January 4, 2010

Green Revomaze

I got a chance to try out the Green Revomaze, courtesy of John Devost's puzzle library over at RenegadePuzzlers.ca. This is the second puzzle in the series of five. Check out my blog entry about the Blue Revomaze for more information about this series of puzzles.

The Green Revomaze is a bit harder than the Blue version, and incorporates an interesting feature that took me a little while to overcome. I explored the beginning of the maze for a while, but it seems like no matter where I went there was a trap! I was stuck at this point for a while until I discovered the way to proceed. Like with the Blue Revomaze, I had this revelation right after I woke up: perhaps I do my best puzzling early in the morning!

I found the next part of this maze to be somewhat less enjoyable: remember in my previous entry when I mentioned that it would be really annoying if you needed to cross a long winding bridge with traps on both sides? Well, there is one in this puzzle. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying this since you can't really help but notice it while solving it (there is no a-ha moment), but let me know if you feel differently.

Interestingly, this wasn't quite as annoying as I had anticipated: you can sort of feel when you are about to fall off if you move very slowly, so that helped me quite a bit. Still, it is not a feat that I could reproduce 100% of the time. Perhaps with practice I could get good at it, but even now I'd probably succeed much less than 50% of the time. I really hope that the next puzzles in the series aren't like this, because is could be extremely difficult/annoying!

Overall, though, I would say that this is a solid puzzle that is worth getting. In terms of difficulty, this is quite a challenging puzzle: it took me about 3-4 hours to solve it. Some folks who prefer shorter solve times may be put off by the long solve times in this series, but so far I have really enjoyed these puzzles. Since you have a sense of progress when you succeed in exploring further than you were previously able to, these puzzles grip my attention quite a bit more than many others.

I look forward to seeing what the Bronze will be like. I read that the Blue is like a trainer to build your understanding of how these puzzes work, the Green has a few tricks thrown in to build upon Blue, and the Bronze is really a whole new evolution of this type of puzzle. I agree with most people's advice that you should try the Blue before the Green, but it isn't necessary. The Blue is a bit more straightforward than the Green, but it is still a definite challenge worth trying to conquor.

In my previous post I had complained a bit about how my hand got sore when playing with these puzzles, and I think I experienced less of it this time around now that my hand is getting stronger and more accustomed to navigating a Revomaze. I find that I am most productive when I work in sessions of 30-60 minutes. Much more than that and the fatigue causes me to make mistakes, which is very frustrating and counterproductive.

Sorry I have been a bit slow on the updates recently: my computer's hard drive failed and I have been busy restoring things, and I've also been pretty busy over the holidays. Lots more reviews coming up: some hexagonal puzzles from John Devost (once I finish solving them...), my three Karakuri Club Christmas presents, and a few presents I got from my family from Bits and Pieces.

12 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. Another excellent blog Brian...thanks john :-)

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  3. Hey, you got your first blog spam comment (from "alanna"). Congratulations, you're a real blog now :-)

    I got the blue plastic RevoMaze, and it has a very nice feel to it, although it does not build your upper-body strength as much as the metal versions. I haven't solved it yet, though.

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  4. Thanks John! I am glad that the puzzle library idea is gaining some momentum. I need to finish those hex puzzles so I can check out some more of the great stuff you have added.

    Hah, thanks Brett! I have gotten a few before but was a bit slow deleting this one. They are quite sneaky with their nice comments and a url inserted at the bottom.

    I got to try the blue plastic one as well (got it as a gift for my genius cousin) and I agree that the quality is great. I didn't notice any big differences from the metal version. One annoying thing is the lack of a serial number on the shaft, I liked using that as a point of reference. Also I liked being able to view the maze afterwards with the metal ones...you can't disassemble the plastic ones. Still, for the price it is a great value!

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  5. Hey, I wonder if someone who is blind would have an easier time with these Revomazes? What do you think? It usually frustrates the heck out of me to try a puzzle where I can't see what is going on inside.

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  6. Hmm, I've actually thought about that as well! I bet that they might be a bit better at it, but it would still probably take a while. I sort of like the concentration that doing these puzzles requires...you really can't just fiddle with them.

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  7. i think a blind persons dextarity is much more sensitive and would be a better RevoMazer. try doing the puzzle with your eyes closed. it helps. so does mapping for some people. As for the ah ha moment, getting out of the first section is it! then its all dextarity building.

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  8. Well, I've owned the green revomaze for a couple of years now. Still trying to solve it. I admit, the most time I spend at one time is about 1.5 hours. Usually only 15 minutes or so.

    Any "tips" would be appreciated.

    Skans

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  9. Skans, It is tricky! Just keep at it and try to really think about what is going on rather than just trying the same thing over again.

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  10. Hey Brian, I'm going to buy a Revomaze but I'm in the midset that I only want one due to its cost. Should I skip Blue and get the green or pick up the blue?

    Thanks,
    Chris

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  11. Hi Chris, if you're only planning on getting one, I would go with Blue. It is very challenging, even though it is only the first one in the series! If you get only two, I'd get Blue and Bronze. You may get hooked though!

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Please don't post spoilers! Thanks for commenting!