Waffle

Designer: Osanori Yamamoto

This puzzle measures: 85 mm x 85 mm x 35 mm

Material: Jatoba / Garapa

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“Waffle by Oasnori Yamamoto was actually one of the first that I actually tried from the new arrivals but I got a bit of a shock the very first evening. This consists of 4 bright yellow mini burrsticks made from Garapa which have been arranged into an attractive cross shape on a Jatoba frame and the obvious aim is to remove them. It is immediately clear that Burrtools is not helpful here because as soon as the pieces start to move the requirement for rotations becomes very apparent. I began moving them about and trying to make space for the required rotation to happen and quite quickly lost track of what I had done – I suddenly couldn't reset the puzzle! OMG! A lot of swearing during an episode of Grey's Anatomy had Mrs S looking at me with anger and me sweating under that gaze as well as worrying about the puzzle. After a fraught 1/2 hour I got it back to the beginning and drew a little diagram of the start positions. I went back to work on the others and only this last week did I start to play again. This time I actually made plans of what I needed to do and always made sure that I could reset. Still no joy – the pieces always seem to block the required rotation and I could not find a way to make space. Again whilst watching TV, I idly fiddled and did something without realising it. I looked down in surprise and couldn't believe it. Moving back and forth, it is apparent that the arrangement and movement on this one is critically accurate. Having found that amazingly accurate move, I quickly had the puzzle solved. Really tough to find the correct move making for a real challenge.”