Iteration 23

The Walter Wars saga continues. Fans and those who have been following along on this apocalyptic dystopian paradox will understand that humanity has been in a battle for its soul against the machines, yes kind of like the Terminator and Matrix movies, but with wooden mechanical puzzles this time, and the brave heroes who will save us all are a bunch of puzzle loving brainiacs (ie nerds). These fearless men and women have come to appreciate the feel of finely crafted wood, and relish the idea that secrets lay waiting. Sometime waiting for a really long time, because they are hard to figure out.

Dee Dixon continues to challenge us with novel ideas in his puzzle boxes and adventures. His Walter series has produced some of his most popular designs, including the original Angry Walter and follow up Walter’s Radio. This time there are multiple small separate goals which are extremely well hidden and easy to miss, if not for the helpful instruction card Dee supplies with each puzzle. Make sure to pay attention to it! In Iteration 23 we find the same expert craftsmanship using gorgeous exotic woods with a smooth buttery texture we have come to expect from a DEDWood Crafts puzzle, with a slightly different objective than usual. Dee, or whoever is in charge of the robot resistance, is keeping us on our toes, which I think is great.

Dee puts a lot of thought and effort into these puzzles before he considers them ready for production. “Every time I change a part of the design I designate it with a number. First design number one. Change something, number two. Change something again. Number three. And on and on. I didn’t necessarily actually build after every change but I ended up at 23 with about 12 different actual prototypes built. I never have the puzzle completely done on paper when I start prototyping. I almost always have a mech or idea and then build on that. When one idea works out I ask myself how can I add on that or improve it? I keep building on that initial idea until I run out of room or it feels complete.”

Iteration 23, a large rectangular box with contrasting layers that look like an ice cream sandwich, plays out like a secret bunker where many parts of a powerful weapon which is critical to the master plan of the resistance are hidden. This concept lends itself to many different tricks and secret mechanisms scattered about, each posing a challenging objective, which act together as a whole to create a meta puzzle. As part of a bigger saga, the story adds another layer of fun to the whole experience for a winning addition.

Having once again contributed to mankind’s ultimate salvation, I felt a celebratory toast was in order. For no particular reason I chose a tequila and tonic, an effervescent highball in the same family as the gin and tonic. Highballs are the ubiquitous cocktail and can be as high, or low, brow as you want. Pick your favorite spirit and soda and you’re done. Maybe add a squeeze of lemon or lime. Of course, bartenders have elevated the highball to an artform in some cases. Take the Japanese whiskey highball, for example, which can be perfected down to the exact number of rotations of the stirring spoon.

I actually made a whiskey highball for one of Dee Dixon’s original puzzle boxes, Where’s My Hammer, many moons ago. This time I turned to tequila, with a simple recipe found on Difford’s Guide, which was itself found in the original pages of Victor Bergeron’s Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, 1972 revised edition. The TNT, like it’s cousin the Texas Ranch Water (soda water in place of tonic), is a great warm weather drink that can be stretched or modified with a little of this or that, depending on how the resistance is going. Cheers!

TNT (Tequila ‘N’ Tonic) circa 1972

1 ½ oz reposado tequila

¼ oz fresh lime

Tonic

Build ingredients in a glass over ice, topping up with tonic per taste (traditionally two part tonic to tequila). Lime wedge or wheel.

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