Cast diamond

From the 3 newest cast puzzles is one from Scott Elliott (his first puzzle to be produced by Hanayama, if I am right), and what a start!

This cast diamond is only ratted as difficulty 1, so the easiest, but I am sure you will take more time to solve it than what you first expected!

Usually cast puzzles come attached to each other and your goal is to disassemble them. But here, the 2 pieces of the puzzle come not attached. Well, obviously (after you know how to solve the puzzle) the real challenge is to assemble the 2 pieces!

I do love the shape of the pieces and the very nice way both pieces come together.

I definitely advise it for anyone and I would even put it in my favourite from group 1 of cast puzzles along with cast loop.

Buy it!

Don't look at the solution!

X-Y-Z burr

Not sure why it's called a burr nor why XYZ are used for, but the thing I know is that this is a very nice metal puzzle designed and made by R.D Rose some time ago.

The colors are nice and the shape as well. You cannot go wrong with a R.D Rose puzzle as I think they belong to the most original metal puzzles.

The goal is to disassemble it, but if you have the opportunity to play with it, I advise that it's shown to you disassembled. Indeed, separating the pieces is very easy and can be done even by a child. Reassembling the pieces is the real challenge!

The pieces are identical and there is no clear hints how the pieces could go together and it can even seem that they cannot be put together...

Obviously a co-motion move will have to be done at some point, this is not a spoiler!

I think this is a pleasant puzzle to play with either by burr lovers who can think they will have to solve a burr or by non-burr lovers who will actually play with not a burr (yes, this is not a burr at all despite the name!!) :-)

Opened lock!

Sorry guys, the name can be disappointing, but the lock is not opened...but transparent, or almost!
Hence its name: transparent lock

Yes, you can see what's inside the lock and what you're doing. Easy then? Not complicated indeed, but we'll see.

First a picture!

So you notice pure quality, right? A lock that is firmy locked and a T-shaped tool.

This is a pretty big lock, but a pretty light (compared to its size) as well because most of the lock is just....empty space !!! :-)

I feel this is one of the most original trick locks because of its design. Regarding the puzzling aspect: this is definitely a nice one to solve, easy to repeat, but overall a not too difficult puzzle.

You should not have too many difficulties to find the steps needed (there are several) that are pleasant.
I was blocked on a step, the last one, that I managed to solve though. But it appeared to me a little bit fetched and I would have prefered a more elegant step!

It's not easy to put a picture of the lock solved without spoiling too much, but I am sure you imagine how it should look like once solved, like all trick locks: when the shackle is opened!!!

To conclude, definitely a puzzle to have in your collection or to have played with. However, a little bit more difficult would not have been bad :)

Ze chinnyhedron

Here is my first review of a Chin's puzzle!!

First you noticed the strange title, right? ("ze" instead of "the") and the name "chinnyhedron". Well, all the puzzles from Stephen Chin have a strange and pretty funny name. Maybe to remember them more easily?
A chinnyhedron is just a solid...or a strange geometrical solid made by Chinny (one of the several nicknames of the designer!) which goal is "just" to disassemble the puzzle. Easy? Not so!

The first difficulty is you have to put your fingers on the right pieces and there is no hints where you have to push/pull the pieces. So actually if you have 3 fingers pushing, maybe you're pushing 2 in the right direction but you're making the wrong move with the 3rd one, resulting in doing nothing :-)

So even if you have only 2 pieces to separate, well this is pretty challenging for only 2 pieces!!!

The puzzle is made even more difficult that the fit is pretty tight (too tight in my opinion, but maybe a bit less tight would make the puzzles disassemble by itself?), so you have to PUSH/PULL and not only push/pull, you get it?

Stephen Chin created other geometrical solids with the same goal but not the same number of pieces, hence several levels of difficulty for puzzles that looks the same!

I feel this is a pitty that the design does not release more of his puzzles and does not sell them. Sure it's not his job and more a hobby, but I am sure many people would like to enjoy his puzzles.
Stephen if you see that, make some more puzzles please!!! :-)

Revenge lock

No! It's not a puzzle made by Gary Foshee, even if it has some shares features: a lock with no key nor no keyholes, and a rod in the center of the lock that can be moved up or down and that is blocked sometimes.

Actually this is a puzzle made by Wil Strijbos long time ago (no idea when...) with a pretty funny name. One can try to think out why this name. I have some assumptions: maybe Wil could not solve the lunatic lock crafted by Gary Foshee and wanted to take his revenge on him by crafting an even more difficult trick lock? Or maybe Wil was challenged to craft a trick lock, but failed and took his revenge by releasing this puzzle...other assumptions in the audience??

When playing with this puzzle you will notice the common features with the lunatic lock and then you will try to repeat the same steps...Well, this is a more difficult puzzle and you will see a more complex mechanism once opened (yes, when it's opened, you can clearly see what's inside!).

No doubt, you will have a lot of fun solving this one and get your "ah-ha" moments and your "what's wrong with that" moments as well :-)

You are not really blind when solving with the puzzles as you can get some hints from it. First you will hear things ratling from the inside. Then, you will see something moving in the hole on a side of the lock. Sometimes it moves, sometimes not. Maybe it's related with the solution or maybe it's just a trap.

Being a fan of trick locks, I think this is a nice addition to any collection and it's highly collectible! Especially when you know that it was crafted by Wil Strijbos, who is not used at all to crafting trick locks.

Hope that Will will come sooner or latter with another trick lock!!