Cast Flag

Cast Flag is a puzzle in Hanayama's Cast Puzzle series, and was re-designed by Nob Yoshigahara based on a 19th century design. It was sent to me by the folks at Puzzle Master to review. Thanks!

This is another one that is a bit hard to understand until you actually play around with it, so I was quite interested to finally see how it worked. It consists of two pieces: an odd-shaped piece with grooves cut into it, and the "flag" which consists of two pieces that pivot together. Through this pivoting motion, you can navigate the flag out of the maze.

It isn't difficult, but makes a very good puzzle to get people's feet wet if they aren't puzzlers. It is slightly tricky though, since there are a few well-placed dead ends if you're not thinking about it. Still, most folks should be able to solve this one in just a few minutes, so Hanayama's rating of 1/6 seems appropriate. The movement of this one is quite nice, it is a fun one to do quickly once you get the hang of it.

As with most of the rest of the Cast Puzzles line, this has a nice weight in your hand and is very sturdy. The pivot-point is one spot of weakness, so if somebody is particularly prone to damaging your puzzles, it may be worth mentioning to them that the pivoting flag doesn't come apart.

Overall, Cast Flag is a solid little puzzle that I'm glad to have in my collection. Worth checking out if you like a novel movement or want a puzzle that your non-puzzler friends will enjoy, but may be worth skipping if you'd be disappointed solving it in only a minute or two.