Cubane

RELEASED: 12.16.2015 PRODUCED: 48 Copies DESIGNER: Masumi Ohno CRAFTSMAN: Eric Fuller MATERIAL: Bloodwood and Yellowheart / Lacewood and Maple / Shedua and Bloodwood COMMENTS: I saw this puzzle at the IPP design competition this summer and know I had to make it. I was very happy when Mr. Ohno allowed me permission! Cubane is a three dimensional interlocking maze replete with loops and dead ends. It's very reminiscent of the excellent "Wanderer" puzzle by Oskar van Deventer and Tom Lensch. Navigating from start to finish requires a minimum of 15 moves, including rotations, turns and pass throughs. This is a very very fun puzzle to play with! One problem with puzzles like this in the past has been knowing where the starting point is. The finish is obvious; you're able to remove the shuttle. But how do you know where to start? Or rather, when you reinsert the shuttle and go backward through the maze, how do you know where the beginning point is? In this case the starting point is indicated by a stopped notch that the shuttle locks into. There is only one way to get to this state in the puzzle, and that is by navigating the maze. Magnets hold the shuttle in place in the start position.