In my latest order from Brilliant Puzzles, I included a puzzle that I already knew for some time, but never got around to get a copy. This is one of those puzzles that appear to be one thing, but when you take a closer look and inspect its inner workings, you're in for a surprise.

The Radius, a seemingly ordinary puzzle, is nicely crafted from hardwood and measures about 8 x 6cm (3.2" x 2.4"). It's comprised by four circular layers into a cylindrical shape, with each circle appearing to be divided in three segments. However, after you separate the first piece, you'll notice that the segments are actually glued to other layers - This is where the puzzling factor lies.

The puzzle has four pieces that are interlinked so that the cylindrical shape is held tightly together. The pieces are not identical, but they're very similar in pairs (See photo below). Each piece has three segments glued together: two pieces cover two layers and the other two cover three layers.

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This is not a difficult puzzle, at all. It's rated as a level 3/5, but after solving it within a couple of minutes, I'd say it's more like a level 1 or 2, at best. When you first take it apart, your feeling is that it could be quite tricky to put it back to its original position, but there isn't that much of a high number of possible arrangements. A little bit of fiddling with the pieces and some trial and error, and you have the puzzle solved in no time. The puzzle does come with its own solution sheet, but I guarantee, you won't be needing it...

Closing Comments:

Not very much of a challenge there, but the Radius has a nice and original design. It's a good puzzle if you're just starting on your puzzling adventure, but other than that, it's just a nice collectible. My take on it, is that with a few more layers, it would probably raise the difficulty level exponentially or at least, put up a fight.

Availability: You can find the Radius puzzle at Brilliant Puzzles for about $11 USD.

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