ZenPuzzler

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Serendippity

Some amazing puzzles have recently come to my attention and I decided to adorn a round table with a nice selection of them. All of these puzzles competing for my attention. What serendippity! For no particular reason, my goal was to spend Wednesday through Sunday solving them.

Canal

Canal was designed by Han Dongkyu and consists of 4 pieces that need to be placed in a tray so that there is a path between the pieces from the lower left-hand corner to the upper right-hand corner. And the path can only be a single unit wide. And there can be no other uncovered squares in the tray that are not part of the path.

I’ve been seeing photos of Canal for a while and had always wanted to give it a try. It seemed like a novel idea and how hard could it be with only 4 pieces that needed to be placed in the tray. Well looks can be deceiving and it took me a bit of time to find the correct orientation and positioning of those pieces. It was a very nice challenge and is currently available at Team JB Hobbies. Canal was also an entry in the Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition at the 43rd International Puzzle Party (IPP43)

Bocca Della Verita

Bocca Della Verita is a 2D restricted-opening packing puzzle designed by László Molnár. It consists of 7 L Tromino pieces that need to be packed in a circular tray. Each piece has to be entered through the maw in the top. Two other openings are provided to poke your finger into for manipulating the pieces inside.

I solved this one a while ago but without the fancy restricted-opening top. With the top, it looks much move daunting with limited opportunities to move pieces around and I was wondering how much more difficult the dexterity aspect would make it. Although certainly more challenging, it turned out to be quite doable. And just like Canal, it was an entry in the IPP43 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition.

Diasafe

Diasafe is a restricted, somewhat 2D’ish packing puzzle designed by Lucie Pauwels. It consists of a variety of 8 pieces made from 3 to 9 squares. Each piece has a button added on top of one of it’s squares. And all 8 pieces are unique. The frame that holds the pieces has a slot in the side to add the pieces and a Z-track on top for the buttons to slid through.

The objective is to add the pieces to pack the frame by entering them through the slot in the side and moving them where they need to go. Of course, the movements of the pieces are restricted by the Z-track on the top of the box. Since all the pieces are different shapes and sizes, enter from the same point, and have to follow the same path, the challenge is to find how they are packed and the order to add them.

On my initial solving attempt, I added all the pieces to the frame but subsequently found out that all the buttons had to be in the Z-track and not in the single-square entrance to the Z-track. Backtracking a bit, I found a solution where all the buttons properly resided within the Z-track. The addition of that final restriction added some nice additional properties to the solve. And coincidentally, it was also an entry in the IPP43 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition.

Elegant People

Elegant People was designed by George Sicherman and made by Wood Wonders. It consists of 4 pieces, each constructed from 4 cubes with most cubes attached with an offset. Each pair of pieces can be used to construct a symmetric shape resulting in 6 challenges. I’ve been working on this one for several months and have still not completed it. Of the six challenges, some are easy, some are more challenging, some are difficult, and one is downright impossible. Apparently, some elegant people are more difficult to get along with than others. This is a fantastic set of challenges that transports easily. A must have for symmetry puzzle enthusiasts. Eventually I’ll figure out that last one. Stubborn little bugger – THE PUZZLE! And as incredible as it is to believe, it was also an entry in the IPP43 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition.

Loach Bed

Loach Bed is an apparent cuboid packing puzzle designed by Osanori Yamamoto. It consists of 3 simple pieces that need to be packed within a 2x2x3 box with a single 1-voxel corner missing. I solved this one last year at a puzzle picnic and took this opportunity to revisit it. This is one of Osanori’s simpler packing puzzles but works well in a small format. It’s a good packing puzzle for someone just being introduced to 3D packing puzzles since it has a simple entry point, few simple pieces, and takes several moves to remove the first piece once solved. And to top it off, it was an entry in the IPP43 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition. And furthermore, it won a Top 10 Vote Getter award in the competition.

One Way or Another

One Way or Another, designed by Alaexander Magyarics, presents a nice 2D sliding puzzle challenge. Not only do you have to solve it, you have to design it as well. The ultimate objective is to move the small round piece from the upper right-hand corner to lower left-hand corner by finding a sequence of moves that allows the round piece to traverse the tray also holding the other 4 pieces. However, the first and significantly harder objective is to discover how to pack the pieces in the tray to accomplish the ultimate objective.

Since there are multiple ways to place the pieces in the tray, especially since there are 4 unoccupied spaces, it looks quite daunting. Maybe I got lucky, but focusing on the location and interaction of a couple of pieces, I zeroed in on a working configuration much quicker than I expected. Of course, I was expecting the worst. The final configuration provided a longer sequence of moves to solve the puzzle than I anticipated. The length of the solve makes identifying the design less obvious. Even so, the real challenge here is to design the puzzle rather than solve it. The solve really serves to validate the design. This was a very nice novel concept which resulted in a Jury Honorable Mention award at the IPP43 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition.

