2021 Puzzle Design Competition Entries

2021 Puzzle Design Competition

Entries

The Design Competition Guide (same content: photos, instructions, and notes) is available here .

The following is a summary of the 75 entries in the 2021 competition (click on images for larger photos).

All designs are copyrighted and are the intellectual property of the designer. All rights are reserved.

Ball and Ring Pseudo-Jiggle Puzzle Designer: Kohno Ichiro Goal: Place the pachinko ball at the top of the hill, with the wooden ring around the top of the hill. Materials: Wood, iron ball, acrylic plate Classification: Dexterity Purchase: Contact the designer by for this or other puzzles.
Billard Designer: Christian Cormier Goal: Find the eight-ball Materials: Aluminum/stainless steel Classification: Sequential Discovery (2.1 Trick Opening, 5.5 Maze) Purchase: Visit Chris.C. Puzzle on Facebook; US$485 plus shipping; limited edition of 100.
Bitcoin Maze Designer: Robrecht Louage Goal: Remove the coin Materials: Trespa, steel balls Classification: Sequential Discovery (Take Apart) Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Borromean Cage Designer: Doug Engel Goal: Remove the constellation from its Borromean cage, then return it to inside the cage. Materials: Plastic Classification: 3.6 Misc. Interlocking Purchase: Contact the designer by or visit the Puzzleatomik Etsy shop; $19.59 plus shipping.
Box of the Celts Designer: Numbskull Puzzles (Matt M) Goal: Unravel the knot to unlock the mysteries and find your prize. Materials: 3D-printed PLA+ Classification: Sequential Discovery (Take-Apart, Maze, etc.) Purchase: Contact the designer by or message "FroodLoops" on the MP Discord or Reddit to be added to the "interest list"; no firm upfront commitment required.
Boxy Designer: Laszlo Molnar Goal: Pack the pieces into the box with rotating panels Materials: Wood Classification: 1.2 3D-assembly
Brass Monkey 4 Designer: Two Brass Monkeys (Steve Nicholls, Ali Morris, and Brian) Goal: Disassemble and reassemble the six piece cylindrical burr. Materials: Brass Classification: INT-OTH, RTF-ANY, OPN-OTH Purchase: Visit TwoBrassMonkeys.com; £93 including worldwide shipping.
Burr Bot Designer: Andrew Crowell Goal: Discover what the Burr Bot has eaten. Materials: PLA plastic and magnets Classification: Hybrid - Burr Puzzle and Trick Opening Box Purchase: Contact the designer by or visit arcWoodPuzzles.
Butterfly Loops Designer: William Waite Goal: Link the pieces outside the tray into a loop of any shape and any number of pieces from 3 up to all 12. Fit the set of 12 pieces in the tray Materials: Walnut and alder Classification: 2-D assembly Purchase: Visit PuzzleMist.com
Caffe Latte Designer: Bruno Hemon Goal: Pack the seven pieces and the sugar cube into the cup, and enjoy your drink! Then also enjoy the unpacking experience. Materials: 3D-print Classification: ASS-OTH Purchase: Visit puzzleddd.com
Chiral 2&2 Designer: Koichi Miura Goal: Pack the four pieces into the box. Materials: Wood, acrylic Classification: 3D Assembly
Coherent Convoys Designer: Namick Salakhov, Goetz Schwandtner Goal: Move all ships from the starting (blue) channel through the lock (gray channel) and into the red channel. Add the small spacer at the blue end of the lock, then move all ships from the red channel to the blue channel., except that the guard ships (light red and light blue) will remain in the lock. Add the large spacer at the red end of the lock (remove the small spacer), then move all ships from the blue channel to the red channel, again leaving the guard ships in the lock. Materials: Vinyl, acrylic Classification: 5.3. Sequential Movement Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Coin Puzzle Designer: Kohno Ichiro Goal: Remove the coin Materials: Wood, acrylic Classification: Take-Apart Purchase: Contact the designer by for this or other puzzles.
