Jammed Gem Again 3D

A few weeks ago Tye sent me an advance copy of Jammed Gem Again – a new production of Frederic Boucher’s 2024 Jury Honourable Mention award-winning design now being made by Joshua Clouser.

I didn’t get to play with it in the Design Competition (too busy chatting with my puzzling friends from around the world!) so I was chuffed to be able to have a go at it in the calm surroundings of my study. The family resemblance is clear: there’s a box with pieces inside it based on a 2*2*3 internal space. Some of the pieces are visible through holes in the side, but they don’t really seem to be able to move much at all… which is interesting. You’re also aware that this is probably going to be a little more than just a “pack the pieces in the box” or “get the pieces out the box” puzzle, given that you’re being asked to find a few gems, your number and a secret message… and the magical phrase “sequential discovery” has also been noted somewhere in the description – all of which, coupled with the designer’s name, should be more than enough to pique any puzzler-worth-their-salt’s interest.

Mine certainly was, so I dived in soon after it arrived. It has a pleasing heft to it – it feels like it’s probably not going to succumb to some enthusiastic puzzlers’ ham-fisted attempts at doing the wrong things… which is a very good thing as I can be quite ham-fisted! An initial inspection shows up a couple of things that are sure to be interesting at some point, but are more or less impossible to use at this stage…

A little more investigation and I managed to unlock a couple of tools that immediately felt really helpful… and I really enjoyed playing with them all over the place, but sadly my progress ended up being somewhat blocked… and it remained thusly blocked for more than a week – and not because I wasn’t trying to make progress! I ended up running through my full gamut of “let me try this”s and “I wonder if there’s a that” – and when they didn’t work, I tried them all again, this time with more enthusiasm… the puzzle held firm and I was still blocked.

And I stayed blocked until a kindly Tye asked how I was doing and what I thought, so I told him what I’d done and I could sense the disappointment in his response – he told me he was surprised I hadn’t made another discovery yet… so while I explained that I’d tried moving everything that I could get to and to prove my point I ran around them all one more time, only to find something different happening… which was particularly galling as I know I’d tried that exact thing many times already and it hadn’t given me anything… turned out I hadn’t – I’d missed a spot, so to speak.

Armed with a new and intriguing tool I knew exactly what I wanted to do and with a bit of a fiddle I began to grow my little pile of bits and pieces deep from within this puzzle.

At one point I really began to fear that I’d never find homes for all of these little things that I’d freed… but I needn’t have worried – it’s all very logical and the reset manages to bypass a lot of the fiddliest bits. (Thank you Frederic!)

When you get all the way to the end there’s a heartfelt tribute to one of the giants – a lovely touch.

I’m so glad that Tye goaded me into trying harder – solving that has been the highlight of my Easter weekend – it’s instantly become a favourite!

Great design by Frederic – with some VERY clever tools – very nicely executed by Joshua… and if you’re tempted, Tye has them available for pre-order over here at time of writing. 

Pocket Change – Green

I’m very lucky to have some rather generous puzzling friends. Ali had recently spotted a new Puzzled-by-Piker Pocket Change puzzle had come out so he bought an extra copy for me – cheers mate!

The Green is another eminently pocketable puzzle where the aim is immediately obvious: on the underside there’s a slidey-tray with a coin captured in it – so free the coin! That slider carries the coin backwards and forwards, but there’s no obvious way for the coin to come out… good start!

On the top of the puzzle, there’s some interesting looking things to play with: a knob in the centre will rotate and there seem to be a few ball bearings in a slot on the one side, while the slot on the other side appears well-devoid of ball bearings.

Manipulating these things seem to allow you to move the balls from one side to the other, and sometimes that almost appears to be helpful in your quest… but somehow it’s never quite enough… some Think (c) required.

…OK some more Think (c) – and indeed some more discoveries necessary and then you’re able to neatly remove the coin from its hiding place.

Another great addition to the canon – perfectly safe to carry in your pocket – you’re never going to unintentionally lose anything.

Thanks Ali!