Snub Star - polyhedral interlocking puzzle

Today is the release date for the Snub Star. This blog post is being published just before the launch, but we anticipate that by the time many people see this entry, the Snub Star will already be sold out.

Polyhedral puzzles with a high number of pieces require a great deal of time and effort to produce. The Snub Star consists of 60 pieces, and the work and time needed to create a single puzzle far exceeds that of making ten typical 6 piece burrs. Furthermore, due to its large size, it occupies considerable space during manufacturing. Consequently, no matter how hard we try, the production quantity is inevitably limited. In the early days of our business, it was common for polyhedral puzzles to remain in stock for months after release. However, in recent years, it has become impossible to produce enough to reach everyone who expresses interest in owning one. If anyone reading this blog is interested in creating and selling the Magnus 60 or Snub Star themselves, please contact us. After consultation, if both parties' conditions are met and an agreement is reached, we will provide the data necessary for licensed production of these puzzles.

The Snub Star is crafted from stock pieces with a design length of 222mm. We start by preparing stock timber of about 50cm to 1 meter. Even with a 1 meter length, only four pieces can be obtained. If there are imperfections like knots or chips in the timber, the yield becomes even lower. Discarding the leftover material, pieces shorter than 222mm after cutting out the basic shapes, would be very wasteful. So, to reuse this surplus material, Juno designed the Trick Opening 6BP. From the remnants left after cutting pieces for the Snub Star, there was enough material to make several dozen Trick Opening 6BP puzzles.

The notches on the Snub Star pieces are all combinations of multiple angles. The jig is tilted and rotated, and the dado blade is also tilted to cut the notches. With pieces processed this way, it is difficult to verify if the notches are at the correct location, with the precise angle and depth. Even when using calipers, hooking the tips onto pointed or angled surfaces or edges makes it uncertain whether the measurement is accurate. As a workaround for this problem, a mirror image piece created with a 3D printer proved effective. Matching the processed piece against its mirror image makes any imperfection immediately obvious. Despite these refinements, accurately carving the total of 180 notches across the 60 pieces requires intense concentration.

This project presented many challenges, so we felt immense relief when the manufacturing was finished. We believe the completed puzzle is something that will satisfy the collectors' desire to own it. We hope that those who receive this puzzle will be pleased with it.

Happy Puzzling!

Cubic Fusion

We have released a put-together puzzle called Cubic Fusion. It is a puzzle that uses ten rectangular pieces to construct three cubes (3x3x3, 4x4x4, 5x5x5) and one larger cube (6x6x6).

The use of distinctive wood gives it an attractive appearance, and we believe it is an item that will satisfy the desire to own something special.

Since Juno's interview was published in The New York Times just before last Christmas, the number of visitors to our shop and new account registrations has increased. Considering this, we made a concerted effort to produce enough Cubic Fusion puzzles so they would not sell out instantly. Having our puzzles sell out in a flash is not what we want. We believe it is ideal for first time visitors to our shop to find some puzzles in stock, allowing them ample time to consider whether to make a purchase.

Predicting puzzle demand has become very difficult, and we are often surprised by actual sales results. While this blog entry is being published immediately after the Cubic Fusion launch, how will things actually turn out? We hope our puzzles reach customers who will cherish them for a long time.

Happy Puzzling!

Magnus 60, 36th Auction Results

The new puzzle we released this time is the polyhedral 60 piece burr Magnus 60. The last time we released a polyhedral puzzle was in December 2022, with the Euroka 10x3, so quite a long time has passed since then. However, as you can guess from our brand name Pluredro, which means polyhedron in English, polyhedral puzzles are something we intend to continue releasing. We hope you will look forward to future polyhedral puzzle releases as well.

Polyhedral puzzles with many pieces take a great deal of time to produce. We began production of Magnus 60 as early as January this year, yet it was not completed until August. It is also quite common with polyhedral puzzles that many pieces are lost in the manufacturing process. As a result, despite the considerable amount of time spent on production, the number of units available for sale was limited.

In view of these circumstances, and knowing that polyhedral puzzles have a small group of dedicated enthusiasts, we offered about half of the Magnus 60 production through a priority sale. At that time, we received many comments saying that the requirements for qualifying for the priority sale were very strict.

We know of at least four collectors who are trying to acquire every puzzle we have released. These individuals actually own more than 90 percent of all the puzzles we have produced. We believe it is entirely reasonable to include these four people as priority sale recipients, but on the other hand, doing so means subtracting four units from an already limited stock. If we were to greatly loosen the qualification requirements from that point, we would have almost no stock left to offer for general sale. For that reason, we had no choice but to set the conditions strictly.

Before the general sale of Magnus 60, we held our customary auction. This time, the number of items offered was small, but even so, the total winning bids reached AUD $7,580. As promised, half of that amount, AUD $3,790, has been donated to The Salvation Army Australia.

We hope that the goodwill of those who placed bids will reach and support people who are in need.

Happy Puzzling!