Hippo – Wooden Puzzle

Kevin Sadler wrote about Hippo:

“Recently Pelikan have produced a series of wonderful puzzles that contribute to Goetz’ Burr zoo and I was very pleased to see them continue this with the Hippo. This one has been designed by a relative newcomer to puzzle design, James Fortune. James has been making his designs in 3D printed versions. For a design to be accepted by Jakub and Jaroslav, it must be pretty special – they always prototype them and check for poor design features like lack of stability or not a fun solve. The Hippo is a wonderful creation which is perfect for all puzzlers interested in burrs. It is beautiful, having been made from Maple, Purpleheart and Walnut with a wonderful bevelled finish and a lovely surprise once you find the correct start of the pathway. I managed to get the first piece out relatively quickly once I had found the initial moves but the removal of the next two pieces took me a VERY long time. Usually with these, they become very unstable after a few pieces have been taken out but this one does not. It becomes sort of “squishy” and there are a few possible rotations that need to be controlled but with a little effort the removal of all the subsequent pieces can proceed without collapse right down to the very last pair. This is nothing short of extraordinary! During the solution, the hippo moves about a little but remains fairly static with just the sticks moving around him – he really gets in the way! There is also a particular feature of a couple of the burr sticks that links them together – it does look like they should separate on several occasions but they are firmly hooked up. If you enjoy burrs or want to try them out then this is a perfect puzzle for you.”

This puzzle was crafted in Europe with absolutely fantastic quality. Each of the puzzles of Pelikan design are unparalleled in their class! Every piece of the puzzle is precisely cut and very well made; you cannot find its equal anywhere else. The diversity in wood makes each puzzle a unique masterpiece.

Difficulty: 72 Moves (7.8.8.3.24.7.3.2.3.2.3.2) The brackets indicate the breakdown of moves to free each piece sequentially.
Material: Purpleheart, Maple, Walnut
Designer: James Fortune
Measures: 7.8 cm x 7.8 cm x 7.8 cm