Crafty Sunflower – Release #2

We now continue the Crafty Sunflower Puzzle saga.  Previously, we reviewed the 3 puzzles from the May release (Crafty Sunflower Release: May 2025).  Now, 3 new puzzles have been added to the series. 

As with the last release, all the puzzles were designed by Serhiy Grabarchuk.  However this time, they are all 3D printed.  And they’re all completely different.  There is an entanglement puzzle, a multi-challenge 3D assembly puzzle, and an interlocking burr puzzle.  

Similar to the prior release, the packaging is still amazing.  Each puzzle comes in a clear acrylic box with nicely printed documentation.  And the ordering and shipping process continues to be top notch with frequent updates.

Flower Coaster

Do puzzles have utility beyond puzzling?  Of course they do.  I mean who hasn’t used a Kagen Sound puzzle box as a place to put a sweating drinking glass?  However, you would be better off using a puzzle like Flower Coaster that is specifically designed to double as a coaster as well as a puzzle.   

Flower Coaster arrives nicely displayed in a circular acrylic box.  The box also includes a nicely designed spacer to keep the puzzle from flopping around.  

The puzzle consists of 2 linked rings that have to be manipulated so that the notches in each are aligned and the links lay flat, nestled together.  When solved, it fits nicely within the accompanying holder or you can use it as … A Coaster!  There is also an option to get it as a set of 4 with the holder extended to hold the stack.  

Although the instructions say to separate the links, this does not mean to completely unloop them.  You should simply take the 2 pieces out of the flat configuration and make a 2 link chain.  After rotating the links a few times, the challenge is to them put them back into the flat configuration. It makes for a nice trick and is good for beginner puzzlers.

I like Flower Coaster as a puzzle but would I actually use it as a coaster?  Probably not.  I’d be worried about a hot mug on the plastic or a cold glass dripping through the openings.

Checkered Chairs

This puzzle arrives in a cubic acrylic box that fully displays the checkered cube solution.  I got the Fall Edition color scheme because it was different from most other 3D printed puzzles that I have.  The first thing that I noted after the colors was the weight of the box.  The pieces are denser than I had expected and had some heft to them.  Through the top of the box, you can also see the cover of the 24 page manual that includes 18 challenges. 

Removing the 8 pieces from the box, you can see that each is a combination of light and dark color cubes.  The goal is to the satisfy the shape and color constraints provided by each challenge described within the manual.  Of course the checkered cube solution is done for you since it arrives that way.  But can you really bring yourself to put it away any other way?  Not likely, so you will be making that checkered cube many times.

Some challenges don’t require all the pieces, but it’s up to you to determine which pieces to use.  The last 5 challenges only provide the shape for one of the colors.  It reminded me a bit of Ditch (One Tɍough – Ditch).  Great fun!

I had a good time going through all the challenges.  Once you get going, you start to pick up speed.

12 Logs

And now for something a bit more challenging.  Like Checkered Chairs, 12 Logs arrives in a cubic acrylic box with a 24 page manual.  However, unlike Checkered Chairs, you don’t need multiple challenges, the manual contains the step-by-step instructions on how to put it together.  However, I know that you are all like me and have taken the oath not to indulge in such crutches.  And since it comes solved, you should pull it apart blindfolded so that you don’t see how the pieces come apart.

I ordered the fuzzy edition because, why wouldn’t you get the Fuzzy Edition!  Is anyone really going to order a non-fuzzy one?  Then again, maybe it’s just me since I saw that the fuzzy option only comes in 1 color choice.  It’s even officially called the Orange Edition deemphasizing the fuzziness.

This puzzle is a true burr puzzle with round logs instead of square sticks.  A bit reminiscent of Two Brass Monkeys’ puzzles that use round sticks.  In this case there are 4 sticks along each axis and they have a peculiar offset.  And it’s this offset that provides a clue on where some of the pieces have to go.  Luckily, the puzzle comes with a base that is a huge help in understanding and working with the offsets.  And the base also comes with a significant clue to get you moving along.  The initial phase of solving this puzzle is identifying and using those clues to get started.

There are 6 types of logs with each type having it’s own set of notches.  The ends of the sticks are branded on each end to identify the type.  After working on this puzzle for a while, you get to know the properties associated with each brand.

Solving 12 Logs is a serious effort and I completely enjoyed putting it back together.  Although I confess to having used an unauthorized rotation (the pieces are round after all).  Which just means that I get to enjoy more time with it.  Definitely my type of puzzle!

At first glance, this puzzle looks like a monumental task, but upon reflection of the clues given and the reduction of unique piece types, it’s very doable.

  

All 3 puzzles are now available at Crafty Sunflower!

Crafty Sunflower Release: May 2025

I was recently asked if I would be willing to review the 3 new Grabarchuk puzzles being released by Crafty Sunflower this month.  I usually think of the Grabarchuk family as prolific creators of pencil and paper type logic puzzles but they have a long history of designing physical puzzles as well.  I was happy to hear that 3 new ones were being made available.  After a quick peek of them online, I immediately responded with a Yes Please!  Two things had immediately caught my eye.  The first was of course, the puzzling challenge.  The second was packaging.  I was amazed at the amount of effort that was put into the packaging.  Each puzzle comes in a tray with a clear acrylic top to store the puzzle.

A few days after my exuberant reply, I received a small but dense package in the mail.  It included the 3 puzzles for the May release plus 4 puzzles from previous releases that will be the subject of a future blog.  The paperwork within the box also included a nice thank you note.  This capped the attention to detail that Crafty Sunflower had previously demonstrated in the friendly status updates emailed during the shipping process.

