Cast H&H Puzzle

How about that summer heat?  It is very hot here in the Southwest but that’s to be expected.  It’s hot and dry so there isn’t any problems with my wood puzzles.  However, I’m pretty sure that I could brand my hand with one of my metal puzzles after leaving it in my car for a few hours.  In any case, this week the puzzle is another finely made puzzle from the Cast series called H&H.  It’s a rather generic name but the puzzle is basically two metal H’s that are connected together.  The objective of the puzzle is to take the thing apart and then put it back together.  I give this puzzle an 8 out of 10 as far as difficulty.  Like many of the cast puzzles that I own, it took a bit longer to put back together than to take apart.  The funny thing about Cast series is that I use to think that these puzzles were shaped oddly just as a gimmick to get people to buy it for its aesthetic appeal.  While the puzzle does look nice, the curves and contours have a purpose.  At least most of them do anyway.  I received this puzzle from the cool folks at Puzzle Master and if you need the solution then check out this link.  Well stay cool and have a great summer :)     

Lunatic Lock Puzzle

This week I will be talking about the Lunatic Lock.  This is my first trick lock.  I had never heard of trick lock puzzles until I started my mechanical puzzle collection.  In a nutshell, a trick lock is a type of puzzle where opening the lock doesn’t solely occur through the placement and turning of a designated key or through dialing in the correct combination.  In fact, the Lunatic Lock cannot be open with a key or combination method.  All you have is the lock and what appears to be a bolt that can move up and down.  That is it.  This puzzle was a lot of fun to solve and took me a while to find the solution.  Don’t worry if it takes a while to solve.  You can easily take it with you.  The solution method is interesting and requires a specific movement.  The only complaint about this puzzle is the sharp edges.  The puzzle isn’t pleasant to handle and I do think that it would have been a better experience if the edges were smoother.  I think I might end up filing down those edges a bit to make the thing more comfortable to hold.  I received this puzzle from Puzzle Master and if you need the solution then check out their solution page.  If you really do like trick locks and have a little extra coin then I would suggest a Popplock.  Popplocks are hand made by a German fellow by the name of Rainer Popp.  While they are a bit price they are very nice.  Please check out some of the reviews from fellow puzzle bloggers as they do seem like a real treat.  

Cast Marble Puzzle

This week I’m doing a review on an awesome puzzle from the Cast series called Marble.  I received this puzzle for review from the Canadian puzzle store called Puzzle Master.  Thanks guys!  I’ve been doing reviews on my Cast collection these last few weeks because they really are some of best puzzles that I own and frankly you can’t beat the price.  The objective of this puzzle is to dissemble the four pieces and then reassemble.  The metal ball in the middle will actually roll while held in the puzzle which is pretty cool and the thing looks great.  The puzzle looks like a modern art sculpture.  Once dissembled, I was impressed with the precision build of the metal ball halves.  This metal puzzle was made to fit smuggling together and that would not have been possible without a good manufacturing process.  Hats off to the Hanayama company.  They are the company who manufactured this bad boy.  

Overall an impressive puzzle because it is challenging, portable, and looks nice.  As I have been saying these last few weeks, you can’t go wrong with the Cast series by Hanayama.  I would even go so far as to say that the Cast series are just as good if not better than some of the high priced puzzles that are out there today.  Something to keep in mind if you are just starting your own puzzle collection.  In addition, I found that an extra challenge is to take the puzzle apart and then try to find ways to stack the puzzle pieces.  This might not be for everyone but I found it to be a fun and creative activity.  If you need the solution, you can find it on the Puzzle Master solution website.