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Wooden Puzzles from Australia


 

 

Mr. Puzzle Australia

Is Brian Young from Tamborine, Australia, Brain has been making puzzles of high quality for many years, I met first Brian and his wife Sue, at the 22nd International Puzzle Party in Antwerp, Belgium 2002.

The following puzzles I offer for sale are part of the range of puzzles Brian produces, he restricts the number of puzzles he does of each design, and what is on sale now, maybe sold out in the foreseable future and will not be made again.

My wife Sue and I helped Brian and Sue organise the 27th International Puzzle Party in Gold Coast, Australia in 2007.

In photo Brian & Sue Young, Gold Coast Meter Maid (who helped Brian Release his Parking Meter Puzzle) Louis Toorenburg and Dylan Moetara (who helped me release my WHIZ of OZ puzzle)

All Prices are in New Zealand NZ$

 
 
TRICKY DICKY
CODE WA 1 $21

TRICKY DICKY - DIFFICULTY RATING 8
Size: 130mm x 40mm footprint of package. Australian Design Registration No 142170 under license to Rick Eason.

The object of the puzzle is to remove the ring. Whilst there have been a few puzzles using similar topology released over the years MR PUZZLE chose to make this design because it appears simple to solve at first, but will actually prove very difficult.

In looking for a puzzle to present at the 19th International Puzzle Party in London in 1999 designer Rick Eason of USA wanted one which would be ‘tricky' to solve. Rick thought the nickname of a famous past President of the USA aptly described his new design.

Note: The disk is designed NOT to go through the loop. It won't help if you force it and break your puzzle.

 

 



TRAFFIC LIGHTS
CODE WA 2 $15

TRAFFIC LIGHTS - DIFFICULTY RATING 5
Size 90mm x 40mm x 10mm. Length of bar is 200mm. Australian Design Registration No. 153007

The object is to rope from the wood to release the long bar.

This puzzle was brought to IPP20 in Los Angeles in 2000 by Lambert Bright.  The story goes that it was given to him by a local farmer from Lincoln, Nebraska who did not know it's origins but liked to bring it out and stump people.

Mr Puzzle has redesigned the original to make it TWO PUZZLES IN ONE.  Once the long bar is off you can use it as a completely different puzzle, the well known ‘Buttonhole Puzzle'.  With this puzzle we provide the solution to BOTH the Traffic Lights & the Buttonhole Puzzle.

 

 


PUZZLE STICKS
CODE WA 3 $17

 

PUZZLE STICKS - DIFFICULTY RATING 3
Size 130mm x 130mm x 16mm

The puzzle is to separate the eight pieces - if you can never do this puzzle it can always be used a a teapot stand.

At first glance this puzzle appears to be an impossible object.  In puzzle terms, an impossible object is a puzzle that will not come apart or looks physically impossible to make.  For this type of puzzle, the puzzle is to determine how it was made in the first place.  The Puzzle Sticks is NOT an impossible object.  It will come apart without the use of force.

Known as The Grill this puzzle was first made with only six pieces and published by Edwin Wyatt in his book Puzzles in Wood in 1956.   Mr.Puzzle's version has eight pieces to increase your challenge.

 


 


DECEMBURR
CODE WA 4 $64

 

DECEMBURR - DIFFICULTY RATING 9
Size 120mm x 120mm x 120mm (pieces 120mm x 30mm x 30mm)

There is an interesting sequence of 13 forward and backward moves required to disassemble this puzzle... Yes, that's 13 moves to get the first piece out and that's not the trickiest part of the puzzle.

Once completely apart, there are 5485 false solutions, meaning the puzzle looks like it should go together but you can't get the last piece in.  Only the specific sequence of 13 moves will allow you to insert the last piece and solve this puzzle. 

made under license to Goh Pit Khiam who invented this twelve piece puzzle in December 1999 without the use of a computer. We've given the puzzle a rating 9 out of 10 because it's sold assembled.  To solve the puzzle from a disassembled state without clues it could definitely be worthy of a  rating 10!

