Cast UFO is a metal puzzle in Hanayama’s Huzzle series, designed by Finland’s Vesa Timonen and launched in 2019. As the name suggests, it is shaped like a flying saucer: an outer ring surrounds a central core of rounded pieces. The aim is to take it completely apart and put it back together.

• BrandHanayama
• SeriesHuzzle Cast (HZ 4-16)
• DesignerVesa Timonen
• MaterialCast metal
• Size4.8 × 4.8 × 2.7 cm
• DifficultyLevel 4 of 6 (Huzzle scale)

How it works

What sets the UFO apart from other Cast puzzles is how its core behaves. The central pieces are rounded and tend to turn and shift when you try to remove them, so it is hard to settle on a starting position, and what looked like progress is easily undone. There are no springs or hidden catches: everything depends on the shape of the pieces and how they rest against one another.

Skill level

Hanayama places it at level 4, “Hard”, on its six-level scale. A good fit for anyone who has already solved a few lower-level Cast puzzles and wants a challenge that calls for patience and a sharp eye.

The designer

Vesa Timonen is a highly prolific Finnish designer, the creator of numerous burr puzzles and other mechanical puzzles published by several companies in the field.