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This puzzle measures: 128 mm x 64 mm x 87 mm
Material: Cherry, Garapa, Purpleheart and American Walnut
Move: 17
Kevin Sadler wrote about it:
“These designs by Alexander just get more and more spectacular. Very few craftsmen would have agreed to mass produce this piece with a beautifully crafted box complete with a captive sliding arm (shaped like a mouse hole in a skirting board) and holders which are made from contrasting woods. The movements are wonderfully free and yet exceptionally precise. There are 3 moderately complex Purpleheart pieces to be placed in the box through a fairly wide opening but this entry is severely restricted by the moving arm over the top. I had left this one to the last because it frightened me a lot. Similarly to his Wishing Well puzzle from last year which had been very difficult for a rubbish puzzler like me. I was cutting it very fine – this one was only solved yesterday, just in time for my blog post (it is always a bit embarrassing to write about puzzles that I haven't solved yet). There are 45 possible 3x3x3 shapes that have the top S shape filled but only one can be inserted into the box with the restriction provided. The solution process is considerably narrowed down by thinking about which orientations of the pieces can fit through the restriction and once that is taken into account the number of assemblies is low enough for mere mortals to manage. Still incredibly difficult and not for the faint hearted but very solvable.”
