The 234 Puzzle Cube in its’ presentation box with sealed certificate
I actually solved something this week! Hallelujah! Back in November last year, I
received an email from a lovely friend who offered me the opportunity of being
able to try out one of his new designs as a Christmas present. That wonderful
friend is also one of the best puzzle craftsmen in the world. Yes it is the
Greek wonder,
Mike Toulouzas. I have been lusting after quite a few of his puzzles for many years (I do own
a few from him but not enough). I am still hoping that he will make some more of
his
Illusion puzzle
which I reserved from him way back in 2014 and he has still not managed to make
any! This fabulous offer was sent to a handful of his puzzle friends and I am so
grateful that I am considered significant enough to be included in that very
select group.
Mike gave no details away apart from a promise that a puzzle was
coming and when it arrived in January, I was blown away by the sheer beauty
of it. If you look at his website, you will quickly realise that he never
does anything quickly or without precision. Everything is gorgeous and
perfect. The box contained a lovely display box and an envelope with a
puzzle maker’s stamp on it.
Inside the envelope was a certificate with a wax seal. The attention to
detail is amazing – the certificate is good heavy card and the edges have
been cut with pinking scissors. I almost didn’t want to break the seal but
had to see what was inside:
All puzzles should have one of these!
It states the woods and I think that this is the first puzzle I own that has
Lemon tree wood in it. The box is gorgeous and noteworthy because even the
hinge is made of wood with a polished brass dowel. Opening the box lid
requires a little pull and because of the design of the legs interacting with
the lid, it opens (and closes) with a satisfying click. Inside, the box is
packed with beautifully chamfered puzzle pieces:
Just look at that!
The instructions are to make a cube with the pieces and looking inside I did a
quick count/calculation. 2x2x7 is 28 which is 1 cubie too many. I tipped them
out and saw why. The pieces are stunning and more complex than expected. Mike
has signed one of them:
Just 6 pieces – how hard can it be?
Before it arrived, Mike emailed to ask that all the recipients:
Time your self when you decide to play.
Record three times the time (cause might be false conclusion from the
first ones.
Send me the results….and a few words as a feedback would be
appreciated.
Having taken my photos and marvelled at Mike’s skills, I set to. I should
have been doing chores but Mrs S realised that I had something special and
I reassured her that at only 6 pieces and “only” having to make a simple
cube, it wouldn’t take me that long – probably just 2 or 3 minutes.
WRONG!
I set a timer on my phone and off I went. There are 2 fairly large and
complex pieces and this seemed an obvious place to start. I tried to be
logical and systematic which is a bit of a stretch for my very simple
brain. I have very few neurons and most of them have been thoroughly
gassed at work! Everything I tried was not working – this was very odd.
In the end I solved it with the following times:
1st attempt was 7min 57sec.
2nd attempt was 1min 15sec. (maybe because I had remembered the first?)
3rd attempt was 5min 59sec.
For something so apparently simple, there was definitely something
startlingly difficult. Mike has designed this deliberately to lead the
puzzler astray. Your first thoughts about how to solve this are very
much led in the wrong direction. The third time, I knew that the
conventional approach was wrong but I just couldn’t seem to work out the
correct one until I had exhausted several obvious failures. When I
pointed this out to Mike, he agreed that this was a deliberate feature
and almost everyone has the same problem. He had noticed it with
“normal” people (adults and kids) and wanted to see whether us
“abnormal” people do the same thing.
I am sort of delighted to know that I am at least slightly normal but
judging from comments received from work colleagues, they do not think
of me as very normal at all. 😱😳🤣
AT the moment, Mike is not planning on making these for sale but may
do in the future. If you do see an opportunity to buy any Puzzlevision
creations then you should jump at the chance.Thank you Mike for such a
wonderful opportunity and a fabulous puzzle for display!
Previous Toulouzas creations (either alone or in
collaboration with another creator):
Trigo
Trinity
Puzzle splines
Doors and Drawers