.
It was made by Mark McCallum.
Stewart calls it the dissected rhombic dodecahedron, and
it is described in chapter 15 of Stewart's book.
There are nine possible distinct asymmetric pieces, and this version is made from pieces A through F.
Disassembly is fairly easy, but if you mix up the pieces, reassembly is challenging.
My approach is to try all possible groups of three to make a half.
The remaining three must form a mating half.
A group of three pieces might fit together in several ways, so one must explore the possibilities carefully.
Starting in the top row, from left to right, the piece IDs and woods are:(A) Macassar Ebony, (B) Bocote, (C) Honduras Rosewood, (D) Holly, (E) Bloodwood, (F) Brazilian Rosewood. |
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 Pelikan's Garnet Ball - a spherical version of Stewart's Garnet. This puzzle uses mirror images of pieces A thru F. Purchased from Bernhard Schweitzer |
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Here is a beautiful version of Stewart Coffin's
Augmented Four Corners puzzle (34),
made from Canarywood and Redheart
by Mark McCallum, and purchased from Cubicdissection:
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 Scott T. Peterson has made a Rosebud (39) for me, from Bloodwood and Lignum Vitae, a very aromatic wood. There are six pieces - three "left-handed" and three "right-handed." They are extremely difficult to assemble into the Rosebud configuration. There is, however, a much easier assembly, shown in the center above. |
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Pieces of Eight (77)made by Interlocking Puzzles. (Some nice photos from the old IP website.) |
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Stewart Coffin's Diagonal Cube design - modeled by George Bell using BurrTools and printed by Shapeways - available at George's Shapeways Shop. (Images are George's - he dyed his pieces. Mine are white.) |
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I received a beautiful Stellated Improved Square Face puzzle (SISF for short), designed and made by the talented Scott T. Peterson [W] [Y], based on the Square Face Puzzle (74A) designed by Stewart Coffin. My copy is made from Blackwood and Lacewood. |
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Stewart Coffin and Bill Cutler both independently came up with the design of 12 interlocking notched hexagonal sticks (copied by Tenyo's "Papa" puzzle shown elsewhere). Stewart's version was produced commercially by 3M, who called it "Hectix." I've obtained the red/white/blue, white, and clear versions of Hectix. See U.S. Patent 3721448 - Coffin 1973. |
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Some of Stewart's other designs were produced commercially in plastic as part of the Skor-Mor "Geo-Logic" and "Penta-Logics" lines. I obtained Tauri, Cetus, Aries, and Uni in 2-in-1 packs, and a Nova separately. The Penta-Logics included Spirus and another Nova. Luckily, all of the pieces are intact. Each puzzle is composed of a set of six particular identically-shaped pieces (a different piece type for each puzzle), which fit together either in two halves or using coordinate motion. The Tauri is described in Stewart Coffin's book The Puzzling World of Polyhedral Dissections (see fig. 97). The Penta-Logics set allows you to make a "Galaxy 1" (shown, with leftover pieces) and a "Galaxy 2" (not shown). |
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Aries |
 Cetus |
 Nova |
 Tauri |
 Spirus |
 Uni (A real pain to assemble!) |
Cetus instructions and six identically shaped pieces. |
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Nova |
Spirus |
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The Geo-Logic line also included an "exploding cube" called "Inner Peace." It has six identical pieces. I obtained one but with no box - I did not know what it was until I found a box shot on the web. The six pieces can be built into a cube or a stellated rhombic dodecahedron. The latter is a very tight fit. |
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 This is a puzzle called "Rube's Cubic" purchased from IQ Puzzles. It is also described in Coffin's book, as the Pin-hole Puzzle. As Stewart says, it is fairly easy to assemble. |
This is Coffin's Corner Block puzzle, made by Kerry Verne from Yellowheart, Bloodwood, and Walnut (pins). Purchased from CubicDissection. Stewart describes this type of puzzle in his book, showing a set of possible pieces. Coffin's Corner Block uses pieces numbers 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 12, and one pin. Stewart says he has been unable to find a selection of pieces that can be assembled one way only. This set has two solutions. |
This is the "Ancient Key" puzzle, from the Mandalay Box Company. This is a variant of the Corner Block. The Ancient Key uses pieces numbers 1, 2, 3, 7, 11, and 12, and one pin. |
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Arjeu CT442 (Colorado) purchased from Ishi Also known as Electrons, by Janod. |
Arjeu CT210 purchased from Ishi |
Arjeu CT795 (Cactus) gift from Jeff Taylor |
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This is Arjeu's Quadro (CT755), purchased from Ishi. It is a simple version of Coffin's Locked Nest puzzle and is described in Coffin's book in Chapter 13 (see figure 130b). |
Tetralott by Markus Goetz (Philos) |
Arjeu CT5152 aka Achille |
 Tipi - Bits and Pieces |
 Woodn't Cross by Mag-Nif 1974 |
Charles O. Perry's The Double (my favorite). |
Alchemy, designed by Brian Young, made by Eric Fuller, from Ash wood. |
The Aqube, purchased from Puzzlemaster. (I got the Psychodelic version - blue pieces shown for example.) |
 Spotted Cube, designed, made, and exchanged by Ken Ewers at IPP32 |
 4-piece Tetrahedron |
5-piece Tetrahedron Padauk and Beech |
Dual Tetrahedron |
5-piece Truncated Cube The Truncated Cube is surprisingly hefty, and very nicely finished. Very unusual piece shapes. Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) |
6-piece Truncated Cube Padauk |
7-piece Truncated Cube Jarrah For me this has been the most difficult of the three truncated cubes. |
Golden Rhombic Icosahedron |
Sequential Truncated Octahedron Maple |
I found a Tigerwood version of Wayne Daniel's Golden Rhombic Icosahedron.
