Holiday Puzzling – Christmas Advent Calendar

As empty-nesters, my wife and I decided to celebrate the holiday season with advent calendars.  A puzzle calendar for me and a lego-ish puzzle for her.  I was surprised by the number of puzzle advent calendars that were available on Amazon.  I zeroed in on one that had a lot of mini hanayamaesque puzzles sprinkled with some disentanglement puzzles.  I thought that this might be a good opportunity to try some of the easier Hanayama puzzles that I never acquired.  Normally, I acquire all Hanayamas from level 4 on up although I do have some of the easier ones as well.

The puzzles are not identified with the Hanayama brand and the quality is not quite the same. It would have had to be pretty bad to not be worth the price but I was braced for the worst.  However, the quality was better than expected and I was very happy to open one of the 24 2” cubic boxes every day leading up Christmas Eve.

Here is a brief overview of each day:  

Day 1:  ABC (Level 1) – Good beginner puzzler.  Nice choice to get things going.  When done, I looked at solution and it showed removing the loop earlier, but this was not actually possible.  1 down, 23 more to go.

Day 2:  Lock – Nice little lock with a key.  I tried everything and was sure that it was broken due to being a reduced sized lower quality reproduction.  Then I did something that I normally never do and peeked at the solution sheet.  The solution sheet verified that it was indeed my brain that was of reduced size and lower quality and the lock was doing what it was supposed to – confounding me.  The score was now 1 and 1.

Day 3:  Disentanglement Puzzle – Typical beginner disentanglement puzzle that took seconds to solve and reset.

Day 4:  Chain (Level 6) – Good puzzle and worked well in the smaller size.  However, it didn’t feel like a level 6 Hanayama puzzle, leaving me to wonder if it’s really the same as it’s big brother.  I’ll need to compare them at some point.

Day 5:  Keyring (Level 2) – Not difficult but not a quick solve either.

Day 6:  Star (Level 3) – Not supposed to be difficult and I’ve solved a larger version in the past.  However, still haven’t managed to get this one apart.  Nice to have a puzzle on the side that will take some more effort.

Day 7:  Key (Level 1)– Nice entanglement of 2 keys.  Not difficult but fun.

Day 8:  Violin (Level 3) – Was working on how to remove the key piece when the real key piece fell out.  This one has a nice logical solve after analyzing the pieces.

Day 9:  3 Rings – Argh!  I’m too scared to make too many moves trying to untangle this entanglement puzzle.  Wish it had been the 2 ring version to verify what I thought needed to be done since I’ve never done that one.

Day 10:  Disentanglement Puzzle #2 – Still easy but nice step up from Day 3.

Day 11:  Loop (Level 1) – Easy puzzle, especially since I have the larger version.  This version has some quality issues but still works fine.

Day 12:  S&S (Level 3) – Nice version of 2 entangled pieces that need to be separated.

Day 13:  Quartet (Level 6) – I actually have the full size version but have never gotten around to doing it.  I thought that it was supposed to be difficult but found it quite easy.  Perhaps it’s not exactly the same.

Day 14:  2 Rings – Lowe and Behold, the easier version of 3 rings from Day 9.  Although not difficult, this puzzle has a very nice Aha moment.  Need to apply what I’ve learned here and retackle 3 Rings.

Day 15:  Laby (Level 5) – A 2 piece, 2-sided maze puzzle.  I have and have solved the bigger version but did not have time to solve this smaller version yet.  It’s now sitting next to Star and 3 Rings.

Day 16:  Elk (Level 5) – I have the larger version of this one and solved it very quickly.  Much move quickly than the original version.  It leaves me wondering whether it’s really the same or the tolerances are not as tight making it easier to move the pieces.

Day 17: Dolce (Level 3) – Nice implementation of 2 entwined lovers that need to be separated.

Day 18: Remove The Ring Disentanglement Puzzle – Another nice disentanglement puzzle with the goal to remove a metal ring.  This one is similar to the horseshoe puzzle but utilizes a cord instead of a second horseshoe.

Day 19: Disk (Level 2) – This one was a disappointment.  It came apart in a couple of trivial moves although it looked like it was designed to require many more moves.  Checking with the instructions, a 13 move sequence is mapped out.  The quality on this one is a complete failure, which is a shame since the small size is nice for this puzzle.

Day 20: Delta (Level 3) – 3 piece coordinate motion puzzle.  I didn’t find it a challenge because I’m familiar with these types of puzzles but it’s a must for beginners.

Day 21: Coaster (Level 4) – Simplicity itself to scramble.  Difficult to get it back into position.  Similar to the many ring puzzles, this puzzle has 3 rings that are connected in a chain and can be interwoven and laid flat by aligning the notches.  It’s not difficult to get 2 links aligned but getting that third into place has so far eluded me. 

