Trick Locks have always been a favorite of mine. I love to discover their secret combinations, finding out what mechanisms keep it locked. It's always a mystery when you're trying to solve one, you never know how much time it will take you until you finally open it. Today's Trick Lock is certainly one of those that's still keeping me from uncovering its secret - but that's a good thing, it means it's a good one.

The Lock and Key puzzle is one of four Trick Locks from the IQ Locker series by Mi-Toys. These puzzles are made from laser-cut wood, to keep the final cost affordable, but they function pretty well, considering their price. The Lock and Key comes with a key (as its name suggests) and your goal is to open the lock - Simple, no? Well, not quite... This one is actually the most difficult of the series to solve, and so far I have no clue how to open it.

At the bottom of the puzzle you'll find a keyhole, but soon you'll find out that it's not as straightforward as putting the key inside and turn. If you do shake the puzzle you'll hear something jiggling inside, letting you know that there's more to it. The description of the puzzle mentions a maze, but even knowing that it still doesn't help you that much. The key seems to push something inside with an elastic, but it doesn't look like it produces any visible results.

Compared to the other puzzles in the series, this one is by far the most challenging. The others, I had no problem solving them, mostly because their mechanism was easier to figure out. This one gives you very few hints, so you'll need some creative thinking to unlock it.

Closing Comments:

The IQ Locker series was a pleasant surprise, because at that price I wasn't expecting much. Turns out these are very interesting puzzles, with intriguing and original designs that you can purchase for about $10.

Availability: The Lock and Key puzzle, as well as the other puzzles in the IQ Locker series, is available at Brilliant Puzzles.

Another great design from the IQ Locker Series by Mi-Toys, the Dial and Turn Lock is a relatively easy puzzle lock for anyone interested in this type of puzzles, but not yet ready for the more advanced and demanding designs that Trick Locks can offer.

I've previously reviewed other puzzles from this series and, without exception, I was pleasantly surprised by the originality of their designs. They are mainly made from various types of wood, a material that is not very commonly seen in trick locks, but even so they are nicely built, and unless you apply excessive force they won't otherwise break.

The Dial and Turn Lock has an odd and intriguing design. Unlike the traditional padlock design, the shackle is a straight bar that stretches across most of its length, and scattered through its wooden body you can see five dials. These dials can be turned in any direction, but only one position is the correct for each of them. To release the shackle you have to pull on the handle that is located on one of the sides of the lock, but unless you have the right combination for the dials, it won't budge. There's also a key and a slot to fit the key at the opposite side of the handle. It's up to you to find out the use of the key.

At first, the lock seems quite intimidating with its five dials, all with its unique position. Nevertheless, with careful manipulation of one dial at a time, you'll sense when you've hit the right spot where it may release the shackle. Without much effort, I was able to open the lock within a couple of minutes. A bit disappointing for the lack of challenge, but also quite satisfying to be able to open it quickly.

Closing Comments:

I was left with some mixed feelings about the Dial and Turn Lock, but in the end it's still a nice and interesting puzzle to have a go, especially if you're a fan of trick locks and hidden mechanisms. It's a pretty affordable puzzle, so you can easily get the whole series and experience different levels of difficulty between all the designs.

Availability: You can find the Dial and Turn Lock, as well as the IQ Locker Series, at Brilliant Puzzles for $10.95 USD.

There's a series of very interesting Trick Lock puzzles by Mi-Toys that use a very clever mechanism, called IQ Locker. These puzzles are pretty cheap (about $11) and made of wood - not proper wood (laser-cut), but you can't ask much for that price. Each puzzle has a very original design, and despite the low quality materials, their mechanism works quite well.

This time I chose the Lock Maze and, as the name suggests, you'll be navigating a small maze in order to be able to unlock it. To help you navigate the maze there's a small sliding button that moves horizontally through an opening in the puzzle. Both sides of the lock are identical, including the sliding button, so you can easily change perspective, although you can't see much of the maze through the opening.