I already had another version I believe to be the IPP17 exchange gift from Abel Garcia, made from Chechin wood. They have different pieces. John Rausch describes the full set on his PuzzleWorld website. Each puzzle has only four pieces, but they are difficult to take apart and to assemble. The Zebrawood version has a slightly rounded interior edge to permit [dis]assembly. |
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 Cross in Ball |
 Prismastar |
Twister 1 |
 UFO |
 The Hedgehog purchased from Cleverwood |
 The Trick Box is also a coordinate motion puzzle - darned hard to assemble. |
 This small 4-piece "Cube Vinco" was a gift from Vaclav at IPP26. |
 Cubetresor |
 This is the Button Prison from B & P. |
This is Two U. See Vinco's website for a nice chart of various types of "half-cube" puzzles. This puzzle reminds me of Coffin's Pieces of Eight. Purchased from Vaclav at IPP28 in Prague. |
This is Vinco's Vidly Half-Cubes. Although technically this isn't an Interlocking puzzle, I show it here since it is another of Vinco's series of half-cube designs. A gift from Vaclav at IPP28 in Prague. Thanks! |
Xcruci8 - designed and made by Vaclav Obsivac Exchanged at IPP28 by Laurie Brokenshire Purchased from Laurie at NYPP2011 |
IPP 31 - octahedron - Vinco |
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Tom's Square Dance, designed by Tom Jolly, made by Eric Fuller, from Padauk and Holly woods. This design is difficult to classify - the objective is to remove the nine pieces from the frame, then re-assemble the puzzle. The pieces interlock with each other and the frame via tabs and grooves. It seems like a sliding-piece puzzle but it really isn't, though its solution does depend on finding a sequence of correct movements of the pieces. |
 Open Window, designed by Tom Jolly, made and exchanged at IPP32 by Tim Udall Similar in principle to Square Dance, but only four pieces in the frame. |
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This is George Hart's "Screw Cube" - a two-piece interlocking puzzle
George invented and 3D printed with white nylon.
I got prototype number 1 from him at one of Brett's Manhattan puzzle dinners.
It's not too difficult, but everyone who plays with it likes it and is a little stumped at first.
I think it's a classic. Thanks again, George!
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This puzzle is called Pulsar. It is based on a design by Victor Genel, modified by Benji and Ginda Fisher, and served as the Fishers' exchange puzzle at IPP 20. It was made by Wayne Daniel. In the modified design, two pieces are fused to two others, and the cubic central cavity is occupied by a bisected cube. |
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This is a Muto Cube from Japan. I've seen it on only one other collector's ( Martin Watson's ) site. |
These are Oskar's Matchboxes. The first set I got from gemanigames.com. They're not really matchboxes - the "interior" pieces are solid, not hollow boxes. Also, not all interiors fit easily into all containers and the ends have obvious saw marks with overall finish being mediocre. Still, I am happy to have them and the puzzle is fairly challenging. The solution configuration does fit together nicely. I have wanted this puzzle since first reading about it on page 81 of Slocum and Boterman's Puzzles Old and New way back when, and I was glad to find a vendor selling it. Eric Fuller made the second set, from Madrone and Aformosa woods. These are beautiful - the boxes actually have walls and interiors and the fit is great. |
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These are Oskar's Cubes. The large wooden version is from Tom Lensch. The small aluminum version is from B and P. You can see the pieces at Ishino's site. |
The Devil's Half Dove-n and the Devil's Other Half Dove-n. Designed by Pavel Curtis. From Puzzlecraft, gifts from LuAnn. |
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This puzzle is called Six Tabbed Planks. It is made from acrylic. I really like it - the proper configuration can be logically deduced with a little effort, and the assembly is sequential. Unknown designer. Purchased from Pavel Curtis. Pieces shown here. |
Six-piece ball (aka Faberge Knot) Made by Lee Krasnow - mechanism is identical to the Six Tabbed Planks from Pavel Curtis. |
 Caged Spheres (in purpleheart wood) Also purchased from Puzzlecraft. |
A 4-piece cube with dovetailed pieces. Designer unknown to me. |
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This is Arjeu's CT87. This was designed by Oskar van Deventer. Evidently Arjeu never compensated Oskar! Tom Lensch is selling a really nice version. |
Myopic Doves by Rick Eason. |
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 Try-Cycle designed and made by Vaclav Obsivac, exchanged by Laurie Brokenshire |
 Prickly Puzzle, designed, made, and exchanged by Simon Bexfield |