Croissant Designer: Koichi Miura Goal: Place the four pieces inside the hexagonal tray. Materials: Acrylic Classification: 3D Assembly
Crypt Designer: Artifact Design Co (Will Hughes) Goal: Access the secret compartment and decipher the plaque inscription. Materials: Painted PLA+ Classification: Take-Apart Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Cuplik Designer: Cristian Poliziani Goal: Assemble the 27 cubes to obtain a 3x3x3 cube with each of the six faces showing a single unique color. Materials: Walnut, Plexiglass, Poplar plywood Classification: Put -Together Purchase: Keep informed through NoWayPuzzle on Instagram or visit NoWayPuzzle.
Cyclone Designer: Kyoo Wong Goal: Disassemble and assemble the four mutually interlocked pieces. Materials: Zinc alloy Classification: Take-Apart Purchase: Available from Hanayama resellers.
Darwin's Drawer Designer: Theo Geerinck, Symen Hovinga Goal: Put the four pieces into the drawer and close it. Materials: PLA Classification: 3D assembly Purchase: Visit No Problem Puzzle Shop; price: From US$30 plus shipping; 3D printed on demand.
Double Circle Real 6x6x6 Designer: Carl Hoff Goal: Restore the puzzle to its solved state. Each face should be a single color, with the exception of super-stickered components that have a secondary color to give otherwise identical pieces a unique position and orientation in the solved state. Materials: SLS Nylon and Laser Cut Acrylic Classification: SEQ-GRP (Twisty Puzzle) Purchase: Visit the grigorusha shop Etsy shop; also available as kits through Shapeways or i.Materialise (Contact the designer by )
Double Jigsaw Puzzle 5 alpha Designer: Sky Huang Goal: Arrange the five two-layer puzzle pieces so that their bottom layer fills the 5x5 frame, and that there is no overlapping in the top layer. Materials: Acrylic Classification: 1.2. 3D assembly / JIG-LAYR Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Double Jigsaw Puzzle 6 alpha Designer: Sky Huang Goal: Arrange the six two-layer puzzle pieces so that their bottom layer fills the 6x6 frame, and that there is no overlapping in the top layer. Materials: Acrylic Classification: 1.2. 3D assembly / JIG-LAYR Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Double Trouble Designer: Maja Dziwok Goal: Intertwine the two elements until they are fully locked. Then disassemble the elements. Materials: Laser-cut wood Classification: 3.6 Miscellaneous interlocking solid Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Dozen of Bottles Designer: Ryuhei Uehara Goal: Pack the 12 bottle pieces in the frame in an anti-slide configuration. Materials: MDF Classification: ASS-OTH
Dump Them 1 Designer: Theo Geerinck, Symen Hovinga Goal: Pack the five polycubes in the box with the swinging lid shut. Materials: PLA Classification: 3D assembly Purchase: Visit No Problem Puzzle Shop; price: from US$25 plus shipping; 3D printed on demand.
Feed the Monkey Designer: Two Brass Monkeys (Steve Nicholls, Ali Morris) Goal: Please help the monkey fully swallow 17 brass bananas. Materials: Brass, powder-coated aluminum Classification: ASS-OTH Purchase: Visit TwoBrassMonkeys; price: £116 GBP including postage. The puzzle is not limited and further copies will be made to satisfy demand.
Flippe Ball Designer: George Bell Goal: Open the ball. Understand how it works. Materials: PLA plastic, steel ball Classification: [2.1] Take Apart, OPN-OTH Opening other objects Purchase: Visit the PolyPuzzles Etsy shop or Grand Iillusions.
