REVOMAZE User Group

Thanks for the offer, but it's already fixed.

I need some Tarka advice. I've got the key out but not the plunger. However the cap next to the plunger fell out with some other stuff. Not sure if I have all of the parts. Could do with a suggestion or advice to get me back on track.

AndrusyszynPM wrote:I need some Tarka advice. I've got the key out but not the plunger. However the cap next to the plunger fell out with some other stuff. Not sure if I have all of the parts. Could do with a suggestion or advice to get me back on track.

I have sent you a PM.

So far all the metal puzzles I own are Revomazes, but I would like to expand my collection a bit in a different direction.

I have read a few reviews of the older puzzles the Isis ball, pyramid and copernisis. Describing the first two as basicly combination locks and the copernisis is more of a math puzzle where you work the clues, neither sounds very appealing to me. .
For me I would like the puzzle to have all the clues on how to solve it on its own like the Revomazes without the need to work on external clues (if this makes any sense).

Would you guys recommend any of the new SonicWarp puzzles Tarka and Tessarisis? Or maybe the Pyro puzzle mentioned elsewhere on this forum.

I'd also like to hear the answer to this...

If you're looking for one Isis puzzle, I'd go for the tessarisis. I opened it without using any of the clues. It was designed by Stephen Miller who also did the fire puzzle. It's a very nice, solid puzzle that doesn't really have any maze elements to it like the Isis ball or the ramisis. If you get the Marbles edition, it comes with a Tarka puzzle inside which is a nice treat. When you open the Tessarisis, I think you will be very impressed by how complex the mechanisms are and how they all work together.

As for other "non-clue" puzzles, I personally really enjoy sequential discovery type puzzles. They have tools hidden within them that you discover as you go along and have to figure out how to use those tools. There is little left to chance with this style of puzzle as it requires a specific set of steps to open. In that regard, I would compare it to a Revomaze in the sense that you make obvious progressions and there isn't really luck involved. A few that I have really enjoyed are Wil Strijbos First Box, and also his Lotus puzzle. A non metal sequential discovery puzzle I would recommend is Mr. Puzzle (Brian Young) "A Plugged Well".

Other metal puzzles worth a mention is the Wil Strijbos Aluminum Cross puzzle (I have really become quite a fan of Strijbos puzzles). Hanayama U&U puzzle and Donut puzzle. I also like the Nut Case puzzle but it's more of a combination lock than a proggesive type puzzle. And though I haven't opened my Fire puzzle mentioned above, it's really a nice puzzle to add to a collection. It does involve clues like the Isis puzzles though, so you may not be into that, but from all of the reviews I've read about it, it's quite a treat when you get it opened, has a neat mechinism & also has a little surprise waiting inside.

One more neat set to collect is the Hanayama chess pieces. They are not very difficult and are a remake of the Marcel Gillan chess pieces, but are a lot more affordable. There are 6 in total: King, Queen, Knight, Bishop, Rook & Pawn. They can be found on amazon and range from about $15-$30 a piece. They aren't the best puzzles I own, but they are a nice little addition to my metal collection.

Buschfunch wrote:For me I would like the puzzle to have all the clues on how to solve it on its own like the Revomazes without the need to work on external clues (if this makes any sense).

Would you guys recommend any of the new SonicWarp puzzles Tarka and Tessarisis? Or maybe the Pyro puzzle mentioned elsewhere on this forum.

I cannot recommend any of the SonicWarp puzzles or the Fire puzzle if you do not like to use clues. I beleive that the Isis is impossible to solve without clues, Ramisis, Copernisis, Tarka and Tessarisis (the same for the Fire puzzle) will be possible to solve without clues, but in that case only by luck and that will not be a fun journey.

I can recommend the Loki puzzle due to that you don't have clues and you have good feedback from the puzzle so you can understand exactly where you are and your progress. But it is a puzzle that can take hours to understand before you can use the feedback in a good way, but this is similar to our Revomaze.

(Personally I really love the Ramisis puzzle, specially the original version that is much harder than the GII-version. I also think all the other SonicWarp puzzles and the Fire puzzles are really good and fun puzzles, but I really enjoy the clues and try to understand them.)

Buschfunch wrote:Describing the first two as basicly combination locks and the copernisis is more of a math puzzle where you work the clues

The Isis and Ramisis are definitely not any combination locks. Totally different puzzles and really hard and fun to solve (I think the problem is that they may be too hard to solve for many people and that they give up too early).
The Copernisis have first a puzzle part, that could be hard to understand, but this will give you the equation that will end up in a hard math problem that you have to solve to be able to open the puzzle the correct way.

Buschfunch wrote:I have read a few reviews of the older puzzles the Isis ball, pyramid and copernisis. Describing the first two as basicly combination locks and the copernisis is more of a math puzzle where you work the clues, neither sounds very appealing to me.

This is a bit backwards. All of them have clues to work out but mechanically the Copernisis is the one that works like a combination lock. It was by far the least fun of any of them for me and reminded me a lot of the Gold RevoMaze (the clues are for an algorithm needed to solve it unless you get lucky or just try every combination). The Isis is a bit of a sequential discovery puzzle (with unfortunately minimal feedback) and the Ramisis is an excellent hidden maze puzzle, especially if you can get one of the originals (designed by ReVoMaster himself, Chris Pitt). I love the original Isis and have a number of alternate/more difficult variations in my collection but overall I have to say that solving my original Ramisis was one of my best puzzling experiences.

I still have to work on my Tessarisis one of these days (it is part of my ever growing puzzle backlog).

prodigy wrote: I beleive that the Isis is impossible to solve without clues, Ramisis, Copernisis, Tarka and Tessarisis (the same for the Fire puzzle) will be possible to solve without clues, but in that case only by luck and that will not be a fun journey.

I have to disagree here about the tessarisis. I believe it offers enough feedback that it's solvable without clues and without being considered luck. I would say MAYBE one aspect of the solution could be considered luck, but I think that it does a decent job of showing progression.

Brian706 wrote:

prodigy wrote: I beleive that the Isis is impossible to solve without clues, Ramisis, Copernisis, Tarka and Tessarisis (the same for the Fire puzzle) will be possible to solve without clues, but in that case only by luck and that will not be a fun journey.

I have to disagree here about the tessarisis. I believe it offers enough feedback that it's solvable without clues and without being considered luck. I would say MAYBE one aspect of the solution could be considered luck, but I think that it does a decent job of showing progression.

Yes maybe you are right with the Tessarisis, there are more feedback here and you can get progress that can confirm your theories.