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Hanayama has been giving us love through their puzzles for almost four decades. With 80+ Cast Puzzles in their catalogue, there's plenty of love and fun to go around. Their most recent design is the Cast Love, designed by Scott Eliott, and what a puzzle this is...

It's no surprise that Cast Puzzles have always captured the attention of so many people, even casual puzzlers. Their intriguing design combined with an elegant solution, sometimes so simple that it makes you smile, makes for a perfect puzzle that anyone can try to solve. The variety of difficulty levels means that Hanayama has a puzzle for everyone, whether they're new to puzzles or someone looking for a real challenge. The new Cast Love falls on the easy category, but don't expect to solve it immediately.

Two identical pieces, one silver and one gold, make up this simple design. It's actually quite a small puzzle, even for Hanayama standards, measuring 4.5cm x 4cm (1.75" x 1.5"). It comes unsolved, meaning the two pieces come separated in its packaging. It's actually better this way, since you'd understand the solution right away otherwise. As it is, it's actually, in my opinion, a little more challenging than the advertised level 5/10 (Hanayama Level 1).

It took me a while to figure out the solution for this puzzle, considering it's supposed to be an easy puzzle. Around 15-20 minutes. The two pieces should come together as a single piece, but it's not as straightforward as it looks. Since they are identical, it's difficult to visualize how you should do it. Looking at the solved picture won't help you much, since you can't see inside. The only thing that can be a hint is that it's clear, by looking at the pieces, that it's going to be a sliding movement. There was a lot of trial and error, but ultimately, it comes to carefully analysing the pieces and see how they should slide together. It's a beautiful solution, and of course, once you solve it, it looks easy. I still think this should've been rated a level above.

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Closing Comments:

The Cast Love is a gorgeous puzzle and what makes it so special is the solution, which is indeed very elegant and simple. I can understand how it comes in its unsolved state. It's a perfect puzzle for casual puzzlers, since it's challenging enough to have a rewarding feeling when solved. It's a Hanayama puzzle, so you don't need any more incentives to get it.

Availability: The Cast Love is available at PuzzleMaster for just $15.99 CAD. Check out the Hanayama Cast family for more metal love.