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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

29 APR 26 – Dark and Foreboding – ApocalypTIC

• ApocalypTIC by Richard Gain & Andrew Crowell

22 APR 26 – Venatio Formicarum – Ant Hunt

• Ant Hunt by Boaz Feldman

15 APR 26 – 3-Pronged Puzzling Approach – TritanIC Series (1-6)

• TritanIC by Andrew Crowell
• TritanIC 2 by Andrew Crowell
• TritanIC 3 by Andrew Crowell
• TritanIC 4 by Andrew Crowell
• TritanIC 5 by Andrew Crowell
• TritanIC 6 by Andrew Crowell

8 APR 26 – Stuffing Puzzles – Xmas Stocking

• Xmas Stocking by Osanori Yamamoto

1 APR 26 – April’s First Puzzle – Smelling of (M̶)Bums

• Smelling of (M̶)Bums

25 MAR 26 – Forever In the Rough – 10 of Diamonds

• 10 of Diamonds by László Molnár

18 MAR 26 – Getting Everything Back Together – HolisTIC

• HolisTIC by Andrew Crowell

11 MAR 26 – No Problem Puzzles, Update #8

• Chain Stitch by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Nineveh by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Quintessence by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Rhomble by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga

4 MAR 26 – Decadent – Triple Dip

• Triple Dip by George Sicherman 

26 FEB 26 – A Spirited Journey – Templars Cross

• Templars Cross by Andrew Crowell

18 FEB 26 – Oh! – Fudge

• Fudge by Takuro Kawasaki

11 FEB 26 – Magical Slant On Puzzling – Diagonal Twins

• Diagonal Twins by Yasuhiro Hashimoto

4 FEB 26 – Little Nightmares – Six Face

• Six Face by Andrew Crowell

28 JAN 26 – No Problem Puzzles, Update #7

• Squeezy by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• I Box by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Mecon by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Multiplex by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga

21 JAN 26 – King Of Red Herrings – Neptune

• Neptune by Osanori Yamamoto

14 JAN 26 – Missing The Point – Aztec Pyramid Of The Sun

• Aztec Pyramid Of The Sun by iDventure 

7 JAN 26 – Tubular Boxification – Tube It In 2

• Tube It In 2 by William Hu

31 Dec 25 – Holiday Puzzling – Christmas Advent Calendar

24 Dec 25 – No Problem Puzzles, Update #6 

• 3OPc by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Pyre by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• 7 Spiders by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Hexatanglers by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Jigsaw Box by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga17 Dec 25 – 

14 Dec 25 – Crafty Sunflower – Release #2

• Flower Coaster by Serhiy Grabarchuk
• Checkered Chairs by Serhiy Grabarchuk
• 12 Logs by Serhiy Grabarchuk

10 Dec 25 – Life, The Universe, And Everything – 42

• 42 by Joe Turner

3 Dec 25 – Better Than TV – Widescreen

• Widescreen by Alexander Magyarics

26 Nov 25 – Avoiding The Dangers Of Wood – Splinter 12

• Splinter 12 by Nan Ma

19 Nov 25 – Merlon the Magician Apparently Fortified – Embrasures 

• Embrasures by Alexander Magyarics

12 Nov 25 – No Problem Puzzles, Update #5

• Push-Pull by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Hash^3 by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Trio, White Cat by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Pakze! by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• T On Top by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga

5 Nov 25 – Cranial Conundrum – Skull Puzzle

• Skull Puzzle by DaveMakesStuff

29 Oct 25 – Plastic Picnic Plates – Three Plates Burr

• Three Plates Burr by mad gardener

22 Oct 25 – Oh! – Omicron

• Omicron by Girish Sharma

15 Oct 25 – Round Bevels – Petit Albert

• Petit Albert by Volker Latussek

8 Oct 25 – Two Lips Are Better Than One – Tulip 1

• Tulip 1 by Osanori Yamamoto

1 Oct 25 – No Problem Puzzles, Update #4

• Black Cat, White Cat by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Pizza Panne by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Donut Perplex Junior by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Twist Them In by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga

