The column by Curio

The column puzzle by Curio is a black metal puzzle with only 2 pieces and the goal is pretty straightforward: remove and put back the inner piece.

Taking it out is super easy, putting it back is definitely where the challenge is! 

First, the look of the puzzle: aestetically, it's perfect. Only 2 pieces in a dark black color and a shape that is more evolved as just a basic cylinder. The look matters and I can only say "congrats" for that.

The goal is easy to understand and only 2 pieces for this nice puzzle. I've learned in the past that the number of pieces is not always synonymous of difficulty. And the genius mind always tries to find the right balance between difficulty and frustration. Here, the balance is right between these 2.

I have played more than what I've initially planned to solve the puzzle (but don't get me wrong, it just means that I am bad at solving puzzles haha) and at some point I solved it. Then extracting the core and trying to solve it again proved not to be a success. Back to the starting point!

Honestly I am still wondering how this thing works (I am always frustrated when I cannot see the inner mechanism) as sometimes I manage to solve it, and sometimes not...And in anycase, I really enjoy the fidgety aspect of the column puzzle and this "feature", if we can call it so, is shared by many puzzle owners of this puzzle.

I guess there are several ways of solving the puzzle: one being the official way of course and I am sure all solutions lead to the same behaviour inside the puzzle. Try to find the most elegant solution.

This is definitely a puzzle that has something special, that you can proudly display in your puzzle cabinet and also let your friends play

 

You can buy the puzzle on their website