Cast Chess - King

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The King - It's the most important piece in the game of chess. Guarding it at all costs is a must if you want to be a great player. But what about as a puzzle piece? Is it also the most important one?

Hanayama has created a superb collection with these six chess puzzles, each representing a different piece of the original game of chess. As a series, the Cast Chess puzzles are all equally impressive and important, as each one has its own secret to discover and open it. Hidden inside, a special coin awaits for you to release it, but only after you find out how the hidden mechanism works.

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Surprisingly, the King is one of the easiest to solve out of all six puzzles. Maybe not that surprisingly, as analogous to the simple movements of the King in chess. Could just be that the designer, Marcel Gillen, wanted to stay true to what each piece represents. Also true to their counterparts in chess is the relative size of the pieces, as the King sits comfortably as the tallest piece in the series.

Without revealing too much about its solution, the King has a spring mechanism that you manipulate by pushing on the top of the puzzle. It's, in fact, one of the first things you notice about it. The rest is just a simple movement and the puzzle is open. Be careful not block your mechanism, because there's a real chance of that happening.

Solution: If you're having trouble with the solution, you can download one here.

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Closing Comments:

As far as puzzles go, the Cast Chess King is not very challenging. But, because it's part of a collection that you don't want incomplete, it's still worth getting. It's a great puzzle for beginners and a great gift for any chess lovers.

Availability: PuzzleMaster is the place to get anything puzzle related, whether it's the Cast Chess King or any other in the Cast Chess series.