Day 22: 4 Rings – HaHaHa (or HoHoHo).  Should have seen this one coming.  Right in the unsolved puzzle pile you go.

Day 23: Amour (Level 5) – Easy enough to take apart.  Had to study it a bit to get it back together.  This seemed much easier than a level 5 but maybe this version is more forgiving.  I always thought that the plate represented a heart, but looking at the Hanayama description, it’s really an apple to commemorate the original sin.

Day 24: G&G (Level 3) – 2 intertwined G’s that need to be separated.  Nice little challenge with several rotations.

  

The Other One

Uns@lv*bl# F!&#ing O$j@ct - Cast UFO

Every once in a while, something shows up out of nowhere and descends upon the unsuspecting world.  This was the case with Cast UFO, and when it landed, it made a big impact.

Cast UFO was designed by Vesa Timonen.  I know this because Vesa’s name is the only thing that I can read on the back of the Hanayama Huzzle box.  UFO is a sphere trapped within a frame, somewhat reminiscent of Cast Marble ().  The frame looks like it needs to slide apart to be separated, but the internal sphere, which can be seen through the hole in the top and bottom, is in the way.  The sphere can be rotated within the frame and it appears that the sphere is divided into quarters.  The orientation of the quarters can also be changed by rotating any half of the sphere along either cutting plane.  Although each of the quarters looks the same, peering into the cracks reveals that the quarters are not simple wedges and that there is some fancy geometry going on that allows the rotations but doesn’t seem to allow it to come apart.  Maybe it’s a puzzle.

I played with this one on and off for quite a while.  After a month, I was having serious doubts about being able to solve it.  For the longest time, it was like the fidget spinner on my kitchen table – something to twirl every once in a while without getting anywhere.  Along the way, I was comforted by the thought that the sphere has an infinite number of possible orientations within the cube and that there was no way to identify them since the quarters all look the same.  At one point, I almost decided to use a marker to be able to identify the pieces, but decided not to in the end.  Warning – using stickers would be a realllllly bad idea.

I started out with what I thought was a reasonable approach to solving it but I wasn’t getting anywhere.  Thinking about it some more, I came up with 2 other approaches to disassembling the puzzle.  Alternating between the 3 approaches, I finally managed to get it apart.  Once I had it all apart my first reaction was relief for finally getting apart.  This was quickly followed by the horrifying experience of noticing identifying numbers on the inside of the sphere pieces, which I failed to notice when taking it apart.  I now had 6 pieces staring back at me with no indication of how they were originally oriented.  The good news is that once you take UFO apart, it is rather easy to determine how the pieces should be oriented and put back together.  However, even knowing the solution, it’s still an effort to take apart.

So why does everyone hate this puzzle so much.  It’s rare that a puzzle receives negative reviews and this one seems to be attracting them.  It’s not that it’s a bad design.  It’s a brilliant design.  The problem with this puzzle is in the packaging.  That’s right, it’s not the puzzle but the box that it came in.  It was the presentation that did this puzzle in.  Right on the front of the box, it was declared that this puzzle was 4 stars out of 6 in difficulty.  So we all put on our 4 star hats and took our 4 star game out to solve this tough nut.  But we came unprepared to the game and we felt mislead and cheated.  Had the puzzle been given a 6-star rating, puzzlers would have enjoyed it more even though some would have declared that it was too easy to justify a level 6.  Folks that normally avoid the most difficult puzzles in the series would have been steered clear of this trap.  Even 5 stars might have appeased everyone.

Let’s get back to the design.  I’ve already mentioned that it’s brilliant and it is.  It was obviously designed to be difficult and it certainly succeeded.  Once you take it apart, you can appreciate Vesa’s genius for creating these types of puzzles.  This puzzle has very tight tolerances and you have to have everything lined up just right to start the disassembly.  I’ve seen at least one reference on the Internet that indicated that a pre-production version, was used for testing.  This version most likely had bigger tolerances, which would have made it easier to disassemble, resulting in the easier rating.

I will mention that there is a significant clue that I completely failed to notice that would have been a great help in the beginning.

I bought my version of Cast UFO from Puzzle Master and if the more difficult Hanayama puzzles appeal to you, you can get a copy here.

Providing Solutions, A Slippery Slope - Cast Slider (Redacted)

My regular Hanayama pusher inquired if I wanted a copy of Cast Slider and I declined.    I felt that a puzzle with 3 stars from Hanayama would not provide enough of a challenge to be that interesting.  I’ve made it a point to collect all the Hanayama puzzles that are 4 stars and higher.  It’s not that I don’t own any easier Hanayama cast puzzles.  I have a copy of Cast Loop, which is 1 star.  It may not be difficult, but I like the movement and it’s a good puzzle to hand to a new puzzler.

