How do you get everyone to say that your puzzle is fantastic? You name it FantasTIC of course. And then you emboss it on the puzzle so there can be no doubt. This way when someone hands it to a friend, they’ll have to say: This one is FantasTIC. Nobody will ever be able to deny it. Great marketing! Simple but effective. I’m going to start giving my puzzles names like, Best Puzzle Ever, A Must Have, and maybe even Better Than Fantastic.
Of Course, FantasTIC is fantastic since it was created by TIC master Andrew Crowell. My 3D printed version is one of the many TICs that I bought from Andrew last year. The puzzle consists of 5 pieces that make a 4x4x4 cube with a complexity of 7.7.12.4. The last 3 pieces to be removed all require rotations. The frame and one other piece are printed in yellow PLA and the other 3 pieces are printed with black PLA. The embossing on the frame declares that this puzzle is….wait for it…. FantasTIC.
Since I received these puzzles unassembled, my description is from the assembly perspective. Attempting to insert the piece within the frame from largest to smallest will rapidly reveal where each piece has to go within the puzzle. I’m sure it will come as no surprise that this is not the order that the pieces have to be inserted within the frame. It’s also much easier to determine the insertion order than actually inserting the pieces.
Trying to get those first 2 pieces within the frame, you may find yourself muttering something like, this $!@#%@!#$ FantasTIC puzzle!, which pretty well summarizes how puzzlers enjoy being frustrated. It takes some effort to figure out how to insert each piece within the frame and then even more to get them within the frame at the same time. They seem to work well together at not working well together. Once you get those first 2 pieces where they need to be, you’ve surmounted the crux of the puzzle. The remaining 2 pieces are interesting but fairly straight-forward to add.
This is the 10th post of the monthly Andrew Crowell Rotations and Obstructions Series - Turning Interlocking Cubes (ACROSTIC). You can find the prior posts of the series here:
- January: Puzzling DNA - GeneTIC
- February: TIC, TIC, TIC - PackTIC II
- March: Green Beer ‘ill Cure What Ails Ya - BioTIC
- April: The Proper Way to Solve a Puzzle - PedanTIC
- May: Will This One Really Be Better Than The Others? - SkepTIC
- June: Space, The Final Frontier - MagellanTIC
- July: Hanging in Suspense - PackTIC V
- August: Fantastic 20+ Move TIC with an 11 Move Non-TIC Alternate Solution - PatheTIC
- September: I Had This Feeling That I Was Going To Like This Puzzle - MystTIC
Glad you thought it was FantasTIC. Also, that print looks terrible, I apologize. You should definitely ask for a refund! Thankfully I have gotten much better at printing in the last year and a half and they don't look that awful anymore. Oh well, thanks for supporting my biz when I was trying to figure out how to print them in the first place, and I guess I'll have to get you a replacement... Maybe a few replacements for the other shabby looking ones too.
ReplyDeleteIt's the lighting. I'm still working on how to get the best picture for each puzzle. I can attest that in the year since I bought these puzzles, the quality of your 3D printed puzzles has become excellent to match your designs.
DeleteThe puzzle is further fantastic that these are the colours of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (the merger of the Tigers and the Wildcats) of the Canadian Football League. Fantastic choice, Andrew! Today is a good day for puzzles. -Tyler.
ReplyDeleteI doubt Andrew was inspired by the Tiger-Cats! Yellow and Black are of course the colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Living in Ohio, I would be surprised if Andrew was a Steelers fan. I imagine black and yellow were just two colors he had on hand.
DeleteI've often thought that this could be explored as a marketing opportunity.
DeleteAt previous IPPs, I have picked up some 3D-printed puzzles based on the colour choices: Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Saskatchewan Roughriders are my primaries. Andrew may not have been inspired by the Tiger-Cats, but I do think the colour choice for this puzzle is indeed fantastic. -Tyler.
DeleteI will admit George is correct. I had the colors on hand... I also have no sense of these things and often my wife had to inform me that the clothes in wearing do not match or clash and I need to change before going to work. Apperently color coordination is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't worry about color coordination. The TIC designs are far nmore difficult to come up with, and you do fantasTIC in that department!!
DeleteHoney, I think your blog is FantasTic!!
ReplyDeleteHow do you get everyone to say that your blog is ...
DeleteThat's sweet. -Tyler
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