4 PAC Designer: Hajime Katsumoto Goal: Pack four identical pieces into the case. Materials: Wood (case, piece), Acrylic (lid) Classification: 1.2 3D assembly
Geneva Designer: William Hu Goal: Assemble the four pieces into a 4x4x4 cube (with holes). Materials: Wood Classification: 3.2 Interlocking Solid
Gump's Chocolates Designer: Zhao Yue Goal: Put the two-sided pieces in the box so that same-color chocolates do not share an edge. Put the two-sided pieces in the box so that same-colored chocolates are connected. Materials: PLA Classification: ASS-CART
Harun Designer: Dr. Volker Latussek Goal: Pack the six pairs into the box. Materials: Cherry, Bubingo and Maple Classification: 3D packing Purchase: Visit Rombol Puzzles
Heavy Oden Designer: Noboru Hayashi Goal: Disentangle the seven parts Materials: Steel nail Classification: Disentanglement Purchase: Contact the designer by .
HexTrios Designer: Eric Fuller, Matt Dawson Goal: Open all three boxes to reveal gems hidden inside. Materials: Maple, purpleheart, yellowheart, goncalo alves, metal Classification: 2.1 Trick Opening
Holonomy Maze 1 Designer: Henry Segerman Goal: Remove the green piece from the purple sphere. Materials: 3D printed (SLS) nylon plastic, dye Classification: 5.5 Maze & route Purchase: Visit Mathematical Art at Shapeways
Jigsaw Cube [4-colors] Designer: KUMIKIYA (Ueda Harunobu) Goal: Is it possible to assemble all eight pieces into a cube? If you think it is impossible, think about why. Otherwise, think about how to do it. Materials: Nylon plastic Classification: Possibly impossible ojbect Purchase: Visit Kumikiya shop; cost assembled: ¥15,000. Alternatively, visit DMM.make or Kumikiya Shop at Shapeways.
K3 Tiling Puzzle Designer: KUMIKIYA (Ueda Harunobu) Goal: Put all the pieces into the inner frame. Materials: Natural wood (maple, black walnut, padauk) and MDF Classification: Put-Together Purchase: Visit Kumikiya shop; Price and timing are undecided.
Kawai Tsugite Joint Puzzle Designer: Roland Koch Goal: Assemble eight pieces to form a hollow cube. Materials: PETG Classification: INT-POLY Purchase: Contact the designer by . Prints on demand in two different sizes. If there is enough interest, a limited wooden or metal printed version may be made.
Light Oden Designer: Noboru Hayashi Goal: Disentangle the four parts Materials: Steel nails Classification: Disentanglement Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Lutz Designer: Dr. Volker Latussek Goal: Put all four pentominos inside the frame so that they can slide out of the opening in the side of the frame. Materials: Various woods Classification: 2D Packing Purchase: Visit Pelikan Puzzles
Midi Designer: Laszlo Molnar Goal: Pack the pieces into the box with the sliding lid panel. Materials: Wood Classification: 1.2 3D assembly
Minii-Moment Designer: Zhongyu Jiang Goal: Place all the pieces into the frame. Materials: Wood Classification: 2D Assemby Purchase: Contact the designer by ; price: US$29.90 plus shipping.
Nail Quartet Designer: Noboru Hayashi Goal: Disentangle the four parts Materials: Steel nails Classification: Disentanglement Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Nips Designer: Cristian Poliziani Goal: Separate the two parts of the spinning top, and reveal the prize. Materials: Poplar and birch plywood Classification: Take-apart Purchase: Keep informed at NoWayPuzzle on Instagram or visit No Way Puzzle.
OsCube Designer: Ilya Osipov Goal: Twist the faces so that all surfaces are retracted. Materials: Plastic Classification: SEQ-GRP Purchase: Will be available retail in 2022.
The Pill Designer: Jesper Bille Goal: Find the flag and figure out the mechanisms, then put it back together. Materials: Aluminium, PLA plastic, steel spring and pin Classification: INT-BOX Purchase: Contact the designer by or visit Puzzleboxes.dk; price is US$164. So far 50 has been produced; more can be produced quickly.
Pime Designer: Cristian Poliziani Goal: Move the five pieces in the inner maze until the central square can be completely removed. Materials: Poplar plywood Classification: 5. Sequential Movement Purchase: Keep informed through NoWayPuzzle on Instagram or visit No Way Puzzle.