Thyor

Thyor is a 3D restricted-opening puzzle designed by Volker Latussek. It consists of 6 pieces that need to be packed within a box with a single opening. But open it is. The largest side of the box is entirely open except for a single voxel overhang on all sides. You can just start dropping the pieces in up to a certain point.

The pieces are made from 3x3x2 cuboids. There are 3 types of pieces: 1 of the first type, 2 of the second, and 3 of the third. I found this one quite challenging and was happy to eventually end up with all 6 pieces packed inside the box. And would you believe, it was also an entry in the IPP43 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition.

Petit Albert

Petit Albert was designed by Volker Latussek and consists of 5 pieces that need to be packed within a 2x3x3 box. The box has a 3 voxel opening on one the 2x3 sides to add/remove/manipulate pieces. There are no other openings in the box. The pieces consist of 4 tetracubes and 1 dicube. Each of the tetracubes sports a rounded corner that allows an additional rotation within the box.

I originally solved Petit Albert last year (Round Bevels – Petit Albert) but it was definitely worth a revisit. The second time around, it was still a good challenge and I had to rediscover the Aha moment. There are quite a few rotations and a bit of dexterity involved. Just like the first time, I found it a challenge to repeat the sequence of rotations within the box that were found outside the box. A winner for sure. I can’t wait to see Fat Albert. Hey, Hey, Hey!

And believe it or not, this puzzle was also an entry in the IPP43 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition. Where it didn’t win anything. Which is a shame because I found it a tough little nut with the rotations that were required.

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

No Problem Puzzles, Update #9

No Problem Puzzles provided over 100 amazing puzzles designs for the community between November 2020 and April 2023 until the tragic passing of Symen Hovinga on 7 April 2023. Theo Geerinck, the other half of the No Problem Puzzles duo, decided to graciously allow the puzzle designs to be made available to the puzzle community for anyone to print their own copy to keep the legacy alive. Mr BurrTools himself, Andreas Röver, is currently in the process of verifying and publishing the stl model files over the next several months. These are being made available on the Printables site under the No Problem Puzzles collection. Another contributor, Crab on Printables, has also tweaked some of the models to improve them.

This post continues the review of the No Problem Puzzles as the models are being released. Since the last review (No Problem Puzzles, Update #8), more No Problem Puzzles have become available.

Slats

To get back to solving the No Problem Puzzles that have been coming out, I grabbed Slats simply because it looked like the easiest solve in the expanding collection of puzzles yet to be solved. It consists of a frame and 4 slats that have to be added and centered withing the frame. It also comes with a heart that needs to be transplanted inside. It has a level of difficulty rating of 4 out of 5 but I found it much simpler than that, especially considering how much trouble some of those other level 4 puzzles are giving me.

Staying true to my take a whack at it approach, I jumped right in by trying to add pieces to the frame. Even with a cavalier attitude, it is evident that there are only a couple of ways to add the pieces to the frame. With some fancy maneuvering, I had all 4 slats in the frame. All that was required was to add the heart. Whereupon it became evident that the slats were not configured correctly to accept the heart and had to be reorganized. Once I had them in the correct position, it was a simple procedure to add the heart. Truthfully, the steps required to add the slats in the correct configurations required by the heart were simpler than the first configuration that I found. It may be worth your while to determine what your heart is telling you before getting engaged with Slats.

Bunk Bed

Bunk Bed consists of a frame with a rotating top and 6 pieces. The bunk bed consists of an upper bunk and a lower bunk. The upper bunk can be rotated downward for storage, which is the required position for the solution, creating a 2x3x4 enclosed space to contain the pieces. The pieces consist of 3 pairs of identical pieces, two of which are planer. The non-planer ones are there to get in the way. The objective is to get all the pieces within the frame. Of course that is easier said than done requiring shifting pieces as well as rotating the top to get them all packed within the bunk bed. A quick calculation indicates that there will be no voids when the beds are packed providing the first significant clue to the solution. This one was not very difficult but that is to be expected with a difficult rating of 2.5.

Toolbox

Toolbox consists of 4 tools that have to be placed in a toolbox tray to make an apparent 2x3x4 cuboid. And the tray is even equipped with a swiveling handle. There aren’t many ways to fit the pieces within a 2x3x4 space, resulting a very restricted search space. You just need to break through that Aha moment to find the solution. It has a difficult rating of 2 and it reminded me of Akaki’s easier Picnic Basket puzzles (A Tisket A Tasket, Puzzles In – Akaki’s Picnic Baskets).

Toggle Box

Toggle Box is a 3D restricted entry packing puzzle with 4 identical pieces that make an apparent 2x3x3 cuboid. The restricted entry has a rotating door that toggles the opening between 2 configurations. I found Toogle Box to be a quick solve, which is reflected in its difficulty rating of 2. A great choice for introducing someone to 3D restricted opening packing puzzles.

If you don’t have a 3D printer, you can obtain copies of No Problem Puzzles from Nothing Yet Designs based in the US or the PuzzleguyStore based in the EU.

