Tube It In Packing Puzzle – Wil Strijbos

I am very excited about this one! Tube It In is a unique packing puzzle that consists of many different sized rectangular pieces that must all fit together inside the largest rectangle. This is one of those puzzles that really grabbed my eye and I knew right away that I had to have it.

This particular version was created by Eric Fuller over at CubicDissection.com, so I know it will be of superior construction, fit and finish.

When the puzzle arrived, I was a bit shocked to see that it was already assembled – I’m not sure if I forgot to select a “ship unassembled” option, or if this is just the way Eric decided to package this puzzle, but either way, I quickly opened it up and with eyes closed, I quickly disassembled the puzzle working hard not to peek or gain any insight. The other thing I noticed is that the puzzle is rather small. It’s always hard to determine scale from some photos on the internet, but somehow, I expected a larger puzzle. This is not a problem, however, as the smaller it is, the easier it is to hide in the collection and the less likely I will take any heat for ordering “yet another puzzle.”

The puzzle is composed of 14 different pieces and all of them a different variety of wood. It’s beautiful and despite the small pieces, the construction is superb. It must have been tricky cutting and assembling all these tiny little rectangles with perfect precision, but if anyone it up to the task, it is Eric.

14 beautiful pieces to assemble.

Ok, I’m excited to try this out and see how it goes, I’m not particularly talented when it comes to assembling packing puzzles, but for some reason, this one seemed like it would be easier – after all, I know that I have to pack the small pieces into the big ones, so that should make things easier, right?

Let’s have a go.

Well, I’ve spent a good 10 minutes on this puzzle so far, and I thought that I had it solved, but it turns out, I was wrong. I had a very nice false “a ha” moment, where I thought I was being tricky, but this stubborn little puzzle isn’t giving up its secrets so easily. It really is fun to work with though. I am enjoying this 3 dimensional packing challenge.

Many ways that these pieces can fit into each other

Another 5 minutes later, and with my kids watching, I figure it out and have it solved! Yay! We all shout! Super fun little puzzle for sure! I think the addition of the magnets its a really smart idea as they hold the puzzle together once it is completed.

It turns out my false “a ha” was actually the correct move – I just had a couple of pieces in the wrong place after that particular move. It’s interesting because even if you know the correct placement of all the pieces, there is still a bit of a sequence required to fit everything in. The tolerances are so tight that if put in out of order, the pieces just don’t fit, which tripped me up for a bit.

assembly complete! The magnets ensure it won’t come apart accidentally.

This is a great packing puzzle. A logical thought process will yield positive results and the number of possibilities is limited by the fact that they must fit within each other. These two factors combine for a fun puzzle that feels good to solve. Definitely a puzzle that I can hand to friends and relatives – provided they are careful to not lose any of the small pieces.

Improved Cam Box – Eric Fuller

Whelp, I caved in and bought another puzzle box. After feeling super excited about solving Topless Box, I decided to splurge again on Eric’s next offering – Improved Cam Box. My wallet is in trouble though because the next 3 months releases all have more boxes – Escalating Box, Secret Agent Puzzle Box, and Death Box. Oh My, that’s a lot of boxes to come!

Improved Cam Box is beautifully constructed of African Mahogany with a Black Limba top and bottom. It looks amazing and the construction is a masterclass in precision woodworking. The dark streaks in the Black Limba provide a striking contrast to the overall appearance of the box.

Beautifully precise construction makes this box special.

Straight off the bat, there aren’t too many clues as to how to open this thing. The construction is such that it appears that the sides will possibly slide up and down and the top and bottom both have a peculiar and distinct line cut into them. Otherwise, there is nothing outward to give away the secrets. There are no loose parts inside, no rattling pieces and the puzzle feels largely hollow. Time to investigate further.

The sides do in fact slide a bit, but only a little bit. I am able to slide one of the sides maybe a quarter inch, which then allows the top (or is it bottom?) to slide another bit, which then allows to the other side to slide a small bit. All these bits don’t add up to much however as they neither unlock the puzzler nor reveal any additional clues. The one thing that has my scratching my head is the purpose of a magnet that is revealed after sliding the side down (or is it up?) Why is this magnet here? What purpose does it server? And what do I do next?

The sides slide up to reveal a smallish visible magnet. But, what does it do?

And I’m thoroughly stumped. I can make the above movements happen, but after that there is nothing to do. I’ve repeated the steps forward and back, over and over, and still no realization about how to move forward. It’s at this point that I think I need to stop and analyze things. Why is this called the “cam” box. What is a cam exactly? I have a background in rock climbing, and to me, a cam is a device that sticks into the cracks in rocks and as a force is applied, the “cams” push out into the rocks. As more force is applied, the cams push harder into the rock, thus providing anchor points in an otherwise anchor-less crack. But, how does that apply to this puzzle… hmmm…

I spent another few frustrating sessions working on this box to no avail. And then, one evening I tried a new move that I hadn’t thought of before. (Isn’t this always the way?) And sure enough, I had a solution. Curiously, although I could repeat the process, I still wasn’t sure what the mechanism was or how it really worked.

Puzzle solved! Box Opened!

It wasn’t until many days later, after thinking about things for a while that I really understood what was going on (and the purpose of the magnet). I have to say that this is a very clever puzzle box! The thing I really appreciate is the subtle misdirection that is happening. I won’t say any more, but there is a reason why the particular move took me so long to try. Very clever indeed! One has to be very observant to solve these puzzle boxes! Which is another reason they take me a while – I tend to fiddle more than I tend to observe.