Psi Quantum Entanglement Designer: Carl Hoff Goal: Restore each face to a single color, just like a Rubik's Cube. Materials: SLS Nylon and Laser-cut Acrylic Classification: SEQ-GRP / 5.4 Twisty Puzzles Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Quadro Designer: Yavuz Demirhan Goal: Pack all pieces inside the box. Materials: Wenge, ash, sapelli, acrylic Classification: Box Packing Purchase: Visit CRUX; also at PuzzleMaster or Puzzle-Shop.
Rakkako Designer: Laszlo Tompa Goal: Construct the 54-layer block containing 120 embedded cylinders. Materials: Oak or maple wood Classification: 3D Geometric Object Purchase: Visit rakkako.com; US$1,330.
Rakkako Cube Designer: Laszlo Tompa Goal: Construct the 20-layer cube containing 12 embedded stair-cones. Materials: Oak wood Classification: 3D Geometric Object Purchase: Visit rakkako.com ; US$180.
ResQ Designer: Frederic Boucher, Eric Fuller Goal: Free the visitor from his psychic prison Unlock the vortex Retrieve the spaceship without using rotations (to avoid making the vortex even more unstable) Navigate the vortex and retrieve the spaceship parts: Thick and thin antenna assemblies Silver fuel disk Gold reactor orb Six-orb navigation AI module Materials: Woods: koa, canxan, catalox, bloodwood, chakte viga, etc. Classification: Take-Apart Purchase: Sold out; possible re-released in the future.
Safe Safari Designer: Sjaak Griffioen Goal: Complete the placement of pieces so that no animal can "attack" any other (based of various chess move-like abilities). Materials: Plastic board and pieces and paper booklet Classification: 1.3 Miscellaneous put-together Purchase: Available from Popular Playthings resellers.
Saturn Designer: Doug Engel Goal: Disassemble and reassemble the planet Materials: Plastic Classification: 3.6 Misc Interlocking Solid Purchase: Contact the designer by or visit the Puzzleatomik Etsy shop. Quantity can be increased as needed. Price $12.00 plus shipping.
Sequential Discovery Cubed Box Designer: Junichi Yananose (Juno) Goal: Open the box Materials: Wood, metal Classification: Sequential Discovery (2.1 Trick-opening)
Shackles Designer: John Liu Goal: Remove the metal ring. Materials: Metal, cloth Classification: Disentanglement Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Shape Changer Designer: Sándor Bozóki Goal: Assemble the pieces into a 4x4x3 block. Materials: Plastic Abercubes, metal screws Classification: 3.2 Geometric Object
Shardinaires-9 Designer: George Sicherman, Kate Jones Goal: Arrange 9 pieces to form each of the 12 pentominoes and each of the 5 tetrominoes. Materials: Laser-cut acrylic pieces Classification: 1.1 2D Put-Together Purchase: Visit gamepuzzles; price: US$39.
Shrinking Soma Designer: Dr. Volker Latussek Goal: Fill and support the top layer of the box with the seven parts of Soma Cube in an antisliding way. Materials: American walnut and maple Classification: 3D Assembly Purchase: Visit Pelikan Puzzles
Six Circles Designer: Doug Engel Goal: Disassemble and reassemble the circles. Materials: Plastic Classification: 3..6 Misc. Interlocking Solid Purchase: Contact the designer by or visit the Puzzleatomik Etsy shop. Price US$15 plus shipping.
Snowfall Designer: George Sicherman Goal: Completely cover-up the green pieces with the white pieces. Put all the pieces into the main tray without overlapping. Materials: Acrylic Classification: 1.1 2D Assembly Purchase: Visit WoodWonders; price US $19.
Social Distance Soma Cube Designer: Lucie Pauwels Goal: Assemble the pieces to form a cube. Materials: Wood, MDF Classification: 3D Put-Together
Soma Burr Designer: Rod Bogart Goal: Fit the Soma pieces inside the traditional three board knot burr. Materials: Wood (figured maple and chechen) Classification: 3.4 Burr Purchase: Visit CubicDissection; 3D printed version also available at Operating Machinery.
