Cast Keyhole (溝)

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It's so difficult to keep up with Hanayama and its Cast puzzle series these days that, if you blink, you might miss one of their puzzle launches. My collection in only briefly completed for just a few months, up until yet another Cast puzzle is available. One of Hanayama's latest releases, in January this year, is the Cast Keyhole, designed by the Finnish Vesa Timonen, who also created other Cast Puzzles like the Cast Square, the Cast Loop, the Cast Donuts, among others. The theme for this puzzle is "Groove".

Built in the shape of a keyhole, the puzzle is basically a 3D maze comprised of two intertwined pieces that should be separated and then rejoined in their original position. Rated by Hanayama as a level 4/6, you will face a nice challenge with the Cast Keyhole, even though it never gets frustrating enough to give up on it.

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Quite honestly, at first, when I looked at this puzzle I could bet it was designed by Oskar van Deventer. It just seemed like a puzzle Oskar might design, given his many other creations involving 3D mazes and labyrinths. Nevertheless, despite who designed it - credit to Vesa for a great concept - the puzzle is a typical Cast Puzzle in the sense that it follows every design characteristic made famous by Hanayama, like the perfect and flawless quality, presentation, and intriguing concept.

Beautifully made in two contrasting colors, silver and gold, as done many times with other Cast Puzzles, the quality, however, is actually even better than previous puzzles, because the thick coating doesn't scratch that easily - a big plus for every Hanayama aficionado. I have a few Cast Puzzles that are heavily scratched because of the quality of the coating applied. I guess Hanayama learned from their mistakes.

The Keyhole is moderately difficult, as any 3D puzzle should be, but with just a little patience it's possible to solve it within 10 minutes on your first attempt. You will encounter several dead-ends as you navigate through the maze by twisting and turning the two pieces. The puzzle is equally difficult to put back together, as the maze is tough to memorize.

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Closing Comments:

The Cast Keyhole by Vesa Timonen is definitely a great addition to the Hanayama family and a worthy purchase if you like Cast Puzzles. Along with its stunning design, the puzzle also offers a good amount of thinking with its unusual maze.

Availability: I got my Cast Keyhole from PuzzlesdeIngenio.com. Wordwide shipping available. Check out the others in the Cast Series.

Links:

New Hanayama Website (in English)

Hanayama Cast (in English) - Very useful website in English, with plenty of information on all things Cast.

Hanayama's Factory Visit (Many thanks to Roxanne Wong for sharing these pictures)