The Hanayama Cast NEWS is a beautiful looking little puzzle. One of the range of popular and accessible Hanayama puzzles it comes with a 6 out of 6 star difficulty rating which is 'Grandmaster'. In our experience the rating is fairly contentious as some feel it should be much lower, perhaps a 3 star.
Well, first looks and NEWS is an attractive piece with an antique look and the letters N, E, S, W on either side. This fits with the name of the puzzle along with perhaps a clue in the form of the compass.
Made from two interlocking, identical pieces the aim is to seperate and then put back together. However after initially playing with it the pieces will not seperate easily.
Without wanting to give away the solution, those who are familiar with puzzle mechanisms may find they can solve this very quickly, although you are unlikely to do so accidentally. This means that some beginners really could struggle with this for a very long time. Once you have solved a few puzzles it is easy to forget what it is like taking on puzzles with no experience to refer back to.
This is one our favourite of the Hanayama range. The look is unqiue and just makes it an intriguing object which is nice and tactile to play with. You can hand it to friends and family and watch as they struggle to fathom the solution. While it is unlikely to challenge you to the same extent of other Grandmaster level puzzles it deserves it's place in the range and the price point makes it accesible to everyone. Find NEWS here.