All 3 of the Crafty Sunflower May 2025 release puzzles were designed by Serhiy Grabarchuk and made from laser cut wood and acrylic.  And they’re all completely different.  There is a 3D interlocking puzzle, a 2D assembly puzzle, and a 2D sliding piece puzzle.  And they are available now at Crafty Sunflower!

Plank Box

Plank Box is a 3D interlocking puzzle with 12 planks that comprise a box with 2 planks on each of the 6 sides.  This was the one that immediately caught my eye.  It is exactly the type of puzzle I like.

The 12 planks come nicely packed in a tray with a clear acrylic lid that can be rotated to the side allowing the pieces to be removed.  The top of the tray has your typical puzzle information consisting of the name, designer, and manufacturer.  The bottom has the solution engraved on it, so don’t look at it until you’ve solved it.  The other interesting piece of information that is included on the bottom is that Plank box was designed in 1977.  That’s almost 50 years ago!

Removing the planks from the box, you can see that the pieces are neither all identical nor all unique.  2 of the pieces are marked.  One has the name of the puzzle and the other has the name of the manufacturer.  I decided to build the box with the information on the outside although I assume that it is just as easy to build it with the information on the inside.

How would the pieces go together?  Would it go together as 2 sliding halves, a sequence of sliding together multiple subunits, or simply a sequence of adding the individual pieces one by one?  Would it perhaps require coordinate motion?  Would pieces need to slide back and forth to add other pieces?

My first goal was to determine how the pieces would slot together, so I built a corner of the cube to test it.  Simple enough, so I decided to see how much of a cube I could build before getting stuck.  Needless to say, I was not able to build a complete cube using such a random process. 

Taking the unfinished cube apart, I laid out the pieces to give them a good look.  A quick tabulation exposed a discrepancy that hinted at a possible locking mechanism.  Starting with this mechanism, I started to build out the cube again – only to end up with mismatching pieces at the end.

In addition to not completing the cube, I was lacking a concept for what happens after the first step of the locking mechanism.  Giving it some further thought, I came up with a second move as well as what would be available for a third move.  I starting to rebuild the cube from here – only to end up with mismatching pieces at the end.

At this point, I decided that the best approach was to lay the pieces flat on the table as an unfolded version of the box.  This allowed me to see where pieces would match or not and easily shuffle them around until I had a workable layout.  Of course, once I had a layout, I hoped that it would be possible to construct.  And lo and behold, there was a sequence of moves where the planks could be assembled into a cubic box.  Awesome!

Plank Box is a great design and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of solving it!

Octamion

Octamion is a multi-challenge 2D assembly puzzle.  The objective is to make various shapes with the 8 pieces that are provided.  There 2 types of pieces with 4 of each.   Each of the types uses a different wood type to provide a nice contrast between them.  Of course, the pieces arrive nestled within one of those nice trays with a rotating clear acrylic cover.

In line with the name, the 8 pieces arrive in the form of a regular octagon.  The bottom of the tray has silhouettes of 7 additional shapes (for a total of, you guessed it, 8 shapes) that can be made.  I found them fairly simple to solve and consider this one more targeted to a new puzzler.

The back of the tray also suggests that you create your own new shapes.  I highly suggest doing this.  In fact, the shape identified as a diamond, I would consider a kite, and I created my own diamond shape for your pleasure.  If you create interesting new shapes, share it in a message below.  Or better yet – send it to Crafty Sunflower!

Diamond

Correct Order

And now to flip the final puzzle of the release open.  Wait a minute!  There’s a note indicating that a bolt needs to be removed first.  No problem – bolt removed.  It still doesn’t open!

Unlike the prior puzzles of this release, Correct Order doesn’t have a hinged cover that opens up.   This one is meant to stay closed with the entrapped pieces manipulated by techniques other than direct contact.

Behind the acrylic cover, you can see 9 square pieces with the digits 1 to 9 cut out in a 3x3 array with the digits arranged in reverse numerical order.  The digits are cut completely through the pieces so that they are highlighted by the red base of the tray.  The pieces are nice and thick to give them some mass as they move around in their trapped space.  The corners of the pieces are also rounded to keep them from binding as they slid past each other.  Beneath the matrix of digits is a 1x2 piece that is in the middle of the bottom row which arrives with a bolt through it to ensure that the puzzle arrives in the reverse order starting configuration.  Removing the bolt allows pieces to start moving and the fun to begin.

Correct Order adds an element of dexterity challenge to a sliding puzzle challenge.  It’s easy enough to slide an entire row or column but when you want to move part of a row or column, you need to get a bit more creative.  However, the techniques used to split rows and columns are a good skill to add to your puzzling toolbox for other puzzles that you will eventually encounter.  Using these techniques, I managed to put the digits in the correct order.

As I was going to release with this blog, I was suddenly struck with the uneasy feeling that I may have not solved this puzzle as intended.  What if the puzzle could be solved without splitting rows or columns.  Dropping a digit into the bottom right side pocket would force all the pieces to rotate clockwise until that digit was popped back out and another dropped into the left-side pocket forcing all the pieces to then rotate counter-clockwise.  The 5 in the center would never move.  Could these alternating right/left clockwise/counter-clockwise moves be used to reverse the digit order?  If so, this would be a much more elegant solution not requiring any dexterity techniques.

Unfortunately, I was unable to verify if this alternate approach produces a solution, in time for  this blog but I’ll consider this one unfinished for now until I give it some more thought.  If you have any insight into this, please add it the comments.

So I enjoyed solving this one and it may be even better than I initially thought.