I’ve been plugging away at three designs to succeed my earlier Model #808 and Model #360 puzzles – it’s been slow going. Every time I think I’ve resolved the last of the usability, aesthetic, manufacturability, and packaging issues, something comes up. I’m on the eleventh revision on one design, the nineteenth on the second, and the twenty-second on the third. Believe it or not, I’m not complaining – I love working through design problems – but my website has been silent about new puzzles for quite a while and many people have asked if I’m still actively designing. The answer is a resounding “Yes! I’m just slow”.
In addition to being slow, I also get distracted. I can’t resist the fun of playing with clever designs from other folks and the latest puzzle I’ve been enjoying is by Tom Jolly. Tom is a pretty interesting fellow: he’s a retired astronautical engineer, a prolific puzzle and board game designer, and also a science fiction writer. Check out his website which showcases his many talents.
I’ve played around with several of his designs and really liked the ones that consist of multiple identical copies of one fundamental piece. For example, “Double-Bar-Cube”, “Stairs”, and “Flange 77A”.
It’s not the hardest puzzle in the world (it’s a 4.2.2 move puzzle) but I really liked the shape and that it is composed of six congruent pieces. I played around with adding holes and surface patterns to hide the seams between the pieces and to make it look more intriguing. Here’s what I came up with:
Here are some other views:
I’m very pleased with how it turned out and Tom has generously given me permission to sell them. If you like it too, there are a couple for sale on my Etsy store. If there’s sufficient interest I will add them to my Shapeways and i.materialise stores too.
June 3rd, 2020 UPDATE:
I sold out on my Etsy store so I’ve added them to my i.materialise store. (I’m not going to bother putting them on my Shapeways store because Shapeways charges about twice as much.) You can find them here if you’re interested.