The Slump Cube, designed by Ronald Kint-Bruynseels, made from Mahogany and Rosewood by Eric Fuller |
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The Dragon Cube, designed by Doug Engel. Issued by Philos. Purchased in Montreal. |
The Tease puzzle cube designed by Sam Cornwell and made from Quilted Sapelle, Wenge, and Carolina White Ash by Eric Fuller. Five pieces, and five moves to get the first piece out. |
This is Oskar's Patchwork Box, designed by Oskar van Deventer and made by Tom Lensch. Purchased from Tom at IPP 29 in SF. |
This cube was included in an auction lot. I didn't recognize it at the time, but after I received the lot I realized this was a copy of the Frankfort Cube I had wanted after I saw it on Casse-Tete et Solution (scroll down to item #33). |
Plato's Secret See U.S. Patent 3695617 - Mogilner and Johnson 1972. See also D0224974 - Mogilner 1972. A puzzle based on tensegrity - "tensional integrity" - a balance between tension and compression. (For another example, see Bathsheba Grossman's "Moon Pi.") A number of sticks with slots at each end, a cord, and a ball for the center. The first challenge is to remove the orb without disconnecting anything. The second challenge is to (re)build the structure - lash the sticks together in the proper pattern to create a polyhedron around the ball. The patent describes a structure with 12 sticks, and mentions 9 and 15-stick versions, claiming that tensegrity structures can be made from any number of sticks. The puzzle has appeared with 10 sticks, forming a dodecahedron (12 pentagonal faces, 20 vertices). I've also seen this called the "Philosopher's Knot" (1975 by whom?), "Plato's Plight" (Mag-Nif 1971), "Cobweb" (Reiss), "Knit Wit" (Romany 1974), and "Merlin's Stone" (Skor-mor). Supposedly it has also been called the "Philosopher's Stone" though I have not seen that version. Richard Whiting has a solution to a version he calls Whiting's Woe on his website. |
A vintage Think puzzle by Chadwick Miller of Massachussetts. Made in Japan. Copyright 1968. |
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The Kuball, a 3-piece puzzle designed by Viktor Genel. Made by Tom Lensch. See the pieces at John Rausch's PuzzeWorld. |
This is Trickstix, by Harris. See U.S. Patent 2473369 - Harris 1947. The similar cage with rotating sticks and a ball inside is a common design. |
I have had this small plastic red, white, and blue puzzle cage since I was a kid, and I think it was from Adams - it may be either the Locked Blocks or the Oriental Puzzle (also pictured for reference) - I no longer have the packaging. Its pieces are more decorated than the Trickstix. |
Adam's Block Puzzle Senior and Locked Blocks I finally obtained instances of these two in their original packaging. |
The Molecule by Joe Miller. See U.S. Patent 5762336 - Miller 1998. Entered in the IPP 2001 Design Competition. |
Here are several offered by Bits & Pieces at various times...
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Meiji Cheese Curls, and the "Light" version. |
Several classic puzzles by Mag-Nif and Reiss that I have had since I was a kid. From Mag-Nif: Four Square, Third Dimension, and the Curious Cross in smokey plastic and blue plastic. Some 1974 Reiss puzzles: Equilibrium, Star, and Reiss' version of Curious Cross, which they call Torment. |
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A 12 Sticks puzzle by George Hart, 3-D printed on his Makerbot. This is the 1st of his series of stick puzzles! |
 Ball Octahedron designed by Stewart Coffin and made by Wayne Daniel exchanged by Jerry Slocum at IPP32. Jerry's actual exchange puzzle was It's Nuts, a copy of the Screwy Screw by Scott Elliott. Since I already have a copy, Jerry was kind enough to substitute his puzzle from IPP29. |
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These two sets of "Brain Benders" from Cardinal (blue box and red box, 3 puzzles each)
include a six-piece Diagonal Star,
a Chuck similar to Pentangle's Woodchuck, above, a traditional 6-piece burr, a wooden version of
an 18-piece puzzle similar to Mag-Nif's Third Dimension, a rods-and-pins "Nest" puzzle similar to the Arjeu Quadro,
and another 12-piece chuck called "Double Cross."
They are cheaply made from softer wood, and I've seen them at toy stores for $3.99 a box.
Similar sets are branded by Pavillion.
This is the
TenGeo
Great Circle Challenge.
This is a selection of "Mighty Midget" puzzles from Mag-Nif:
I got this lot of 3 of the same "Chinese Burr" in different colors, from a French auction.
I gave away two and kept the green one.
Normally the #1 mechanical puzzle rule is "No Force Required!" but this puzzle really
requires some force for the first and later moves.
These 4 "Travel Puzzles" are from Game Kingdom: ball in cage, 6x6x6 sticks, star burr, depth charge:
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Ms. Leone, a teacher at the local elementary school, uses puzzles in her classroom.
