{"id":2497,"date":"2014-09-21T04:46:37","date_gmt":"2014-09-21T04:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/?p=2497"},"modified":"2014-09-21T07:16:53","modified_gmt":"2014-09-21T07:16:53","slug":"fun-with-hanayama-cast-puzzles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/21\/fun-with-hanayama-cast-puzzles\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun with Hanayama Cast Puzzles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>During my recent trip to Japan I came across a puzzle called Devil&#8217;s claw.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil.png\" alt=\"hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil.png 400w, https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>What followed was a moment (read: a very long moment) of struggle which ended up with a devastating and humiliating defeat of yours truly.<\/p>\n<p>I was hooked.<\/p>\n<p>And yes, I eventually cracked it :).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil_solved.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2501\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil_solved.png\" alt=\"hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil_solved\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil_solved.png 400w, https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_devil_solved-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After coming back home I looked around online and found out that it&#8217;s actually a very old puzzle (1906) which many people enjoy for its simplicity and &#8216;playability&#8217;. Even if you solve it once, solving it again is still challenging and it takes some practice to master the moves. It has been revived in 80s by a Japanese company <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hanayamatoys.co.jp\/\">Hanayama<\/a>. Of course, I immediately started hunting and quickly found a HK-based company that is selling other Hanayama&#8217;s puzzles locally. A quick trip to their outlet &amp; the sales girl&#8217;s near-heart attack experience concluded with her offering me a discount and me coming back home with over 20 different Hanayama puzzles.<\/p>\n<p>If you are curious, these are a few places in Hong Kong where you can buy Hanayama puzzles:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Teen&#8217;s Channel in KITEC\u00a0 (Kowloon Bay) &#8211; many different variants [this is the outlet shop I mentioned earlier]<\/li>\n<li>Log On (Kowloon Tong, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, etc.) &#8211; quite a limited choice of puzzles though<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Hanayama products are also sold outside of Asia and it&#8217;s easy to find them on Amazon, Ebay and other shops. Just google around.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the puzzles are relatively easy f.ex. the cast horse:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2502\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse.png\" alt=\"hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse.png 400w, https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse_solved.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2503\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse_solved.png\" alt=\"hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse_solved\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse_solved.png 400w, https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_horse_solved-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Some are quite evil e.g. cast square:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2504\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square.png\" alt=\"hanayama_puzzle_cast_square\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square.png 400w, https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square2.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2505\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square2.png\" alt=\"hanayama_puzzle_cast_square2\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square2.png 400w, https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square2-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square_solved.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2506\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square_solved.png\" alt=\"hanayama_puzzle_cast_square_solved\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square_solved.png 400w, https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/hanayama_puzzle_cast_square_solved-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Solving them is a great fun and as I am slowly moving through my stack I can only say that if you like puzzles you will definitely enjoy the Cast series from Hanayama.<\/p>\n<p>Here is the list of all available mechanical <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hanayama-toys.com\/index.php?route=product\/category&amp;path=65\">puzzles<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>p.s. I am not sponsored by Hanayama and don&#8217;t take cut from their sales &#8211; they just make awesome puzzles and if you get bored with your smartphone games you will definitely have fun cracking these<\/p>\n<p>p.s.2. I turns out <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/angealbertini\">Ange<\/a> already explored this topic before and in great depth &#8211; his collection of puzzles is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/ange4771\/a-challenge-in-your-pocket-an-introduction-to-brainteasers\">AMAZING<\/a> !!!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/anges_collection.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2510\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/anges_collection.png\" alt=\"anges_collection\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/anges_collection.png 400w, https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/anges_collection-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During my recent trip to Japan I came across a puzzle called Devil&#8217;s claw. What followed was a moment (read: a very long moment) of struggle which ended up with a devastating and humiliating defeat of yours truly. I was &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/21\/fun-with-hanayama-cast-puzzles\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2497"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2497"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2512,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2497\/revisions\/2512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexacorn.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}