October 2021 Update Preview

Soma Burr is Rod Bogart's amazing creation which combines the fabled Soma Cube with a traditional three-piece board burr.  The solver must fit the cube inside the burr; with only one solution, this is a tricky proposition. A delightful combination of packing puzzle and interlocking burr, Soma Burr is sure to become a favorite!

Construction of Soma Burr was done with extraordinary attention to detail. Each Soma piece is precisely milled and finished with full bevels. The fit is perfect; not too tight or loose, ensuring a lovely solving experience.

56 copies are available for this release, each signed and dated. This puzzle is shipped disassembled and is priced at $149.

"Exhaust" is a very unusual six-piece interlocking burr that combines board and burr piece shapes to achieve a fascinating symmetry. The two board and two burr pieces interact with the two hybrid-style pieces to create an unusual challenge. The solution is devious and clever.

Construction of Exhaust went very well. The end-grain joints of the hybrid pieces are reinforced by a half-shoulder for strength, ensuring that this puzzle will stand the test of time without mechanical failure. Exhaust looks, solves, and feels like the heirloom pieces it is.

62 copies are available for this release, each signed and dated. Exhaust ships in the assembled configuration and is priced at $75.

Frans designed the Japanese Wood Joint Burr in 1999 for the London IPP. Originally crafted in very small quantities by Wayne Daniel, Frans considers it one of his nicest designs. As he still receives requests for the puzzle we decided to make a small batch. I'm glad that we did! This burr is uniquely tricky in both concept and operation.

Japanese Wood Joint Burr is precisely crafted from Ash and Shedua. The fit and function are exact. This puzzle turned out very well and is representative of our highest standards for interlocking puzzles.

40 copies are available for this release, each signed and dated, and delivered disassembled (unsolved). It is priced at $109.

The Large Reversible Maze by Ohno is an interesting three-dimensional maze puzzle. The goal is to maneuver the shuttle piece from outside the puzzle to its final resting place in the middle square. Doing so is far trickier than you might imagine...typical of Ohno's designs, there are many twists, turns, and surprising moves.

This is our second production run of this puzzle. Creation requires a combination of both laser cutting and traditional woodwork techniques. The end result is a beautifully finished puzzle with a high degree of precision which is in keeping with our signature standards of quality.

96 copies are available for sale, each signed and dated. This puzzle is shipped disassembled and is priced at $49.

The DDD Interlocking Burr Set is a collaborative effort between Darryl Adams and Bryan Turner. This version omits the cubicdissection crafted box, allowing us to offer it at a significant discount for customers who prioritize puzzle value over presentation. This is a limited offer and will not be further available once sold out.

Darryl's inspiration came from Bill Cutler's complete summary of notchable pieces that can be used to form a burr shape. Bill's set of 42 pieces are sufficient to make all 314 solid notchable burrs and thousands of non-solid assemblies.

Darryl sought a smaller set that allows enough interesting combinations to guide the solver through increasingly difficult puzzles. He called it “DDD” for “Darryl’s Dense Dozen”. The set is “dense” in that it allows for 530 possible puzzle combinations; of those, 42 have a unique solution, and 24 are solid with no internal voids.

Bright stainless steel pieces are precision machined by Bryan Turner; assembled puzzles feel as though machine from a solid piece. This set is priced at $125.

The richly illustrated hardback book covers the history of secret opening boxes, including their fascinating history:

• Their flourishing at the turn of the 19th and 20th Century in England, Japan and Switzerland;
• The work of the three pioneers of puzzle box art – Wood, Chambers and Kamei;
• The greatest achievements of modern masters currently active in Japan, America, Europe and Australia.

There are also sections on puzzle box secrets, puzzle locks, and the current ‘puzzle scene’.

This book is priced at $40.