Greetings Friends,
Welcome to the Ars Ænigmæ November 2025 Newsletter. We hope you've been well!
We're pleased to announce that we are very soon going live! To our prior collectors and fans, thank you for your patience, and to our new customers, welcome!
It took us a bit longer to get rolling than we had anticipated, with numerous and significant hurdles overcome, but rolling we are. While we can't give you any specific schedule, our intention is to have around 10 releases per year, coming one every month or so. Quality remains our hallmark, so we will not release any puzzle before it is ready and we are confident that it will bring joy to those who hold it, and thus we also cannot share any list of upcoming or potential designs at this time. That said, we will endeavor to communicate frequently enough to keep you in the loop, and to limit any shocking surprises to the puzzles themselves.
For those who don't know us, we are Steve Sanford, Tom Messina, and Jeff Abbott, and for our debut release we went back to our burr roots a bit, featuring four different styles of burr puzzle, three of which have two variants, along with a clever new packing puzzle designed in-house by our man Tom. We hope you'll add some to your collection, and stick with us as we embark on this journey. Read on for all the details, and thanks a bunch for your support.
Upcoming Puzzle Release
Our next release will be on Monday, November 17th, at 3:00 PM EST (UTC-5) and it will include:
- CD Pack by Tom Messina
- Pentomino Burr by Émil Áskerli
- Pretorian by Yavuz Demirhan
- Strong Bond Crystal by William Hu
- Warty Burr by Tyler Hudson
The puzzles will become available at that time on our website under New & Featured Puzzles.
Note: For the first day after release, customers will be limited to purchasing a maximum of one of each newly released puzzle, in order to ensure that they get into as many collectors' hands as possible.
See below for more information and pictures.
New Puzzles
Here is what we will be making available on the site with this release:
CD Pack
| Designed By: |
|
|---|---|
| Materials: |
|
| Size: | 2.6 in × 2.6 in × 2.5 in |
| Price: | $65 |
Created by our own Tom Messina and designed with his family and non-puzzlers in mind, CD Pack is a moderately difficult packing puzzle. The simple goal of fitting ten pieces flush into an open box is a great opportunity to lure in a potential solver. However, simple trial and error will only get you to the point where just that one last piece needs to fit where it cannot. A careful observation or two mixed with a dash of critical thinking are necessary to find the correct arrangement. There are two distinct solutions.
CD Pack is made with a sapele box, with ash and wenge internal pieces, and ships in an unsolved configuration.
Pentomino Burr
| Designed By: |
|
|---|---|
| Materials: |
|
| Size: | 2.6 in × 2.6 in × 2.6 in |
| Price: | $75 |
Émil's burr puzzles always have a knack for standing apart from the rest in the most creative of ways. From unique shapes to pieces that move in unexpected ways this design, Pentomino Burr, is another great example. The exterior shape may resemble a classic six piece burr the solve is anything but classic, almost behaving like a hybrid between a packing and interlocking puzzle. The open nature of the six notched burr sticks mixed with six familiar pentomino pieces force you to find the level 2 solution in ways you would not expect.
We crafted this batch of Pentomino Burrs in two variants — one made with dark and stripey bubinga burr pieces, the other with soft orange macacauba sticks, and each paired with bright yellow South American goiabao for the internals. Pentomino Burr is shipped unsolved.
Pretorian
| Designed By: |
|
|---|---|
| Materials: |
|
| Size: | 4 in × 4 in × 4 in |
| Price: | $150 |
It has been a while since we made a caged burr. Legendary designer Yavuz Demirhan was kind enough to allow us to make this beautiful puzzle. A three piece board burr surrounded by twelve notched burr sticks all encased neatly into the frame. Disassembly is a moderate challenge with a level 5.2.1.1.2.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.2 and reassembly is manageable without aid of a solution. Alignment of the assembly is tricky to navigate until the last few moves lock everything into place.
Made with a schedua wood cage and board burr, with stick pieces of a bright maple, Pretorian ships in a solved configuration.
Strong Bond Crystal
| Designed By: |
|
|---|---|
| Materials: |
|
| Size: | 2.6 in × 2.6 in × 2.6 in |
| Price: | $100 |
We were surprised and excited to find that no one had produced this outstanding design from William Hu. Three 10-unit sticks interlock with six 6-unit burr pieces to form a cubic octahedron shape. Sold assembled, there are a few tricky dead ends to navigate as well as orienting the puzzle in the correct direction before the pieces shift apart in a satisfying way. The level 7.1.1.2 solution combined with the unusual shape makes for a very fun and difficult challenge.
Two variants of Strong Bond Crystal are available with this release, one made of highly figured leopardwood, and the other of a bold red padauk, and it ships in a solved state.
Warty Burr
| Designed By: |
|
|---|---|
| Materials: |
|
| Size: | 2.6 in × 2.6 in × 2.6 in |
| Price: | $75 |
We are excited to work with Tyler to produce another interesting burr puzzle. In a similar way to his previous design, Parasitic Burr, this puzzle takes a normal six piece burr and adds a simple modification to make a completely different challenge.
Warty Burr is a seven piece burr in the classic six unit shape featuring one cubic blemish. The level four solution is a fun and approachable burr, and finding the correct placement of the "Wenge Wart" is trickier than you would first expect even for seasoned burr solvers.
We made two variants in this production run, each pairing the dark and streaky wenge with either deep orange jatoba, or brighter yellow macacauba, and either will look teriffic in your collection. Warty Burr is shipped in an unsolved configuration.
That's it for now. Thank you for reading and we look forward to seeing you on the site!
Gratias ab Ars Ænigmæ
