Hanayama News Puzzle

Great quality and they definitely keep you busy! Of course it depends on the difficulty level but I’ve purchased mostly 4’s and 5’s and they definitely have stumped my hubby for way longer than any other puzzles like this. Some he has yet to solve! I keep them on my coffee table and guests always pick them up to try. They feel substantial and are made to keep people thinking. The puzzle simply isn’t getting it apart - you always need to reassemble which is often more difficult. I’ve used as stocking stuffers at Christmas and also as a small gift to accompany a gift card or cash. I’ve probably purchased over a dozen. It’s helpful to check reviews on the specific puzzles because it seems like not all puzzles rated in a specific difficulty category are of equal difficulty. For example, sometimes a 4 might be more difficult than a certain 5. I guess it depends on the individual but I did find the reviews helpful in that regard. If you have a puzzle expert in the house these will not disappoint. And I suspect the lower levels are probably great for beginners or just to get your feet wet.

It's important to remember these puzzles all come in the same size package, so don't let the pictures fool you. Having said that, I'm still happy with my purchase. I have become a Hanayama addict. This one took me 10 minutes to solve, and about 3 minutes to put back together. The mechanics behind this one are different than any of the 9 I have so far. To be honest, I'm not sure how I solved it. Hanayama puzzles are tricky in the sense that they wait until you're not paying attention, then they fall apart.I'm looking forward to mastering this one. I now see there could be a simple way to solve it, but it's not the way I did it the first time. You'll see what I mean when you solve it. No spoilers 😉.

I saw this puzzle on YouTube (with its solution) so I already knew the solution. But I still wanted to have it because it looks and feels really cool. The letters on it (with that font), its color, appearance overall and the type of puzzle (it is a hidden mechanism puzzle) gives it a mystical feeling and it feels like some secret device a few centuries old.I am pretty sure solving it would be challenging, so overall it is a nice puzzle and really worth to get.

The NEWS puzzle can be solved in under 10 seconds. However, if you get stumped you can look at it for hours and not make any progress. I won't offer clues, but I will say this, lay the puzzle on a table to solve it. You may not get very far if you only hold it in your hands.The puzzle is solidly constructed of cast metal (zinc, I believe.)Once you know the secret, it is not much fun any more. (Unless you are amused watching someone else try to solve it, who doesn't know the solution.)If you move the pieces too much, once you have the puzzle apart, it may not go back together easily. You will then need to figure out how to put the pieces back together.If you really need to see the solution, the download on the distributor site (puzzlemaster.ca) does not work very well.You are better off searching youtube for "cast news puzzle" and watching the solution videos.

I got this as a gift for my husband. I figured he would find it interesting and entertaining. He did, but unfortunately he figured it out a lot faster than I anticipated. He really enjoyed it but I just thought it would last him longer than it did. I don't know the exact amount of time he put into solving it, but I just gave it to him in the middle of this month. My guess was he worked on it (including interruptions from kids) for less than 10 total hours before solving it (taking it apart and putting it back together) Within an hour or so he accidentally got it apart, but put it back together so he could actually "solve" it.

This is one of my favorite puzzles from this brand. Its design baffles me in regards to concept; very impressive. Honestly, I dropped it very soon after I started to work it and it came apart...so I was able to examine it closely and understand its operation. I reassembled it and soon realized that even though I understood how it stayed together, that I still couldn't get it to separate again. I even tried dropping it again (don't recommend). Later that night, a friend and I put our heads together and were able to figure it out, but it made this puzzle no less impressive. I can't wait for other friends to try it out.

Solved this puzzle in like 3 minutes, might have just gotten lucky though. I solve it over and over again now and I get moderate entertainment from doing that. Would recommend unless you’re in MENSA. Might be a little bit easy for the seasoned puzzlist.

This was a gift for my aunt who loves little brain teasers that also serve as coffee table decorations. She had it undone in a second, but kept going at it! It's a great fidget toy for adults!