October 2020 Update Preview

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Available Wednesday October 7th, 3pm EST (UTC -4)

Change in Release Day

We’ve switched from Friday to Wednesday releases! This was done to improve our shipping speed. Items listed are ready to go, and fulfillment will begin at 3:01 on the date of the update. Our goal is to ship all orders by the end of the week.

Low Production

For some time now we have suffered a production hangover from the previous month. This was due to poor management; when items were "almost" ready we listed them instead of adjusting the release date. This led to stress and increased production error, cumulating in unacceptable fulfillment delays after last month's update.


We have now instituted a production cutoff the Friday before our Wednesday release. Moving forward, all items will be finished, packed, and ready to go when the update posts.

As a result of that change we were only able to complete three puzzles for this release. October is looking better, since we no longer have a backlog to process. DDD Burr Set, Blah Box and Reversible Mazes have all been pushed to the next release on November 4th.

We apologize for delays in the past and are looking forward to improved service in the future.

Monthly Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Ted Whittlesey for winning our monthly giveaway! Ted scored a free copy of the BonBon puzzle simply for being an active member of our newsletter. If you'd like to join, just drop your email address in the box on the lower right of any page on the site.

Tip Jar

We have added a tip jar which is distributed among our production staff every three months. This is the only time we will mention it's presence, there will be no other link posted. In the future if you wish to tip our hardworking staff, simply search for "tip jar" in the search box.

Recognition for Product Reviews

We use Judge.me reviews for their high standard of integrity. Recently we were recognized by Judge.me with a dedicated page to showcase our performance.

This was earned by our top 5% performance in Authenticity (ratio of verified reviews), Transparency (publishing all reviews), and Quantity (number of reviews).

We have you to thank for this honor! The time you take to provide feedback is highly appreciated and valued.

Now, on to the Puzzles....

Six Slabs Packing Puzzle

DESIGNER: Brendan Perez
MATERIAL: Quilted Maple, Wenge
RELEASE DATE: 10.7.2020
PRICE: $99
SIZE: 2.625"

Six Slabs is a unique packing puzzle reminiscent of the Hexahedroom design. Six uniform "slabs" must be packed into the box, which has three openings in a non-symmetrical pattern. This is complicated by two fixed blocks inside the box. With a level 1.1.9.3.2.3 solution, Six Slabs is non-trivial to solve.

Crafted from Curly Maple (box) and Wenge (pieces). Great care was taken during construction, with Wenge accents on the box corners and extremely precise dimensions. Extra attention was spent on the box, resulting in an extremely smooth finish and tons of depth in the maple quilting.

Approximately 70 copies were made; ships disassembled.


 

Puzzler's Cage Interlocking Puzzle

DESIGNER: Junichi Yananose (Juno)
MATERIAL: Bubinga, Schedua, Black Palm
RELEASE DATE: 10.7.2020
PRICE: $119
SIZE: 3.75"

Are you ready? No. You're not ready. This puzzle is a BEAST.
Puzzler's Cage was designed by Junichi Yananose in 1999 without the aid of a computer. He describes it as “crazy hard”. The puzzle has more interlock than should be possible, with half of the stick ends captive in notched perpendicular pieces. Even with instructions, assembly is a daunting task.

We used three different woods to give clues for solving. The beautiful tones of Bubinga, Schedua and Black Palm ensure this will hold a prized place in your puzzle display. Preferably behind glass so someone does not inadvertently disassemble it.

Notches and dimensions are very precise, with just enough room to prevent binding during the solve. Given the number of pieces and negative space, solving can be a bit of a dexterity puzzle. We recommended you keep it flat on a table to maintain a plane of reference during the process.

Approximately 65 copies made, ships disassembled.
  

BonBon Packing Puzzle

DESIGNER: Frederic Boucher
MATERIAL: Butternut and Morado
RELEASE DATE: 10.7.2020
PRICE: $89
SIZE: 3.7" x 3" x 2"

The "BonBon" packing puzzle by Frederic Boucher is just a ton of fun. The set of five tetrominos must be fully inserted in the rectangular box, and there is only one very specific way to do it. The solution requires well over a dozen correct moves, including rotations.

The box itself is very unusual, with cutouts in the top and sides. The acrylic top is held in place with a tricky set of shoulders resulting in a great fit which retains a solid exterior presentation.

BonBon is constructed with a butternut wood box. Butternut is usually a very soft wood, but we found an unusually dense billet with some nice figure and curl for this project. The pieces are made from Morado, a dense hardwood. The fit and finish are accustomed precision, with very little extra movement yet easy sliding pieces.

Around 65 copies were made; ships unsolved.

 

 

 

October 2020 Update Preview