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 [Read More...]

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 [Read More...]

The Cast Cricket is Hanayama’s own version of a puzzle, which first appeared back in 1898. This new version released ten years ago, in April 2002, by the hand of puzzle collector James Dalgety, hopefully stays true to its origins. James also designed another puzzle for Hanayama, the Cast Medal.

The puzzle is an homage to the game of the same name, played since the 16th century. It depicts two of most known elements in the game, the bat and the wicket, which are entangled. Your task is to separate them and then, put them back to [Read More...]

The Blue Knight is made in Canada by PuzzleMaster, which offers a wide range of wire puzzles from easy to extremely hard. The puzzle has the shape of the letter K and attached is a handle with a golden ring. Your task is to “simply” remove the ring.

As always, PuzzleMaster’s wire puzzles are made with a beautiful nickel-plated finish, giving a very pleasant appearance and smoother manipulation, not to mention that it doesn’t leave any metal smells in your hands, which is a big plus.

The Blue Knight is rated as a 9/10 puzzle (Gruelling), [Read More...]

After having recently reviewed a couple of easy Wire Puzzles, I am now moving on to tougher paths. It still isn’t a top level puzzle, but it can be a little tricky with multiple steps required.

The Beetle Bug is another PuzzleMaster’s version of the Tucker-Jones House original from 1985, the Satan’s Stirrup. As mentioned in previous reviews, I prefer the material used by PuzzleMaster, with a smoother surface.

The puzzle belongs to Tucker’s group 4/8 puzzles, so it’s right there in the middle of difficulty. PuzzleMaster rates it at 7/10. Not too hard [Read More...]

Here is another cool Hanayama Cast puzzle called O’Gear by Oskar van Deventer.  I received it from Puzzle Master and you can find the solution on their webpage.  I really wanted to get my hands on this puzzle but I was kind of surprised with the size of this one.  I was expecting something that could easily fit in my pocket.  A bit of a disappointment but the puzzle is still a bucket of honey.  This is an interesting puzzle because the “gear” that you are suppose to detach from the cube looks as if it could easily come off.  [Read More...]

The puzzle I’m going to talk about today is the Cast Keyring. Oskar van Deventer designed this puzzle and I received it from Puzzle Master. If you need the solution then check out the Puzzle Master solution webpage. There is also a video solution on youtube. Please note that you can also find this puzzle at other online stores. The Puzzle Master store rates this a 6 out of 10 as far as difficulty. In other words, it’s not super hard. I would agree that it wasn’t very difficult but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. The [Read More...]