Last year I loaned a bunch of puzzles to her for her students to try, and she was very kind to send me a Cyclone puzzle as a thank-you. Much appreciated! 
The Cyclone is offered by
The Lagoon Group.
Interestingly, this design seems to have first appeared as a lamp!
The product IQ Light won the 2001 Danish Design Award for its packaging. IQ Light was designed by Holger Strøm of Denmark in 1973. It is based on a single piece or tile, various numbers of copies of which can be interlocked to form more than 21 different shapes. 30 tiles form a triacontahedron. In the assembly, there are 12 vertices where 5 tiles hook together, and 20 vertices where 3 tiles hook together. You can find a template for the piece at www.craftster.org. William Chow has a website explaining the geometry of what he calls the Celtic Tile. |
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Puzzle friend and renowned sculptor and mathematician
George Hart
has been creating beautifully symmetric, complex, and puzzling geometric assemblies for some time.
Large versions of many of George's sculptures have been installed at universities, parks, and various other public and private spaces. You can now own a copy of one of George's beautiful designs - it's called Frabjous and is available from the folks at Artifacture in Dallas, who sent me this 6" x 6" x 6" Special Edition Frabjous, laser cut from Acrylite Radiant Acrylic. Thanks, Michael! This type of acrylic material reflects light in different colors from different angles and provides a fascinating display of varying hues as you move around the sculpture. The puzzle sculpture comes unassembled, in a package that includes instructions, 31 S-shaped pre-notched interlocking pieces (one extra piece is thoughtfully provided), and even a pair of cotton gloves to wear during assembly, so that you can avoid getting fingerprints in hard-to-clean places! Artifacture sells direct through various online outlets (see links on their product page), including their Etsy shop. Artifacture has produced Frabjous for MoMath (the MoMath logo, and George Hart's name, are engraved on one piece) and Frabjous is also available at the MoMath online shop. (A less expensive version is available in blue.) It took me about an hour to assemble Frabjous. I had to recover from a false start when I realized I had been careless while interweaving some of the pieces. I disassembled what I had so far and started over, being much more deliberate. The pieces lock together by friction/pressure fit using simple rectangular tabs and notches at apexes where three pieces meet - the hold is secure, but it is possible to work the pieces apart again without too much trouble. One thing I was pleased about is that though acrylic in general seems to have an unfortunate tendency to crack at angular cut-outs, I experienced no faults in any of the Frabjous pieces even after I had attached and detached them multiple times. During my second try at putting Frabjous together I actually found that if I ignored the included instructions and instead concentrated on the five-fold symmetry of the structure, adding five pieces at a time in symmetry around the growing assembly, I could much better ensure the correct relative placement of the pieces. Something to note is that you cannot simply create a bunch of "tripods" and then expect to link them together - it is too difficult to properly interweave such sub-structures. I took photos along the way - I think you'll agree that Frabjous is a beautiful object! I can also attest that Frabjous is a puzzling challenge to assemble, and you will enjoy a nice sense of satisfaction on completing it. My wife even let me put this one on display in the family room! |
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This is a Glingle Ball Copyright 1984 R. E. Sanson I've had it a looong time, and NEVER took it apart! |
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Charles O. Perry's Zen |
 The Buffalo Nickel is clever - it is a two-piece (plus "case") interlocking. It made by George Miller, based on a design by Oskar van Deventer. Bits and Pieces marketed this nice metal version. |
 Impossicube - Markus Goetz (B & P) |
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 The Lucky Clover from B and P was designed by Oskar van Deventer. It has only 4 pieces but requires many steps to assemble properly. |
 Gravity Well - Bits and Pieces |
Double Monad (Yin-Yang) - Bits and Pieces |
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 Butterfly - Bits & Pieces |
The Ego Sculptural Puzzle is a 6-piece version of the Third Dimension style above. It was offered in a "Good Design" box by Austin Enterprises and Something Else Inc. of Akron Ohio and Ossining NY. |
From Bits & Pieces, a Curly Cube, designed by Vladimir Krasnoukhov. |
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 Entangled Fish - B & P |
Great Collision, designed by Doug Engel. Purchased at IPP 29 in SF. |
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 This is Mr. Puzzle from Bits and Pieces, which contains several different kinds of puzzles including interlocking (his feet). |
 A Hartley's Humpty Dumpty Egg puzzle U.S. Patent D160283 - Irving Hartley Steinhardt 1950. |
 This is Nanook the Polar Bear. |
 This is Naef's Swiss Cow or Vache Rouge. It was designed by Gerard Petremand in 1978. This version has six pieces. |
 This version of Vache Rouge has more pieces. |
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 A hand-carved wood Dragon puzzle from Thailand or Mongolia, I'm not sure. |
 The Sphinx (or Turtle). Getting it apart was somewhat of an ordeal, as some pieces were fused by the sloppy shellac on them - but fortunately I separated them without damaging anything. |
 A vintage locomotive puzzle by Reiss. |
 The R. B. Rice Sausage Company Pig puzzle (Lee's Summit, MO). Virtually the same pieces as Nanook, but smaller and less dense. |
Cicada by Kathy Bass Available from Mr. Puzzle Australia (Brian Young). Obtained at NYPP 2008. |
 From William Waite, the Camera Conundrum. |
 An interlocking Stegosaur |
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There are many keychain puzzles.
