I guess I should start off by explaining what the gripple does. It has a series of dials on it that turn. The three different versions I have all have a different method to move, and a different solution. So the only way to do this is individually.
The first was made in Russia. Now this one I got in a trade for a puzzle made in China. (How funny is that?) This one is a very dull green with white numbers on it. By the time I got it, the previous owner had underlined the 6 and the 9 to be able to distinguish them because, let's face it. There is no difference in this puzzle.
OK, well, I'm not clever enough to get those two photos to load side by side so there you have it folks. All right, so how does the Russian gripple work? Those 5 knobs on the back turn 4 dials each. Quite easy to understand really. The outside 4 knobs turn the 4 dials in their respqctive corners. The center dial turns the 4 center numbers. Easy enough.
The next puzzle is made in Taiwan. This one is very colorful by comparison, but also very different. This one has 9 dials on it and each of the nine dials only turns one circle. Each circle has 4 slices and a center bit. The 4 slices are not fixed, but they move around depending on which of the other dials is turned. So, if I turn that upper middle dial in the photo below to the left, the green slice from the top will now replace the blue slice and all slices will move one segment counterclockwise. Easy to understand? :) um well, give it a go. It is really. I wouldn't lie.
The last one? Well, the gripple gripple. This was the first puzzle named Gripple that I was made aware of. Wayne Johnson found one in his sons (?) kindergarten all covered in sand in the sandbox and saved it. I mean where else would you expect to find a puzzle but in the sandbox.
His post on that day caused me to go hunt down this puzzle. I managed to find one on an auction many years later, and now very pleased to have my own version of it. This one solves exactly like its Russian counterpart. The difference? The dials are on the top in the form of buttons. so each of the colored buttons is able to move independent of the center, but each is also able to move on it's own. This one has little stickers that are numbered to make it that much more difficult, or not if you choose to keep them off the puzzle.
Gripples over all are not that hard to solve, but they are fun little puzzles to spend a few minutes or more on. They are becoming harder and harder to find, so if you do manage to spot one on an auction site near you and it is going for a reasonable price, well pick it up before someone else does because they don't come along very often!
Until next time, I hope the dust bunnies hop away from your collection of toys....
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