Squary Pack No.10 Designer: Yavuz Demirhan Goal: Pack all pieces inside the box. Materials: Wenge, ash, sapelli, acrylic Classification: Box Packing Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Static Soma Designer: Mike Quigley Goal: Using the standard Soma pieces construct an anti-slide structure (all directions) inside a 5x5x5 box. Materials: Exotic woods and acrylic Classification: 1.2 3D Assembly Purchase: Contact the designer by ; limited quantity available.
Trapezoid Enthusiast Designer: Zhongyu Jiang Goal: Place all the pieces into the frame. Materials: Wood Classification: 1.1 2D Assembly Purchase: Contact the designer by ; price: US$29.90 plus shipping.
Turn Back Designer: Kyoo Wong Goal: Slide the cubes in order to make all black faces upward. Slide the cubes so that the upward face of the cubes match the color of the base. Materials: Plastic Classification: 5.6. Misc. Sequential Movement
Turn Them In Designer: Theo Geerinck, Symen Hovinga Goal: Pack the four pieces in the box with the lid shut. Materials: Wood PLA Classification: 1.2 3D Assembly Purchase: Visit No Problem Puzzle Shop; price:US$50 plus shipping; 3D printed on demand.
Turtle Trip Designer: Gerard Hudson Goal: Help the turtle find his pants and join the Pond Party. Materials: PLA Plastic, metal, electronics Classification: Sequential Discovery Purchase: Visit Bayou Puzzles; puzzle is restocked around every two months.
Twin Tetrahedra Designer: Masakazu Kobayashi Goal: Assemble two tetrahedrons from the 12 pieces Combine two tetrahedron Materials: Wood: hinoki Classification: 1.2 3D Put-Together
Twist-Cubes 16P [Checker & Rainbow] Designer: KUMIKIYA (Ueda Harunobu) Goal: Make a 4x4x1 block Make six different checkered patterns: each with white and just one of the other colors: red, purple, yellow, orange, blue, and green (in rough order of difficulty) Make a rainbow (diagonals are ROYGBPW in order). What color is the back? Materials: Wood: tochi Classification: 1.3 Misc. Put-Together Purchase: Visit Kumikiya shop; Price and timing are undecided.
2LIT Designer: Kris Antibus, Matthew Hochberg Goal: Put the five pieces into the box and completely close the door. Materials: 3D Printed PLA Classification: 1.2. 3D Assembly Purchase: Visit Skill Required
UFO Designer: John Liu Goal: Remove the ball and then restore it Materials: Plastic, metal Classification: 2.1. Trick opening box Purchase: Contact the designer by .
What Symmetry? Designer: Bram Cohen Goal: Figure out the symmetry property the object. Materials: Plastic Classification: PAT-OTH Purchase: Contact the designer by .
Yoga Blocks Designer: Lucie Pauwels Goal: Assemble the seven pieces to a 6x6 square. Additional challenges: 4x4 square (3 pieces) 5x5 square (5 pieces) 3x5 rectangle (3 pieces) 4x5 rectangle (4 pieces) 5x6 rectangle (6 pieces) 4x9 rectangle (7 pieces) Materials: Wood, metal Classification: 1.3. Misc. Put-together
ZenBreak Designer: Gavin Duffell, Dominic Murphy Goal: Move the red piece from the bottom to the top double square position. Move the copper colored T-piece from its position. Materials: Epoxy resin & acrylic for case Classification: 5.3. Sliding Pieces Purchase: Visit Dmpuzzles.com
Ziggurat Designer: Bram Cohen, Eitan Cher Goal: Fully disassemble the tower of pieces, then reassemble them. You may use any number of pieces, but six is a good starting challenge. Materials: 3D Printed Plastic Classification: 3.4. Burr Puzzle Purchase: Visit Eitan's Google Form to order one printed in your favorite colors.