PuzzleMaster

Spin to Win

Posted on Apr 6, 2012 by Gabriel | 1 comments
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(Click to Enlarge)
Spin to Win - No, it's not a casino game or something like that. This puzzle was first produced by the Czech puzzle company Clever Toys, and was originally called Tower.

Manufactured for Brilliant Puzzles, the Spin to Win puzzle is similar to the concept of the classic Babylon Tower, but with a few key differences, besides from being a wooden puzzle. It measures 11 x 7cm (4.3" x 2.8") and instead of six columns and colors, there are only four, and instead of six  rotating discs, there's only two. Now, you might be wondering - Is it easier than the Babylon Tower? - The short answer... Yes, it is. However, it's not as easy as you'd think.

The fact that there's only two discs (or cylinders), adds some level of complexity and requires a different solving method than the one you're used to in the Babylon Tower. The original state shows the 20 colored balls aligned  in four groups. By the way, the balls are colored wood and not plastic, and the colors are a bit more washed out, not as bright as it appears on the puzzle's website.

(Click to Enlarge) - Scrambled

Each disc carry two balls from each color and rotate independently. At the bottom, there are four cavities for the balls that indicate which color should used in the columns and at the top there's only one cavity that will create a gap in order to scramble and solve the puzzle.

On my first try, it took me approximately 20 minutes to solve it, and I spent a good 5 minutes just to scramble it properly. Because of the two cylinder dynamic (or lack of it), it gets a bit slow to get the balls where you want them. When scrambled, it does get a lot more interesting to solve. The first step is to get the bottom cavities with the four different colors and work your way up - First the bottom disc and then, the top one. I think the hardest part was the final steps, as I couldn't manage to get the right color sequence. After a few missteps, the puzzle was finally solved.

(Click to Enlarge) - Solved

The Spin to Win puzzle is available at Brilliant Puzzles for $15 USD.

Closing Comments:

I liked the different approach to the this type of puzzle. It adds a new twist and level of complexity without being too difficult. The only boring task is getting the puzzle scrambled. I also liked the contrast between the wood tone and the colored balls, although I would've preferred the original brown scheme, in harmony with the rest of the puzzle. Overall, it was a nice little challenge.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had this puzzle when I was younger, but I couldn't remember the name of it. I'm probably going to buy one sometime

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