They include interlocking, twisty, sliding piece, dexterity, and other types.
Even if they don't actually have a keychain attached, they're characterized by being diminutive.
Often there is a hole or a loop where a chain could be attached.
In this section, I have focused on the interlocking variety of keychain puzzles.
The 1998 book Toys That Shoot and Other Neat Stuff by James Dundas has a section on keychain puzzles on pages 70 through 80.
Dundas shows about 70 puzzles and suggests rarity and dollar values for them.
The auction website eBay started in Sept. 1995 and the evaluations given by Dundas should now be considered in the light of how eBay has affected the market.
In 2011, Jerry Slocum and William Waite issued their Compendium of Keychain Puzzles, which gives details for 465 puzzles.
William Waite has an extensive collection of keychain puzzles.
You can see a variety of interlocking keychain puzzles at
Waite's website.
I have organized the puzzles below into several categories:
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| The First Keychain Puzzles | |||||||
"In 1935, at the height of the Depression, a group of New York businessmen decided that what the city and the nation needed to lift itself out of the difficulties of the times was an international exposition. That same year they formed the New York World’s Fair Corporation and established an office on one of the higher floors of the new Empire State Building, electing Grover Whalen the President of the organization."
The
1939 New York World's Fair opened on April 30, 1939, closed for the winter on October 31 1939,
reopened on May 11 1940, and closed down on October 27, 1940, having drawn about 45 million admissions.
This is a Trylon Perisphere puzzle souvenir from the fair.
It is very small, and
I have read that this is the puzzle that gave birth to keychain puzzles (even though it
has no chain).
Irving Steinhardt received
patent
2178190
in March 1939 for a six-piece interlocking puzzle.
The patent depicts a spherical puzzle with an obelisk through it,
but notes that the outside shape can vary.
The drawings also include a bottle shape.
The sphere pieces shown in the patent match the pieces of this puzzle.
Steinhardt's design patent
D112470
of Dec. 1938 clearly shows the Trylon Perisphere design, and
is cited on the puzzle box.
Steinhardt also received
design patent D118253
in Dec. 1939 for an egg-shaped interlocking puzzle.
Steinhardt has many puzzle patents.
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This interlocking keychain puzzle ball was patented by Irving Hartley Steinhardt in 1939
(2178190).
This patent number is embossed on the hollow inside of the green key piece of the example with the chain. The six letters W-H-A-L-E-N are embossed, one in each of the six pieces. Grover Whalen was president of the New York World Fair Corporation, and helped run the 1939 fair - for which Steinhardt's Trylon Perisphere puzzle was issued. This puzzle ball contains virtually the same pieces as the Trylon Perisphere, except the Trylon key piece has been truncated and become part of the ball. According to Slocum and Waite, this is the first keychain puzzle, issued by the Helenhart Novelty Company of New York City. Steinhardt also patented the horseshoe-shaped clip, in 1942 (D132116), and another type of retension device having a cord, in 1944 (2361069). |
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| Other Keychain Puzzle Geometric Objects | |||||||
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A ball. |
Small Cube keychain puzzle |
Keychain Square Me |
Drop keychain puzzle |
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Keychain Sphere - France |
These are from Mefferts. |
mini Rubik's Snake |
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A cube. William Barnhart received patent 1189527 in July 1916 for a cube design. The pieces are similar to but not the same as the cube shown here. |
A soft plastic cube. Different pieces than the previous cube. The same design as the larger Frankfort Cube shown elsewhere on this page. |
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Keychain Cube I know this as the "Frankfort Cube" - this instance is in hard plastic. Here is another copy, in blue and orange: 
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Allsides Cube keychain puzzle - designed by William Waite Mine is #16, from a limited edition of 26 puzzles. Includes a signed card reminiscent of the way keychain puzzles were sold in the 50s. Each of the four pieces touches all sides of the cube, hence the name. Four moves to remove the first piece. "One of the most difficult keychain puzzles ever produced." |
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Keychain Barrel included in Japanese candy. |
Keychain Cross included in Japanese candy. |
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| Keychain Burrs | |||||||
Keychain Burr - Brown & White |
Keychain Burr - Teufelsknoten Schlüsselanhänger Thanks, Bernhard! |
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Keychain Burr - France |
Keychain Diagonal Burr |
Burr keychain puzzle The "Chinese Cross" piece set. |
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Six-piece burr keychain puzzle |
A burr. |
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Keychain Magic Circle - Bell |
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| Keychain Animals and Riders | |||||||
This interlocking keychain puzzle is Spunky the Dog, patented by Irving Hartley Steinhardt in 1953
(2651522).