The mechanism doesn't allow for the shackle to be completely removed from the wooden frame, but it can slide off enough so that you can see most of the maze path. In other words, don't stop right away when you first see the shackle opened, since there's more to it.

Unfortunately, the puzzle is not very challenging, and considering it's a maze, it's a little disappointing to be so quickly solvable. The manufacturer rates it as a level 2/5, but it might as well be a level 1, as I was able to open it in only a couple of minutes. Closing it is equally and unsatisfyingly easy, because there's virtually no challenge. The puzzle measures 14.6cm x 7.6cm (5.75" x 3"), and the problem of being so easy could've been simply solved by a larger maze - In my opinion it would've resulted in a much better puzzle overall.

Closing Comments:

If you're a fan of Trick Locks and like to collect them all, there's no reason not to get the Lock Maze. Also, if you're a beginner in this type of puzzles, it can be good to practice for higher demanding levels. But for seasoned puzzlers, unless you're a collector like me, it can be frustratingly easy.

Availability: You can find the Lock Maze and all the IQ Locker series at Brilliant Puzzles for just $10.95 USD each.

Links:

Here's a review of another puzzle from IQ Locker series

Nowadays, Trick Locks seem to be made from many different materials, as opposed to the traditional metal locks that can be seen everywhere. An example of this type of puzzles is the IQ Locker series by Mi-Toys, a collection of four different Trick Locks made from natural wood. There are some downsides associated with the choice of wood for Trick Locks, but the low production cost seems to weigh more in the end, and the quality is fairly decent to dismiss them, as they're a nice and cheap alternative to their more expensive metal counterparts.

The first puzzle from the IQ Locker series I've acquired is the Combination Lock, an intriguing design reminiscent of a number locking mechanism seen in many products, like suitcases. The only difference is that there's no numbers in the Combination Lock, but something more subtle instead... The puzzle seems well built, considering how low the price is, with a polished and clean look. Its dimensions are 14.5cm x 5.9cm x 1.8cm (5.7" x 2.3" x 0.7"), which is pretty nice overall for this kind of puzzle.

The mechanism in the Combination Lock is rather interesting, because it has its similarities to another known mechanism, but it still manages to differentiate itself from it with a clever design. The cogs, at first sight, don't seem to have anything special to them - Just three simple acrylic cogs. However, at close inspection, you'll see something surprising. The dents in each of the three cogs have different thicknesses and are spaced in different intervals. Now, I can't say everything about the mechanism, but I'm sure you can have an idea of how they should interact with the internal parts of the shackle. The goal is open and then close the lock.

The Combination Lock looks more difficult than it actually is. I also find it strange that it's classified as a level 5/5 - Far from it, actually. It took me less than 5 minutes to open it, but here's the kicker, I didn't know right away it was solved. Why? Because I was under the impression that I had to completely remove the shackle from the puzzle. It turns out that you only need to open the shackle twice as high as its original size over the top edge. It actually took more than 10 minutes to figure it out, so I guess you could say I took around 15 minutes to solve it. It all comes down to interpretation of the instructions, which only mentions "Open it" and "Unlock it". There are cases where you can completely remove the shackle from the puzzle (including one I've recently solved), so that's what my initial confusion was all about.

The puzzle has two different stages until it's fully opened, so you need to rotate the cogs one a time to pull the shackle all the way up. Closing the lock is much easier, since you can see how the cogs will interact with the shackle. Difficulty-wise, I'd say it's more like a 3.5/5.

Closing Comments:

The Combination Lock was a nice surprise, considering my expectations weren't as high as for a metal lock. Yes, you have better feedback from a metal mechanism, but in this case I believe you don't lose too much with the wooden/acrylic mechanism. Pretty good puzzle, overall, and recommended for Trick Lock enthusiasts.

Availability: The Combination Lock, as well as the others in the IQ Locker series, can be found at Brilliant Puzzles for just $10.95 USD each.