![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2f0UiG39FuN3FamJ_U5DxyKzAaOGrfRrlmoaShfQaQ8Ic5VMwElaU1DG7uXNTWuaAcpaZ5aIO4ZsZKwNT6Y13JfgKO0v9Q64Ip7VmQ2KdYeu5zZ3xtBpg_hjN9440ooItCFZwCxbc73I/s320/DSC_8968.jpg)
I’d heard some rumours of something interesting in the works
and then seen a late prototype at one of our puzzle gatherings and it drew
quite a few admiring comments from those who had a play with it…I didn’t get to
spend much time on it before it headed up to its new owner, but it’s
cylindrical shapes definitely sets it apart in burr-world.
A while later in Japan I had a bit of a play with the copy
in the Design Competition, but as luck would have it, someone before me had
left it in bits, so I had a half-hearted attempt at putting it back together
again and failed miserably so I quickly moved along to something simpler in
order to restore my sense of self-worth!
At the end of IPP, sitting with a bunch of Renegades there
was a really loud cheer when Derek’s design was announced as the Grand Prize
Winner at the awards dinner – one of “our guys” (not sure why they let me
associate with them!) had won one of the big prizes, again! Cue all manner of
celebrations that could only have been a little bigger had Derek actually been
in the room at the time.
Back home a little while after IPP and Derek let us know
that he was going to make up a few and was taking orders, so Gill decided to
get me one for my birthday, and unbeknown to her at the time, I snuck in an
order for one of Derek’s Rhombic Maze Burrs as well, but that’s a whole other
blog entry…
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7i_QoimDXAXuYCxkkqMA9viws6C_R7VjDH9SWL_26ktK9e-4hm8YoyDht8c7z3-9PVK6ab34HxEdDIMNInX4mcDzhyphenhyphenKFZcn9FhKcDqUbYaVqsjKXfhpm_EVVw0vKyyLXaVz7ObG8NthO/s320/DSC_8970_edited-1.jpg)
When I started playing with the burr, my first thought was
that it was rather stiff and the pieces were very tight… so I kept at it and
hoped that it would loosen up with a little playing, but I wasn’t getting much
movement at all. I started paying more careful attention to the way that I was
gripping the pieces to make sure that I wasn’t blocking my movements, and that
helped a little, unscrewing the outer case a little, but then, nothing…
Realising that trying the same things over and over again
weren’t yielding any more useful results (I’m sure there’s a quotation about
that somewhere!) I switched tack and tried something else. And all of a sudden,
I had movement of a different and rather unexpected type. Finding the next move
didn’t take quite as long as the first, and from there on progress was a bit
better, until, at around 11 moves the first piece is removed.
Separating the pieces helps you understand why the pieces
behave the way they do, with strange-shaped protuberances inside the frame
pieces to both obstruct the inner pieces and force them to turn in a particular
direction… quite ingenious and how the heck Derek designed it, I have no idea!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgJkbKYejj0-QMbfGSRx9vo78oFW9uA9jXSCycveDq5sbwUsVKjGcBxdn4aPlwnokQaDoqMgV6g2oako8kwIcg95ObpCaV9RP9e1V_xoZptfEZ_Rbp6gcJjRo4GIOFIFl4S0UDML4rR-a/s320/DSC_8972.jpg)
Definitely a puzzle with plenty of repeat playability – and it’s
a pretty cheap form of therapy!
Great design Derek, and a worthy winner! Well done mate!
One of my favourite puzzles of all time!
ReplyDeleteI had hoped that my getting it at the MPP would stimulate interest and I'm very proud to say that the solution sheet in the IPP booklet is my photography.
Kevin
Puzzlemad
glad you like it, Allard! Yes, your copy was quite snug at first...
ReplyDeleteBetter that than too loose!
It's perfect - won't do anything until you ask it exactly the right question!
Delete