24 Sep 25 – 2-Maze Challenges, Double – CrossRoad

• CrossRoad designed by Brian Kren

17 Sep 25 – Puzzle or Just Puzzley? – Treasure Box

• Treasure Box by ROKR

10 Sep 25 – The Case Of The Perplexing Orange Spaghetti – Orange Perplex

• Orange Perplex by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga

3 Sep 25 – Flattenry Will Get You Nowhere – Soma Tray

• Soma Tray by Rick Eason

27 Aug 25 – No Problem Puzzles, Update #3

• Boon by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Sliding Doors by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Pivot Window by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Orange Perplex by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Salmiak by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Vixen’s Antlers by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga

20 Aug 25 – No Force Required – Gentle Interlock

• Gentle Interlock by Junichi Yananose

13 Aug 25 – In Mint Condition – Dr. Bell's Curiously Warped Mints

• Dr. Bell's Curiously Warped Mints by George Bell

6 Aug 25 – A Solid Challenge? – NotchedTIC

• NotchedTIC by Andrew Crowell

30 Jul 25 – Mixolometragrobology – Get in the Spirit!

• Get in the Spirit! by Steve Canfield & Lee Krasnow

23 Jul 25 – Monumental – Markus’ Tetrahedron

• Markus’ Tetrahedron by Markus Götz

16 Jul 25 – No Problem Puzzles, Update #2

• Turn Around by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Unmatch Box by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Quinta Cuboids by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Dizygotic by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga

9 Jul 25 – Engage! – Clutch 4

• Clutch 4 by Girish Sharma

2 Jul 25 – F In L – Eleven L’s Puzzle

• Eleven L’s Puzzle

25 Jun 25 – Preserving a Legacy – No Problem Puzzles

• Sandbox by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• Swinging Lid Tray by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga
• U2 Frame by Theo Geerinck & Symen Hovinga

18 Jun 25 – Amazingly Non-Burrish – Gravitational Burr

• Gravitational Burr by Junichi Yananose

11 Jun 25 – More PPing in the Big Apple – NYPP 2025

4 Jun 25 – Welcome To The Home Of Despair – DODECASOMA

• DODECASOMA by Rod Bogart

28 May 25 – Crafty Sunflower Release: May 2025

• Plank Box by Serhiy Grabarchuk
• Octamion by Serhiy Grabarchuk
• Correct Order by Serhiy Grabarchuk

21 May 25 – Surprise! – Birthday Cake

• Birthday Cake by iDventure

Dark and Foreboding – ApocalypTIC

It’s dark.  It’s foreboding.  In fact, it’s downright ApocalypTIC.

Back in the dark ages when the scourge of DIY 3D printing was just getting started, Richard Gain embarked on creating Printable Interlocking Puzzles (PIP).  These were interlocking puzzles where the pieces could be printed without supports or assembly of sub-components.  At some point, his level 11 PIP #4 was used as the seed of destruction for Andrew Crowell’s phenomenal Turboencabulator that stripped the PIP restrictions and brought a new level 17 challenge to life.

ApocalypTIC is a 5x5x5 Turning Interlocking Cube (TIC) consisting of 6 pieces.  Since it was TIC’led (not pink obviously) by Andrew, we know that it is going to be challenging.  

The first challenge is to find the assembly.  This is not as easy as most TICs since it lacks a large frame piece to use as a starting point.  In fact, each piece occupies no more than 3 layers with most of them only occupying 2.

Although some piece relationships seem obvious, there also seems to be many ways to create sub-assemblies.  And manipulating those sub-assemblies is a bit fiddly until you manage to get enough pieces to hold each other accountable.

At some point in the process, an assembly materialized from attempts at interweaving the pieces.  Swapping pieces in and out converged on a nicely morphing assembly of 4 pieces.  All that was needed was to determine how to get the, hopefully last 2 pieces, inserted.

I spent a lot of time on those last 2 pieces.  It got to the point where I could add either of them but not both at the same time.  After a lot of back and forth, I finally managed to confirm that these were indeed the final 2 pieces to go in and everything came together into a cube.

For a TIC, there are not a lot of rotations but the movements are well done and make a nice challenge.