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Three Keys

Three Keys is a 2D 3-piece symmetry puzzle designed by Alexander Magyarics. Each piece consists of 2 conjoined squares with one of the squares missing a corner. And the corner that is missing is different for each piece. The goal is make a symmetric shape but the type of symmetry is not specified. There is only a single solution. To be quite honest, I usually pick out the 3-piece puzzles from the 2-do 2-D symmetry pile first and then the single solution ones from those. Of course that ends up leaving me with an ever increasingly daunting pile of shame.

At first glance, Three Keys reminded me of Hangers and I was all set for an easy solve thinking that the solution would be similar. Yes, I never learn. The solution was not similar and I ended up having to think about this one after I couldn’t cram it into the Hangers mold. I tried a couple of strategies before alighting on the winning combination. I didn’t find it as difficult as hangers but it was still a good challenge.

My copy of Three Keys is 3D printed by Alexander but you can also get a laser-cut acrylic version from Nothing Yet Designs.

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

HoleyTIC

HoleyTIC is a 6-piece 5x5x5 Turning Interlocking Cube (TIC) designed by Andrew Crowell. It is a nice addition to the collection of 5x5x5 TICs that Andrew has created.

Determining the assembly is not difficult. The location and orientation of each piece can be quickly determined. The effort is getting them into position. Especially since there are a few rotations along the way.

I divided the 6 pieces into 2 groups. Major framing pieces and smaller finishing pieces. The four larger pieces were allocated to the major framing pieces although 2 are bigger than the others. Starting with the 2 largest pieces, I was pleasantly surprised that getting them together was not trivial. And once those 2 were together, adding the 3 piece was interesting as well. The forth piece just slides into place but you have to keep in mind that the there are 2 more pieces yet to go and it may not be as easy if those pieces have to go in first.

As expected, those last 2 small pieces are where the magic lies. It is fairly simple to add each one individually but adding them both is a real effort. The finishing movements required to solve HoleyTIC are as awesome as you would expect from Andrew’s TICs.

You can purchase the 3D model file for this puzzle from Andrew’s online store, ARC Puzzles. It is bundled with model files from 5 other 5x5x5 TICs to keep you happily engaged for a while.

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Hangers

Hangers is a 2D Symmetry puzzle developed by Master Symmetrist Alexander Magyarics. It consists of 3 polyominoes that form a symmetric shape. But the type of symmetry is not specified.

I find 3 piece symmetry puzzles fall into that sweet spot in terms of level of difficulty. They immediately look near impossible when they consist of 4 or more pieces due to the exponential increase in piece location combinations.

Once again, I naively bought into the this puzzle looks easy feeling expecting a quick solve. And as usual, it was anything but. Even though I knew the obvious piece placements were a trap, it was hard to not to fall into them. And fall into them I did, multiple times, thinking that there would be a difference.

Although I spent a lot of time just fiddling with the pieces, I eventually turned on some brain cells to speculate on the solution. One arbitrarily firing brain cell provided the type of symmetry used while a couple of others produced the solution before passing out.

I really liked this one. It survived a lot zoom meetings. I find these puzzles perfect for these meetings since they lay flat, move easily, and don’t making clacking sounds next to the computer mic.

My copy of Hangers is 3D printed by Alexander but you can also get a laser-cut acrylic version from Nothing Yet Designs.

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Hamstersaurus

Over a year ago, I reviewed an amazing 6-piece burr dissection designed by Steve Nicholls called Smelling Of Roses (New Puzzle Comes Out – Smelling Of Roses). It appears that Steve has been at it again with another 6-piece burr dissection called Hamstersaurus, which was his International Puzzle Party (IPP) exchange puzzle at IPP42. Steve has now graciously made it available for anyone to download the Hamstersaurus model files from MakerWorld to print their own copy.

Hamstersaurus is as fun as Smelling Of Roses. This time around, Steve upped the ante and made the destination shape 2 intersecting pyramids instead of a single one. Initially, it takes some effort to get oriented with how the pieces are used to form the final shape. And once you get that down, there seems to be many ways that the pieces can be joined. But eventually, all the pieces come together. It’s not difficult but it is a fun challenge. I’m looking forward to seeing the 6-piece burr dissection based on 3 intersecting pyramids.

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Happy Anniversary! – The End Of Another ZenPuzzler Year

It’s the end of another ZenPuzzler year! And a full year it was without missing a single week. This year had a wide variety of puzzles made from a variety of materials. A new reoccurring series of posts this year covered the No Problem Puzzles by Symen Hovinga and Theo Geerinck that are being released over time due to the loss of Symen. If you have been keeping good track of the releases, you know that I am getting quite a bit behind in posting about them.

I’m also getting behind in everything, including posting, solving, and designing. In an attempt to find a better balance, my plan is to spend less time blogging to dedicate more time to solving and designing. Going forward, I expect the posts to be shorter and less frequent. I’m sorry to have to disappoint my 4 readers.

As in prior years, I have created a list of the posts and the puzzles that are mentioned in those posts for this past year. The name of each post is linked to the post entry so that you can easily jump to it by clicking on the name.