Click here to see the Decemburr as it's coming apart





THE BLITZ
CODE WA 5 $34
THE BLITZ - DIFFICULTY RATING 6
Size 80mm x 80mm x 80mm ( pieces 80mm x 40mm x 15mm)
The puzzle is to assemble the six pieces into this unique shape. This burr has a locking mechanism unlike any other that we know of.  It was designed in 1999 by Brian and is covered by Australian Design Registration No 142132.  This puzzle is EXCLUSIVE to Mr Puzzle Australia.This burr has a locking mechanism unlike any other that we know of.

There are only two identifcal pieces out of the six that make up this puzzle.  Although symmetrical this puzzle is difficult to visualise because the shape is offset from centre. Once you get it together you will also notice that the way it locks itself together is unique.

Packaged DISASSEMBLED for your puzzling enjoyment! This puzzle is one of the group of interlocking solid puzzles called burr puzzles. It is sold disassembled and you must rely on the photograph on the accompanying Presentation Card to know what shape to assemble the blocks in. This ensures you'll get the maximum value from the puzzle.  REMEMBER - for when all else has failed we enclose a professionally printed solution sheet.

 

 


MAKE ROOM
CODE WA 6 $42
 
MAKE ROOM - DIFFICULTY RATING 8
Size 90mm x 85mm x 78mm. The puzzle is made with the kind permission of Stewart Coffin.

The puzzle is to re-pack all 9 pieces in the box so that all pieces are under the closed lid.  You will need to make room for the key (dowel) to fit. Mr Puzzle resdesigned Make Room so that this version  has a unique solution.

In 1997 Stewart Coffin originally designed  Make Room and allocated it #127 in his numbering system although only one of  these puzzles was made. 

At IPP21 in Tokyo in 2001 a larger version of the puzzle #127-A  was given by Jerry Slocum as his exchange gift. That version had 14 separate solutions to fit all nine pieces in the box.




SATURN RING
CODE WA 7 $34

SATURN RING - DIFFICULTY RATING 8 Size: 
Each of 30 cubes is 17.5mm cubed plus one double block which is 35mm long. The assembled puzzle is 87.5mm x 68mm x 52.5mm

The puzzle is to assemble the 31 blocks into the planet Saturn with it's ring.

The blocks are strung on a closed ring of strong elastic cord so it's difficult for you to find where the puzzle starts and ends.
The puzzle was designed by and is exclusive to Mr Puzzle.

Click here to see the Saturn Ring apart.

 

   



PANDORA'S BOX
CODE WA 8 $42

PANDORA'S BOX - DIFFICULTY RATING 7
Size 87mm x 87mm x 60mm

The puzzle is to remove the four pieces from inside the box.

Tadao Muroi  (since deceased)  designed this framed burr in Japan in the early 1990s and it is with the kind permission of his son we are allowed to make this puzzle..  The puzzle requires  twelve sliding moves to remove the pieces from inside the box. The real puzzle may turn out to be how to get them back inside the box again using these 12 moves,  although there are other combinations.

   


MEGA SIX
CODE WA 9 $42
MEGA SIX - DIFFICULTY RATING 9
 Size 120mm x 120mm x 120mm (pieces 120mm x 30mm x 30mm) Australian Design Registration  No 151844 under license to Bill Cutler.

The puzzle is to assemble the six piece burr. Bill Cutler first used a computer program to analyse six piece burrs in 1974 but it took until 1990 to analyse all possible six piece burr combinations. 

Mega Six is the result of that search for the maximum number of moves for a six piece burr with a unique solution.  This does not mean it has a unique assembly, due to the number of internal voids.  In theory the pieces should fit together in 20 different ways however, the reality is that you can physically only put the puzzle together in one of the 20 assemblies.

Mr Puzzle's version, designed with Bill's help, has one extra cube removed to increase the number of false assemblies.... As if the original Computer's Choice Unique-10 was not difficult enough!  Not only OUR hardest six piece burr but THE hardest six piece burr!

Packaged DISASSEMBLED for your puzzling enjoyment! This puzzle is one of the group of interlocking puzzles called burr puzzles. It is sold disassembled and you must rely on the photograph on the accompanying Presentation Card to know what shape to assemble the blocks in. This ensures you'll get the maximum value from the puzzle.  REMEMBER - for when all else has failed we enclose a professionally printed solution sheet.

 

 

 




 
 




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