My first Hanayama puzzle was Cast Enigma (6 stars), which started me on this path.  As I get older, the numbers seem to be skewing to the left.  I’m thinking that maybe I should reevaluate my abilities and collect puzzles that are 3 stars and higher.  Anyone that has been beaten up by Cast UFO (4 stars) recently can certainly sympathize.

When recently purchasing some puzzles from Puzzle Master to support a puzzle challenge (Puzzle-A-Month Challenge), I decided to add Cast Slider to the cart and give it a try.  I took it with me to the barber and solved it while waiting to get my hair cut.

Cast Slider was designed by Vesa Timonen and consists of 3 pieces, the 2 sliders and a central hub piece that they slide on.  Each slider consists of two flat sides that are connected on each end by a large pin.  One side is extended with a grove that the hub’s pin runs along.  The hub’s pin extends out of both sides of the hub to interact with each slider.  The hub also has a slots cut in it to allow the slider’s pin’s to travel along it.

Here is a blow by blow description of the heart-pounding disassembly process, slightly redacted to preserve against spoilage.   Of course, the person responsible for the redaction is ██████████.

When handling this puzzle, it is apparent early on that the only available move is to █████████████ releasing █████████████████████████  and then Boom! Things start to  █████████████████████████████████ until the sliders flop around, hanging loose by one end on the hub.  Although it looks like they might be able to come off, they just can’t seem to get past the hub’s pin.

 

After some experimentation, it becomes obvious that █████████████████ are █████████████████████.  With a little further experimentation, it becomes apparent that you need to ██████████████████████ and ████████████████████████, ██████████████████████ is infinity squared bigger than infinity? ████████████████████. ████████████████████████ won’t get you anywhere but ██████████████████████████████████ will █████████████████████ allowing you to ████████████████████████ for the climactic ending where you can ████████████████████████ like magic.  Indeed, if you practiced this enough, you could make it look like a magic trick.

As you can see from the solution description, this puzzle is not that difficult but has some interesting moves.  Assembling the puzzle would be more of a challenge than disassembly if you haven’t gone through the disassembly process.  However, I consider Slider a disassembly puzzle and wouldn’t recommend starting with the assembly.  I was able to do this puzzle in a few minutes, but I have handed it to others who have found it more challenging than I did.

If you are interested in getting your own copy, you can get Cast Slider from Puzzle Master here.  If you get stuck, just follow the directions in the solution above.

P.S. I gave the puzzle to my wife to work on after she read the solution above and she's still not talking to me.  Great puzzle!

Is it Love? - Cast Arrows

How many different types of love are there?  According to C. S. Lewis there are apparently 4: Storge/Affection, Philia/Friendship, Eros/Romance, and Agape/Charity.  Can you hold all this love in your heart at the same time.  Hanayama seems to think so.  The Huzzle Cast Arrows puzzle has a heart with 4 arrows stuck in it, one for each of the types of love.

I attempted this puzzle at last year’s RPP and didn’t have a chance to solve it.  I wasn’t planning on getting my own copy, but since I was placing an order with Puzzle Master for the Puzzle-A-Month Challenge , I added it to my basket.

No matter how the arrows are moved around, and it is a pain to get all 4 arrows where you want them in the orientation that you want them, it just doesn’t seem possible to extract them.  Do they come out at an angle?  Does more than one come out at a time?  Is there some kind of coordinate motion required?  How can the shape of the cutout in the heart be exploited?  These are just some of the typical questions that arise when struggling with this supposedly simple Level 3 Hanayama puzzle.  Personally, I’d rate this one at Level 4.

Although files, pliers, and blowtorches may be included in your puzzle solving kit, there is a solution that does not require any force or external tools.  When you have figured it out and know what to look for, it’s not that hard to remove and return the arrows from the heart.  Once it’s apart, it’s easier to see exactly how it works without all the arrows flopping around.  The solution is easily repeatable and you can play Cupid all day to your heart’s content.

What I like the most about this puzzle is that it is a great application of the Reuleaux Triangle.  A Reuleaux Triangle is 2D shape that has the same width regardless of its angle of rotation.  You can make a Reuleaux Triangle by taking an equilateral triangle (all sides the same length), and using a compass oriented at each point to connect the other 2 points with an arc that has a radius that is equal to the length of the side of the triangle.

The heads and tails of the Hanayama arrows appear to be based on Reuleaux Triangles and the opening in the heart with the other arrows in the way is just a wee bit smaller than the width of the Reuleaux Triangle.  I leave it to you to figure out how to get past this paradox.