Unlawful Assembly - Pit Khiam Goh - Pelikan Puzzles

Unlawful Assembly

• Designer: Pit Khiam Goh
• Dimensions: 4.9" x 4.9" x 0.6" (125 mm x 125 mm x 16 mm)
• Material: Garapa, Bubinga, Oak
• Goal: Pack the 4 identical stepped pieces and cross into the tray, navigating the lip that covers the tray's edge without forcing any pieces.
• Challenge: Finding a square assembly that fits within the tray and successfully inserting all the pieces is more difficult than it appears.

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“I started with this delightful puzzle by the master of sliding-move puzzles. I already own this one made from acrylic but the wooden one looks so much more lovely. Pelikan have constructed this one from Garapa, Bubinga, and Oak with wonderfully contrasting colours and a stunningly finished tray to pack the pieces into. There are 4 identical stepped pieces and a cross to fit inside the tray, with the challenge being made by the fact that there is a considerable lip covering the tray, making the insertion of more than 3 pieces quite challenging.

The first time I worked on it, the solution took me a good hour or so to solve, and that was only because I was familiar with the type of challenge. I gave this to a couple of my assistants/ODPs at work and watched them spend a couple of hours failing to solve it. Eventually, I came back to the pieces all packed inside and I happily told them they had cheated! The pieces were in the conformation that can only be done by force. At this point, they couldn’t remove the pieces and a joint broke forcing it out. This puzzle should be in everyone’s collection!”