According to Jerry Slocum, Spunky was Steinhardt's pet dog. The six letters in S-P-U-N-K-Y are embossed, one in each of the six pieces. Spunky, and other dogs, have appeared in several forms, including one having asymmetric-sized ears (2nd from left). |
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Puzzle Pup Junior keychain puzzle (red head) |
Scotty Dog keychain puzzle |
Scotty Dog keychain puzzle - older type |
Keychain Russian Dog |
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Puzzle Pup, Junior (yellow head) |
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Keychain Mack Bulldog (red and yellow examples) Minimally interlocking (only two pieces) and minimally a puzzle - but still nice. |
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Each keychain puzzle typically contains six pieces. Here is a photo of a bunch of pieces mixed together. Can you figure out which pieces go with which puzzle? |
2 copies of the large Keychain Dragon in package also the small version |
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Burro and Rider puzzles |
Two Donkey keychain puzzles - red/green, and orange/blue |
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Two examples of an Elephant keychain This type has a separate ears piece. |
Elephant keychain In 1953, Irving Steinhardt received patent 2651522 for this type of keychain puzzle (the patent depicts the dog head). |
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Two examples of an Elephant with Clown rider keychain |
Two examples of an Elephant keychain The head is a single piece - note the tab at the top of the back of the neck. William Waite discusses variants of this Elephant. |
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soft plastic Elephant keychain Pieces are similar to but different from the elephant above right. Here, the head is three pieces. |
Elephant keychain Another variant - note the absence of the tab at the top of the back of the neck. |
Two examples of a German Elephant keychain |
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Giraffe keychain |
Camel Rider keychain puzzle |
Keychain Camel Rider (green) |
Keychain Elephant - Mechanical Servants |
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Another eye test - can you tell which pieces comprise which puzzle? |
Keychain Puzzle Pieces Jumble #3 |
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Indian on horseback keychain puzzle |
Jockey keychain puzzle |
Jockey keychain puzzle (green) |
Bronco keychain puzzle |
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Keychain Cowboy (blue) |
Keychain Cowboy on horseback, with rifle - in package |
Lional Indian Raid |
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An orange and a white Scout on Horseback (no gun) Compared with Cowboys on Horseback, with pistol and rifle |
A rare Cowboy keychain puzzle, produced in the 1950s by Bell in the UK. |
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A couple of Duck keychain puzzles |
Duck in Tophat |
Keychain interlocking puzzle Duck w/ Seaman's cap |
Keychain Rooster |
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Keychain puzzle pieces jumble #4 |
Keychain Fish |
Keychain Cat |
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Pig keychain puzzle |
Owl keychain puzzle |
Keychain Piece Jumble #5 |
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Blue Horse (Dutch, vinyl) |
Keychain interlocking puzzle Hedgehog (Germany) |
Donkey (German) keychain puzzle |
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Two examples of a keychain Berlin Bear - yellow head, white head |
A very rare Giraffe keychain puzzle, produced in the 1950s-60s by Roddy in Southport, England. |
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| Keychain People, Robots, and Other Figures | |||||||
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As a kid, I had a Bibendum (Michelin Man) keychain puzzle I got at a car show at the NY Coliseum. It disappeared long ago, but after searching for some time, I finally found another one. This puzzle is the last of four "Lost Puzzles of My Childhood" (Drive Ya Nuts, Phony Baloney, Screw Loose, and Bibendum) that originally motivated me to start following auctions! |
Here is a Schmoo, from the old comic strip Li'l Abner. |
A pair of keychain interlocking puzzle Robots. The black and white one came from Russia. |
Slocum and Waite identify this Japanese interlocking keychain puzzle as a Diver, but it reminds me of Gigantor. |
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A Howdy Doody keychain puzzle, and another in its package. |
Keychain Batter |
Here is a plastic interlocking keychain puzzle Knight. |
Happo - The Jolly Clown Puzzle Ad in 1951 Johnson Smith Catalog |
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A keychain Woman - thanks, Erhan! |
Bartissol Man |
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| Keychain Insects, Plants, & Fungi | |||||||
Keychain Ladybug |
Keychain Cicadas |
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Keychain Ladybugs (dup of orange/pink, and red/black German Pussycat version) |
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Keychain Mushroom |
A keychain Stag Beetle with horns |
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Two Beetle keychains (in packages) |
Two Dragonfly keychain puzzles (both soft plastic) |
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| Keychain Artifacts | |||||||
Football keychain puzzle |
Here is a keychain version of the classic Star and Belt tangle puzzle. |
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Five-segment Football keychain puzzle In 1955, Irving Steinhardt received patent 2712447 for this type of football keychain puzzle, called the "sector puzzle construction." |
Keychain Soccer Ball |
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Keychain Coffee Grinder (French) The pieces are similar to those of the first cube shown above. |
A Kumiki barrel. |
I've had these two since I was a kid. |
This bowling ball and pin came in a set of puzzles by Kawada, from Japan. They're small enough to be keychain puzzles, but do not have chains attached. |
