Construction Zone

Sometimes a project can take on a life of its own. Such is true for any venture, be it business or pleasure, and I suspect many of us can relate. This is a tale of a puzzle box, however, one that references an ancient lost race of craftspeople who built the most incredible and complex objects. These constructs boggled the minds of the archaeologist adventurers who unearthed them and attempted to decipher their purpose. It may be of interest to know that this ancient race is entirely fictional. Although that seems irrelevant in light of an actual tangible artifact, brought to life by none other than the Stickman himself, Robert Yarger, now exposed as the last living member of that ancient race.

Dwemer Construct by Robert Yarger

The Dwemer Construct, aka The Stickman No. 34 Puzzlebox, is an impressive artifact indeed. It appears to be partly a box, at least on the bottom, which serves as a pedestal supporting an explosion of mechanical marvels. There are a myriad of levers, gears, knobs, cranks, pistons, cogs and unusual objects packed into the space on top of the box and held in place by a framework. It’s incredibly mysterious and confusing. It’s also all beautifully rendered in polished walnut and sapele woods, with little maple details scattered all about. There are unique corner step columns which provide a novel detail. Initial exploration reveals some movement here and there, and it may eventually become slightly clear what the ultimately requirement is in order to access the inner compartment of the box, but this revelation is not terribly helpful. Things move, here and there, and sometimes other things move in response. Certain parts seem to produce movements in entirely different sections, but not always. Sometimes the same move does not produce the same result … this is classic Stickman and can be found on a few other boxes he has created over the years.

Better gear up and leverage some ingenuity here

The initial idea for the box was to have a set of parts which combined in surprising ways to produce certain movements. It was to be a fanciful construct, such as the ancient Dwemer civilization would have produced (a mysterious race of elves or dwarves from the games Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls). Rob imagined this would be a fairly simple thing, and thus set out to produce an edition twice the normal size to allow more fans to get a copy. He imagined it would take him about 3 months. But this idea, of combining fascinating puzzle parts in odd shapes and sizes to function in unexpected ways, is exactly the kind of puzzle Rob enjoys so much. The boxes grew in complexity and evolved from the original idea into much more, until it was 10 months later, the box had two separate solutions, he had spent more time on it than on any previous box, and it was simply time to move on. Even so, there is still more to this box that remains in Rob’s mind, a third solution, which may yet one day be added.

Stickman's first DIY kit

The box itself is a playground for a mechanical engineer. The entire structure comes apart into over 45 individual pieces. The initial challenge is to deduce how to maneuver the box in its original state so that all four locks are open and the inner compartment can be reached. After this, a pouch hidden inside is discovered, which contains even more parts, and the means with which to deconstruct the works. Once fully disassembled, the next challenge is to figure out how to reconstruct the parts into a second, completely different configuration. This is easily the most unusual aspect to any puzzle Rob has ever created, and takes the solver on the same journey that Rob takes when designing many of his puzzles.

He described this process as his being “painted into a corner” method. He often designs as he goes, forcing himself to figure out what exactly to do with parts he has already cut. Here are 45 parts, which can combine in a hundred ways – good luck! Careful observation of the parts suggests how they might interact and where they might fit. There are holes drilled here and there. There are odd shapes. Another interesting observation is how certain shapes, holes and parts don’t seem to have any use at all, in the first construct or even after creating the second. These are meant for the third construct, which doesn’t even exist, yet.

The process of designing the puzzle itself from the pieces is Rob’s favorite part of puzzle box making, the part that brings him joy. This box allows others a chance to experience that same process. But beware – it took Rob an entire week to figure out how to assemble the second construct himself!

The First Construct

Rob’s intent for the Dwemer Construct is truly for this construction phase to be the heart of the puzzle. Of course, not everyone is cut out for this level of genius. Rob produced an extensive manual which accompanies the box (the largest one ever), with detailed instructions on assembly for the two constructs and their solutions.

Another wonderful aspect of the box is that simply taking it apart and assembling it another way is incredibly entertaining, even without deducing the process on your own. Finally, despite having just put the box together a different way, using the instructions, the mystery remains. It is so complicated that solving the second assembly is no easier just because you have just put it together! The construction gives few clues as to how it works, allowing the solver to enjoy a new, second puzzle. There are so many aspects to enjoying this marvelous work, with levels of complexity from the basic to the extreme, and the ability to choose your own experience. It’s an incredible achievement and one of the most unusual Stickman boxes ever.

The Offering by Alex Wiegand

Creating a toast for this complex marvel posed a particular challenge. I’ll usually find a classic or modern cocktail which echoes the name of the box, or pair a regional spirit with the artist’s place of residence. Sometimes I’ll come up with a convoluted association and see if anyone can deduce the reason for the pairing. If I can’t find anything at all useful I’ve also been known to make up a new cocktail for the occasion. It boggles the imagination but I wasn’t able to find anything remotely palatable related to ancient lost dwarf civilizations. Rob suggested the “Red Dwarf”, an interesting concoction with rum and juices I had not heard of before, but I had already decided on something else. These blog posts take time, effort, a bit of research, and a lot of commitment. Rob recognized that a while back and took to calling them my “offerings” rather than my “posts”.

I rather like the sound of that term and appreciate the sentiment it evokes. So here’s an offering to pair with this offering.

I'll make you an Offering you can't refuse ... 

Or perhaps I should say to “pear” with this offering. This cocktail, by way of Alex Wiegand from Cambridge Massachusetts, employs a pear shrub to impart a delicious sweet and tart flavor to the drink. Shrubs are old fashioned fruit and vinegar based drinks which originated in England (by way of Persia) and were used long ago as health tonics. They are sometimes known as “drinking vinegars” and have made a come back in recent times as both stand alone beverages and as cocktail ingredients. Homemade shrubs are delicious – this one calls for freshly chopped pear, turbinado sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and sherry vinegar. I’ve taken the essential ingredients and made a quick workaround by using the incredibly delicious St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur and adding pear infused balsamic vinegar, with quite satisfactory results. Another interesting component to this offering is Cardamaro, another fascinating Italian amaro. Like all amaros it is an infused regional wine, with herbal and bitter components, traditionally used as a digestive aid after a delicious meal. You’d be forgiven for thinking it must be infused with cardamom, which is what we all think initially. The key ingredients here are actually cardoon, and blessed thistle, both from the artichoke family. Cardamaro is rich and sweet, with only very subtle hints of herb and hardly any bitterness. It’s a wonderful amaro to try.

Lastly I’ve added a few dashes of something uniquely suited to this drink pairing, some Stickman Sapele Bitters. These are really a tincture Rob made from actual Sapele wood, the very same wood used to make the Dwemer Construct. If you have access to any slivers of Sapele wood, a similar effect can be produced by simply adding a sliver, perhaps in the form of a stirring stick, to the glass. The flavors will seep into it due to the alcohol, imparting a mellow sweetness and aging to the drink. A final word about amaros is that they are created from dozens of local ingredients including plants, roots, bark and flowers indigenous to whatever region the amaro is from. There is a masterful creativity in determining what to combine, in what way, and where to add it in the process, to create something incredible. It’s a perfect element to compliment this particular offering. Cheers!

Offering up this pair of constructs

The Offering by Alex Weigand

1 ½ oz reposado tequila

1 oz Cardamaro

¾ oz pear shrub

½ oz fresh lemon

(2 dashes Sapele bitters or stirring stick)

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Garnish with citrus construct.

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