Save the Gorilla - Interlocking puzzle by Alfons Eyckmans

Save the Gorilla

Interlocking puzzle by Alfons Eyckmans

Disassemble the 19-piece interlocking shape to remove the gorilla-shaped piece trapped inside.

Save the Gorilla is one of Alfons Eyckmans's popular "Burr Zoo" puzzles, in which ordinary-looking burr shapes conceal animal figurines trapped inside. (In the photo, the gorilla shape is shown standing outside the puzzle, but in the assembled state it will be concealed within.) This is a challenging puzzle for experienced puzzle solvers, requiring a total of 70 moves for the disassembly.

It's intended as a take-apart puzzle, but in order to attempt it as such, you will first need to assemble it. Unless your puzzle-solving skills are far greater than mine, you'll probably want to use software such as BurrTools to do so, and I've included the BurrTools (xmpuzzle) file provided by Alfons. Save the Gorilla is quite a challenge to assemble, even with BurrTools! (Please do not contact me for the solution; if you don't have experience using BurrTools, you might be better off starting with one of the less complex designs in the Printable Puzzle Project - see below.)

Printing Instructions

Print one copy each of eyckmans.save-the-gorilla.gorilla.stl, eyckmans.save-the-gorilla.pieces-color-1.stl, eyckmans.save-the-gorilla.pieces-color-2.stl, and eyckmans.save-the-gorilla.pieces-color-3.stl.

The Printable Puzzle Project

The Printable Puzzle Project aims to make available high-quality open-source models of many puzzle designs. All of our models are posted with the generous permission of their designers and are licensed for non-commercial use only. Anyone may print copies for their own personal use, but selling or otherwise monetizing them is not permitted, and puzzle designers retain all rights as copyright holders of their work.

Our puzzles are modeled using the open-source puzzlecad library. The .scad file is included with this model in case you want to modify any of its design parameters; more information on how to do this can be found in the PPP Puzzle Modeling tutorial.

About the Designer

Alfons Eyckmans specializes in highly complex burr puzzles with intricate interlocking solutions. His designs range from moderately challenging to truly gargantuan, often requiring dozens of moves to remove the first piece. Many of his designs incorporate unusual geometric shapes or figurative elements, such as his "Burr Zoo" series of puzzles featuring animal shapes. Eyckmans's puzzles are for experienced puzzle solvers (you have been warned!), but patience will be rewarded as they reveal their creative and fascinating structure.

Happy puzzling!