Chained Key

A Keychain SD Pocket Puzzle from Waier Creations – your task is simply to remove the key which is currently trapped in the barrel of the lock – sure it’ll wiggle a little, but it ain’t going nowhere.

My first taste of Chained Key was having a bash at Dan’s copy at the last MPP – I managed to work my way through the first four or five steps relatively easily (and then promptly found myself well and truly stuck… but given what I’d seen in the first few steps, I decided that I needed a copy of my own so I duly hit up Luke’s website and ordered myself a copy…

When it arrived I expected to make quick work of the first few steps once again, and get back to where I was stuck… only to discover that I’d been a little lucky when I was playing with Dan’s copy as someone hadn’t quite reset one of the elements properly, so I’d been able to bypass something… my copy didn’t have that problem and I found myself somewhat stuck… for a few days… until Ali reminded me that I’d solved that bit somewhere else – something that put a massive smile on my face, not just because I’d been caught twice by that trick, but because I really love the solution to that bit!

Having gotten past that bit, I managed a few more steps forward before promptly getting stuck again… several more days passed before I realised I hadn’t tried something from another recent puzzle and managed to progress one more step.

By now I was pretty sure I was near the end – virtually everything that looked like it could be extracted, had been, but the key remained as immobile as ever. Several more days passed, with the odd bit of Think (c) in between other bits and pieces of puzzling until another tool is imagined, and tried, and something different happens and I find the key can now be removed…

At this stage there’s a serious array of bits and pieces and sundry tools on the desk… way more than you’d initially imagine you might come across… Luke’s done a brilliant job of curating a wonderful journey in a tiny little object that you could very easily use as a keychain. The steps are all logical and really elegant – none of them requires particular dexterity or vice-like grip from the digits – it’s all wonderfully elegant!

I love the fact that I got stopped in my tracks at least three times by this little pocket puzzle – it really made me earn the solve and each step felt like a proper little victory – not once was there a naff step that you felt wasn’t worthy of a good puzzle – this one’s all super compact goodness… don’t be tempted to brute force any of the elements – there’s a wonderfully elegant method for each and every step along the journey – definitely worth the price of admission!