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Bowling Pin keychain puzzle Same mechanism as previous, but a bit larger, and thinner plastic. |
Bowling Pin keychain puzzle This one has a bowling ball inside! |
Die keychain puzzle |
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Keychain Cheese Wheel |
Keychain Lucky Charm |
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Keychain interlocking puzzle Circuit Breaker (France) |
Spray Bottle (France) |
BP Longlife Oil |
Keychain interlocking puzzle Oil Can |
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Kodacolor (France) |
The Oil Cans and the Kodak Box puzzles employ similar mechanisms. |
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Two examples of a Lantern keychain puzzle |
Legal Coffee Bean |
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The Legal Coffee Bean and Cube puzzles employ similar mechanisms. |
Keychain Trophy - Japan |
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Bell (German) keychain puzzle |
Heart and Arrow keychain puzzle from "Mechanical Servants", and a plain heart without the arrow. |
Keychain Mini Heart blue |
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Keychain puzzle parts Jumble #6 |
Tower Bridge - Bell |
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Keychain Bottle |
An extra-large keychain bottle puzzle. |
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Keychain Slipper |
Movie Camera keychain puzzle |
Drill (Peugeot France) The pieces of this puzzle can sometimes get wedged very tightly together. I found an image of instructions - don't break yours trying to pry it apart! The bit/chuck comes out first, then the handle, then the top front cowl slides forward. |
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This Old-style Telephone Interlocking Keychain Puzzle was designed by John Flower in 1952 and issued by the UK company Bell. It has six pieces and assembly requires several pieces to be moved back and forth in sequence, which is not typical for keychain puzzle mechanisms. I like this one a lot! |
Good Luck Horseshoe keychain puzzles |
Keychain Good Luck - Clover version |
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A vintage Crown interlocking keychain puzzle, issued by Bell. With its original card! |
Teapot keychain puzzle This one has an actual screw thread. |
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A keychain clock |
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| Keychain Guns | |||||||
Keychain Space Blaster Guns |
Raygun keychain |
Six-shooter keychain puzzles |
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Revolver |
This interlocking keychain puzzle revolver came from Israel. As you can see from the photo of its parts, it is distinct from the two other revolver puzzles I have. |
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Here is a comparison of two kinds of keychain interlocking puzzle revolvers. (Note that I managed to find the missing pieces to the second example.) |
Machine Gun keychain puzzle |
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Keychain Kumiki Pistol |
A trio of interlocking keychain puzzle cannons, one in its package. |
Interlocking keychain puzzle Tanks |
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A pair of interlocking keychain puzzle cannons, different than those above. |
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| Keychain Vehicles | |||||||
Conestoga Wagon keychain puzzle |
Conestoga Wagon - hard plastic - 8 pc. |
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soft plastic covered wagon keychain This one has eight pieces - the canopy and wagon are split lengthwise. |
Wagon (blue) keychain puzzle |
Keychain Wagon (8 part) |
Keychain Covered Wagon |
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Stagecoach keychain puzzle |
Keychain puzzle parts jumble #7 |
Keychain Covered Wagon, in package |
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Several (5) examples of the Motorcycle Cop keychain puzzle. |
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Four examples of the Sedan keychain puzzle |
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soft plastic car keychain |
Keychain Car - Mechanical Servants This one has a neat mechanism I like. |
Keychain Car - Mechanical Servants - green |
Keychain car (yellow, green, and white, with black loop) |
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Fire Truck keychain puzzles |
Keychain parts jumble #8. |
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Two examples of the Jericho Car keychain puzzle |
Race Car keychain puzzle |
Hot Rod keychain puzzle |
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Keychain Touring Car |
Keychain Jeeps (The windshield frame is damaged on the white example.) |
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Keychain Open Car - green and blue examples |
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Kottage Kar keychain puzzle - white and blue examples |
Keychain Tow Truck |
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Two hard plastic Tractor keychains, with packages |
Soft plastic Tractor keychain |
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A flatbed truck interlocking keychain puzzle. This design was issued by Merit. This copy is made from soft plastic. |
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A keyhain Dump Truck, in its package |
Keychain Covered Truck |
Mechanical Servants keychain Covered Truck, with package. |
Keychain interlocking puzzle car (Germany) |
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Keychain VW Beetle |
Keychain Small Racer |
Keychain Truck group |
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A pair of smaller keychain Locomotives |
Locomotive |
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A pair of larger Locomotives (the blue cab is damaged) |
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Keychain puzzle 5-pack I am very pleased to have found this - not only does it include a Helicopter, Flatbed Truck, and Destroyer (nice puzzles of which I already have copies), it also includes a Jeep with an unusual assembly, and the rare Battleship. |
