I saw this puzzle pop up on nothingyetdesigns.com a while back and was instantly intrigued. I didn’t know anything about it and the description didn’t really say what type of puzzle it was or how difficult. But, when certain puzzles catch my interest, I usually just pull the trigger and hope for the best.
Ziggy is the first in a series of demonticons designed and built by Rademic Puzzles. Demonticons are a family of puzzles where each is shaped the same but incorporate very different internal designs and mechanisms. The goal is to open the Demonticon to see what is inside the “head” of each character.
Ziggy is described as follows “A lot of love and care has gone into making Ziggy but he still seems confused. He needs your help! Can you figure out what’s going on inside his head and make him happy?”
Ziggy looks confused. With a demented smile and unbalanced eyes, he looks out of sorts. It’s a whimsical design and the backstory really adds another dimension to the puzzle. It also makes me want to own the entire family of demonticons (I already have 4 of them!)
I solved this puzzle many months ago, so when I just picked it up again, I had forgotten the solution. It took me a good 20 minutes to remember what to do and in the process I was reminded how fun this little puzzle is. It’s actually pretty brilliant. Even after solving, it took me a minute to understand how it works. It was definitely frustrating seeing the puzzle solved while not really understanding exactly what was going on.
But, after a bit of tinkering, I finally figured it out. It’s very simple, but also very elegant. It’s almost comical how simple the mechanism is, but without understanding it, it is very confusing. At least I was confused (kind of like Ziggy).
Overall, it’s a fun solve and a great start to what looks to be a long series of puzzles. It is pricey, but also high quality and built like a tank. Just a warning though, if you buy one of them, you may get addicted and have to complete the set!
