Judge's Gavel

[maztec]

Anyone here played with Mike Toulouzas' Judge's Gavel? Is it a good puzzle or not? I have a small budget for my law office for artwork and lawyerly things, and could probably stuff that into it, if it fit within my budget and the puzzle was any good.

[Fabregas485]

It looks good.

[allardwza]

Had a go on one at Peter Hajek's place last year ... cute little puzzle - not incredibly difficult, but you'll like the fact that "using it" is part of the solution - Mike's stuff is all beautifully made and I can't think of a puzzle that could go undercover better in a lawyer's office...

allard
[Who's also hoping to get one of his own...]

[Will]

Afraid I'd have to bump this topic...

I recently contacted Mike about the Gavel puzzle and he said that he still has one left, so he'd be willing to sell it to me-with the price of 270 euros! It was even higher than Wil's First Box! Is it worth buying with that price and just what kind of puzzle was it?

[maztec]

Sequential discovery. I love it. Does not always work right. Beautiful show piece. You either get the solution quickly or never. Usually quickly, even nonpuzzlers. But some people just yank it apart on a dry day .

[allardwza]

Afraid I'd have to bump this topic...

I recently contacted Mike about the Gavel puzzle and he said that he still has one left, so he'd be willing to sell it to me-with the price of 270 euros! It was even higher than Wil's First Box! Is it worth buying with that price and just what kind of puzzle was it?

It's turned to perfection by a master of his art - and it's a nice puzzle.

Is it as "hard" as a Revomaze? No. Will non-puzzlers find it more interesting than a Revomaze? Absolutely!

If you're on a tight puzzle budget, don't buy it ... for that matter don't buy any craftsmen-made wooden puzzles if you're on a tight puzzle budget - it's a very slippery slope...

I'm sure some idiot blogged about them if you can be bothered to Google it...

FWIW, I love mine, YMMV

allard

[bluesign2k]

Puzzle Place has further info and links to the reviews so you don't even have to Google... Judge's Gavel

[maztec]

Oh, and it is smaller than any other real gavel I have used. It might be normal size for a Greek gavel (given their budget cuts), but not nearly as hefty or big as a U.S. gavel. I would say size is the one thing I was most disappointed with about it.

[kev1n]

I played with Allard's one at an MPP and really liked it! But I solved it in under 5 minutes and then spent another 10 or so investigating exactly how it worked.

It is VERY beautiful as an object and piece of craftsmanship. But it is not a difficult puzzle. Compared to a revo you will be disappointed in the puzzling.

If that amount is a significant part of your puzzle budget then I would not go for it. If you have a good income and like things beautiful then it's worth it. I personally still don't own one and having played with it don't plan on owning one. You've all seen my collecting habits!!! Allard tends to go slightly higher market than many here and the other collectors (including myself) all would love to have one but most have shied away at €270!!

[Paradox]

...But it is not a difficult puzzle. Compared to a revo you will be disappointed in the puzzling.

I'd say the same is true of the majority of puzzles out there. If you weigh the difficulty of another puzzle against a Revo it will almost always come up short.