HANAYAMA PUZZLES ARE NEXT LEVEL
A BEGINNING TO A PUZZLING ADDICTION
Last year I bought my youngest sister Mary’s boyfriend a Christmas gift I’ve found myself buying for my own satisfaction to pass the shut-in hours of the pandemic days. Hanayama cast iron puzzles have been around since the 1930’s! With such a mind borne with a proclivity for figuring things out, it is a surprise I’m finding these pocket-sized cast-iron games so late.
Each puzzle is mystically crafted in its physical design, owning a sly magic in the spectral maze they erect in the brain with each attempt to solve them. In this spectacular way, Hanayama has achieved creating a something that projects thought into a fourth dimensional plane of problem solving.
THEY CALL THEM HUZZLE’S
This Japanese company has found a way to drop their fans in the middle of a freshly constructed astral experience with dozens of unique puzzles. I have bought three so far since March, and I aim to keep to the practice of visiting the games shelves of the local Fred Meyer until they stop selling them. Which I imagine, is no time soon. With six levels of difficulty, you can work your way from simple challenges to the attention gripping expert tier of bewilderment.
Ranking in at a level four, the Cast Twist puzzle was the first I bought. After a proper amount of frustrating fun, perplexity, and noodle racking, I scooped up a level 6 called Cast News. Difficult, but it was not long before I was back at the grocery buying the newest Cast Hourglass — it’s beside me now, and I’ve stopped writing this four or more times attempting “one more thing”.
ANOTHER AMUSING FACET
One of my favorite features about these miniature obsessions is that anything bout it is a clue presented to the player. The color, the cracks along their sides, little grooves and notches etc. are intentionally place. Nothing is a mistake, and if you’re thinking it is, well hell, you may just be one twist away from solving the damn thing. These artfully designed tinker toys truly are impossible to put aside until they’re solved.