PUZZLEDDD

I am really happy to announce the release of my new puzzle, Hexabox !   Hexabox is a puzzle box, with coordinated motions and a pinch of sequential discovery.  I like to refer it as the big sister of Drawer Box, one of my very first designs, with some nice additions and improvements.  It requires 25+ moves to remove the 3 drawers and to find the hidden coin with 3 phases in the game. It is a difficult puzzle, with, I hope, some nice Ah Ha ! moments down the road.   The production is just starting. The first 4 copies are already reserved for early birds, but more will come. I will maintain a waiting list and communicate when copies are available.

  For those of you who had been following me, you remember that I started a new design, Hexabox, as a sequel to Drawer Box, and then I stopped, because of too many issues in the design and in the 3D printing process. "Vingt fois sur le métier remettez votre ouvrage" wrote Boileau the poet. So I did (more than 20 times actually...). I reviewed the design, taking into account the constraints of the production process. I work now with a new partner for 3D printing, and we were able to find solutions, with better quality. And I sent a couple of weeks ago, a copy of Hexabox to my favorite tester. Great feedback. A couple of things to fix, to improve the game. Still fine tuning, but I should have 5 copies ready to get assembled soon. Hexabox is sequential discovery puzzle box, with coordinated motions. It takes around 20 steps to get to the goal (find the coin), with 3 phases to follow. Not ready yet for ordering (in December).

 

  After the new shop section and a new logo, I continue the branding improvement with a new domain name: PUZZLEDDD ! You can now access my humble blog directly through puzzleddd.com or www.puzzleddd.com . Short name, easier to remember.  I make puzzles, using 3D printing, hence the (very clever, I know) name !  

I finally added a Shop section to this blog ! I like the idea of maintaining a blog and a shop, with two different purposes, but it is true that it was lacking a proper shop section to facilitate ordering. So here it is ! I hope all works well. Check it out, in the top menu bar. And by the way, I took this opportunity to change the name, and start introducing the new one, PUZZLEDDD, and the new logo!

  I am releasing 2 new puzzles, Espresso and Caffe Latte !  They are both packing & unpacking puzzles, taking advantage of round shapes, which give some nice possibilities of rotation moves.  The goal is to pack all pieces in the cup (8 pieces for Espresso and 7 pieces plus a sugar cube for Caffe Latte), enjoy your drink and unpack ! The disassembling experience is nice as well. They are of moderate difficulty, Espresso being easier (3/6) and Caffe Latte a bit more challenging (4/6). Caffe Latte Espresso A few copies are available for purchasing ( catalog of puzzles ), and more will be produced depending on the demand. 

I just designed a new packing puzzle, Espresso! The goal is to pack all 8 pieces of coffee into the styrofoam cup, and enjoy your coffee ! This puzzle is of medium difficulty, with some nice Ah Ha ! moves. I played with the concept of a round packing puzzle and it opens new possibilities.  It’s an assembly puzzle but don’t forget that you have not really solved a puzzle unless you have solved it twice. The disassembly is enjoyable as well. 

  It took a bit of time but the first batch of packing puzzles is ready for shipping ! I am happy with the result, each puzzle has its own style but they form a nice serie. Skof, designed by Lucie Pauwels Rotabox, designed by Lucie Pauwels PentaStack, designed by Bruno Hemon

  I am going to release soon 3 packing puzzles, 2 that have been designed by Lucie Pauwels and that I have modeled in 3D (thank you Lucie !), and one of my own design. I am quite happy with the result! I was not that familiar with packing puzzles until I recently played with a few and enjoyed the packing experience. Each one of these packing puzzles has its own twist, with similar difficulty, it is a nice set ! Rotabox, designed by Lucie Pauwels Pack all six pieces into the box (2 goals) The solution involves rotation, obviously! Difficulty:4/6 Pentastack, designed by Bruno Pack all six pieces into the box Pentagon shapes can be quite misleading ! Difficulty:5/6 Skof, designed by Lucie Pauwels Pack all seven pieces into the box The inner drawer can move laterally in the box ! Difficulty:5/6 If you are interested, please fill in the waiting list form. It is useful for me to better estimate the quantities and then launch the production.

Following up the idea highlighted in my previous post on partnership , I have started to exchange with Lucie Pauwels. Lucie is a well known puzzle designer who does publish regularly new puzzles on Facebook (a lot compared to me...). Some of her puzzles are getting produced of course, but certainly not all and some remain at the prototype stage. It's certainly a missed opportunity for puzzlers. So, I took on the idea to select one or two of her recent puzzles, of course with her kind permission, and then model and print it in 3D. My first choice is Rota Box, as you can see on the pictures below.   I have added an additional challenge (I just love additional challenges !) with the last configuration: sames pieces, with a hole obviously inside and an extra voxel at the corner of the box. It is a nice packing puzzle. The box with its opening is kind of tricky and certainly limits possibilities. Both configuration have a unique solution, that requires rotation (no, it is not a spoiler ...

 I wanted for some time now to design a new version of Drawer Box , a coordinated motion puzzle box. It's a nice design (at least I have good feedback from puzzlers), but not easy to 3D print and I had decided to discontinue this model. It has generated a bit of frustration for those who wanted a copy, my apologies for that. So, I decided to go for a new version, with a better printability but also with some new twist. I just cannot do the same design twice or change only a small thing here and there, this is no the way I like to work. And then comes Hexabox, the big sister of Drawer Box ! Hexabox is a coordinated motion puzzle box, shaped as an hexagon (I now, clever name...) , with 4 drawers and a sequential discovery ending improved compared to Drawer Box.  It is quite a massive puzzle, because of the 4 drawers. Also, I have designed a new way of coordinating the drawers, quite ingenious I must say, and I hope not too fragile.  This puzzle is actually difficult. I had ...

 The new year is certainly a good time for making improvement and planning ahead ! I have one puzzle design in the making, Hexabox, currently in producton of a first copy before final testing. I have a couple of designs on the drawing board, more or less advanced (more in my head than on paper to be honest...). That's fine, this is the way I want to work (at least as a puzzle maker I am my own boss !), taking the time to do things well. But let's face it, I am not going to have 10 designs on sale at any point of time. The only concern with that is international shipping fees which are always expensive and sometimes too expensive for ordering one single puzzle. I heard that from some of my customers, and I totally understand. Toying with this idea, I thought that I could have some partnership with a few puzzle designers (1 or 2, may be 3 but not more) for some of their puzzle designs and add them to the catalog. I would model, 3D print and get them on sale. Of course, puzzle des...

  Swiss Cheese and Grape is fun and cheesy but also a VERY challenging puzzle. After having solved the bonus games, you might get stuck on the main challenge. I decided to add on this site some hints for Swiss Cheese and Grape puzzle, which is for sure much more difficult than what it looks like. I you have recently acquired this puzzle, you will receive a link to Hint #1, that will lead to Hint #2, etc. The hints are incemental and will lead to the full solution. If you have not received it, just drop me a quick message.