Brain Teasers 

Brain teasers without turning layers

Not every puzzle is about turning layers. This category contains brain teasers where you have to work out the solution: find the right sequence of moves, discover how a piece comes apart or build a shape from several parts. Here you'll find Towers of Hanoi, Luban and Kong Ming locks, tangrams, mazes and magnetic puzzles. They are made by QiYi, MoYu, YuXin, YJ, ShengShou and Zcube.

What types of puzzles are in this category

• Tower of Hanoi: you have to move the discs to another rod. You can move only one disc at a time, and you can never place a larger disc on a smaller one. The QiYi Hanoi Tower has 10 layers. That takes at least 1023 moves, so patience and a systematic approach are what count here.
• Luban and Kong Ming locks: traditional Chinese puzzles made of interlocking pieces. First you take them apart, then you put them back together. The second stage is usually harder. Besides the classic Qiyi Kong Ming Lock, there is also the MoYu Luban Magnetic Cube.
• Tangrams: the classic flat QiYi Tangram and the three-dimensional, magnetic QiYi 3D Magnetic Tangram in versions A, B and Pro.
• Mazes: the MoYu 3D Maze in 60, 80 and 95 mm sizes and the Yuxin Puzzle Maze Ball. You guide the ball through the maze by tilting the whole puzzle.
• Metal puzzles: Unlock Metal Puzzle sets of 8, 12 and 16 pieces. In each puzzle you have to separate the intertwined parts.
• Wood and dexterity: Wood Snake Cube, a wooden puzzle, and SengSo Happy Jenga, a block-stacking tower game for several players.

How to choose a brain teaser

To start with, also for kids, mazes, tangrams and Jenga work well. The rules are simple and the goal is clear right away. You can see your progress, so it's easier not to get discouraged after a few minutes.

The Tower of Hanoi and Kong Ming locks are challenges for longer sessions. You can't solve them with random moves: you have to understand the principle and stick to it. For someone who enjoys analysing, that's a big part of the fun. Someone looking for quick results, however, may get discouraged quickly.

The metal sets contain several different puzzles in one package. That makes them great for sharing with the family or as a gift for someone who doesn't yet know which type of puzzle suits them. In the magnetic versions the pieces stay together, so the construction doesn't fall apart every time you change its position.

A break from speedcubing

For cubers, this is a nice break from cubes. There's no timer or TPS here: what counts is the way you think. If you'd rather stay closer to classic puzzles, you'll also find the YuXin Treasure Chest 3x3x3 in this category.