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| Keychain Boats/Ships | |||||||
Cruise Ship keychain puzzle |
Examples of the Showboat |
Keychain Battleships, in bags |
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Keychain interlocking puzzle Battleship (Looks like a destroyer to me.) |
Destroyer - Merit |
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Keychain Sailboat - soft plastic |
Keychain Ship (pink) |
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| Keychain Flying Machines | |||||||
Airplane keychain |
A pair of Airplane keychain puzzles. |
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A different type of Airplane, compared to the previous type. |
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Keychain Jet Fighter - Merit (hard plastic) |
Originally, I found the "Jet Fighter" in soft plastic. To me, it looks more like a bomber than a fighter. |
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Keychain F-104 - Japan |
Two examples (one in package) of a keychain Airplane |
Apollo Command Module and Lunar Lander set (Japan) |
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Keychain Helicopter - Lido |
Keychain Helicopter The Lido design, but in soft plastic. |
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A really nice rocket ship. |
Rocket keychain at the Launch Pad... |
Space Ship keychain puzzle |
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Keychain puzzle piece jumble #9 |
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At the Jan. 2005 NYPP, I got these from Norman Sandfield, not knowing what they were. There were originally 4 blue and 4 yellow cubes, but I gave away 2 of each to various folks who wanted them. All the blues and yellows are each made of the same set of six different pieces. Since receiving a copy of the CFF newsletter issue 50 (Oct. 1999, Part 4/6), I have determined that they are all equivalent to the "Tokyo" version of the Wirrel Warrel, also known as "Happy Cubes." |
Inexpensive puzzle pieces can be cut from dense foam mats. Several varieties of puzzles in the "Wirrel Warrel"/"Happy Cubes"/Snafooz family have been implemented using this material. Happy Cubes were invented by Dirk Laureyssens - read more at the Cricro site. Cricro provides a pair of pentagonal faces. Happy Cubes are being marketed by Happy n.v. |
Inspired by reading about Happy Cubes in the CFF newsletter and following information on Jurgen Koeller's Happy Cubes page, I made my own set of generic pieces from LiveCube. I used 8 cubes each for the 6 centers (in black) and an additional total of 44 yellow cubes to be distributed about the edges, as required by the various piece configurations. |
Snafooz makes 6-piece cube puzzles where the pieces are cut from foam slabs. They are similar to Happy Cubes, but the Happy Cubes are based on a 5x5 square face, while the Snafooz are based on a 6x6 square. Snafooz are often issued as corporate promotional give-aways, and I have accumulated several from various trade shows. I also have a promotional puzzle based on a 7x7 square. |
This is "Mystery Shapes" designed by Oscar van Deventer, issued in 1993 by Binary Arts. Four cubical puzzles made of six foam pieces each, but with extra confusing ridges running around the faces. |
The "Eraser Cube" is made from eraser-type rubber material, and is based on a 4x4 square side. |
Take Me Apart - designed by Bruce Viney, made by Brian Menold at Wood Wonders, from Padauk and Cherry A side-5 cube with a smaller nesting side-4 cube inside. |
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Portrait de Michele (My favorite...) |
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Mini-Zoraida |
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Mini-Maria
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Mini-David
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Mini-Cristina
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Mini-Cariatide
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This set was sold some time ago (perhaps prior to 1900) as The ZOOZZLER.
(I don't have it.)
If you look carefully at the inside of the box lid shown in the photo on the left,
you'll see the Zoozzler came from the
La Rose Manufacturing Company of Albany, N.Y.
In December 2008 I was contacted by Pete Brady, who discovered a Zoozzler in the back of an old desk,
and after assembling it,
did a Google search on it and found my website.
Pete's copy is shown on the right.
Pete, who is now in his 70's (and still solving burr puzzles!) tells me that his grandfather was
Anthime F. La Rose,
who was born in 1842 in a small town near Montreal, and who died in 1920.
Anthime was raised in French Canada and eventually emigrated to Albany, where
he established his factory at 172 Broadway
and made, among other things like the Zoozzler, furniture, and
phone booths for Western Electric.
There is no evidence of any patent, though the box does carry the words "Trade Mark" -
Pete believes that Anthime produced the Zoozzler in his well-equipped factory.
The box says, "Agents wanted to sell the ZOOZZLER in every town or city - liberal commission.
Special inducements to boys and girls to sell in their spare time."
No phone number appears on any of the packaging, so it may be that the Zoozzler was produced prior to 1900.
Pete says his grandfather was married twice.
After his first wife died, Anthime married Julia, who was born in 1863 and died in 1945,
and in 1899 had a daughter, Katharine, who was Pete's mother.
Thanks for the info, Pete, and for allowing me to share it!
I find this kind of historical background adds a lot to my enjoyment of puzzles.
It is not always easy to feel any connection to our distant ancestors, but a puzzle can
be a tangible link to the past.
Mark McCallum made this beautiful Sphinx Transformed for me.
Thanks again, Mark!
It's a rhombic triacontahedron, a relative of Stewart Coffin's Design No. 72.
The woods include: Kingwood, Spotted Ebony, Bird's Eye Maple, Ziricote,
Ceylon Satinwood, Chakte Viga, Narra, Tulipwood, Redheart, Macassar Ebony, Ebony, and Bocote.
Mark also made the Ring of Diamonds (STC #13-B) in walnut.
The precision is masterful!
Thanks, Mark!
