ThinkFun Gordians Knot
by ThinkFun
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Our Price: $7.04
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Category: Toy
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: ThinkFunBrand: Think Fun
Release Date: 2006-01-01
Model: 6820
Product features:
- Six colorful interlocking puzzle pieces
- Forty-page step-by-step solution book
- Easy-to-follow reassembly instructions
- Teaches deductive reasoning and problem-solving
- For ages 8 years and above
Toys and Games Reviews of ThinkFun Gordians Knot
Customer Review: Fun, but buyer beware.
Summary: 2 Stars
This is a fun puzzle, but buyer beware, it is VERY difficult! If you get frustrated easily you might want to try a different puzzle.
I have several problems with this puzzle. First, it is clear it was designed with children in mind because it is too small for adult hands. I am an average sized guy, not big, but not small either yet I had issues with trying to move some of the pieces because they were too small to grasp properly. I loaned this puzzle to my manager at work who is a very big guy with hands about three times the size of mine and he had even more issues than I did with the puzzle's size. This puzzle is more suited to adults with small hands or children, but I can't understand why ThinkFun would design a puzzle this difficult and build it for a child's hands.
Second, I also had issues with having to 'force' some of the pieces to get them to move. For example: the 4th move to solve the puzzle involves moving the yellow piece down. When I began working with the puzzle, I wanted to move the yellow piece down on the 4th move because it looked like it would move, but try as I might, the yellow piece would not budge. I tried moving other pieces then and ended up at a dead end that would only lead to putting the puzzled back to it's original configuration. I had to peek in the solution book at move number four to figure out where to go next and low and behold, the correct move was to move the yellow piece down as I had originally suspected. I had to use considerable 'force' to move that piece even though it was MEANT to move at that point in the solution. I had to force the yellow piece so hard that when it finally moved I dropped the puzzle on the floor (again due to it being too small for adult hands). This is also a chronic problem with the blue and purple pieces as well. I would work with the puzzle some more and get to a point where it looked like the purple or blue pieces SHOULD move but they would not. So I had to go back to the solution again to confirm what I was trying to do was correct, then go back to the puzzle, 'force' the blue or purple piece that was SUPPOSED to move and go from there. I had to refer to the solution book 15 times to verify that the piece I was trying to move was the correct one so I could go back to the puzzle and 'force' the piece. This irritates the heck out of me because I could have solved this puzzle WITHOUT looking at the solution book if the pieces would have just moved when they were supposed to.
I also have an issue with the solution book itself. I did NOT find any mistakes in it, but it is so cheaply bound that turning the pages is almost impossible. The book is bound with this cheap, plastic wiring that makes turning the pages nearly impossible and also makes it hard to keep the book open to a particular page. I don't know why ThinkFun didn't make this solution book a booklet with two staples in the middle as the binding. It would have made turning the pages much easier and would have allowed the player to keep the book open to certain pages a manageable task.
This puzzle is not very educational either. There is no real 'logic' to use in order to solve Gordian's Knot, just CAREFULLY observe where the pieces are as the puzzle evolves toward the solution and eventually you will get it (even if you have to 'force' pieces to do so). If you want a puzzle that uses 'logic' instead of 'forcing' pieces try Top Spin. I bought Top Spin when ThinkFun used to be the company Binary Arts. Top Spin is based on the Gray Binary System so if you learn the 'logic' behind that you will find Top Spin very enjoyable.
If you are a patient, intelligent adult with small hands or have a bright child, Gordian's Knot might be for you. Especially if you don't mind a shoddy solution book and 'forcing' pieces that is. If you want a puzzle that requires 'logic' instead of 'forcing' pieces, try Top Spin instead.
Description of ThinkFun Gordians Knot
An ancient mystery is reinvented for mind-bending, modern-day fun. Gordian's Knot Brainteaser Challenge from ThinkFun is based on the Gordian knot tied by Midas. The Great Oracles proclaimed that the person who solved the puzzle would rule the world. This colorful knot features six interlocking pieces, but it takes a whopping 69 different moves to take the knot apart. By sliding the six pieces past each other, the Gordian's Knot will come apart. Some pieces will easily move throughout the process, but beware -- that doesn't mean you made the right move.Game comes with a 40-page, step-by-step solution book in case you get stumped, and helps you put the knot back together once the puzzle is solved. For one player.
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