Pinwheel Burr

Designer

Oskar van Deventer

Manufacturer & Availability

Overview
The Pinwheel Burr looks like a burr, is as difficult (if not more so) than a typical mid-level burr but yet isn't really a burr as such. I would consider it more a 3D packing puzzle since the goal is to fit the eight pieces around a cube and the whole lot onto a base. Not only that, but also to form the "pinwheel" with the same wood type for each of six facings.

Each of the eight pieces comprise three blocks each measuring 1 x 2 x 2 glued together to form different shapes and in different combination of woods. Initially it doesn't look that difficult as you take out the pieces from the base. 

However, the whole ensemble and the orientation of the pieces relative to each other is very confusing to put back once the pieces are fully scrambled (just look at the photo above). Also trying to tell the different woods apart was also quite a challenge for me. To match back the same wood type to form the pinwheel for each side is really no joke. I got nowhere with this one and had to resort to the solution, which thankfully came with the puzzle. 

Difficulty Level